Bridging Crisis and Care: NAMI Seattle’s Executive Director Huynh Chhor on Mental Health, Community, and Care
by Emily Eng, Max Curra, Anmol Grewal, Joseph Garnsey-Harter, and Jovi Fealeaki, University of Washington – Bothell School of Business
Entering the Zoom, NAMI Seattle’s new executive director, Hyunh Chhor, appeared with a bright smile, excited to see us and ready to talk. Her Zoom background of the Golden Gate Bridge during a sunset matched her sunny disposition.Throughout the interview, the ringing chimes of people entering and leaving the Zoom meeting or the whirring fans on my PC, her audio was clear and audible throughout the entire time she spoke. It was clear that Ms. Chhor was passionate about her career and was comfortable with being on camera and being interviewed. As we continued on with the interview, more serious and sensitive questions were asked. Her disposition changed, her voice slightly softened, and she spoke with kindness, empathy, and sincerity.
How have your experiences changed within NAMI Seattle from when you first started to now being Executive Director?
HC: I actually just started at NAMI back in December. Stepping into an organization that’s a little bit smaller, I’ve been pretty hands-on, working across all of our programs, doing day-to-day operations. NAMI has been undergoing a leadership transition for the last year, year and a half, and there’s a lot of catching up to do. A big part of my role is really stepping back, too. As I’m engaged in the day-to-day activities to ask, like, what are the processes, what is the structure that we need to build as a new team to work more effectively together? Where are people having challenges in the work that they’re doing? And how can I, as their leader, help clear those roadblocks so that they can be more efficient and effective in their role, so that folks can do their work without burning out. The first couple of months for me has been just really getting to know the landscape, knowing who all the players are, who our partners are, and kind of the work that we have to do for 2026.
As Executive Director, do you feel like you’ve been able to help more people in that position, or in prior positions you had with NAMI?
HC: It’s a yes and a no for me, it’s just different. The impact that I make is different. Earlier in my career, I was working at the front line, so I was a clinician working one-on-one with clients, and then as I progressed through my career, I started developing new programs and services that weren’t in existence prior to me starting those programs in those communities. And that work was really rewarding, because I got to witness people rise, to help them get stronger, to help them heal, and especially in therapy, to see people have their aha moments that were life-changing. When something really clicked for them, when their perspective shifted. When their emotional experience changed as a result of the work that we were doing together.
Seeing someone at their worst, being able to walk beside them as they get better, was really rewarding for me. As executive director, the way I help people looks very different now. Instead of being the direct provider, I’m focused on shaping the conditions that allow that kind of healing and support to take place, and to do it consistently, as well as helping to support the staff who are doing the work. Some of this could be making decisions about where we get our funding, how we use that funding, who we partner with, what our priorities are as an organization, how do we balance growth and sustainability. I think in both roles, I’m helping people.
How do cultural differences, language barriers, or stigmas in certain cultures shape the way people experience crises?
HC: I think it shapes pretty much every aspect of someone’s experience in crisis, regarding how, whether they seek help or ask for help. What behaviors are considered concerning, and whether someone being in distress is framed as a personal struggle that they need to just figure out on their own. I think your culture shapes who feels safe to turn to when you’re in crisis, whether that’s a family member, people in the faith community, your peers, or a therapist. I also know, just from my own family experience, that language can pose as a really big barrier, and that’s compounded by fear and disorientation during a crisis. There are concerns of being misunderstood. It can lead to a lot of frustration, disengagement, or just not being treated well by our mental health system. I think with stigma. We’re dealing with both internal and external stigma. It delays people from seeking support, in situations and crisis situations. I’ve seen people’s symptoms be minimized. I’ve seen patients in the emergency being told you shouldn’t be here, this isn’t a real problem. This is for people with real medical emergencies.
Are there any NAMI Seattle programs or resources you wish more people knew about?
HC: I would say, I wish that people knew more about our peer-led programs. I think there’s something really powerful about being able to support somebody, when you’ve gone through a similar experience. I think you share a perspective that not everybody has. Our groups help people feel less alone, and that’s what I hear the most. They’re able to express their concerns, and not feel like they have to wear a mask or feel judged. I think that there’s this misconception that mental health support is just for people with formal diagnoses or a serious condition, but most of us can actually benefit from just having a safe space. When life feels really overwhelming, or when our ability to cope is stretched, and we don’t have the capacity or the resources to cope on our own.
What are some impacts you see NAMI make in the Seattle area?
HC: Our number one thing is reducing stigma. Making it more okay to talk about mental health and well-being. Whether you have a serious mental illness or not, whether you’re supporting somebody, or you’re going through it yourself, building community. I think a lot of our folks will say, this is the only place that I have in my life to talk about these things. Without it, I wouldn’t know what to do. These are not folks who have access to traditional healthcare or clinical services, so it really is their only lifeline of support. I’ve seen NAMI, and our volunteers really support people during their hardest moments in life.
