2020 Public Symposium: Closing Session Recap
November 19, 7:45 – 8:30 pm ET: Closing Session featuring Emerging Leaders Program alumni
panelSpeakers:-Special Remarks: Colbert Matsumoto, Chairman, Island Insurance Company, Ltd.

-Danielle Higa, Fund Development Manager, Densho-Steve Sakanashi, Director of Marketing & Global Strategy, Matchbox Technologies-Kira Teshima, Associate, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP-Closing Remarks: Suzanne Basalla, President & CEO, U.S.-Japan Council

Description: Closing out the USJC Public Symposium, we look to our young leaders for amessage of hope and call-to-action around building strong and resilient communities. Threeaccomplished alumni of the USJC Emerging Leaders Program will share their inspiring stories
of family legacies, personal growth, and investing in the next generation of leaders.
Summary: On November 19, the U.S.-Japan Council closed out the 2020 Public Symposiumwith a 45-minute session looking ahead to the continued development of U.S.-Japan relations
through interpersonal connections on an individual, societal, and international basis. Following
special remarks from Colbert Matsumoto (Chairman, Island Insurance Company, Ltd.), alumni
members Danielle Higa (Fund Development Manager, Densho), Steve Sakanashi (Director ofMarketing & Global Strategy, Matchbox Technologies), and Kira Teshima (Associate, Sheppard
Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP) of the USJC Emerging Leaders Program shared their stories
about personal growth, their Japanese American identity, and the importance of organizations
like USJC in forging the next generation of Japanese American leaders. Lastly, Suzanne Basalla(President & CEO, U.S.-Japan Council) concluded the Public Symposium by thanking thegenerous supporters, moderators, panelists, and staff that helped make the 2020 Public
Symposium possible.
A key theme throughout the Public Symposium was the importance of a close-knit community
in facilitating cooperation and comradery. Kira Teshima detailed how her first involvementwith community was through getting to know 2011 ELP Participant Dana Heatherton and herwork at the Japanese American National Museum, an experience that helped instill a passion inMs. Teshima to continue community building. Ms. Teshima currently serves on the Board ofDirectors of the Little Tokyo Service Center and is the President-Elect of the Japanese American
Bar Association (JABA). Through her nonprofit work to improve the lives of underservedfamilies in the Los Angeles community, Ms. Teshima described renewed feelings ofempowerment and hope, even during these difficult times.

Danielle Higa, a Yonsei Japanese American from Seattle, also spoke to the power of community
through her close ties with her family members. From a young age, Ms. Higa was heavily
involved in the Nisei Veterans Community and learned about the horrors of the JapaneseAmerican internment camps firsthand through talks by the NVC and through chats with her
grandparents. These experiences inspired her to give back to her local community and stayconnected to her Japanese American identity. Ms. Higa currently serves as the Fund
Development Manager at Densho, a Seattle-based community history organization that aims toincrease awareness of Japanese Americans who were incarcerated during World War II. In
addition, Ms. Higa is the First Vice President of the Nisei Veterans Committee. Ms. Higa sees
her work now as an opportune way to not only stay connected to the past but to also uplift andempower young leaders for the future.
Lastly, Steve Sakanashi spoke about his journey to rediscover his Japanese roots. Mr. Sakanashi
moved to Japan in 2014 after growing up in Los Angeles to better understand and connect with
his Japanese heritage. After his father’s passing when he was 18 years old, Mr. Sakanashi
always harbored hopes of getting to know and support his father’s homeland, and in 2012 hestarted Sekai Creator, a start-up incubator for Japanese university students. In 2016, Mr.
Sakanashi was invited to join the USJC TOMODACHI Initiative’s annual Silicon Valley Trip toserve as a leader and mentor for Japanese entrepreneurs, and the following year, Mr. Sakanashi
joined the APT Women Startup Accelerator to help female entrepreneurs in Tokyo reach awider audience. Mr. Sakanashi, who has a son and daughter, also describes his hopes for a more
inclusive and accommodating Japanese society unfettered by social constructs and traditional
expectations. “In truth, that future feels farther away than I would like to admit,” Mr. Sakanashi
said. “But when I think about my Japanese peers, my TOMODACHI alumni, and my own
children and their friends, I’m confident that we can create, and will create, a better Japan.”