KUMAMOTO ASSOCIATES
Individually and as a team, Joanne Kumamoto and Alan Kumamoto have dedicated themselves to bringing positive change to their work and community. Their marketing, management, and communications consulting firm, Kumamoto Associates, has operated successfully since 1989.
Recognized for professionalism and service, Kumamoto Associates has received the Leadership Award from LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics) and the National Public Relations Multi-Ethnic Award for the national Asian American Donor Program. Together, they worked on the State Library's Partnerships for Change, a program that brought local public libraries and ethnic minority populations together and spawned program innovations and improvements.
Working in cooperation with the U.S. State Department, Joanne and Alan have traveled extensively, conducting seminars in Ghana, Philippines, Turkey, and Japan. They also collaborated on an in-depth assessment project for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and worked together on the multi-year Community Redevelopment Agency of L.A. (CRA) downtown parking study. They also teamed to help create the Little Tokyo Design Guidelines for the CRA.
ABOUT US
Joanne Kumamoto has a background in Public Administration and began her professional career administering federal grant programs for the Los Angeles Mayor's Office during the Tom Bradley administration.
Her commitment to community involvement includes helping to design and implement marketing programs and surveys, develop public information programs on housing, transportation, and ethnic communities, and conduct key informant interviews and focus groups for government agencies and nonprofit entities. She has also developed and coordinated organizational, management and diversity training workshops for new and emerging Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
In addition to serving as Project Manager for the State Library’s Partnerships for Change, she has participated in projects involving local community development, senior citizen data collection, and a citywide hunger policy program.
Other projects included the Music Center for the Performing Arts of L.A., Long Beach Corridor, Hyperion Bridge Retrofit, L.A. County High School for the Arts, Metro’s L.A.-to-Pasadena Gold Line, and West Santa Ana Branch alignment. Additionally, she played a key role in planning the Union Pacific Anniversary Celebration, Pasadena Recreation Department festivals, and numerous other cultural gatherings through Southern California.
Joanne is president of the Little Tokyo Legacy Foundation and Advisor to the Coro Foundation. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Little Tokyo Business Association and L.A. County Library Foundation. A former Chair of the American Women for International Understanding (AIWU), she earned the organization's Bernice Behren Award. She was Vice Chair and former Treasurer of American Humanics, Inc., California State University at Los Angeles; a Director of the L.A. Regional Food Bank; and a member of the L.A.-Pusan Sister City Committee.
She also co-chaired the Ethnic Coalition of Southern California and was appointed to the City's Telecommunications and Housing Authority Commissions.
Joanne attended Ventura College and has received additional certification in Adult Learning from the University of Southern California; Fundraising, Program Planning and Proposal Writing from the Grantsmanship Center; and Computer Software proficiency from Apple Computers.
A third generation Angeleno raised in Los Angeles, Alan Kumamoto is an internationally recognized facilitator and organizational management coach who, throughout his life and career, has held positions in the public, nonprofit, and international business sectors.
Prior to forming Kumamoto Associates, he served as President and Executive Director of the Southern California Center for Nonprofit Management, a Senior Associate Trainer for the Grantsmanship Center, Youth Director for the National Japanese American Citizens League, and Interim Director of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center. and has taught nonprofit management at UCLA.
As Associate Project Director for a national minibike program, Alan managed a public/private partnership between the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), American Honda, and the National Board of YMCAs. The delinquency prevention model was implemented in over 500 partnerships across the country. He also supervised a public awareness campaign in the Asian American communities for the City of L.A. Department of Airports "Ridelink" program.
He served on the California Arts Council Proposal Review Panel for Arts Services, City of L.A. Cultural Affairs Department, L.A. County Department of Children's Services, and Lancaster Performing Arts Center. He was also the Community Manager for the L.A. Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) Highland Park Project, a Federal Transit Administration effort to link transit corridors with local infrastructure and residents, merchants, and public agencies.
He is a past Chair of the National Council for International Visitors (renamed Global Ties U.S.) and was honored with its inaugural Citizen Diplomat Award. He led the NCIV's 50th anniversary task force and currently sits on the Board of Directors.
Additionally, he is a member of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation Advisory Committee and serves on the boards of the Asian Pacific Community Fund, Japanese American Community Services (JACS), and Little Tokyo Community Council, and Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation (APIAHIP). He is also past President of the City of L.A. Historic Cultural Neighborhood Council and a past Advisor to the Japanese Community Pioneer Center.
Alan graduated from Loyola University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and went on to become a Master's candidate in Sociology at the University of Southern California.
MARKETING - MANAGMENT
COMMUNICATIONS
Joanne Kumamoto
Principal Partner
Alan Kumamoto
Founding Partner
