Tom Ikeda
Tom Ikeda, the founding executive director and longtime leader of Densho, an online archive and public history organization that documents the stories of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II, recently announced his pending retirement.
Ikeda co-founded Densho in 1996, shepherding its growth from a small, volunteer-run oral history project to a “gold standard” digital archive that reaches over a million people across the globe each year.
“Tom’s a real trailblazer, not just in using digital technology to make this history more accessible, but also in keeping it relevant and engaging the next generation,” said Board Chair Ron Tanemura.
A major national search for a dynamic new leader to take the helm is now underway.
Ikeda plans to stay on until a new executive director has been selected and to help guide the transition process.