Helen Ota | Director and Secretary

helen@zentokufoundation.org
Helen is the Director of Donor Engagement & Special Events for the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center. She is active in the community, serving on the Board and past president of the Nisei Week Foundation, Advisory Council of Kizuna, and Artistic Advisory Board of the Asian Pacific American Friends of Theatre.

Helen is also a performing member of the Grateful Crane Ensemble and is the Artistic Director Emeritus of COLD TOFU Improv. She has produced several theatrical performances including musicals, sketch and improv shows, as well as special events. Helen also co-founded Yes, And…Productions that produced the musicals, Songs for A New World and A New World and Ordinary Days (Los Angeles premiere).

Helen's duties include fundraising, creating and implementing the organization's activities, advising on programs and coordinating with the board.

Stacey Yoshinaga | Director

stacey@zentokufoundation.org

Stacey has been in the Human Resources field for the past 25 years, working at the Disneyland Resort, Washington Mutual, and currently with Healthcare Cost Solutions.

She started her involvement with community service with the Orange Coast Optimist Club (OCO) and has served in various board positions within the OCO organization. She was involved with the inaugural Walk the Farm event and has continued to be a part of the committee, where the funds raised have been donated to various farmers who were affected by the tsunami of 2011.

Stacey is also a member of the Board of Directors for So-Phis, a philanthropic organization of Orange County women and past Board member of the Yonsei Basketball Association. With the Yonsei organization, she directed the efforts in creating a documentary capturing “An Experience of a Lifetime” from participants who shared their memories of living with a family in Japan for a week. 

Stacey’s duties with the Zentoku Foundation include fundraising, advising on marketing and social media as well as the design and improvement of the Zentoku website.

ellen endo | Advisory Committee / writer / executive producer-Documentary

ellen@zentokufoundation.org
Ellen Endo’s professional experience has included key positions in journalism, television, and motion pictures. Within the Japanese American community, she is best known as a columnist and former English Section Editor and Managing Editor of The Rafu Shimpo, America’s oldest and largest Japanese American daily newspaper.

Today, she owns and operates Hapa Consulting Services, specializing in strategic planning, media relations, and communications in the nonprofit, private industry, and government sectors. A fervent advocate of community volunteerism, Ellen serves as co-chairperson of the Little Tokyo Business Improvement District (LTBID) and sits on the Friends of Manzanar board of directors and Little Tokyo Community Council executive board.

Jodie Chiemi Ching | Advisory Committee / writer

jodie@zentokufoundation.org
Jodie is a staff writer for The Hawai’i Herald, A Japanese American Journal. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Japanese, a Graduate Certificate in Accounting and is the recipient of the 1998 Okinawa Prefectural Government Scholarship for Okinawan Descendants. Jodie worked in retail and accounting for 15 years while writing as a volunteer. At the age of 43, after being diagnosed with discoid lupus, she decided to focus on her writing full-time.

Jodie serves as an advisor on the board of The Sjögren’s and Lupus Foundation of Hawai’i and is the treasurer for two Okinawan performing arts schools of which she is also a student––Tamagusuku Ryu Senju Kai Frances Nakachi Ryubu Dojo and Ryukyu Ongaku Afuso Ryu Gensei Kai Hawaii Shibu. Twice a month she teaches Japanese language to senior citizens at 15 Craigside a retirement community in Honolulu.

Dr. Patsy Y. Iwasaki | Advisory Committee / writer

patsy@zentokufoundation.org
Patsy is an English Department faculty member at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, with a PhD in Learning Design and Technology and an MEd in Education. Her teaching and research awards include the UH Hilo Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Koichi and Taniyo Taniguchi Award for Excellence and Innovation. Her research interests, publications, presentations and teaching practices include instructional design; documentary film; English studies; the Japan-Hawai‘i immigration, labor and social evolution narrative; comics/manga and migration stories; diverse, place- and community-based, culturally relevant resources in education; and cross-cultural exchange and educational collaboration between the United States, Asia and Europe. Patsy is a Hawai‘i Herald contributing writer and was the gallery coordinator at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i in Honolulu. She is active in the community, serving on the boards for several organizations dedicated to diversity, education, the Japanese American community and youth. She is the scholarship chair of the Hawai‘i Island AJA (Americans of Japanese Ancestry) Veterans Legacy Association of the AJA Veterans Council and Sons & Daughters of AJA Veterans. She lives in Hilo and struggles to balance her work, family and watching The Mandalorian.

