Our Board & Staff
The Japanese Canadian Legacies Society JCLS board is accountable to the BC Government and the community in its oversight of the implementation of the BC Redress initiatives, which are in keeping with an approved set of Japanese Canadian Legacy Initiatives proposals. The new society was incorporated on June 29, 2022 following approval by the NAJC.
JCL Board Members
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Paul Kariya
President
Paul Kariya
President
Paul is a Senior Policy Advisor for Coastal First Nations and has 35 years of experience in leadership roles in the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors including societal reconciliation. He is Vice-President of the Nikkei Place Foundation & was the BC Redress Project Advisor.
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Brian Tsuji
Secretary
Brian Tsuji
Secretary
Fluent in both Japanese and English, Brian has over 30 years experience in immigration law, with a client list from more than 50 countries. He is currently at the Vancouver office at DLA Piper and is a director of the Nikkei Seniors Health Care & Housing Society and President of the Nikkei Place Foundation.
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Larry Okada
Treasurer
Larry Okada
Treasurer
Larry is a retired chartered accountant. A former principal of his firm, Staley Okada, he has worked for Price Waterhouse Coopers LLP and as CFO and Audit Chair for the mining sector and other public companies. He currently serves as the acting Chief Financial Officer of Africo Resources Ltd. and is the Treasurer on the Board of Tonari Gumi.
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Fred Yada
Director
Fred Yada
Director
Fred Yada is a retired partner in the CA firm DMCL, was the Treasurer and Director of the Japanese Canadian Redress Foundation for 10 years, and currently sits on the boards of the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation, the Nikkei Place Foundation, and the National Nikkei Museum & Cultural Centre. He is a past director of the Sarah McLachlan Foundation.
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Les Kojima
Director
JCL Staff
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Susanne Tabata
Chief Executive Officer
Susanne Tabata
Chief Executive Officer
Susanne is a community advocate & organizer, project manager, instructional designer, broadcast television writer, director, and producer, with 35 years industry experience in film & TV, and short form media, specializing in the documentary and strategic video communications. An adjunct college professor, Susanne led the NAJC BC Redress Project from 2020 – 2022, and is now serving to implement the set of multi-stakeholder complex projects developed under the six-fold framework: monument; education; heritage; community; seniors health & wellness; anti-racism. -
Larissa Higo
Senior Manager Community Fund
Larissa Higo
Senior Manager Community Fund
Larissa has spent the past three years serving as Program Manager at Vancouver Film School, and has also spent time working for the Canucks for Kids Fund 50/50 Program as a Program Coordinator, and assisting with the annual CFKF Telethon. A yonsei, Larissa is excited to join the JCLS team and grateful for the opportunity to work in the community. Larissa can be contacted at community@jclegacies.com
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John Endo Greenaway
Communications Coordinator
John Endo Greenaway
Communications Coordinator
John Endo Greenaway has been immersed in the Japanese Canadian community for over forty years, working as a graphic + web designer, taiko player/composer and as managing editor of The Bulletin, a journal of Japanese Canadian community, history and culture, a position he has held since 1992. In 2017 he co-authored the book Departures: the expulsion of the Japanese Canadians from the west coast 1942–1949, that he began many years ago with his mother, Fumiko Greenaway. A founding member of Katari Taiko, Canada’s first taiko group, and Uzume Taiko, Canada’s first professional taiko group, he is currently a member of Sansho Daiko, a spicy addition to the west coast taiko community. -
Yumi Kawaoka
Community Fund Coordinator
Yumi Kawaoka
Community Fund Coordinator
Yumi was born in Fukuoka, Kyushu. After graduating from university, she gained over ten years experience in human resources, administration, and secretarial positions at a Japanese company in Tokyo. In Canada, Yumi gained experience in the hospitality industry and worked as an operations manager at the Vancouver Japanese Language School.
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Linda Kawamoto Reid
BC Heritage Sites Coordinator
Linda Kawamoto Reid
BC Heritage Sites Coordinator
Linda was born post-war in Vernon BC, where her family lived until they could return to the coast. Her father and grandfather helped build the shacks in East Lillooet in April 1942, but within a year they secured orchard work in Vernon, where eventually all eight nisei siblings reunited there with their families. Linda’s family was close-knit, with her father telling her whatever she wanted to know about the Internment. Her interest in Nikkei history started in 1977 when she read her grandmother’s first-prize story about being a picture bride in 1907. Key among her expertise is the vast knowledge of pre-war farming communities in the BC lower mainland. Genealogy and family history research has been a passion since 1977, which led her to the Nikkei National Museum where she worked as research archivist from 2007-2023.
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Lane McGarrity
BC Heritage Sites Coordinator
Lane McGarrity
BC Heritage Sites Coordinator
Lane McGarrity is a dedicated heritage professional focusing on community engagement and project coordination. He began shaping his career through involvement in the Landscapes of Injustice Project, contributing to the Community Records cluster. Lane’s commitment was recognized with the Kalman Award for International Heritage Studies, leading him to research how historical narratives shape contemporary social relations in museums and heritage sites. Lane brings with him lived experience, having been brought up in northern BC and working in the fishing industry.
