Each year at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) the members of the VNCS elect an Executive Group from the general membership whose responsibility it is to execute the work of the society throughout the year. The positions are all volunteer. Below is a list of the current and past Executive Officers and Directors.
Current Executive Officers |
Tsugio Kurushima – President
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Debbie Ibaraki – Vice President |
Ken Watai – Treasurer
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SecretaryVacant |
Mike Abe – Past President
Mike enjoys golf, shodo and sumi-e and holds a third degree black belt in Yoshinkan Aikido. He has been editor of the Victoria Nikkei Forum newsletter since 2001 and has served as VNCS president for seven years over the last ten years. |
Current Directors |
Natsuki Abe
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Maureen Bird
Growing up as a teenager in Montreal, she found it hard to embrace her Japanese background. She was only one of two girls of east Asian descent in a graduating class of 400 and it was hard not to be seen as “different”. Since moving west, she has come to value her heritage and her family’s history here on the coast. Her involvement with the VNCS has been part of her learning and appreciation of Japanese Canadian history & Japanese culture. Maureen has been a VNCS member for many years and became a member of the VNCS Board of Directors in 2021. She has been part of the Japanese Cultural Fair’s organizing committee for over 10 years, running the Children’s area for three years, then assuming the role of Volunteer Coordinator in 2014. She is currently part of the VNCS Newsletter’s editorial team. |
Yuuri Daiku
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Karen Koyanagi Geiger
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Reyna Goshinmon
Reyna founded her own small, independent business in 2016 and has spent the last 20 years in retail, service and sales management. She brings her experience and skill sets to the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society Board of Directors and trusts that they can be applied within the organization, to help support and promote the nikkei community. Reyna looks forward to representing the Okinawan and Japanese Canadian community, contributing to the organization and connecting with people. |
Amy Kawano
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Yukari Peerless – Communications Director
One of Yukari’s first jobs in Canada was working for the Canadian College of Film and Acting. Her interest in the theatre arts was fuelled by watching student films and participating in acting workshops. She serves as the director of communication at Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society. She also serves as a board member at Canadian College of Performing Arts where she is an active member of Cultural Safety Working Group. She is also a part of the Arts, Culture, and Education committee at National Association of Japanese Canadians. As the owner of Lucid Communication, she provides a variety of services such as interpretation and cultural consulting to Japanese and Canadian clients, including the local government and the government of Japan. Past projects and clients include ANA, Dove, Post and Disney. As a host and producer of Living Brave Podcast, Yukari enjoys showcasing Japanese and Japanese-Canadian/Japanese-American artists. Additionally, she produces a Japanese podcast focused on various social issues. Yukari is also a digital content creator and can be found across social media. |
Joyce Tobo
Joyce’s reason for wishing to be on the VNCS Board is to engage in activities that celebrate her Japanese culture. She has received many gifts from VNCS programs and would like to contribute so that others can have the rich programming that has been offered to her. |
Kimiko West
Her grandfather, Kiyoshi Fukui, was eighteen years old during World War II and he and his family were a few of the 22,000 Canadians of Japanese descent who were removed and displaced during World War II and beyond. As his only grandchild, Kimiko honoured his legacy by capturing his memoirs and legacy before his passing in 2019. Her grandmother’s Taneda family has lived and cultivated orchards in the Kelowna area for five generations. Growing up in the small town in 100 Mile House BC, and as a result of the aftershock of her grandfather’s experience of the Japanese Internment, Kimiko was never given any exposure to Japanese culture or traditions as a child. For both her inner child and for her one-year-old daughter, Nozomi, she would like to reconnect with her Japanese roots, community, culture, and wisdom. She is grateful to be joining the VNCS board and excited to learn and participate in this community. |
