Kim Emch has been a Social Justice Entrepreneur since high school, when she helped found the country’s first teen crisis telephone line. Today, she is the passionate Founder, Executive Director of Festa. Festa, is a nationally recognized, not-for-profit organization, with flagship 3-Generation Family English program and suburban Free Summer Lunch Camp which have served thousands in the Columbus community.

In 2007, Kim learned there were 2,158 children facing poverty in her suburban town who were hungry in the summer. She felt a call on her life by God to love, serve and feed them and mobilize the community to Serve Our Neighbors. With a team of volunteers, she founded the Hilliard Free Summer Lunch Camp which grew to a year-round ministry called SON Ministries rebranded to Festa in 2021 that partners with children and families facing the unique challenges of suburban poverty, many of whom are New Americans. Kim invented Festa’s flagship 3-Generation Family English program today serving 1,211 people – infants to grandparents – from 39 zip codes and 54 countries of origin.

Kim is an expert community builder, a driven child and family advocate and visionary leader whose innovative approach brings thousands of people together across lines of difference. She believes in the power of relationships to transform lives and is passionate about helping children and families out of poverty this generation. She brings novel, wholistic solutions to the challenges facing New American children and families as they move from surviving to thriving.

In 2022, Festa was selected by the prestigious Stand Together Foundation as one of the country’s most transformative nonprofits with a national best practice ESL program and is participating in their Catalyst Program to enhance their efforts to bring the 3-Generation Family English program to communities across the United States.

Kim has been awarded numerous community service awards throughout her career and is a graduate of Capital University with a degree in economics. Prior to founding Festa Kim was a corporate trainer in the financial services industry. Kim is a mother of two adult children: Lydia and Jared and has been married to Scott since 1993. Festa has always been a ‘family affair’.

Awards include: Young Church Woman 2008, Living Faith Award 2009, Asset Builder Award 2010, Sunny 95’s 20 Most Outstanding Women 2012 and Capital University’s 2012 Alumni Distinguished Service Award, 2016 Junior League of Columbus Community Award Winner. In 2015 the Hilliard Free Summer Lunch Program was named “Ohio’s summer nutrition program of the year by Children’s Hunger Alliance”. Former board member of Mission Columbus 2015-2019; New American Advisory Council for the Franklin County Board of Commissioners 2017-2022. One of 20 Columbus Ohio finalists for a 2017 Jefferson Award and awarded ‘Friend of Public Education’ by Central Region of the Ohio School Boards Association in 2017. 2018 Graduated from DeVos Urban Leadership Initiative.