IRENE HIRANO INOUYE, President

Ms. Hirano Inouye is President of the U.S.-Japan Council. Through her work at the Council, she also administers the TOMODACHI Initiative, a public-private partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo that invests in young Japanese and Americans while supporting the recovery of the Tohoku region. She is the former President and founding CEO of the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, a position she held for twenty years. A recipient of bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Public Administration from the University of Southern California, Ms. Hirano Inouye has extensive experience in non-profit administration, community education and public affairs with culturally diverse communities nationwide. Ms. Hirano Inouye's professional and community activities include serving as Chair and Trustee, Ford Foundation; Trustee and immediate past Chair, Kresge Foundation; Trustee, Washington Center; and Trustee, Independent Sector. She was married to the late U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii.

SUZANNE BASALLA, Executive Vice President, DC Office

Suzanne Basalla serves as Executive Vice President of the U.S.-Japan Council. From March 2010-September 2012, Suzanne served as Senior Advisor to Ambassador Roos in U.S. Embassy Tokyo. In that capacity, she supported the Ambassador on the full portfolio of security, economic, political and cultural issues in the U.S.-Japan relationship. She has been involved in the creation and development of the TOMODACHI Initiative, a public-private partnership established in cooperation with the U.S.-Japan Council. Previous to her Embassy assignment, she was Director for Japan in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washington, DC (2006-2010). Suzanne had served as a Country Director for Japan in the Pentagon from 2004 until promotion to Director for Japan. Prior to joining the Office of the Secretary of Defense, she served as an officer in the United States Navy. In the Navy, her assignments included service on the staff of Commander, Seventh Fleet on board the USS BLUE RIDGE based in Yokosuka, Japan. Suzanne received a master's degree in Asian Studies from the George Washington University and graduated from the Naval War College. In 2008, she received the inaugural Ryozo Kato Award for service to the U.S.-Japan Alliance.

KAZ MANIWA, Senior Vice President, San Francisco

Mr. Maniwa became Senior Vice President of the U.S.-Japan Council in March 2012 after serving on the Council’s Board of Directors since the organization’s inception in 2009. He was previously an attorney-at-law with a private practice that has been serving the San Francisco Bay area for over thirty years. Mr. Maniwa plays an active role in Japanese American and Asian Pacific American community affairs, currently serving as Chairman of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, Chairman of the California Japanese American Community Leadership Council, and Chairman of Nihonmachi Parking Corporation. In addition to his contributions to many organizations, Mr. Maniwa serves as a Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) interviewer and co-chaired the July 2009 Japanese American Leadership Delegation Summit in San Francisco. He holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

LAURA WINTHROP ABBOT, Executive Director, TOMODACHI Initiative

Laura Winthrop Abbot is the Executive Director of the TOMODACHI Initiative, a public-private partnership led by the United States Government and the U.S.-Japan Council, and supported by the Japanese Government, corporations, organizations and individuals from the United States and Japan. Ms. Winthrop Abbot is based at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, and works closely with Ambassador John V. Roos and the U.S. Embassy TOMODACHI Team. Ms. Winthrop Abbot joined the U.S.-Japan Council in December 2011, following eight months as a Council on Foreign Relations-Hitachi Fellow at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. From 2009-2011, she was a Professional Staff Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, working on issues related to international development and foreign assistance. Prior to that, Ms. Winthrop Abbot spent five years at the international business risk consultancy, Control Risks, where, as Vice President based in London and New York, she managed political risk and crisis management projects in dozens of countries across five continents. From 2000-2002, Ms. Winthrop Abbot was Special Assistant to the President of the Council on Foreign Relations. She holds an M.Phil in International Relations from Cambridge University and a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard University. She also serves on the Board of All Hands Volunteers, the disaster relief NGO she volunteered with following the tsunami in Japan in March 2011.

