FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The U.S.-Japan Council Welcomes New Board Members for 2021
WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S.-Japan Council (USJC) is pleased to welcome new leadership to the Board of Directors, including Paul Yonamine as Board Chair and Curtiss Takada Rooks, Andrew Ogawa and Ann Teranishi as Board members. These positions are effective January 1, 2021.
Mr. Paul Yonamine, who is based in Honolulu and is Chairman and CEO of Central Pacific Financial Corp. and Executive Chairman of Central Pacific Bank, previously served as the Chair of the USJC Board of Councilors. He also serves on the board of directors of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation of Japan Initiative. He succeeds Ms. Phyllis Campbell, Chair at Pacific Northwest Region, JPMorgan Chase & Co., who completed her term at the end of 2020 but will remain on the board through the end of 2021.
Other incoming board members represent diverse backgrounds and fields of expertise. Dr. Curtiss Takada Rooks is the Associate Dean and an Assistant Professor of Asian Pacific American Studies at Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at Loyola Marymount University, who specializes in Asian American multiracial identity and diversity. Dr. Rooks also participated in USJC’s Japanese American Leadership Delegation (JALD) in 2004. Mr. Andrew Ogawa, who was a featured speaker last summer in a USJC virtual event exploring diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace, is the Managing Partner and founder of early stage venture capital firm Quest Venture Partners. Ms. Ann Teranishi, who has previously demonstrated leadership as Hawaii Regional Chair of USJC, is the Executive Vice President, Operations at American Savings Bank.
USJC also thanks Ms. Donna Fujimoto Cole, who has just completed her Board term at the end of 2020. Ms. Cole is the CEO and President of Cole Chemical and Distributing, Inc., that is based in Texas. She is a 2006 alumna of JALD and was also a participant of USJC’s Regional Women in Leadership program in 2015.
A full list of the USJC Board of Directors, along with their biographies, can be found here.
About the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC)
The U.S.-Japan Council develops and connects global leaders to create a stronger U.S.-Japan relationship. It is an organization whose members believe people-to-people relationships are a powerful way to bring together leaders in the U.S. and Japan to address and create solutions to mutual concerns. The Council is a 501(c) 3 nonprofit educational organization that was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Washington, DC with staff in California, Hawaii and Tokyo. In 2012, the U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) was created and in 2013, it became a Public Interest Corporation (koeki zaidan hojin). The U.S.-Japan Council (Japan) maintains an office in Tokyo, Japan.
Washington, DC Headquarters
Contact: Alison Aadland
Public Relations Manager
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202-223-6843