Happy Birthday Eunkoo Lee!
Margaret Thatcher supposedly said, "If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman."
That certainly has been true of FSI (formerly TNKR)!
I have been the public face of the organization, but behind-the-scenes, there has always been Eunkoo Lee. Some people have tried to get her to speak out, to do media, to become a public figure. When feminists have discovered our organization, they have tried to ignore me to highlight Eunkoo and some have griped that I "don't give Eunkoo opportunities" to do interviews. Haha!!! They would get a big surprise when they tried to invite her because she wasn't interested in the spotlight.
In our early days, Eunkoo had good excuses. One, she said she was shy and didn't want to do interviews. Two, she was working at a huge government agency. TNKR then was volunteer work that she did on weekends. Korean supervisors and employers don't like seeing their staffers involved in work that has nothing to do with their paid jobs. So she had good reason to avoid the spotlight.
Then after she quit her paid job to focus on TNKR, she lost that excuse--and I began including her in media opportunities, often against her will. That led to big fights, as she insisted that she wasn't interested in such things and thanked me for doing all of the interviews.
She was clear: she wanted to do the work that was necessary to help this fledgling project grow into an actual organization. We are still humble, still growing. She has definitely done that. As Margaret Thatcher said, if you want something done, ask a woman.
Today our staff surprised Eunkoo with a birthday party. https://www.youtube.
She has set up a fundraiser to celebrate her birthday. As a "shy Korean lady," even setting up this kind of fundraiser was a big challenge for her. She's not on Facebook so I have to post it for her. Happy Birthday Eunkoo Lee! - TNKR (lovetnkr.com)