Members

Meet AAJA Seattle’s newest board members

Meet AAJA Seattle’s newest board members

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This post is long overdue, but AAJA Seattle is happy to announce its new board members!

Corinne Chin, Interim National Advisory Board Representative

Corinne Chin, Seattle National Advisory Board Representative

Corinne Chin is a video editor at The Seattle Times, where she works with a dynamic photo staff to film and edit short documentary films and compelling visual stories.

Before joining The Seattle Times in 2014, Corinne was a freelance video journalist reporting in Washington, DC; Nairobi, Kenya; São Paulo, Brazil; and more. A Chicago native, Corinne also taught fine art photography and documentary film to underprivileged teens on the city’s West and South Sides. Corinne earned a bachelor’s degree in magazine writing and a master’s in video journalism from Northwestern University, winning a Midwest Emmy for her master’s capstone, a documentary on an ex-gang member fighting gun violence in North Lawndale, Chicago. Her work has also been recognized by several other groups, including the National Press Photographers Association, the Illinois Press Photographers Association, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the GroundTruth Project. She has lent her skills as a coach for the Story Arc cinematic journalism workshop.

AAJA Seattle’s National Advisory Board Representative represents the Seattle chapter at national board meetings.

Patranya Bhoolsuwan and Michelle Li, Co-Vice Presidents of Events

Patranya Bhoolsuwan and Michelle Li, Co-VPs of Events.

Patranya Bhoolsuwan and Michelle Li, Co-VPs of Events.

Patranya Bhoolsuwan is a reporter at KIRO-TV. Before coming to Seattle, Patranya was a reporter and weekend anchor at KLAS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas. It was there where she won the title of “Best Reporter” by the Nevada Association of Broadcasters. She also earned an Emmy award for her investigative news series on the bullying epidemic in Las Vegas public schools.

Patranya has also worked as anchor and reporter in Redding, Reno, and Washington DC. She started her journalism career as a writer/producer at KRON-TV in San Francisco.

Patranya was born in Bangkok, Thailand. She grew up a diplomatic brat and traveled around the world with her family. She moved to the U.S. to pursue her dreams of becoming a reporter. Patranya graduated with honors from the University of San Francisco with a degree in communications and political science.

Michelle Li is a journalist at KING5. Previously she worked as the primary anchor for stations in Wisconsin, the Coastal Carolinas and Southwest Missouri.

Michelle is a modern television journalist who is known for interactivity work. Google often showcases her unique livestreams in newsrooms across the country.

She has received 8 regional Emmy awards, including 4 consecutive ones for interactivity in the Chicago and Nashville markets. She’s received multiple Emmy nominations and awards for her reports on synthetic marijuana, deadly tornadoes, foster care concerns, women’s reproductive health, national scams and distracted driving.  In 2012, she was named Anchor of the Year for the Carolinas by the state broadcasting association. And, she’s earned 3 regional Edward R. Murrow awards — two for writing and one for feature reporting, including a national Murrow for feature reporting.

Michelle is a Korean adoptee who spent many summers volunteering with adoptive families and in orphanages in Seoul. She also started a television program in Missouri to help foster kids find permanent solutions. For that, Congress honored her work with an Angels in Adoption Award. She later returned to Washington, D.C. as a guest speaker at the National Press Club on behalf of Holt International.

Michelle grew up in a rural area near Kansas City and studied journalism at the University of Kansas.  She loves to volunteer, cook and spend time outside with family.  Michelle’s husband Jim is also an Emmy-award winning journalist who now works as a mobile developer for a news corporation. Together they have two big breed dogs named Minnie and Piper.  And Michelle played a reporter in the movie “Tammy” and on the TV show “The Following.”

AAJA Seattle’s VPs of Events plan fundraising and outreach events such as the annual AAJA Seattle Lunar New Year and the AAJA Seattle Chef Showcase.

You could serve on AAJA Seattle’s chapter board — Apply by Friday

You could serve on AAJA Seattle’s chapter board — Apply by Friday

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We are looking for a few good board members. Could that be you?

