SJ JACL Youth in District and National Leadership

Ryan Idemoto

Ryan Idemoto is a first-year student at UC Berkeley double majoring in Political Science and Asian American & Asian Diaspora Studies. He currently serves as a Legal Affairs Intern and a State Government Relations Associate for the Associated Students of the University of California (ASUC). In his free time, Ryan enjoys running, hiking/backpacking, and playing intramural basketball for Berkeley’s Nikkei Student Union. Post-graduation, Ryan hopes to attend law school and continue his Asian American advocacy. On the NCWNP District Youth Board, he hopes to use his policy experience and civic leadership to advance legislative awareness and empower youth voices.

Alisa Sonehara

Alisa Sonehara is a senior at Palo Alto Middle College High School and a dual-enrolled student at Foothill College. She plans to pursue a degree in business and has reconnected her campus’ Japanese/Japanese American community as the current Foothill Japanese Cultural Club President—additionally overseeing the historic Foothill Japanese Cultural Center located in the campus’ bamboo garden. Originally from the Bay Area, Alisa is excited to become more involved in the local Japanese American community through the NCWNP District Youth Board. In her free time, she enjoys running, traveling, spending time with friends, and doing crafts. She is looking forward to meeting and working with others with similar goals!

Kiyone Tanaka-Gacayan

Kiyone Tanaka-Gacayan is a first-year Computer Science & Linguistics major, with a double major in Anthropology, at San Jose State University. She is a docent at the Japanese American Museum of San Jose and involves herself heavily with the South Bay Japanese American community. When she can, she enjoys to draw, write, read, hike, or research about different cultures and languages. In the future, Kiyone wants to preserve dying languages, to keep various cultures as alive as they can be, and advocate the civil rights of minorities to ensure equal protections for all. Through the NCWNP DYB, she hopes to educate people about the issues that Japanese Americans, and the broader Asian American community, face.