Serving the Pacific Northwest since 1985 The Seattle chapter was the third chapter formed by the Asian American Journalists Association, and was lauched on July 13, 1985. Forty-five people attended a kick-off reception at the Bush Asia Center in Seattle's International District. Co-chairs of the chapter at the time were Lori Matsukawa, KING-TV news anchor, and Ron Chew, editor of the International Examiner. Also attending the chapter's first event were southern California chapter president and KCBS-TV anchor Tritia Toyota, and chairman Bill Sing, a reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Other founding committee members at the reception were KOMO-TV reporter Marianne Kushi, KING-TV reporters James Hattori and Deni Luna, Seattle Times reporter Carey Quan Gelernter and KIRO NewsRadio reporter Frank Abe. AAJA Seattle today Since 1985, the chapter has grown to become the largest and most recognized minority journalist group in Western Washington. AAJA Seattle now has more than 70 members. The non-profit organization encourages fair and accurate news coverage of Asian-American issues and works to encourage employment of Asian-Americans in print, broadcast and new media. The chapter also assists high-school and college students interested in pursuing careers in journalism. Among the major events sponsored by the chapter: journalism skills workshops, fundraisers, social events, numerous receptions for noted journalists, field trips and access to media workshops. The AAJA chapter is part of the Northwest Journalists of Color, a group which includes four minority journalism organizations. NJC has awarded more than $45,000 to students in Washington state since 1986. Growing in Western Washington AAJA membership also provides journalists with access to the many services provided by the national organization, including job services, a national scholarship program and fellowships. AAJA holds a national convention every year, and Seattle has played host twice. In 1991, Seattle hosted the first AAJA convention in the Pacific Northwest. And in 1999, Seattle hosted the second UNITY convention--a national meeting of minority journalists organizations that attracted more than 6,200 journalists. AAJA Seattle's past presidents include: Lori Matsukawa (KING-TV), Ed Carlos (KOMO-TV), Mimi Gan (KING-TV), Ferdinand DeLeon (Seattle Times), Robert Mak (KING-TV), Debby Abe (The News Tribune), Paula Bock (The Seattle Times), Susan Han (KCTS-TV), Cathy Kiyomura (KING-TV), Janet Tu (Wall Street Journal), Elisa Hahn (KING-TV), Phuong Le (Seattle Post-Intelligencer), Mimi Jung (KING-TV), Vanessa Ho (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). ASIAN AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION SEATTLE CHAPTER P.O. Box 9698, Seattle, WA 98109 Since 1985, Seattle's AAJA has provided scholarships for students, professional development for journalists and service to the community in the Pacific Northwest. Best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Hyperlinks do not constitute an endorsement of a company, organization, product or opinion, nor do they represent a guarantee the content contains accurate information.