Nominate yourself or another members to serve on Seattle’s chapter board: Vice President of Events, who’s in charge of managing fundraising events for our chapter, and Treasurer, in charge of managing the chapter’s money.

We also are seeking an interim National Advisory Board Member, a one-year position to represent Seattle at the national advisory board meetings in the spring and summer.

Do you know a good candidate? You can nominate someone (including yourself) by October 14, 2016. The nominee must be a full member of AAJA. Please email us at aajaseattle@gmail.com with your nominations or questions.

AAJA Seattle VP of Programs Jovelle Tamayo honored by The Seattle Globalist

AAJA Seattle VP of Programs Jovelle Tamayo honored by The Seattle Globalist

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Congratulations to AAJA Seattle VP of Programs Jovelle Tamayo, who is being honored by The Seattle Globalist this week as Visual Journalist of the Year. The Globalist will host the Globies, its annual awards ceremony and fundraiser, 6 p.m. Friday Oct. 14 at the Georgetown Ballroom.

You can join the Globalist in honoring Jovelle by coming to the Globies. Tickets are still available, and AAJA members can get a $20 discount from the ticket price. Members should check the AAJA Seattle newsletter to get the code for the discounted price (and indicate you’re an AAJA member).

Venice Buhain and KJ Hiramoto elected chapter president and secretary

The election results are in, so please join us in congratulating Venice Buhain and KJ Hiramoto as our incoming president and secretary!
They both will be serving two-year terms, beginning January 2016.
Venice Buhain has been a member of AAJA Seattle since 2000. She is the news editor at The Seattle Globalist, and has worked at TVW, Patch, The Olympian, The Daily News in Longview and the Eastside Journal in Bellevue.
As chapter president, she plans to focus on bringing in new members and early career journalists, building programs that speak to the needs of mid-career journalists and finding ways to keep our chapter members engaged locally and with national programs. Venice’s past experience includes serving as the chapter’s national advisory board member this past year and chapter secretary from 2008-11 and helping to organize the 2014 and 2015 AAJA Seattle Media Access Workshops and Chef Showcases.
KJ Hiramoto is a recent addition to AAJA Seattle and recent graduate of the University of Washington. He is interested in pursuing a career in the social media side of journalism down the line and sees serving as chapter secretary and getting a chance to run the chapter’s social media pages will prove to be a invaluable experience.
Also being a young journalist, KJ said he could always use some indirect training in being a better organizer and fast-paced worker by having to juggle between  jobs, conference calls and projects being run by our chapter.

AAJA Seattle board elections are here!

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It’s time for the chapter to elect new board members for 2016!

There are four seats up for election, all of which are two-year terms, effective Jan. 1, 2016:

  • President
  • Secretary
  • Vice President of Programming
  • National Board Representative

Serving on the chapter board is an important way for you to demonstrate your leadership (a key skill many employers look for), give back to this organization and support your fellow members.

Chapter Secretary Samantha Pak will oversee our elections, which will be from Sept. 20-26. Our national office will receive the names of our 2016 chapter board members by Nov. 1. More

AAJA Seattle president update: Maternity leave and upcoming events.

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Mai preggo

photo by Ava Van

 

Dear AAJA Seattle members and supporters,

As I write this, I am eagerly awaiting the birth of my  first child. This will be a quite an exciting and hectic time for my husband and I . As part of this transition, I will be on maternity leave through Labor Day. During this period, I will be delegating many of my duties to the members of my board and limiting my workload with the chapter.

This note will detail how to best reach the chapter during this time and a rundown of some great events our chapter has planned for this summer.

If you need to reach the chapter, please send an email to aajaseattle@gmail.com. Please address the email to Chapter Secretary Samantha Pak. She will coordinate any necessary response and action.

