JACL Concludes Virtual Elections in Place of National Convention
This past weekend, the JACL concluded two weeks of virtual proceedings in place of an in-person National Convention to elect a new National Board for the next biennium. In addition, 2 individuals were awarded the Japanese American of the Biennium Award and a chapter was given the George J. Inagaki Chapter Citizenship Award. While the onset of a pandemic has forced all of us to change the ways in which we work, we are glad to see many officers returning and hope to recognize awardees at our 2021 convention.
We are happy to announce that the following candidates have been elected or re-elected to the JACL National Board for the next biennium:
Jeffrey Moy as National President
Sarah Baker as VP of Public Affairs
Marissa Kitazawa as VP of General Operations
Mieko Kuramoto as NY/SC Representative
Justin Kawaguchi as NY/SC Council Chair
The remaining board positions will be appointed by President Jeffrey Moy over the next several months.
Along with the National Board Elections, we are happy to announce the following awardees:
For Japanese American of the Biennium in the areas of arts, literature, and communication: Lori Matsukawa was nominated by the Seattle Chapter and awarded for her many years of work in the communications field in the Pacific Northwest, including working on a documentary series on Japanese American incarceration.
For Japanese American of the Biennium in the areas of politics, public affairs, and law: Lisa Bartlett Sato was nominated by the Pacific Southwest District and awarded for her years of public service, serving Orange County for over a decade. Currently, she serves on the Orange County Board of Supervisors while also holding a seat in multiple other state and county boards.
For the George J. Inagaki Chapter Citizenship Award: The Seattle Chapter was awarded for their tireless work over the last biennium. Particularly in the fields of youth leadership development, API LGBTQ conversations, Mixed Race workshops, JA Legacy Programs, outreach to other POC communities, scholarships, and much more.
We will be formally awarding the awardees at the 2021 National convention. On behalf of the JACL National Staff, we want to congratulate the incoming National Board and Awardees for all their work and contributions to the JA community.
