Community Activities

• Downtown Neighborhood Board, (9 years)
• Chinatown Citizens Patrol, (14 years)
• Pacific Gateway Center Board of Directors, (11 years)
• Honolulu Tower Board of Directors, (6 years)

Education

• J.D., George Washington University (with Honors), 1996
• Summer clerk, Judge Corinne K.A. Watanabe (Intermediate Court of Appeals), 1995
• M.A., University of London, Soviet & Eastern European Area Studies, 1987
• B.A., Andrews University (History major, Chemistry minor), 1986
• Indiana Academy (high school), Cicero, IN 1981

Awards and Recognition

• 2013 recipient of the Patsy T. Mink Award
• 2016 Certificate of appreciation, US Department of Defense
• 2013 Humane State Legislator Award, Humane Society of the United States
• 2012 recipient of the Chinatown Heroes Award
• AARP Certificate of Appreciation, for helping to pass the CARE Act
• City and County of Honolulu, Environmental Hero Award of Recognition
• Named Freshman Legislator of the Year for 2007 by the University of Hawai‘i Professional Assembly
• Japanese-American Citizens League Honolulu Chapter, Certificate of Appreciation