Education. Outreach. Advocacy.

President, JLAC, Youth

(2020-)

Emiko is a Japanese native, and is passionate about sharing Japanese culture and language and has a certificate to teach Japanese to non-natives. She advocates for an expansion of the Japanese language program in APS. Emiko works for an international organization in Washington, DC, travels to many countries and loves to learn about other cultures around the world. She lives in Arlington with her husband and two children who attend APS. She has earned her bachelor and master’s degrees studying in Japan, the UK, the Netherlands, and the US.

Vice President

(2022-)

Rose has been an Arlington resident since 2015. She works as an operations research analyst in the federal government, and has interned at U.S. Embassy Tokyo and studied abroad at Waseda University. Rose holds an MA in international relations from Johns Hopkins University.

Secretary

(2021-)

Junko is a Japanese native, and was born and raised in Tokyo. Interested in international fellowship, Junko was an active member of a club that assists foreign students who study at Waseda University. After graduating from Waseda, she decided to study in the U.S. and pursued her Master’s degree in international affairs and then a Juris Doctor degree in the DC area. An Arlington resident for over 20 years, she lives with her husband, two daughters, two dogs, and two cats.

Board Member

(2018-)

Sabrina Nelson is a founding board member of SJA. She first became involved in SJA in 2018 as the parent of an APS student who was enrolled in Japanese class when APS announced plans to cut Japanese from its course offerings. She is half Japanese, and also lived in Japan for a total of eight years in Okinawa, Tokyo, and Sapporo as the child of a U.S. diplomat. Sabrina is a practicing lawyer and has lived in Arlington since 1996 with her husband and two children. She loves meeting community members with an interest in or connection to Japan and enjoys hearing their varied stories.

Co-Secretary

(2024-)

Pari is a junior at Yorktown High School and has been studying Japanese for four years -- three in class, one independently. She grew up in the Arlington area but spent a year living in Romania. Outside of learning Japanese, Pari also enjoys playing the piano and drawing. Pari hopes to share her love of Japan and its culture through the SJA, in part by advocating for the expansion of the Japanese program across Arlington Public Schools.

Member at Large

(2024-)

Juliana moved to Arlington in 2021 following her return from the JET Program where she served as a Coordinator for International Relations in Hyogo Prefecture. She is originally from Odesa, Ukraine — the sister city of Yokohama, Japan — and is an avid Japanese learner, translator, and researcher. She is passionate about the US-Japan alliance, especially as it applies to the fields of climate and international business. Juliana is a cartoonist in her spare time and hopes to spread her love of Japanese visual and performing arts.

Member at Large

(2024-)

Sean was raised in Central Florida, and relocated to Arlington in the spring of 2023. A student of Japanese language from his youth, he studied at Meikai University in Urayasu, Japan, and enjoys Japanese music, games, and calligraphy. Sean works as a software engineer, supporting the James Webb and Hubble space telescopes. He hopes to help foster the local Japanese learning community through SJA.

Member at Large

(2024-)

Atsuyo is a Japanese American who grew up in New York and moved to Northern Virginia in 2023. With a B.A. in Computer Science, she currently works as a full time software engineer. Connected with her Japanese heritage, she is passionate about sharing the wonderful culture and language to others. Having participated in SJA events and being inspired by the organization’s warmth and cultural exchange, she hopes to further her involvement as an SJA board member and spread its goals throughout the community.

Member at Large

(2024-)

Chikako was born and raised in Kanagawa, Japan. She moved to Arlington with her family in 2008 and returned to Arlington after living in Osaka for five years. She works as a freelance patent document translator. Her son is a student of APS middle school and she hopes to help Japanese language education in APS and the Arlington community.

Member at Large

(2025-)

Bori is a Filipino-American born and raised in Arlington, VA. He began learning Japanese as a teen in APS. He currently lives in DC with his two Japanese roommates and works at the Japanese Embassy. Apart from volunteering with SJA, he has experience volunteering with various Japanese led NGOs in the Philippines, as well as at the Echigo-Tsumari Triennial Art festival in Tokamachi, Niigata. He enjoys playing kendama, practicing Japanese with his roommates/friends and spending time with family.

Youth Board Member

(2025-)

Lanna was born and raised in Arlington, Virginia, and is a senior at Yorktown High School. Lanna has been going to Keisho Japanese School every Saturday since first grade, to keep a strong connection with her mother's Japanese culture. She wants to continue to celebrate and enrich her Japanese side by helping SJA build appreciation of Japanese culture and language in Arlington and contribute to their mission.

Youth Board Member

(2025-)

Kenshu was born and raised in Arlington. He is half Japanese and often travels to Japan to visit family. He currently is a senior at Yorktown high school and has been taking Japanese classes since freshman year. He enjoys computer science, basketball, legos, and Christopher Nolan movies. Kenshu hopes to foster fellow student’s interest in the Japanese language to expand the Japanese program in Arlington Public Schools. 

Youth Board Member

(2025-)

Momoka ("Momo") is a junior at Washington Liberty High School in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. She is half-Japanese and American and fluent in both Japanese and English. She grew up going back and forth between Japan and America due to her father’s naval duties. She loves to immerse herself in music to include playing her violin. She also enjoys playing high school tennis, traveling, watching movies and shows, reading books, drawing, playing video games, and learning new things! Momo is excited to connect with and advocate for the Japanese (language-learning) community in the greater DMV area.