Vice president for Seoul subchapter: Carina Lee
Hello everyone, my name is Carina, the current Seoul VP for AAJA Asia. Serving the Seoul subchapter for the past 2 years was truly a privilege and a rewarding experience. We have held events for Journalists and students regardless of the pandemic situation. We’ve had panel events that would help Journalists to have a better understanding of certain issues and student events to learn what it’s like to become part of the newsroom. Seoul subchapter also had an exciting opportunity to collaborate with an external organization on establishing the English version of the ethics guideline to present meaningful guides for foreign correspondents. We have increased our awareness in Korea and learned more on what kind of events would be meaningful for our AAJA members. If elected, I’m hoping to continue serve our AAJA community and extend our partnership with external organizations to increase the AAJA membership benefits. And of course, still continuing to hold great events for aspiring journalists and current news contributors.
Co-vice president for Tokyo subchapter: Erica Yokoyama
Bio:
I am a breaking news editor at Bloomberg News Tokyo, covering a wide range of Japan-related financial, economic and political news in English and Japanese. I’ve lived most of my life in Japan, except for 3 years in Europe where I studied abroad.
I joined the company about 2 years ago, after experiencing student internships at several media institutions including TV Asahi Washington D.C. Bureau, Japan Times and NYT.
Other than my current role, I’ve been interested in writing stories about ESG, especially on climate change and sustainability. I’ve written several feature stories on related topics.
Why you are interested in this role:
Being encouraged by endorsement from incumbent co-Vice President Shoko Oda, I decided to run for the position. I have two objectives I would like to achieve through the role. Firstly, I would like to facilitate interactions between reporters and students interested in journalism, by offering various forms of opportunities including webinars and casual meals. I remember I had difficulty finding positions and internship opportunities when I was a student looking for jobs, sending emails through Linkedin. I believe it is very important that communities like AAJA actively reach out to younger people. Based on my own experience representing Bloomberg and attending multiple university outreach sessions to talk about foreign media, I believe I am fit for pushing this objective forward.
Secondly, I am very keen to organize events with fellow journalists where members can study together and exchange views on how to improve our journalistic practices. I would love to learn how experienced journalists view the rapidly changing political situation in Asia. I also hope I can provide some fresh perspectives, especially since I’m interested in utilization of emerging digital platforms.
At-large board seat: Glenn van Zutphen
Dear AAJA,
Please consider me for the role of AAJA Asia, At-large Board Member.
I have been an active member of AAJA Asia Chapter for several years now; attending chapter activities, N3Con, mentoring, moderating panels, and contributing to the magazine.
I would very much like to take part in the organization at a deeper level; hence my decision to run for this position. AAJA Asia has become one of the premier journalism organizations, globally. This is due in large part to its excellent officers, who are diligent in setting strategy and executing ideas.
If elected to this Board position, I would be honored to offer my time and ideas to promote AAJA Asia. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Glenn van Zutphen
Student representative: Dexter Lin
I’d like to run as student representative to the board because I want to help fellow students get involved with journalism. AAJA has helped me a lot in helping me connect with a welcoming and forthcoming professional network, and I’d like to extend that same privilege to others.
Bio: Dexter is a third-year history major at Yale-NUS College in Singapore. He has been interested in journalism since he was a kid, creating his own newspaper (handwritten and hand-drawn!) and selling them for five cents each in Primary school. Today, he is most interested in Orientalism in media and the effects that it has on the general public. As the student representative to the board, Dexter plans to promote AAJA to budding journalists across universities in Asia through networking sessions and programs. Outside of his work and studies, he is a national sprinter for Singapore, specializing in the 100m race.