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JAPANESE CULTURAL
CENTER OF HAWAI‘I STAFF
This close-knit team of 10 may have varied interests, but
they do share one commonality: their combined efforts to see the Japanese
Cultural Center of Hawai‘i continue to grow and mature as an institution that
preserves and educates about the Japanese American experience in Hawai’i—the
only place in the world with broad, relevant expertise on this unique issue.
Lenny
Yajima Andrew President/Executive
Director
Appointed
the helm of the JCCH in 2007, Lenny Yajima Andrew has her sights on broadening
the scope of our partnerships with other community organizations, increasing
membership and programming on the neighbor islands and creating a
self-sustaining center.
Prior to joining the JCCH, Andrew worked in the pharmaceutical
industry in Honolulu as an executive neurology specialist.
Andrew, a former Cherry Blossom Festival Queen and past CBF
planning chair, is a graduate of Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in
economics and Japanese studies.
Allicyn
Hikida Tasaka Chief
Operating Officer
As the JCCH continues to grow both internally and
externally, Allicyn Hikida Tasaka helps to manage the Center’s overall
operations and administration. She represents the Center as a member of the Old
Town Moiliili Business Association and Marukai Consumer Advisory Board.
The former executive director of Hawai‘i Meals on Wheels and
the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women came to the JCCH in 2005.
Tasaka is a graduate of the University of Washington with a
BA degree in Communications. She has
over 20 years of experience in media, public relations and governmental
affairs. In 2001, she
received a Community Service Award from the Hawai‘i Women Lawyers and the
“Woman of the Year” award from the Hawai‘i State Federation of the Business and
Professional Women in 2000.
Shayna
Coleon Membership/Public
Relations Director
Ensuring
that the public is continuously aware of the JCCH and its activities as well as
maintaining an informed and satisfied membership base are top priorities for
Shayna Coleon.
A
former staff writer for The Honolulu
Advertiser and The Hawai‘i Herald,
Coleon manages the JCCH’s relations with the media and public, oversees the
organization’s membership of more than 5,000 individuals and coordinates ongoing
efforts to sustain and fortify the growing membership base.
Joining
the JCCH staff in 2003, Coleon, a graduate of the University of San Francisco, is
editor of the Legacies newsletter and
is responsible for all the written content and images intended for the public
and media.
Lei Fujimura Administrative
Assistant
Leianne Fujimura helps with any administrative and board
needs, manages accounts payable, invoicing and prepares the payroll.
Holding former secretarial positions at Dick Pacific, Luana
Hills Country Club and Pacific Guardian Life, Fujimura joined the JCCH staff in
2005.
Fujimura, a graduate of Brigham Young University, majored in
Japanese and minored in secretarial science tracks the various departments’
expenditures and incoming revenue.
Derrick S. Iwata Volunteer Director and Education Programs Assistant
As a non-profit organization, the JCCH utilizes volunteers in
every facet of its operations. Derrick S. Iwata manages the organization’s more
than 200 volunteers.
Iwata, who started off as a JCCH volunteer in 2000, was hired
part-time in 2001 and promoted as a full-time employee in 2004. Iwata also
serves as the JCCH Education Assistant.
Iwata is a graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa College
of Education.
Michelle Miyashiro Office Assistant
Ensuring that JCCH correspondents are mailed out in a timely
manner, logging the incoming monetary and in-kind donations and organizing the
Center’s membership database are just some of Michelle Miyashiro’s daily tasks.
Coming aboard the staff in 2005, it is thanks to Miyashiro’s
efficient assistance to the membership department that the JCCH is able to service
its growing membership and continue in its efforts to increase these numbers.
Miyashiro is a graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa who majored in Japanese.
Brian Niiya Resource Center
Director
Though joining the JCCH as the first-ever Resource Center
director in 2006 came with its challenges, Brian Niiya has enjoyed the varied
tasks and projects the job entails.
A former staff member at the Japanese American National
Museum in Los Angeles and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center, Niiya was
selected to manage the JCCH department that houses more than 8,000 books in
English and Japanese, photos, archival collections of manuscripts, audiovisual
materials and rare diaries and journals of Hawai‘i Issei.
A writer, public historian, curator and editor of numerous
publications on the Japanese American experience, including the award-winning
Encyclopedia of Japanese American History: An A-to-Z Reference from 1868 to the
Present, Niiya also leads the research and creation of the JCCH historical
exhibitions. He also staffs the Hawai‘i Confinement Sites Committee. Gerard
K.Orbello Programs
Director
Organizing the logistics and coordinating all of the
JCCH’s various programs, festivals and events is Gerard Orbello’s task at hand.
Orbello, who joined the JCCH in December 2007,
managed the event planning efforts at the ‘Ilima Hotel as its conference center
director, served as the concierge department supervisor at the Coldwell Banker
Pacific Properties. In addition, Orbello was the student services coordinator
at Hawaii Business College.
Orbello received his bachelor’s degree in business
administration from Chaminade University and is scheduled to complete an
accelerated master’s program at Chaminade University in June.
Christy Mari Takamune Gallery Director
With a keen eye for visual flair and artistic appreciation,
Christy Mari Takamune is the gallery mastermind who builds, formulates and
stylizes every exhibition at the JCCH.
Takamune has a bachelor’s in fine arts from the University
of Hawai‘i at Manoa, an associates in science in fashion technology from the
Honolulu Community College and retail experience as a fine jewelry merchandiser
and manager.
Barbara Ishida Gift Shop Manager
A long-time facet at the JCCH, Barbara Ishida was invited in
1995 to volunteer her time to manage the Gift Shop—a 500 square-foot area
connected to the JCCH Community Gallery—and has supervised it ever since.
Twelve years later, and with the help from a group of her
good friends who volunteered alongside the Nisei Mānoa resident, Ishida has
fashioned the Gift Shop into an array of nostalgic Japanese ceramic wares,
books and antique doll sets.
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