Officers
Officers are elected for a one-year term at the Society’s Annual Meeting in April
Chair: Toshihiro Kawachi, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)
Chair-Elect: Ellen Eskenazi, UW – Japan Studies
Treasurer: William Glassford
Secretary: Jane Corddry Langill, Teatro ZinZanni
Honorary Vice Chair
Governor of the State of Washington: The Honorable Jay Inslee
Board Member
Consul General of Japan at Seattle: The Honorable Hisao Inagaki**
Elected Directors
Directors are elected for three-year terms at the Society’s Annual Meeting in April
Directors to 2021
- Makiko Coffland, Christensen O’Connor Johnson Kindness
- Barbara Mizoguchi
- Kazuhiro Hoshi, Ito En/Distant Lands Coffee
- Masami Katayama, Starbucks
- Mitch Kato, Jamco America
- Jane Corddry Langill, Teatro ZinZanni
- Todd Mason, Weyerhaeuser
- Moriyuki Onishi, Toray Composite Materials America
- Akemi Sagawa
- Yuka Shimizu, Bellevue Children’s Academy
- Toshikazu Shinohara, Nichirei U.S.A.
- Asami Tsuruta, Japan Business Association of Seattle
- Akinori Yokosawa, Delta Air Lines
Directors to 2022
- Sarah Okawa Ellerbrock, Amazon Web Services
- Shoko Farmer, Russell Investments
- Mark Harman, Costco Wholesale
- Michelle Kato, PNWJETAA
- Hideaki Katsube, Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.
- Dr. Ryo Kubota, Kubota Pharmaceuticals
- Taylor Mills, Boeing
- Susan Okamoto, Susan K. Okamoto Interiors
- Rich Rawson, Davis Wright Tremaine
- Takeo Sato, Nichirei USA LLC
- Naoko Inoue Shatz, Shatz Law Group
- Kenji Ushimaru, JETRO/Infra Innovations, Inc.
- Satoko Valdes, Moss Adams, LLC
- Gary Weiss, ANA
- Kosei Yamada, Japan Airlines
Directors to 2023
- Keiko Arakane, Union Bank
- Namiko Bagirimvano
- Lee Chung, JP Morgan
- Christopher Cummins, OIA Global
- Ellen Eskenazi, UW Japan Studies
- Cheryl Hou, Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association
- Toshihiro Kawachi, Mitsubishi Corp. (Americas)
- Kanako Matsumoto
- Ambassador Michael Michalak, Individual Member
- Yoshi Minegishi, Individual Member
- Bob Nakahara
- Kay Packard, BDO
- James G.W. Reed, Swan Venture Group
- Cliff Rudolph, Parker Smith & Feek
- James Shaw
- Matt Smith, Individual Member
- Hideo Suganuma, Kohtoku Enterprise
- Carl Wollebek, Port of Everett
- Naoki Yamamoto, Sojitz
Former Board Chairs/Past Presidents***
- Karin Zaugg Black, Port of Seattle
- Mary Bernson, East Asia Resource Center, UW
- Mark Calhoon, Washington State Department of Commerce
- Mic Dinsmore, Individual Member
- James K. Doane, Individual Member
- Dick Dudley, Weyerhaeuser Company
- Jim Fitzgerald, Individual Member
- William Glassford, Individual member
- Adam Goff, Russell Investments
- Chris Helm, Davis Wright Tremaine
- Hiroko Huntoon, Costco Wholesale
- Shinichiro Kawazoe, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)
- Megumi Kobayashi, Individual Member
- James R. Ladd, Individual Member
- Don Lorentz, Individual member
- Tomio Moriguchi, Uwajimaya
- Dennis Okamoto, Individual member
- Doug Palmer, Hillis Clark Martin & Peterson, P.S.
- Andy Read, Deloitte & Touche LLP
- Paul Rollins, Individual member
- Linda Salomon, Gobo Enterprises
- Sara Sandford, Garvey Schubert Barer
- Tom Sasaki, ECORE Global
- Samuel Shepherd, Individual member
- Roger Williams, Individual member
- Dennis Yamashita, Aon Corporation
- Tay Yoshitani, Port of Seattle
** The Consul General of Japan at Seattle is automatically conferred director status without election or respect to term limit.
*** Any past chair/past president who is still an active member of the Society is automatically conferred director status without election or respect to term limit. Any remaining past chair/past president may be conferred to Advisory Board status.