Jae was born and raised in Seongnam, South Korea, and immigrated to New York City at age ten. He graduated from Rice University with a degree in integrative biology and a minor in environmental studies. At university he served as the student body president, leading initiatives to address food insecurity and support campus diversity, and as president of the wildlife conservation club, organising service trips to a wolf sanctuary in Colorado. Jae has worked with the Stockholm Environment Institute, Urban Institute, and Harris County Office of Sustainability, researching climate resilience across scales of governance. He founded Hermes Free Telehealth, a nonprofit providing free telemedicine appointments to people affected by natural disasters. Jae’s interests lie at the intersection of climate change and human health, and in the roles physicians can play in advancing climate action. At Oxford University, Jae completed an MSc in Environmental Change and Management, supported by the Rhodes Scholarship.