Rhea Suh is a former government official who served as Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget of the

United States Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation ...

from 2009 to 2014 and president of the

Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States–based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicag ...

from 2015 to 2019.

Early life and education

Suh was born and raised in

Boulder, Colorado Boulder is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 108,250 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most ...

by Korean immigrants who left the country after the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Suh's father, Chung Ha Suh, worked as automotive engineering specialist at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

, and her mother, Young Ja Suh, was a homemaker. She also has two sisters, Betty and Maggie. She graduated from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

in 1992. While a student at

Barnard Barnard is a surname of Old English origin, derived from the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon given name "Beornheard". It is composed of two elements: "Beorn," meaning "young warrior" or "bear," and "heard," meaning "hardy," "brave," or "strong." In some ...

, Suh taught earth science at

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

. She was a

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, where she studied environmental movements. After returning to the United States, Suh worked as a legislative assistant for

Ben Nighthorse Campbell Ben Nighthorse Campbell (born Benny Marshall Campbell; April 13, 1933) is an American and Northern Cheyenne politician and Air Force veteran who served in both chambers of the United States Congress; representing Colorado in the U.S. House of Re ...

. She then attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, and her graduate school project focused on helping the

U.S. National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all national parks; most national monuments; and other natural, historical, and recreational p ...

through establishing a formal education program at schools around the country.

Career

Suh worked at the

David and Lucile Packard Foundation The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private foundation that provides grants to not-for-profit organizations. It was created in 1964 by David Packard (co-founder of HP) and his wife Lucile Salter Packard. Following David Packard's dea ...

, where she created and managed a program dedicated to environmental conservation and clean energy and coordinated energy conservation efforts of various nonprofits across the Colorado River Basin. She then worked at the

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, commonly known as the Hewlett Foundation, is a private foundation, established by Hewlett-Packard cofounder William Redington Hewlett and his wife Flora Lamson Hewlett in 1966. The Hewlett Foundation a ...

, where she led the effort to create the

Great Bear Rainforest The Great Bear Rainforest is a temperate rain forest on the Pacific coast of British Columbia, comprising 6.4 million hectares. It is part of the larger Pacific temperate rainforest ecoregion, which is the largest coastal temperate rainforest i ...

and spearheaded conservation and clean energy initiatives. On March 25, 2009, she was nominated by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

for the position of Assistant Secretary for Policy Management and Budget at the

. The senate confirmed her nomination. In 2013, President Obama nominated Suh to serve as Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks but her nomination faced opposition from the

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

. She was also criticized by ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'' for her stance against

fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...

s. Although her nomination was approved by the

United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, inclu ...

, her nomination was held up in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

and was withdrawn. After she resigned from her post in 2014, Suh became the third president of the

(NRDC), replacing

Frances Beinecke Frances G. Beinecke (born August 2, 1949) is an environmental activist. She served as the former president of the Natural Resources Defense Council from 2006 to 2015. Early life and education Beinecke is the youngest of four children born to W ...

. She assumed her post in January 2015. Under her leadership, the NRDC helped steer high-level talks leading up to the

Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement (also called the Paris Accords or Paris Climate Accords) is an international treaty on climate change that was signed in 2016. The treaty covers climate change mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The Paris Agreement was ...

, championed a settlement for the residents of

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city in Genesee County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. Located along the Flint River (Michigan), Flint River northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the Central Michigan, Mid Michigan region. Flin ...

, and was a partner for the Women's March on Washington. Suh stepped down from her position as president on June 30, 2019. She is a current fellow of the

Walton Family Foundation Walton Family Foundation is an American private foundation and the main philanthropic organization of the Walton family. It was created in 1987 by Walmart founder Sam Walton and his wife Helen Walton. As of 2023, the foundation's giving focuses ...

Personal life

Suh is married to Michael Carroll and has one daughter, Yeumi. She and her family live in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Suh, Rhea American conservationists American women of Korean descent in politics Barnard College alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni People from Boulder, Colorado United States assistant secretaries of the interior Living people 1970 births