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From The Asian Reporter, V19, #45 (November 17, 2009), page 6.

Listening to community leaders speak about social corporate responsibility last week, I was struck by the wealth of history and experience present among our diverse communities in Oregon. The occasion was the first quarterly event of the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce (APACC) of Oregon and Southwest Washington. It featured two community leaders who have served as beacons for Asian communities for many years.

June Arima Schumann, a founding director of the Oregon Nikkei Legacy Center (ONLC) and co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), spoke about the importance of citizen engagement in ensuring our society works for all people. Coming of age in the 1960s against the backdrop of black America’s struggle for civil rights, she acknowledges that experiences in activism and civic involvement left a lasting impression on her life’s work.

Schumann’s leadership of ONLC ensured the growth and sustainability of many of the center’s programs that focus on the preservation and sharing of the history of Japanese Americans in Oregon. Although she retired recently, she remains active in a host of local organizations; chief among them is her leadership of the APANO board, a statewide advocacy group.

read more from the Asian Reporter

Pictured above: Jaime Lim, left, publisher of The Asian Reporter, and June Arima Schumann, co-chair of the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon, spoke at the first Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce event.


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