Ms. Audrey Yamamoto

Audrey Yamamoto currently serves as the President & CEO of the U.S.-Japan Council. Prior to joining the Council, Audrey served as the Chief Operating Officer of The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). Founded in response to the rise in anti-Asian hate and violence, TAAF is reversing the longstanding under-investment in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community by addressing the root causes of hate and discrimination.

She has more than 20 years of executive leadership experience in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors where she has consistently helped organizations maximize their impact while building a collaborative, team-oriented culture.

Prior to joining TAAF, Audrey served as the President and Executive Director of the Asian Pacific Fund, the only foundation dedicated to supporting the San Francisco Bay Area’s most vulnerable Asians and Pacific Islanders. Under her leadership, the Fund reached historic levels of fundraising and grantmaking while launching new programs that increased the Fund’s visibility. Previously, Audrey served as the Executive Director of the Children’s Creativity Museum in San Francisco, where she led the organization through a strategic rebranding initiative that yielded unprecedented growth.

Audrey graduated from the University of California San Diego with a degree in economics and has an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA with an emphasis in nonprofit management and entrepreneurship. She was selected to be part of the 2023 Japanese American Leadership Delegation, a program funded by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is an inductee of the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame, an alumnus of Leadership California, and recipient of the Asian Business League’s Leadership Award.

Audrey is a fourth-generation Japanese American who was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she lives with her family. Audrey and her husband both have played Japanese league basketball throughout their youth, and have enjoyed watching their two sons continue the tradition.