Has being the Executive Director of NAMI Seattle taught you about other people’s mental health? And, does the weather influence their mental health?
HC: The thing that I’ve learned about people’s mental health is that it is shaped by many factors, so it’s not just what happens to that person at the individual level, but it’s their relationships, their environment, their community, the systems that we all belong to that’s all around us.
I think looking at it from a well-being perspective is really helpful, because well-being says that there are multiple frameworks to understand well-being, but most of them will say we have certain inherent needs as human beings to be fulfilled and to be happy and to be well. Not everybody has access to the same factors that determine well-being.
And so, when one area is off balance, it can affect everything else. So, for example, someone struggling with housing may feel stressed or anxious, which can affect their sleep, their relationships, their ability to manage their daily tasks. So it’s really about caring for the whole person.
I know in Seattle, the weather is a big issue. It’s so dark and cloudy here, and that can very much easily affect someone’s mood, their energy level, their motivation to leave their house, to engage in social activities, so it can lead to a lot of isolation in the wintertime.
But again, mental health is not just about one thing that’s going on in someone’s life. It’s usually a multitude of factors that are intersecting and interdependent.
What led you to choose the path of behavioral health, and eventually joining NAMI?
HC: As long as I can remember, I’ve always been very interested in how people cope and heal and survive within complex systems. How they transform and overcome trauma. That interest became more apparent to me early in my career when I was working on the mobile crisis team in King County. That was my first role working with people with severe behavioral health needs.
During one of my outreaches, I met a man who was likely experiencing a psychotic disorder. He was really scared about engaging with us. He had been living under the freeway overpass for the last 5 years in this community. He hadn’t harmed anybody, so they really allowed him to stay there until there was a city ordinance that made homelessness, illegal. So the police called us and said,” Hey, can you help us with this individual, and get him the resources he needs? We have to physically remove him from this space”. And I remember eventually convincing him to come back to the crisis center, and I spent quite a bit of time working in groups with him. He was learning how to use the internet for the first time, so that was exciting to see, and to see him explore this whole new world at his own pace. One day, I remember I found a pair of shoes in the donation room. And I gave them to him, and he never wore them while he was at the crisis center. He eventually left, and then one day he returned, and I saw him wearing the shoes. And it was pretty incredible, because in the 5 years that he was living under that freeway overpass, none of the police officers, the social service workers, ever saw him wearing shoes, ever, even in the snow.
I think that moment stayed with me. It just reminded me that healing doesn’t look the same for everybody, it’s not always dramatic, it’s not always immediate, it’s really quiet, it’s incremental, and that experience made me realize, I was doing the work that I was meant to do. So having done all of that work, developing that passion for behavioral health, working with our most vulnerable populations. But then also seeing that people heal truly in a community setting, led me back to NAMI. I don’t think that we can look only to our credentialed providers to fix people or to solve behavioral health, but it’s within all of us to care for ourselves, and to care for each other. So, I am grateful to be here, and grateful to have found my way to this organization.
As Executive Director of NAMI Seattle, Huynh Chhor has taken a hands-on leadership approach to strengthening the organization and better serving the community since beginning the role in December 2025. She described stepping into an organization during a period of transition, where part of her responsibility has been understanding internal processes, identifying structural gaps, and building a stronger foundation for the future. Rather than solely focusing on day-to-day operations, she balances immediate needs with long-term sustainability, ensuring that staff are supported, roadblocks are cleared, and the organization operates efficiently without burning out its team.
Huynh Chhor’s words left a memorable reflection on our conversation as her experiences were deeply lived, not because they were polished or rehearsed. Her words remind us that mental health is not simply a “formal diagnosis,” but a deeply human process that is often slow, imperfect, and meaningful. Whether she describes the quiet courage of showing up for someone in a crisis or the responsibility we share as a community, Huynh reminds us that everyone is struggling and it is ok to reach out for help. Huynh offered a vision of care rooted in compassion, empathy, and hope.
Cultural differences, language barriers, and stigma significantly influence whether individuals seek help. By providing community-based, inclusive support groups, NAMI Seattle helps reduce stigma and ensures individuals feel less alone. It is essential that we carry forward Huynh’s words: to listen more closely, respond with compassion, and to build a community that supports every person that reaches out for help. We turn reflections into actions: we can volunteer and help expand programs that offer support and understanding. We can also donate to ensure that every support group remains free and accessible for those who need them the most. Supporting NAMI Seattle is not just an act of kindness or generosity, it is a statement that mental health matters. Each hour of volunteer work or donation contributes and strengthens NAMI Seattle.
We would like to thank the University of Washington Bothell Writing Center and their staff for their help on this piece (tutors Leanne Machado, Anastasia Mironyuk, and Cecilia Nagash).
We’d also like to thank Huynh Chhor for her time. This interview has been edited for content and clarity.