Arvada, Colorado, United States
Writer, journalist, public speaker and diversity and cultural communications consultant. I was inducted into the Denver Press Club Hall of Fame, and recipient of the Emperor of Japan's Order of the Rising Sun with Silver and Gold Rays Medal for building relationships between Japan and the U.S. I've been a writer and editor in journalism, from alternative weeklies and daily newspapers to magazines and since 1996, digital media. I was the Manager of Student Media at the University of Colorado from July 2010 to June 2020 as adviser to the award-winning student-run news website www.cuindependent.com, and was Associate Editor for the Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ). I was interim food editor for Westword, Denver's alt-weekly newspaper in 2025 (where I began my journalism career as music editor in the 1980s), and am a freelancer for Westword and other local and national print and online publications. I'm passionate about diversity, equity and inclusion issues. I've been an advisor and mentor for the Poynter-Koch Media & Journalism Fellowship in 2021-'22. I've been a consultant for the Colorado Media Project, and part of Colorado Media Collaborative. From 2014-2019, I was AARP's Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Marketing Communications Consultant, managing editorial content and social media outreach aimed at AAPI audiences. I also served as Engagement Manager for MIKADO International, a woman-founded, diverse agency that serves under-represented communities worldwide in 2018. I specialize in Social Media, editorial, photography and blogging (NikkeiView.com). I speak about and participate as a moderator or panelist about Asian American and Japanese American history and contemporary issues. I give presentations about the history of Asians and Japanese in America, the Japanese American WWII incarceration experience, and history of Japanese and Asian pop culture in mainstream media portrayals. I'm the author of "Being Japanese American" (Stone Bridge Press second edition, 2014) and "Tabemasho! Let's Eat! A History of Japanese Food in America" (Stone Bridge, 2023). I also co-authored "The Toy Book," a social history of baby boomer-era toys (Knopf, 1991).
Nikkei View started as my personal blog covering pop culture and politics from an Asian American perspective. It was originally a weekly column in Denver's Japanese community newspaper and evolved to a blog. Since 2015, Nikkei View LLC is also the corporate identity for my cultural communications consulting, copywriting, social media and speaking engagements. My clients include AARP, the Colorado Media Project and Go For Broke National Education Center in Los Angeles. I've served as adviser to organizations, local governments and companies. Notable accomplishments: Book about the history and culture of Japanese Americans, “Being Japanese American” (Stone Bridge Press, 2004, revised edition 2014), as well as speaking invitations on topics of Asian American and Japanese culture and identity. Have been interviewed as an expert by NPR’s “Pacific Time,” Colorado Public Radio, The Denver Post, Fort-Worth Star-Telegram, LA Times, and many other media.
Blue Ink Review posts professional reviews of self-published books, written by experienced critics and journalists. It was founded in part by the former books editor of the Rocky Mountain News, for whom I used to write when the newspaper was still around. I write reviews of a wide variety of genres in fiction and non-fiction books. (http://www.blueinkreview.com/)
Wrote "Being Japanese American," which was published by Stone Bridge Press in 2004. Revised edition published 2014. "Tabemasho! Let's Eat!," a history of Japanese food in America, was published in August 2022 by Stone Bridge Press.
Took on role of interim food editor while food editor was out on medical leave, battling breast cancer. The job required posting three articles per day related to Denver's food and hospitality scene, writing many stories and managing the assignments and editing the work of 15 freelancers. I stepped down upon her return, and am currently writing freelance arrticles for the section.