안녕하세요-Hello!

The only constant is change! A reminder to me of both the opportunities and challenges that come with self employment. Projects and clients come and go—it certainly keeps me nimble to learn about vanadium ion battery technology one week and to assemble partners for a ground up AI safety hub the next. Thankfully I continue to enjoy the variety and freedom to chart my own path.

So, what does this winding path of running Seekonk look like over the last few months?  Recent highlights came from my September trip to Seoul where we hosted a reception to honor my colleague and friend Marc Knapper’s contributions to US-Korea relations and his retirement from the U.S. State Department, and to celebrate the formal launch of the AI Diplomatic Engagement Network (ADEN) with colleagues Graham Nelson and Chris McKinney. Together we are working to connect leading AI safety experts with policymakers in Korea and Japan to build a network of research and resources. Recent publications on AI detailing our ongoing work include OpEds in The Korea Herald, Hankook Ilbo, IGCC, and KEI.

Over the summer, I took the opportunity to reflect on some of the key issues I have worked on— AI policy, energy policy, and US-ROK relations among them, and had a chance to expand on each with commentary on VOA, Arirang, CNA, CNBC, and SCNP and an article in Korea On Point on Korea’s engagement with Europe and its growing role in supporting NATO’s renewed focus on building defense capabilities. At the Baker Institute we welcomed Ryu Moonsik, a Korean fellow with KOSPO (Korea Southern Power Company). I look forward to collaborating with Moonsik and Gabe Collins, a real expert and friend with whom I recorded an episode of the Energy Forum Podcast on SMRs, a topic I discussed further in episode one of a three-part series for The Korea Society’s Expert Desk on Korea’s energy evolution.

As for work-life balance, I unplugged for the first time since launching Seekonk in June of 2024 and enjoyed time with Jess in France and Belgium—highlight was Talloires on Lake Annecy, the more I visit, the more I want to go back!

One of the best parts of running a business that relies on connectivity more than in-person work, is that I have been able to spend more time with my parents in Maine—an especially nice place to be in the mugginess of D.C. summer weather! On my August road trip to Maine, I stopped in Marblehead, MA to visit my brother, and took a flight with him in a Cessna—first time in a small plane and now understand why he loves piloting so much, although not sure it’s in my future. 

Summer also meant plenty of golf and my first hole-in-one—something that definitely I chalk up to luck more than any kind of skill. Good fun and glad I did it in the U.S. rather than Korea, where hole-in-one insurance mitigates the cost of outsized gifts for your foursome and caddie.

Up next… the Baker Botts 10th Annual Energy Summit in Houston, a U.S.-Korea Defense and Technology roundtable at UCSD, and then back to Seoul November 3-13. More to come!

Henry + Jessica

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