Kolleen was born in the United States to a Korean father and an American mother of Lithuanian descent.

[2] She has a bachelor's degree in cello from California Institute of the Arts and a master's degree from Seoul National University's Graduate School of Music in traditional Korean music.

[3] Kolleen currently serves as artistic director for Kyyk Musical Studio and as head professor at Howon University.

[3] She was the conductor for the musical "Aida", the Korean version of Disney's first original Broadway musical rather than the opera, which was the most popular show in Korea at the end of 2010 and topped the booking rankings for December that were compiled by Inter Park.

[2] Kolleen starred in the Korean production of the rock musical "Next to Normal" starting November 18, 2011.