Kristen Nemoto Jay | Advisory Committee / writer

kristen@zentokufoundation.org
Kristen Nemoto Jay is the editor of The Hawai‘i Herald: Hawai‘i's Japanese American Journal. She received her bachelor's degree in sociology from Chapman University and master's degree in journalism from DePaul University. Prior to working for The Hawai‘i Herald, she was a former editor for Morris Media Network, freelance writer, then journalism lecturer at Windward Community College. Her love of education and tutoring young adults continues to this day as she serves both as a data consultant at her alma mater Kailua High School and as a social media consultant with the Nisei Veterans Legacy.

Daijiro Don Kanase | Advisory Committee / writer

don@zentokufoundation.org
As a volunteer writer for the Japanese American National Museum, Don conducts email interviews to write about individuals' personal stories. Through these emails, Don captures the quintessence of the person for his articles. We are fortunate to have him on our team, he will expand the methods of collecting stories for the Zentoku Foundation.

Don is an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army who currently lives in Washington DC. He is fluent in Japanese and served as a U.S. military representative at Japan’s Ministry of Defense in Tokyo. He received his M.A. in Theater Operations from the School of Advanced Military Studies at Fort Leavenworth, KS, and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.

Don is a native of Los Angeles. He spent his entire childhood at the Southeast Japanese Community Center: studying Japanese, playing SEYO basketball, and training in judo, kendo, and iaido. He is still an avid judo and kendo practitioner with black belt ranks in both.

Krislen Kanase | Advisory Committee / Writer

krislen@zentokufoundation.org
Krislen serves as a senior advisor for the spouses and families of over 700 U.S. Army Soldiers at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. She coordinates resources and events to bolster the welfare of Soldiers and military families. She received her M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Hawaii Pacific University and her B.A. in Psychology from the University of San Diego.

Krislen is a native of Honolulu, Hawaii. She studied Japanese for seven years and lived in Tokyo for one year. Throughout her studies, she enjoyed researching the history of Japanese Americans. Her findings strengthened her connection and understanding with her grandparents. She enjoys sharing her Japanese and Okinawan culture through cuisine and plans to pass down her family’s Kyoto-style and Okinawan recipes to her daughter.

SOJI KASHIWAGI | WRITER

Soji is the Executive Director, playwright and co-founder of the Grateful Crane Ensemble, a non-profit theatre group based in Southern California. Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Soji’s plays such as “Camp Dance: The Music & The Memories,” “Nihonmachi: The Place to Be,” and “Garage Door Opener” focus on different facets of Japanese American history, and pay tribute to the Issei and Nisei generations. He graduated with a degree in journalism from San Francisco State University, and as a freelance writer he has written for numerous Japanese American publications including the Rafu Shimpo, Hokubei Mainichi, Nikkei West and Nichibei News.

AIMEE KiM | writer

Aimee Kim (she/her) is an English teacher, originally from Orange County, currently working in San Diego. She graduated from UC San Diego with a B.A. in Literature and a minor in Education; and from University of San Diego, an M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction and her teaching credential. Many of her personal and academic research interests are centered around diasporic Asian-American experiences and communities—including her own.

Aimee is, in equal quarters, Japanese-, Okinawan-, Korean-, and Vietnamese-American. She grew up spending her weekends playing basketball with the VFW Youth Group, where she learned a lot about herself and her community. Aimee is excited to contribute her writing to the longevity of Japanese-American history.

Cole Koyanagi | Advisory Committee / videographer

cole@zentokufoundation.org
Cole is a recent graduate of California State Channel Islands where he studied Business Marketing. Since then, he has worked as a freelance videographer covering various forms of media. His work ranges from creating specialized content for social media to capturing a happy couple’s wedding day.

Cole grew up immersed in the Japanese American sports leagues, playing basketball and baseball. He is excited to help tell the stories of the Japanese American community he grew up in through the lens of the Zentoku Foundation.

Nick Kurosawa | Advisory Committee / writer

nick@zentokufoundation.org
Nick is a fourth generation Japanese-American born and raised on the island of Oahu. He is a Chaminade University graduate with a bachelor's degree in English. Currently Nick is teaching music at Halau Ku Mana, a Hawaiian charter school in Honolulu and is a full time musician.

Masa Lau | Advisory Committee / CREATIVE

masa@zentokufoundation.org
Masa has spent his entire career in the creative industry directing awareness campaigns from start ups to large corporate companies. He’s held partnerships, been independent, and is currently in the automotive industry. Masa’s volunteer time includes being a board member at the Southeast Japanese Community Center. Here, you’ll find him committed to working with youth and families. His voice helps reinforce their mission to create meaningful family experiences. He has a strong passion for the future of our next generation.

Masa’s duties include creating the brand and approaches for the Zentoku Foundation.

Karen Mizoguchi | Advisory Committee / writer

karen@zentokufoundation.org
Karen Mizoguchi is a staff editor for People since September 2015 and has been covering entertainment news for the magazine and digital platforms. After graduating from UC Irvine in 2014 with a Bachelor's degree in Arts History, she worked as a writer and reporter at publications such as The Hollywood Reporter and E! News and has published works for TIME and Entertainment Weekly.

