Staff
Carole Hayashino
President & Executive DirectorPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 23
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Carole Hayashino joined the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii as its president and executive director in 2012. She oversees all operations, programs and development of the Cultural Center. She is also on the board of the United Japanese Society of Hawaii and member of the Hiroshima and Fukuoka Kenjin kai. Prior to joining the JCCH team, Hayashino served as vice president for university advancement at California State University Sacramento where she oversaw the external relations of the university including The University Foundation at Sacramento State, alumni relations, university marketing, and publications. She was elected to two terms to the Board of Trustees of the College of Marin in 2004 and 2008 .
She has also served as associate director of the National Japanese American Citizens League headquartered in San Francisco and was involved in the national legislative effort for redress and reparations for Americans of Japanese ancestry incarcerated during World War II. She served on the advisory board to the California State Library Civil Liberties Public Education Program responsible for awarding grant funds to educational projects to preserve and teach the Japanese American experience.
Hayashino earned her undergraduate degree at San Francisco State University and graduate degree in educational administration at the University of San Francisco.
Caroline Okihara
Director of Finance & AdministrationPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 33
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Caroline Okihara joined the Cultural Center in April 2008 as its Director of Finance and Administration. Prior to working at the Cultural Center, Okihara was a senior staff accountant at KMH LLP, a CPA firm that provides accounting and consulting services to for- and non-profit organizations.
Okihara is fluent in Japanese, has more than 15 years experience in the Japanese travel industry and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business administration in business economics and statistics and a bachelor’s of arts in Japanese from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
Timothy Ho
Director of ProgramsPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 22
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Timothy Ho joined JCCH as Director of Programs in July of 2012. Ho is a member of the JCCH management team and primarily oversees the programs department including the center’s educational programs, public events, and Resource Center.
Ho brings a wealth of nonprofit experience to JCCH. He previously served as the Distinguished Giving Director for the American Cancer Society of Hawai‘i Pacific, Inc. working primarily on major gifts and corporate initiatives. Ho also previously was Executive Director of Institutional Advancement of Saint Louis School and has a strong background in education.
Ho earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of Notre Dame and is a graduate of Saint Louis School.
Denise Tagomori Park
Director of Communications & DevelopmentPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 27
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Denise Tagomori Park joined the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai’i in 2010. She oversees the communications and development department including the Cultural Center’s internal and external communications and membership program. She also assists the president & executive director on development.
Park previously worked at Pang Communications as a Senior Account Executive. Prior to that, she was an Account Executive at McNeil Wilson Communications. She was also a News Producer at KGMB9 News. Park is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a degree in Journalism.
Michelle Miyashiro
Executive AssistantPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 30
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Michelle Miyashiro came aboard the Cultural Center staff in 2005. Miyashiro is responsible for providing support to the president & executive director, managing all procedures and maintenance for the administrative office, as well as provide administrative support for all board activities and meetings.
Miyashiro is a graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa who majored in Japanese.
Leianne Fujimura
Administrative Assistant/Accounting ClerkPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 29
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Leianne Fujimura joined the Cultural Center staff in 2005 and manages accounts payable and prepares the staff payroll.
Fujimura previously held secretarial positions at Dick Pacific, Luana Hills Country Club and Pacific Guardian Life. Fujimura graduated from Brigham Young University – Hawai‘i with a major in Japanese and minor in secretarial science.
Janna Lau
Membership CoordinatorPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 47
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Janna Lau joined the Cultural Center in February 2012 as the Membership Coordinator. Lau handles all administrative duties for the membership program.
She is currently a senior at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa working towards a bachelor’s degree in Asian History. Lau brings with her a wealth of knowledge about the center as she worked as a volunteer in the Gallery and Gift Shop since 2010.
Derrick S. Iwata
Education SpecialistPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 25
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Derrick Iwata started as a volunteer at the Cultural Center in 2000, and was promoted to a full-time position four years later. As the organization’s Education Specialist, Iwata helps to educate people, especially teachers and students, interested in learning about the Japanese American experience in Hawai‘i and the Japanese culture.
A graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa college of education, Derrick is an avid bon dancer with a certificate in Japanese dance from Otaki Minbu Kai.
