ABOUTJWLI

Before joining JWLI, Noriko served as Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi's oldest and largest women's organization. Drawing on more than a decade of nonprofit leadership experience, she is leading JWLI's next phase of growth, strengthening women leaders, the organizations they lead, and the ecosystems that support lasting social change.

Kozue Sawame has 20+ years of experience in gender issues and women’s leadership with focuses on philanthropy, nonprofits, and women’s entrepreneurship in the U.S. and Japan. Currently, Kozue is the President of JWLI at the Fish Family Foundation. Kozue is a member of the Asia Gender Network of AVPN (Asia Venture Philanthropy Network). Particularly, she is active in its Gender Lens Giving Principles, and has spoken about it globally in Abu Dhabi, Boston, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei and Tokyo. She has served on AVPN’s grant review committees for the Asia Gender Equality Fund (USD$25 million) and the Asian Youth Mental Wellbeing Fund (USD$3 million). Previously, Kozue led fundraising at ATASK (Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence), a Boston-based nonprofit serving domestic violence survivors for several years. Kozue is a USJLP fellow hosted by the U.S.-Japan Foundation, and a leadership program graduate of Babson College and the East-West Center. Kozue received her master’s degree from Georgetown University and undergraduate from Hosei University. She was born and raised in Hokkaido and currently lives in Boston.

Yuki Kusano, as an activist of women’s human rights, has been a speaker at the UN Commission on the Status of Women and other conferences in and outside Japan. Previously, she was a coordinator of the All Japan Women's Shelter Network, a nonprofit organization and managed a 24/7 telephone counseling service. Yuki studied at the Graduate School in Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo; and earned her bachelor of the arts degree in gender and sexuality studies from the College of Liberal Arts, International Christian University, Tokyo, which included a year at the Women’s Studies Department, University of California, Irvine. Most recently, she earned an MBA in Design and Leadership for Societal Innovation from Shizenkan University, Tokyo.

Ayaka Ueike is an experienced professional in the field of leadership development for youth and women. Dedicated to strengthening U.S.-Japan relations, she serves as the Boston-based Program Manager at the Fish Family Foundation, where she runs U.S.-based programs. Previously, as a Program Coordinator at GPI US, Ayaka led global education programs for Japanese youth, focusing on leadership, women's empowerment, and STEM. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she played a key role in the Asian American Student Success Program, mentoring students from diverse backgrounds. Originally from Oita, Japan, Ayaka now resides in Boston.