Member Awards 2022
Member of the Year: Teresa Watanabe
Chapter of the Year: AAJA New York
Chapter Leadership of the Year: AAJA Atlanta
Affinity Group or Task Force of the Year: Yung AAJA
Affinity Group or Task Force Leadership of the Year: Pacific Islander Task Force
Mentor of the Year: Ruth Liao
MEMBER OF THE YEAR: Teresa Watanabe Los Angeles Times Staff Writer, AAJA-LA President 2021 (Currently AAJA-LA Vice President of Special Projects 2022) | A FEW WORDS FROM TERESA’S NOMINATOR: “Teresa's intense passion and devotion to AAJA's mission and values has inspired a younger generation of leaders and sets an amazing example for the rest of the L.A. chapter board." | BIO: Teresa Watanabe covers education for the Los Angeles Times. Since joining the Times in 1989, she has covered immigration, ethnic communities, religion, Pacific Rim business and served as Tokyo correspondent and bureau chief. She also covered Asia, national affairs and state government for the San Jose Mercury News and wrote editorials for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner. A Seattle native, she graduated from USC in journalism and in East Asian languages and culture. In the past five years, she has served as AAJA-Los Angeles president, vice-president of special projects and secretary.
CHAPTER OF THE YEAR: AAJA-New York | For the past two years, the New York chapter has gone above and beyond to support its members and AAJA organization-wide. The New York chapter has set a standout example of community-building and empathy, whether through its family style newsletter that serves more than 1,500 subscribers or raising over $20,000 for therapy for AAJA members.
CHAPTER LEADERSHIP OF THE YEAR: AAJA-Atlanta | THE ATLANTA CHAPTER HAS EARNED A REPUTATION FOR BEING SMALL BUT MIGHTY. In 2021, the board rose to the occasion on behalf of our community in the aftermath of the Atlanta spa shootings. They helped with media advisories and held newsrooms accountable - all while grieving themselves. Thank you for your great work and congratulations!
AFFINITY GROUP OR TASK FORCE OF THE YEAR: Yung AAJA | AAJA's Young Professionals Network, known as Yung AAJA, was founded in 2017 and has grown to a 700-plus member Facebook community. Among its standout efforts in 2021, Yung AAJA worked with AAJA-HQ to hold Conde Nast and Teen Vogue accountable to diverse coverage and leadership.
AFFINITY GROUP OR TASK FORCE LEADERSHIP OF THE YEAR: Anita Hofschneider of the Pacific Islander Task Force | Because of Anita's leadership on the new AAJA-NAJA Pacific Islander Scholarship, Pacific Islander early-career journalists can attend conferences, receive training, and pay for school.
MENTOR OF THE YEAR: Ruth Liao Americas editor, LNG at ICIS, Mentor Match co-director | Ruth's nominator called her the perfect candidate because of her passion and dedication to raising up AAJA members, from student journalists to veteran reporters. For the past four years, Ruth has served as co-director of AAJA's Mentor Match. | BIO: Ruth Liao is Americas editor for LNG at ICIS. She has covered the global LNG market for more than a decade. Previously, Ruth was a daily newspaper journalist in Oregon. Ruth has been a longtime AAJA member, co-leading AAJA Mentor Match since 2018 and a previous Voices director and student participant.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM AWARD: Sewell Chan, Editor-in-Chief, The Texas Tribune | Sewell is a tireless supporter of AAJA and a transformative thinker. Throughout his leadership trajectory, he has always pushed for news leaders and AAJA to address existential questions about where our industry - and its inclusion of all communities - is heading.
EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP PROGRAM AWARD: Sara Kehaulani Goo, Editor-in-Chief, Axios | Sara is among our most high profile newsroom leaders, who has consistently given back to the AAPI community. Sara is among the only Pacific Islander News Executives in America. She has been a champion of diversity and representation in her newsroom and a trailblazing leader navigating the high-profile and high-intensity national news landscape. | BIO: Sara Kehaulani Goo is the editor-in-chief at Axios, overseeing the 120+ journalist newsroom. She joined Axios in 2019 as executive editor and launched the company’s podcast operation, including the hit show, How it Happened, and the Hard Truths series examining systemic racism. Before Axios, she was a managing editor at NPR, overseeing the newsroom's digital content and strategy.