Here’s what on tap for AAJA Seattle for the next few months:

  • AAJA Seattle’s next Dim Sum Saturday event is June 27 at New Hong Kong Restaurant, 900 South Jackson Street, Seattle, WA 98104. This is a fun and casual way to catch up with fellow members and hear what is happening with our chapter.
  • The chapter is planning our Chefs Showcase event, which will be on August 10. We are bringing back the event for a second year after a successful launch last year. We certainly hope you will join us. More importantly, this kind of event requires a lot of hands, and we are also seeking volunteers. Please contact vice president of events Natasha Chen at natashaychen@gmail.com for details or if you’re interested in volunteering.
  • The AAJA National Convention in San Francisco will be held August 12-15 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco. Our chapter will be well represented though a variety of roles at the convention. You can check out the full schedule here and register here. The pre-convention member rate of $325 ($150 for students) ) is good until the end of the month.
  • Our annual chapter picnic is planned for August 29 at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.  This is a great time to catch up with members, enjoy delicious food and the nice water views. Join us!
  • Our 30th Anniversary activities will continue. Check the 30th Anniversary page for the latest. In the meanwhile, please save the date for our anniversary gala: November 14, 2015.
  • Finally, want a chance to win free tickets to either the Chefs Showcase or the 30th Anniversary Gala? AAJA Seattle will be giving away two tickets for each event for a member who renews or joins AAJA before the end of this month, June 30.

I want to send a huge thank you to my board for their support while I go through this major life transition. I also want to emphasize that because of their effort, the chapter will be in good hands. While my workload will be limited, I hope to be present at chapter events (possibly with the new baby), so I hope to see you all there!

Sincerely,

Mai Hoang, AAJA Seattle president

 

 

AAJA Seattle launches 30th Anniversary celebration with co-founder Lori Matsukawa!

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In 2015, AAJA Seattle has reached 30 years as a chapter. Over the last three decades, AAJA Seattle has organized dozens of programs and provided dozens of scholarships toward fulfilling the organization’s three-prong mission of increasing Asian American and Pacific Islander journalists and news managers, ensuring fair coverage of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community and encouraging young AAPIs to enter the industry.

AAJA Seattle has planned a number of events and other features to celebrate this special milestone.

The celebration starts now with AAJA Seattle’s 30th Anniversary video series. Every month during the remainder of this year, the chapter will post video interviews with key members of the chapter.

For the first segment, Natasha Chen, AAJA Seattle vice president of events and KIRO 7 reporter, interview chapter co-founder and KING 5 anchor Lori Matsukawa. Lori talks about the early meetings of the chapter, how the chapter impacted the local journalism industry and the formation of the Northwest Journalists of Color scholarship.

There’s more to come! Check out the AAJA Seattle 30th Anniversary page for the latest on the latest events and activities.

 

AAJA Seattle kicks off documentary series with ‘Cambodian Son’ on May 2

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This year, AAJA Seattle wants to highlight Asian American filmmakers through a year-long documentary series.

We are thrilled to be partnering with the Post-Prison Education Program in Seattle to bring you the first our three documentaries.

Join us at 7 p.m. on May 2 at AMC Pacific Place 11 (600 Pine St., Ste. 400 in downtown Seattle) for a screening of “Cambodian Son.”

About the film:

“Cambodian Son” documents the life of deported poet, Kosal Khiev after receiving the most important performance invitation of his career—to represent the Kingdom of Cambodia at the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad. Kosal would travel to London having only taken two flights prior: first, as a 1-year-old refugee child whose family fled Cambodia and then as a 32-year-old criminal “alien” forcibly returned to Cambodia in 2011. Armed only with memorized verses, he must face the challenges of being a deportee while navigating his new fame as Phnom Penh’s premiere poet.

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NJC Pizza Night at Mountlake Terrace High School on March 24

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AAJA Seattle will be hosting a Northwest Journalists of Color (NJC) Scholarship Pizza Night in partnership with The Hawkeye at Mountlake Terrace High School.
The event will be from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24 at MTHS (21801 44th Ave. W. in Mountlake Terrace), in room 130.
We will be providing information about the NJC Scholarship, which is open to high school seniors in Washington as well as college students who are Washington residents or enrolled in a college or university in Washington and pursuing journalism.
AAJA Seattle administers the scholarship and we are currently accepting applications through May 3. I have attached a PDF of the application, but an online version is also available on our chapter website at www.aajaseattle.org/scholarships (online applications are preferred).

