Dwight Gee [president, Arts Council of Mongolia-US] describes his improbable journey to develop a self-sustaining arts council in Mongolia a dozen years after the collapse of the communist government that isolated the country for much of the 20th Century. New global influences threaten to overwhelm Mongolia’s unique cultural life which predates the days of Chinggis Khan. Working with Mongolian colleagues introduced through the Seattle World Affairs Council’s International Visitors’ program, Gee helped establish one of the first free-standing nonprofit organizations in that part of the world. For more than 15 years, he has continued his deep involvement. The journey has taken him across the country’s breathtaking landscape, through its astonishing history and into the lives of many remarkable people.

Now retired, Dwight continues much of the work he did during his 30-year professional career in nonprofits. Topping his list of volunteer passions is his work with Mongolian culture which we’ll hear more about this evening. He is board member of Cultural Access Washington which advocates for broadening access to cultural activities throughout Washington. He notes that the effort of the Cultural Access Washington project led to Tacoma Creates, the new Tacoma arts district funding, which passed by a two-thirds majority last November. Before retiring, he served as executive vice president of The World Justice Project which advances the rule of law around the world. Prior to that, he worked for more than two decades at ArtsFund, which serves King and Pierce counties. At ArtsFund, among other things, he developed a nonprofit board training program in which he continues to teach. Dwight is from a farm in Nebraska, which may help explain his passion for the steppes of Mongol.