Koko’s involvement with the Sausalito – Sakaide Sister Cities exchange started when her husband picked up a flyer for the program. 10 years later they hosted a delegate from Sakaide, and the following year their daughter went to Sakaide as a delegate while she accompanied the group as a chaperone. Since then Koko has been an active member of the Operations Council in addition to assisting as interpreter and translator.

Koko has spent a lifetime serving as a bridge between Japan and the US. Raised bilingual and bicultural and educated in both countries, Koko also has experience living and working in Europe as well. She received her BA in International Relations and French from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and her MA in Conference Interpreting from Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. Today she works as a professional conference interpreter and family in Mill