Rachel Vasak March 18th 2020

What do you do?

I do a lot of different things: I’m an individual, a mom, a wife, a volunteer, and a community member. I love to explore the mountains and the islands, and to go on adventures near and far. I love to support our kid as he learns and grows. I enjoy gardening and raising animals on our hobby farm. Professionally, I have the joy and privilege of serving our community as the Executive Director of the Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, or NSEA. NSEA educates, inspires, and engages the community to take action to keep wild salmon here for future generations. NSEA restores salmon habitat, educate community members about salmon & stewardship, and most importantly gives community members meaningful ways to be involved to help recover sustainable wild salmon. Today I am just as passionate about NSEA’s mission and the importance of our work as I was when I first learned about the NSEA in 1996.

Advice/words of wisdom that affected your life you’d like to pass on?

So many things: Share your vision. Have a plan but be flexible. Surround yourself with people smarter than you are and empower them. Be grateful. For everything. Especially the challenges. Give credit where credit is due: Take personal responsibility when things go wrong. Give others credit when things go right. Consistently seek new learning. From articles, books, website, blogs, podcasts, news and especially people. Approach every opportunity & encounter with curiosity….believe that we all have something to learn from everyone we encounter. Treat others how you want to be treated. Still, understand that you can’t make everyone happy, so learn to ‘thicken your skin’. Earn trust. Be accountable, show up. Follow through. We all have something in common, and when we focus on finding that common ground, we develop mutual respect. When we respect each other, we can work in a collaborative way. None of this can happen without trust.