Past VNCS Board of Directors
2022 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Tsugio Kurushima
Vice President: Debbie Ibaraki
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Vacant
Natuski Abe (Heritage Committee)
Maureen Bird
Yuuri Daiku
Karen Koyanagi Geiger
Reyna Goshinmon
Amy Kawano
Craig Mercer (Website Admin)
Yukari Peerless (Communications Director)
Christina Shore
2021 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Tsugio Kurushima
Vice President: Debbie Ibaraki
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Vacant
Natuski Abe (Heritage Committee)
Maureen Bird
Sandy Cohen
Mieko Fedrau (Cultural Outreach)
Lorin Goshinmon
Rieko Hatakeyama
Amy Kawano
Craig Mercer (Website Admin)
Yukari Peerless (Communications Director)
2020 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Tsugio Kurushima
Vice President: Debbie Ibaraki
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Vacant
Natuski Abe (Heritage Committee)
Mieko Fedrau (Cultural Outreach)
Lorin Goshinmon
Amy Kawano
Scott McDonald (Website Admin)
Craig Mercer (Scholarship Committee)
Yukari Peerless (Communications Director)
Bruce Yoshida
2019 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Tsugio Kurushima
Vice President: Debbie Ibaraki
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Vacant
Past President: Mike Abe (Victoria Nikkei Forum Newsletter)
Mieko Fedrau
Lorin Goshinmon
Amy Kawano
Scott McDonald
Craig Mercer
Yukari Peerless (Communications Director)
Bruce Yoshida
2018 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Tsugio Kurushima
Vice President: Debbie Ibaraki
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Vacant
Past President: Mike Abe (Victoria Nikkei Forum Newsletter)
Mieko Fedrau
Kyla Fitzgerald
Lorin Goshinmon
Hitomi Harama
Amy Kawano
Karen Kobayashi
Craig Mercer
Kana Mercer
Yukari Peerless (Communications Director)
2017 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Tsugio Kurushima
Vice President: Debbie Ibaraki
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Vacant
Past President: Mike Abe (Victoria Nikkei Forum Newsletter)
Mieko Fedrau
Kyla Fitzgerald (Ex-Officio)
Hitomi Harama
Amy Kawano
Karen Kobayashi
Tomoko Okada
Yukari Peerless (Communications Director)
Cristina Shore
2016 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Tsugio Kurushima
Vice President: Debbie Ibaraki
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Vacant
Past President: Mike Abe (Victoria Nikkei Forum Newsletter)
Mieko Fedrau
Kyla Fitzgerald (Ex-Officio)
Hitomi Harama
Amy Kawano
Karen Kobayashi
Tomoko Okada
Yukari Peerless
Cristina Shore
Jeff Tanaka
2015 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Mike Abe (Victoria Nikkei Forum Newsletter)
Vice President: Cristina Shore
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Toni Burton
Past President: Tsugio Kurushima
Patti Ayukawa
Kyla Fitzgerald (Ex-Officio)
Debbie Ibaraki
Amy Kawano
Karen Kobayashi
Craig Mercer (VNCS Website/Grant Applications)
Kana Mercer
Yukari Peerless
2014 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Mike Abe (Victoria Nikkei Forum Newsletter)
Vice President: Cristina Shore
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: vacant
Past President: Tsugio Kurushima
Kyla Fitzgerald (Ex-Officio)
Debbie Ibaraki
Amy Kawano
Yukari Peerless
2013 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Mike Abe (Victoria Nikkei Forum Newsletter)
Vice President: Cristina Shore
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Debbie Ibaraki
Past President: Tsugio Kurushima
James Harada-Down
Debbie Ibaraki
Amy Kawano
Craig Mercer (VNCS Website/Grant Applications)
Noreen Scarth
Henry Shimizu
2012 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Mike Abe (Victoria Nikkei Forum Newsletter)
Vice President: Cristina Shore
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Debbie Ibaraki
Past President: Tsugio Kurushima
James Harada-Down
Debbie Ibaraki
Amy Kawano
Craig Mercer (VNCS Website/Grant Applications)
Noreen Scarth
Henry Shimizu
2011 Executive Officers & Directors
President: Mike Abe (Victoria Nikkei Forum Newsletter)
Vice President: Cristina Shore
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Debbie Ibaraki
Past President: Tsugio Kurushima
James Harada-Down
Mami Harada-Down
Brian Harvey
Debbie Ibaraki
Amy Kawano
Craig Mercer (VNCS Website/Grant Applications)
Cody Poulton
Noreen Scarth
Henry Shimizu
2010 Executive Officers & Directorss
President: Tsugio Kurushima
Vice President: Cristina Shore
Treasurer: Ken Watai
Secretary: Susan Kurushima
Past President: Mike Abe
Mike Abe (Victoria Nikkei Forum Newsletter)
Kathy Harris
Debbie Ibaraki
Akira Iwase
Roy Katsuyama
Amy Kawano
Craig Mercer (VNCS Website/Grant Applications)
Henry Shimizu