Linda Akutagawa is the President and CEO of Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics Inc., where she is responsible for LEAP’s fund-raising, business development and oversight of program design, development and delivery.  As chief fundraiser, she develops and executes strategies focused on increasing earned and contributed income, building interest among clients and donors to support and participate in LEAP’s leadership programs.

Linda bridges her development and program design and delivery roles through her consulting with LEAP’s diverse range of clients, which include nearly 500 nonprofit, community and student organizations; federal, state and local government agencies; colleges and universities; and Fortune 1000 companies. She works with clients locally, nationally and globally to determine the best programs and services to support their Asian talent development needs and brings together the resources needed to deliver a solution. In addition, she collaborates with LEAP’s consultants to co-design and customize new and existing programs.

Linda is certified to facilitate LEAP’s Leadership Development Program as well as to deliver several of LEAP’s foundational courses, including the 21st Century Leadership, Understanding Your Cultural Values, and Effective Work & Communication Styles. She previously was vice president of resource and business development for Los Angeles-based LEAP, developing and implementing fund-raising, marketing and sales strategies for its programs and services.

A beneficiary of LEAP’s leadership training, Linda first began as a volunteer for the 501(c)(3) entity. Now in her 20th year there, she speaks and presents globally on topics such as leadership, Asian cultural values and influences, employee resource groups, diversity, networking and branding to a range of audiences such as corporations, student groups and community and professional organizations. Prior to joining LEAP, she was the marketing manager for Japan & Orient Tours Inc., a travel operator specializing in Asia and the Pacific.

June Aochi Berk is currently the part-time Executive Assistant to the President and to the Board of Directors at Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. June recently retired as the Executive Assistant to the President and Board of Directors & Governors of the Japanese American National Museum. She continues to serve as secretary to the Little Tokyo Community Council. Previously, June worked as Executive Assistant to several boards including Rebuild LA (RLA), Youth Fair Chance Inc. for the City of Los Angeles, KCET-PBS Community Outreach Advisory Board, and the Bel Air Presbyterian Church. June also was owner/operator of Satori Boutique in Studio City.

June, a native of Los Angeles (Little Tokyo), spent the wartime years incarcerated at Rohwer, Arkansas, with her family. After being released, they moved to Denver, Colorado, where she was secretary to Minoru Yasui and the Japanese American Citizens League. Her interests are her grandchildren, music and movies, watching all sports on TV, and "Sogetsu ikebana" and water-color painting. June has five children, six grandchildren, and is married to Marty Berk, retired LA County Probation Supervisor.

Rima Matsumoto is Vice President of Research and Strategic Alliances for Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP). She joined the organization in February 2009 and is charged with opening LEAP’s Washington, DC office. Her responsibilities include developing core research products to help advance LEAP’s mission of growing leaders and developing relationships with key individuals in the public, private, education and community sectors. In addition, she is building strategic alliances and relationships with legislative and executive bodies as well as developing partnerships and collaborations with a broad array of diverse community organizations in the country.

Rima is the author of LEAP’s Leadership Series reports assessing the current inclusion of APIs at the highest levels of leadership positions in the corporate, foundation and nonprofit sectors of our society. She serves as LEAP’s liaison to the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, the Alliance for Board Diversity, America’s Promise and the Social Impact Leadership Coalition. She is also a member of the Retirement Security Coalition Advisory Board and the U.S.-Japan Council. Rima is one of LEAP’s lead trainers/facilitators for a new multicultural initiative, Leadership Through Philanthropy, that encourages professionals of color to give back (time, talent, treasure) to their communities.

Previously, she served as Executive Director of the Washington, DC-based Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR), a coalition of some of the largest and most influential national Hispanic organizations in the United States, an organization she joined in 1998. She collaborated on several research projects on governance, Hispanic Market, employment, procurement and philanthropy. Rima authored HACR’s publication: 2007 Corporate Governance Study, a report on the representation of Hispanics on the boards of the 500 largest companies in America. She has been involved in governance research since 1998.

Grace Toy is the Sr. Vice President of Administration & CFO for Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics, Inc. (LEAP), a community-based, non-profit leadership training and development organization. She is responsible for the organization’s administration and operations, which include finances and human resources. A, CPA, she was previously a Manager at Sasaki Shishima Yamanaka & Co and a Senior Accountant at Deloitte Haskins and Sells. Ms. Toy is a graduate of the University of Southern California.