Friends:
Thanks to all the AAJA-LA members who nominated candidates for the 2022 board election.
Ballots will be sent via email to all full members and student members on Monday, Dec. 20. If you don’t receive a ballot, please message chapter secretary Agnes Constante at a.constante@posteo.net.
Monday, Dec. 20 – Voting starts
Sunday, Dec. 26 – Voting ends, 11:59 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 27 – Announcement of winning candidates
Don’t forget to vote!
Agnes Constante
Secretary, AAJA-LA
Here are the candidates for the 2021 board:
PRESIDENT:
Julie Patel Liss
Julie Patel Liss is a professor and investigative reporter. As head of Cal State LA’s journalism program, she builds opportunities for student journalists, working with them on projects similar to those she worked on as an investigative reporter at the Center for Public Integrity and D.C.’s NPR affiliate. Julie also worked at the South Florida Sun Sentinel and the San Jose Mercury News and has earned over 14 journalism awards and honors, including a 2008 national Emmy Award.
“AAJA helped me when I needed it most, as a young journalist with no connections, and throughout my career, it has been an important network and family. If I can give back even a fraction of what I have received, that would mean a lot to me. If elected president, I would support the chapter in successfully co-hosting the convention, putting on helpful programming such as our first in-person Trivia Bowl in three years, and expanding career development opportunities for our members.”
SECRETARY:
Carren Jao
Carren Jao is the arts & culture editor and a digital producer for L.A. PBS station KCET and PBS SoCal. She oversees editorial strategy and content development for its Arts & Culture, Food, History and Outdoor sections. Previously, Carren has worked as a full-time freelance journalist. Her work has been published around the world, including the Los Angeles Times, Wired UK, Surface, Dwell and many others. She has also been nominated for best online journalist for her work covering the issues and communities of the Los Angeles River for KCET’s Confluence.
“Good journalism takes work and also a support system. It’s organizations like the Asian American Journalists Association that open the doors for more diverse voices in this field and provide much-needed opportunities for others to find community. At AAJA-LA, I’ve found a tight-knit and active group of journalists who care about the health and future of the field. Its projects like the internship program (which I’m privileged to help shepherd at KCET), professional development programs and, most recently, its advocacy to help curb anti-Asian harassment, continue to impact Asian American journalists positively and help address the issues we face.
I would love to join the board as secretary to continue the good work being done at AAJA-LA. I’m a natural archivist and my inclination at every opportunity is always to keep a good record. My work at KCET has also honed my project management skills, handling complex projects from conception to execution. I am also passionate about representation and lead the AAPI ERG group at KCET/PBS SoCal. I believe these skills added to my own commitment to diversity would stand me in good stead in this position. I look forward to helping serve the AAJA-LA community.”
VICE PRESIDENT OF CAREER DEVELOPMENT:
Henry Fuhrmann
Henry Fuhrmann is an editor and college instructor. He worked for the Los Angeles Times from 1990 to 2015, retiring as assistant managing editor for the copy desks and standards. He is a two-time past president of AAJA-LA and serves on the national board of ACES: The Society for Editing.
“I have been honored to serve AAJA-LA as an officer, board member or adviser for more than 20 years. Throughout that time, I have focused my energies on developing scholarships, internships and other programs that serve students and early- to mid-career journalists. I look forward to working with the 2022 board to advance our chapter’s partnerships with area newsrooms and build on the chapter’s achievements of the past several years.”
VICE PRESIDENT OF VP of COMMUNITY OUTREACH:
Ada Tseng
Ada Tseng is an assistant editor on the Utility Journalism team at the Los Angeles Times. The team publishes stories and information that help people solve problems, answer questions and make big decisions about life in and around Los Angeles. She previously led coverage of Orange County as TimesOC’s entertainment editor, and she co-hosts the Asian American pop culture history podcast “Saturday School.”
