Q&A with Vice President of Strategy & Community Partnership, Suk Rhee

Q. What journey did you take to get here?

A. As for so many, my journey started many generations ago. Mine begins (at least) with my grandparents, whose experiences eventually led our family to immigrate to America. The link between their journey and my arrival at NWHF is that I answered a "Help Wanted" ad in The Asian Reporter.

Q. You just celebrated your tenth anniversary at NWHF. Congratulations! What is the greatest change that you have seen at NWHF in the last ten years?

A. It has taken at least a decade, and we are still in the process, but I would say that it has been changing how we see the world and our place in it.

Q. What is the greatest change that you have seen in Oregon and Southwest Washington in the last ten years?

A. Ten years relative to the age of the earth, I would have to say almost nothing has changed. A decade relative to human life, I would say quite a lot. And relative to the journey of self-determining communities... well, I do not have the wisdom or perspective to say for sure. Personally, though, I hope we look back at the first decade of the 21st century and are able to say that it was the end of the 20th century mindset.

Q. What is one of your favorite NWHF memories?

A. There are so many, especially those that we have shared with our community partners. There are also private moments, when we have laughed and, sometimes, cried together. Whenever we feel and experience deeply together, those are memorable to me.

Q. What are you most looking forward to for the future?

A. Creating it, through the choices and contributions we make today. And high speed rail (the future circa 1965).

Q. Would you rather have to stay in the Pacific Northwest for the rest of your life, or never be allowed to visit or live in the Pacific Northwest again?

A. This is a diabolical question, indeed. Being forced to answer it, I would choose the latter. I inherited a nomadic spirit from my family. My soul could not bear it if it could not be in the whole wide world. That said, I'm likely to go rogue... if you're willing to help me go underground, the code word is "OR-7."

Q. If you could suddenly be an expert at any one thing, what would you choose?

A. The physics and philosophy of the multiverse.