The National Association of Japanese Canadians (NAJC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Kevin Okabe as the new Executive Director, effective May 1, 2018.
Kevin, based in Calgary, Alberta, has been actively involved with the Japanese Canadian community at both the local and national levels for over thirty years. Locally, he helped organize Japanese Canadian youth groups and he has served on the boards of community organizations in Winnipeg and Calgary. The former President of the Calgary Japanese Community Association, he chaired the 2011 Calgary Tsunami Relief campaign.
Kevin has a long history with the NAJC and served for five terms, taking on the roles of Director, Secretary and Treasurer for the organization. He worked on the NAJC’s Youth, Strategic Planning, Finance and Heritage Committees, and was instrumental in shaping the organization’s investment strategy.
Kevin comes to his new role with the NAJC after retiring from the private sector, where he served as Chief Operating Officer for MSH International (Canada), a provider of expatriate insurance solutions, for the past ten years. He also spent over fifteen years working in public practice with Grant Thornton and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He holds certifications as a Chartered Professional Accountant and in Information Technology audit and governance, and was recognized as one of Calgary’s Top 40 under 40 in 2007. He and his wife Naoko Maebashi own and operate two retail stores and a deli in Banff and Kananaskis, Alberta.
As Executive Director, Kevin’s priorities for the NAJC include:
- Researching and suggesting strategic alternatives for consideration by the organization
- Supporting the work of the NAJC’s Executive Board and committees, including the organization of the Annual General meeting
- Stabilizing and streamlining the back office and accounting administration for the organization
- Enhancing communication within the organization and strengthening partnerships to achieve common goals
The NAJC Board of Directors looks forward to working with Kevin as we continue to redefine and enhance the organization’s role in serving the Japanese Canadian community.
