Leslie Hsu Oh

Leslie Hsu Oh is a writer and photographer who grew up exploring nearly all the national parks in the United States and Canada and Great Britain. She’s hiked Machu Picchu, backpacked throughout Europe, snowboarded year round, and raised her first two kids in the Last Frontier.

Ursula Knoki-Wilson adopted her to the Táchii'nii, Red Running into Water Clan, and gave her a Navajo name meaning Journey with Caring, Journey to bring out Gifts, which aptly describes the passion Leslie brings to her craft.

Her work appears in Cirque, First Alaskans Magazine, Fourth Genre, Kids These Days!, Rosebud Magazine, Stoneboat, and Under the Sun. Excerpts from her memoir, Fireweed, such as “Between the Lines” was listed as a Notable Essay in The Best American Essays 2010. She received an MFA in creative writing from the University of Alaska Anchorage, where she currently teaches, and a master’s from Harvard University.

She is the recipient of the Rasmuson Foundation Individual Artist Award; the first Julius B. Richmond Young Leader in Public Health Award for outstanding dedication to the health and well-being of the community and demonstration of initiative and advocacy in public health; the first National Award for Excellence in Public Health Leadership; the Sun Memorial Award for exemplifying a commitment to improving the health and well-being of people in underserved populations; and the Schweitzer Award for reverence for life.

To read more about her adventures, check out www.lesliehsuoh.com or find her on Facebook.