Gil Asakawa

Gil Asakawa has worked in the media as a writer, editor and online expert for 30 years, as music editor for Denver’s alternative weekly newspaper, Westword, as well as daily newspapers and news websites. He's currently Manager of Student Media at the University of Colorado’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, where he oversees the student-run news website, CUIndependent.com.

He’s active in the Asian and Asian American community, as a member of the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival’s Operating Committee since its start in 2001, a national board member of the JACL and President of the Asian American Journalists Association. He is also a popular speaker, panelist and moderator on Asian American issues and identity.

He authored Being Japanese American (Stone Bridge Press 2004) and co-authored The Toy Book (Knopf, 1991). He writes a blog, Nikkeiview.com, about pop culture from an Asian American perspective. He also blogs on Posterous and Tumblr, Twitters, spends time on Facebook and is a member of every social site and service he hears about.

Gil and his partner Erin Yoshimura recently launched visualizAsian.com, a website featuring interviews with Asian American Pacific Islander leaders to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.