HIROYO NONOYAMA, U.S. and Japan Program Director, Los Angeles Office

Ms. Nonoyama is the Director of U.S. and Japan Programs and supports USJC educational programs including TOMODACHI, meetings and conferences in Japan and priority programs in the U.S. including the Annual Conference and the business networking and legislative networking initiatives. She also works with members of the USJC (Japan) Board of Councilors. Ms. Nonoyama assists with communications, development and implementation of activities and provides assistance in maintaining on-going communication with Japan-based, Japanese-speaking members of USJC leadership, business executives and Japanese governmental leaders. Prior to joining USJC, Ms. Nonoyama worked at three global law firms, Baker & McKenzie, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Reed Smith, promoting legal services to Japanese corporations as a marketing manager and assisting them as a bilingual client-attorney liaison and paralegal. After graduating from the University of Illinois with an M.A. in Asian Studies, Ms. Nonoyama taught Japanese language and literature to university and high school students. She holds a B.A. in English from Kansai Gaidai University.

SAKI TAKASU, Development Director, DC Office

Saki Takasu is responsible for fundraising and development efforts at the Council, engaging with the Board of Directors and with the members. Prior to joining the Council in July 2009, for four years, she worked in global strategic marketing analysis and communications for MWV (MeadWestvaco), a Fortune 500 consumer packaging company. While at MWV, she was selected to participate in a two-year management training program, with rotations in Europe and the United States. She was a corporate communications associate for Emerson Electric in Hong Kong for two years. A native Japanese speaker, she also worked as a translator for Nihachi in San Francisco. She has a B.A. in International Development Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

LER LEE TAN, Finance and Administrative Director, DC Office

Ms. Ler Lee Tan is the Finance and Administrative Manager, working out of the Washington, DC office. She is responsible for all areas of accounting for financial reporting as well as budgeting for the U.S.-Japan Council. Ms. Tan has more than 20 years of accounting and finance experience in various industries. Before joining the U.S.-Japan Council, Ms. Tan was with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as a Financial Reporting Manager. She was also a certified senior financial consultant for a major software company called PeopleSoft. Additionally, Ms. Tan has experience in non-profit accounting, public accounting and served as an assistant controller for various private companies earlier in her career. Ms. Tan holds a B.S. in accounting from South East Missouri State University.

ALLISON MURATA, Program and Membership Specialist, LA Office

Allison Murata manages Council membership and supports administrative and programmatic operations for the Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. During her undergraduate studies, Ms. Murata spent a year at Waseda University in Tokyo, and she returned to Japan to teach English for a year after graduation. She has worked as an intern for the Hawaii Herald, Legislative Aide for Hawaii State Representative Barbara Marumoto, and project intern for MAVIN Foundation’s Community Mixed Race Action Plan. Ms. Murata served as Volunteer Coordinator at the Japan-America Society of Hawaii, and prior to joining USJC managed Internal Medicine clerkships for Harvard medical students at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from Occidental College.

TIM WHITE, Programs and Communications Coordinator, DC Office

Tim White is the Council’s Programs and Communications Coordinator, assisting staff in these two departments. Mr. White acts in support of the Communications Manager by creating and editing content for Council documents, social media and the web. He also works on Council programming, providing technical and logistical assistance. Since joining the Council as a volunteer in early 2011, he has contributed to various Council efforts, including the post-3/11 stories blog, TOMODACHI Initiative, and 2011 Annual Conference. Mr. White has studied at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Sophia University in Tokyo and holds a B.A. in Global Studies from Loyola University Maryland.

YURI MARUYAMA, Administrative Assistant, DC Office

Yuri Maruyama is the Administrative Assistant for the Washington, DC office. Starting as an intern in 2012, Ms. Maruyama’s duties include liaising with the Board of Directors, handling schedules and assisting with Finances and Human Resources. Prior to taking this role with the Council, she interned at the Colby College Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution’s Freer-Sackler Galleries of Art and Sotheby’s. Ms. Maruyama graduated Cum Laude from Colby College in Waterville, Maine, where she studied Art History and Business. She is a first-generation Japanese American, born in Tokyo and raised in Southern California.