“Part of my job at the L.A. Times Utility Journalism Team is to interact with our readers and understand how we can be useful to people in Southern California, home to so many diverse communities. This is really close to my heart, because I’ve spent most my career covering Asian Americans and understand the importance of getting this stuff right and not leaving underrepresented communities behind. I’ve been lucky to work on various community engagement projects at the L.A. Times and TimesOC and would love to learn from my fellow AAJA-LA members.”
VICE PRESIDENT OF SPECIAL PROJECTS:
Teresa Watanabe
Teresa Watanabe covers higher education for the L.A. Times and also has written about K-12 education, immigration, ethnic communities, religion, Japan/Korea and Pacific Rim business and economics. She previously reported on Asia, national affairs and state government for the San Jose Mercury News and wrote editorials for the L.A. Herald Examiner.
“For as long as I’ve been in the news business, AAJA has been an absolutely essential source of friends, mentors and incredible opportunities. I’ve been privileged to serve as your chapter president for the past two years as we powered through the pandemic and rising anti-Asian hate while also celebrating the 40th anniversary of our founding in Los Angeles. If elected as your VP of Special Projects, I would love to work on our 2022 national convention in Los Angeles, our signature Trivia Bowl and exciting new grant programs; further expand our connections and hear from you about how best to serve your interests and needs. Thank you for supporting AAJA-LA!”
BOARD MEMBER:
Agnes Constante
Agnes is a freelance journalist and social media coordinator. Her bylines have appeared in NBC Asian America, the LA Times, Prism and Inquirer.net. She is currently a Carter fellow and working on a yearlong series about mental health in the Filipino American community. Agnes has also been a data fellow and California fellow at USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.
“Serving as secretary for the AAJA-LA board over the past two years has been such a great experience. I would love to continue playing an active role in shaping how the chapter serves Asian American journalists in Los Angeles, especially through our yearly programming.”
BOARD MEMBER:
Josh Cain
Josh Cain has been a crime and public safety reporter for the Southern California News Group since 2018. He previously was an editor for the Pasadena Star News and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. He also worked as a digital editor for the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Business Journal.
“I would like to continue AAJA-LA’s activism and organizing around press freedom issues that have become critical to journalists working in the Los Angeles area. In 2020 and 2021, AAJA was part of a coalition of journalists groups that successfully lobbied for the passage of a clean version of California Senate Bill 98, which exempts media professionals from police dispersal orders during protests. There’s still more work that needs to be done guaranteeing our access as journalists to public spaces and ensuring that we’re not harassed for just doing our jobs.”
NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD REPRESENTATIVE:
Anh Do 
Anh Do is a Metro reporter covering Asian American issues and general assignments. A second-generation journalist, she has worked at the Dallas Morning News, the Seattle Times, the Orange County Register and Nguoi Viet Daily News, the largest Vietnamese-language newspaper in the U.S. Born in Saigon, Do is a graduate of USC with degrees in journalism and English and she has reported from Cuba, India, Mexico, Peru and Vietnam. Her writing on race, culture and trauma has won awards from Columbia University and the Asian American Journalists Assn. and she is a recipient of Yale’s Poynter Fellowship in Journalism. Apart from words, she’s passionate about all things canine, spending 26 years in dog rescue around the globe.
“I can’t remember a time in my adult life when I’ve not been involved with AAJA – such is its reach and its deep role in bringing our convictions and passions together. In 2021, we marked our group’s monumental 40th year. And in 2022, we’ll actually celebrate that and forge ahead at an in-person convention in Los Angeles where our journalism movement started. Yet much remains to formulate, plan and do before we gather and I believe my decades of experience as a volunteer and as board member will help us move toward a dynamite and relevant industry event. I’m running for national board representative, a position I’ve held before, to keep to the vigorous pace AAJA-LA sets when it comes to connecting, funding, innovating, mentoring and programming – all in service of our chapter and our supporters. I hope we find ways big and small to unite to boost access, hiring and training for our membership across generations – and to elevate coverage of emerging communities and issues. I also hope we can partner to recruit and retain more people committed to our craft. I’m thankful for your thoughtful consideration.”