Marcia Kemble
Resource Center ManagerPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 34
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Marcia Kemble joined the JCCH ‘ohana as the new Resource Center Manager in September 2012 and coordinates all daily operations of the JCCH Resource Center.
Prior to joining the team, Kemble held the position of Office Manager of Barbara Pope Book Design and previously served as Library Director at Mid-Pacific Institute, where she oversaw all library operations. She also has a background in elementary education.
Kemble received her Master of Library & Information Studies from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, a Masters of Education in Elementary Education from Lesley College, and a Bachelor of Arts with a distinction in Asian Studies from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She is a graduate of Punahou School.
Emily Zia
Project CoordinatorPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 40
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Emily Zia joined the staff August 2012 as Project Coordinator. Zia coordinates and assists the Resource Center staff in implementing a grant-funded program that will bring high schools to the Honouliuli confinement site to learn more about internment of Japanese Americans in Hawai‘i.
Zia previously worked as a special education teacher at Nanakuli High & Intermediate and as a 2010 corps member with Teach For America. Prior to that, she worked as a communications intern for the American Civil Liberties Union Legislative office.
She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in both American Studies and English from Wellesley College and her Post-Baccalaureate Certification in Special Education from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Zia was awarded the 2010 Ethel L. Hersey Prize in American Studies, 2010 Multicultural Achievement Award, and 2010 Social Justice Award.
Audrey Kaneko
Public Programs CoordinatorPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 28
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Audrey Kaneko is responsible for planning the majority of the public programs for the Cultural Center throughout the year.
She collaborated on the exhibition: Celebrate!: The Evolution of Japanese Celebration in Hawai‘i.
Prior to joining the Cultural Center in 2010 Kaneko worked in Los Angeles for 10 years at the Japanese American National Museum as a project manager and most recently coordinated the exhibition Textured Lives: Japanese Immigrant Clothing from the Plantations of Hawai`i and is the producer for the documentary, Barbara Kawakami: A Textured Life, which made its Hawai`i premiere at the 2010 Hawaii International Film Festival.
She is a graduate of the University of Hawai`i at Manoa with a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies.
Christy Mari Takamune
Gallery/Gift Shop ManagerPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 39
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Christy Mari Takamune is the gallery mastermind who builds, formulates and stylizes the exhibits at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai‘i. Takamune ensures that the Community Gallery features at least four new exhibitions every year since coming to the organization in 2004.
Takamune has a bachelor’s in fine arts from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, an associates in science in fashion technology from the Honolulu Community College and brings with her years of retail experience as a fine jewelry merchandiser and manager.
Jennifer Callejo
Gift Shop AssistantPhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 32
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Jennifer Callejo joined the JCCH staff in August 2012 as the Gift Shop Assistant and assists with daily operations of the JCCH gallery and gift shop.
Callejo previously worked at Bishop Museum as a collections technician where she assisted the museum staff with the handling and database management of cultural artifacts and scientific specimens. She also has more than ten years retail customer experience at companies including Honolulu Chocolate Company, Vagabond House, and Seeds ‘n Things.
She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
Jane Kurahara
Staff AssociatePhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 42
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Jane Kurahara is a retired school librarian and dedicates much of her free time in the Resource Center. She was the co-manager of the Resource Center as a volunteer from 2001 to 2006.
Kurahara has co-chaired the Hawaii Confinement Sites Committee since it inception in 2005. She has taken the lead on the planning, coordination, and discourse on outreach presentations, archaeological surveys, spearheaded acquisition of key archival collection manuscripts and photographs relating to internment, was key in creating the original and traveling Dark Clouds Over Paradise exhibits, and the development of the Hawaii internment curriculum of materials being taught in schools today.
Betsy Young
Staff AssociatePhone: (808) 945-7633 Ext. 42
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Betsy Young is an award-winning public school teacher, social studies curriculum specialist and school librarian, who has kept education as her main focus by helping to develop curriculum on Japanese American internment in Hawaii being taught in our schools today.
She has conducted countless outreach presentations to community groups and schools, and chaired and coordinated the successful Day of Remembrance on February 21, 2010 which highlighted the Honouliuli internment camp. She also co-managed the Resource Center as a volunteer from 2001-2006.