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AAJA Seattle president Mai Hoang: 2014 was great; now looking forward to 2015

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AAJA Seattle members at the Northwest Journalist of Color reception. From Left: Tiffany Wan, Samantha Pak, Caroline Li, Chris Casquejo, Mai Hoang, Peter Sessum, Thanh Tan, Lori Matsukawa and Venice Buhain. Photo courtesy of Lori Matsukawa. 

Dear AAJA Seattle members,

I am honored to have served as AAJA Seattle president in 2014. For me, it was a year where I really could fully embrace my role. In 2013, I was transitioning in the role and learning the ropes. This year, I feel I had the opportunity to move the chapter forward.

Our chapter, through our events, reached a wide variety of people this year. We got a lot done and I’m proud of all the hard work that our board and members put in.

Some highlights:

  • In March, we held a media access workshop for nonprofit organizations at The Seattle Times. The workshop was funded through a generous grant from the Kellogg Foundation. Venice Buhain, longtime AAJA Seattle member, coordinated the event, which attracted more than 70 people. 
  • In May, AAJA Seattle awarded four college students with college scholarships through our Northwest Journalists of Color program. We held a reception at The Seattle Times with our longtime partner, the  Seattle Association of Black Journalists. Our chapter also awarded a scholarship for Nicole Gaddie, a graduate of Seattle University, to attend the 2015 National Convention, which proved to be a valuable experience. This year’s program was coordinated by Caroline Li, AAJA Seattle’s vice president of programs.
  • Also in May, AAJA Seattle founder Lori Matsukawa was recognized for her service and work in journalism when the Northwest Chapter of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences inducted her into its prestigious Silver Circle. AAJA members from around the world pooled in money for a program ad to congratulate Lori.
  • In June, a team of AAJA Seattle members raised more than $1,000 for Walk For Rice, the annual fundraiser for the Asian Counseling and Referral Service. Funds went toward the organization’s food bank, which provides cultural-specific foods to people in need. The AAJA Seattle team was Janet Tu, Tiffany Wan, Chris Casquejo, Mai Hoang and Samantha Pak
  • In August, Venice Buhain, Thanh Tan,  and Mai Hoang organized the chapter’s first Chefs Showcase. The event attracted more than 120 professionals to the beautiful Columbia Tower Club. There, attendees enjoyed delicious food and watch demonstrations from some of Seattle’s top chefs. The event also raised thousands of dollars for the chapter.
  • Also in August, longtime AAJA Seattle support and Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen received the Leadership in Diversity Award from the national AAJA organization.
  • Also in August, with the encouragement (and generous match) of long-time member Danny O’Neil, AAJA Seattle members raised $1,000 for Power of One. which funded many of AAJA national programs. AAJA Seattle’s efforts also helped AAJA reached a national goal of $15,000.
  • In December, AAJA Seattle teamed up with the Western Washington SPJ Chapter to hold our annual Holiday Scoop event. Caroline Li worked with SPJ board member (and former AAJA Seattle board member) Athima Chansanchai on the event. The event served as a fundraiser for SPJ and AAJA Seattle’s scholarship programs.

The success of many of these events were possible thanks to our generous sponsors. I can not thank these companies and organizations enough for their ongoing support. So here’s another thank you to the following for their support in 2014: Kellogg Foundation, KING 5, Columbia Tower Club, PR BusinessWire, The Seattle Times, Tack Local, The Seattle Globalist, Davis Wright and Tremaine. 

Now it’s time to say thank you to our departing board members and welcome our incoming board members. I think most of us will agree that Sanjay Bhatt is due for a break! Sanjay, a reporter for The Seattle Times, has served on the AAJA board for the last eight years, first as chapter president and most recently as our National Board representative. I could probably fill several blog entries on all the great things Sanjay did while he served on our board. We will miss him, but we are happy about his new pursuits including raising a beautiful baby girl with wife Pooja and heading up the new Investigative Reporters and Editors group in Seattle.