Karen is a native of Long Beach and spent her childhood in the JA community playing basketball on several teams including SEYO and Yonsei organizations. After college, she has been involved with the JACL, Kizuna and Nisei Week. 

gwen muranaka | Advisory Committee / writer

gwen@zentokufoundation.org
Gwen Muranaka is a fourth generation Japanese American and is senior editor of The Rafu Shimpo, a bilingual Japanese newspaper based in Little Tokyo. She manages the staff of the newspaper, overseeing a team of reporters, graphic designers and outside contributors in the production of the newspaper, as well as special-themed publications.
 
Prior to The Rafu, Muranaka worked as a staff editor of the Japan Times in Tokyo, where she also illustrated the weekly cartoon "Noodles." She attended UCLA and received a BA in English Literature and also studied one year at  Waseda University in Tokyo. She is active in Little Tokyo as a board member of the Little Tokyo Community Council. Muranaka started in community newspapers as  assistant editor at the Pacific Citizen, the national publication of the Japanese American Citizens League.

Summer Nakaishi | writer

summer@zentokufoundation.org

Summer is a Japanese and Okinawan Yonsei, born and raised in Honolulu. She was a staff writer and digital media editor for The Hawai’i Herald and previously was an assistant editor for Morris Visitor Publications and worked as a freelance writer. She received her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and master’s degree in writing and publishing from DePaul University. She enjoys connecting with her Japanese and Okinawan culture and attending cultural events with her husband and kids. 

Allyson Nakamoto | Advisory Committee / grants

allyson@zentokufoundation.org
Allyson is originally from Orange County, California and has spent almost two decades working in museum education. At the Japanese American National Museum and at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i, she has worked with teachers, students, and communities around the nation to explore the diversity of the Japanese American experience.

A graduate of Claremont McKenna College, Allyson received a year-long scholarship for people of Okinawan descent to study at the Okinawan Prefectural University for the Arts. She serves on the advisory board of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation. She now lives in Honolulu.

Michelle RUZZI | Advisory Committee / social media

michelleruzzi@zentokufoundation.org
Michelle Ruzzi is the co-owner of M Communications, a branding and marketing agency in Orange County, CA. From marketing plans to app launches and everything in between, Michelle has done it all.

As a second generation Japanese American, she’s still learning about her Okinawan background in order to pass her family’s stories along to her two children. And when she’s not playing basketball, she’s contributing her talents to the Zentoku Foundation.

Elise Takahama | Advisory Committee / writer

elise@zentokufoundation.org
Elise is a recent graduate of Boston University, where she studied journalism and Spanish. She has covered breaking news and features at the Seattle Times, Boston Globe, Pasadena Star News and Lowell Sun. She also served as the managing editor, board of directors vice chair, features edit and staff writer for Boston University's independent student newspaper, The Daily Free Press.

Elise grew up playing basketball in the San Gabriel Valley - including on the Pasadena Bruins - and she couldn't be more excited to help tell the stories of the Asian American community.

Teresa Watanabe | Advisory Committee / editor / writer

teresa@zentokufoundation.org
Teresa Watanabe is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. Since joining the Times in 1989, she has covered education, immigration, ethnic communities, religion, Pacific Rim business and economics and served as Tokyo correspondent and bureau chief. She also covered Asia, national affairs and state government for the San Jose Mercury News and wrote editorials for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. Her most personally meaningful story was a first-person account of her grandfather's arrest and incarceration as an enemy alien during World War II for the Los Angeles Times Magazine.

A Seattle native, Teresa studied for a year at Waseda University in Tokyo and graduated from USC in journalism and in East Asian Languages and Culture. She is a board member of the Asian American Journalists Association - Los Angeles.

Dr. Ida Yoshinaga | Advisory Committee / writer

ida@zentokufoundation.org
Ida is a staff writer at The Hawaiʻi Herald: Hawaiʻi's Japanese American Journal. Dr. Ida Yoshinaga is an alternative and ethnic media scholar who critically analyzes popular culture with regards to genre conventions and creative labor. She has reported for Bloomberg Business News and Business Tokyo in Japan; translated Japanese shows for KIKU-TV in Hawaiʻi; and is now learning to produce stories for diasporic Indigenous filmmakers. She is a former East-West Center Fellow and Crown Prince (Emperor) Akihito Scholarship recipient. Ida lectures in screenwriting and science fiction/fantasy writing, as well as teaches the history of Japanese and Okinawan settlers in Hawaiʻi, at the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa. She is fascinated with the cultural politics of transforming folklore into mass-media scripted storytelling and watches too much television.