ABOUT

She has created and consulted on educational materials for the WNET Group, Sesame Workshop, Smithsonian Institute's National Portrait Gallery, WETA, ITVS, Peace Studio, David’s Legacy Foundation, Korematsu Institute, Little, Brown and Company Books for Young Readers, Mikva Challenge, and New York City Department of Education.

She started in the education field as an English Language Arts teacher at a public high school in the East San Francisco Bay Area. She trained as an education researcher at Teachers College, Columbia University. After completing her doctorate, she served as an Andrew W. Mellon postdoctoral research fellow at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum and New York University.

Her research and writings focus on place-based learning, public pedagogy, and the teaching of historical violence. As the daughter and granddaughter of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, the concentration camp is a key area of inquiry.

In 2019, she co-founded YURI Education Project with Freda Lin. United in their goal to bring more Asian American stories to PK-12 students, they started a consulting project named after the civil rights activist, Yuri Kochiyama. They have developed youth-friendly curricula on documentary films, pop culture, rare archival sources, and museum exhibitions.

In addition to her work as a curriculum specialist, she teaches future public school teachers and instructional leaders at the City University of New York, San José State University, and Teachers College, Columbia University. Her favorite work is mentoring students as they design learning experiences for adolescents.

She lives in Queens, New York with her husband, Kevin, and their cats, Birdy and Bossanova.