Caroline Li has served on the AAJA Seattle board since 2010, first as Vice President of Events and more recently as Vice President of Programs. Caroline is passionate about journalism and that showed in her efforts organizing various programs for our chapter, such as our Northwest Journalists of Color scholarship program. Li is stepping down from the position to focus on a very busy schedule that includes managing several music artists and her job as community manager for Tack Local, a media technology startup. Li plans to continue to help out when she can, which we’re grateful for!

Tiffany Wan served as our Vice President of Events for the last two years. Tiffany is a former Northwest Journalists of Color scholarship winner and she has given back in a large way through her work with AAJA Seattle. She worked tirelessly to pull off several big events including our Lunar New Year banquet and auction, chapter picnic and the Northwest Journalists of Color reception.

While we’re sad to say goodbye to some great people, I’m excited to work with some new folks who will serve on our board this year.

Our new National Board representative actually is no stranger to AAJA Seattle. Venice Buhain, editor for The Seattle Globalist and a reporter with TVW, served on the AAJA Seattle board from 2008-2011 as secretary. Though she was not on the board for a few years, she has continue to be active with the chapter. In 2014, she was the lead coordinator of our monthly Dim Sum Saturday event. She also did the heavy lifting on our media access workshop and chef’s showcase event.

Natasha Chen brings some fresh new blood to the board as our new Vice President of Events. Natasha came to Seattle in 2013 to work as a reporter for KIRO-TV. When she’s not working, she’s a party organizing extraordinaire and awesome cupcake baker, which essentially makes her perfect for this job! And she’s already hit the ground running planning our upcoming Lunar New Year banquet.

Sarah Wallace will serve as chapter treasurer for a new two-year term after being appointed to the position in 2014. Sarah currently works as a freelance reporter and editor in the Bellingham area. Sarah has been an active member of AAJA for many years and have helped out in various capacities before joining in the board.

Samantha Pak  will continue as chapter secretary in 2015, serving the second-year of her term. She joined the board in 2012. Sammi is great at making sure members are updated on everything from upcoming events to job opportunities and always lends a helping hand when needed.

Now it’s time to look forward. 2015 is not only a new year, but also the 30th anniversary of AAJA Seattle!

I will continue to serve as president through this year and would love your feedback on how AAJA Seattle can best serve you. In addition, if you are interested in helping out with the chapter in any way, we want to hear from you.

And here’s one opportunity: AAJA Seattle is  seeking a new Vice President of Programs. This is a key position for our chapter. Duties including coordinating our marquee scholarship program, the Northwest Journalists of Color. The person in this position has the opportunity to develop programs that reach our diverse chapter base.

Now here’s what’s coming up for the first part of this year

  • If you haven’t already, please renew your AAJA membership! We’ll be making calls to remind you, but if you want to go ahead and renew, head over to the AAJA members page.
  • AAJA and SPJ will be welcoming the new Seattle-based group of the Investigative Reporters and Editors in a fun mixer on Jan. 21.
  • On Jan. 31, we’ll be holding our first Dim Sum Saturday of the year. This is a casual and fun event. If you are new to the chapter or AAJA, this is a great way to get acquainted with fellow members. More details are here.
  • AAJA Seattle will hold its annual Lunar New Year banquet and silent auction on Feb. 21 at China Harbor Restaurant in Seattle. More details are coming. We hope you can join us. If you are interested in helping out with either the banquet or the auction, please contact Natasha (for the banquet) or me (for the silent auction).
  • The AAJA Seattle board will hold a retreat the next day, Feb. 22. If you have anything you would like us to consider during the retreat, please let us know.

I’m looking forward to a great year and I hope to see many of you at AAJA Seattle events throughout the year. Again, please feel to contact me at 509-834-0272 or at maisurvey@gmail.com to give your thoughts or feedback!

Onward,

 

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Mai Hoang, AAJA Seattle president

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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