The Board

Miwa Hitsumoto PhD, LMFT is arguably the most experienced psychotherapist in or outside Japan regarding Japanese multi-ethnic and cross-cultural counseling, serving clients in the Greater Los Angeles area as well as other states and countries where there are sizeable Japanese communities. In private practice since 2004, Dr Hitsumoto has extensive experience and expertise in the treatment of trauma, depression, anxiety, addiction, domestic violence, interpersonal relationship issues, and other psychological conditions and disorders. As the executive and clinical director for the nonprofit organization, Center for Japanese Mental Health, she shares its mission to improve access to and quality of mental health care available to Japanese everywhere, particularly for those Japanese living and working outside Japan. As a recognized expert in her field, Dr Hitsumoto has appeared as a guest speaker for Japanese public radio and NAMI, consulted for Japanese mental health and disaster relief agencies, and facilitated numerous media inquiries from international psychological publications and news organizations. Prior to practicing clinical psychology as a psychotherapist, Dr Hitsumoto worked in Japan as a software engineer and marketing manager for large international corporations. While working in Japan, she was reminded of her original dream of becoming a Japanese therapist and returned to the USA to pursue her true calling.

Gilbert M. Nishimura was admitted to the California State Bar in December 1973 and has been admitted to the United States District Court, Central District, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Mr. Nishimura is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles and received his Juris Doctorate at Loyola University School of Law.
Mr. Nishimura was formerly a member of the Law Firms of West & Girardi; Girardi and Keese; Senzaki, Osajima & Nishimura; and Roquemore, Pringle & Moore, where he assumed leadership roles in the litigation, personal injury, and workers’ compensation departments.
In 2005, he helped form Seki, Nishimura & Watase and became its initial Managing Partner. Mr. Nishimura currently supervises the firm’s civil litigation practice, as well as its general practice, including general business, transactional matters, and estate planning.
His practice area has included representing various government entities, such as the County of Los Angeles and its Sheriff’s Department, Healthcare System, Coroner’s Office, District Attorney’s Office and Public Defender’s Office; City of Bellflower; City of Bell Gardens; City of West Covina; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Pacific Bell Telephone Company; AT&T Services, Inc., Southern California Edison Company and United States Bankruptcy Trustees. He has also appeared and successfully argued in front of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Mr. Nishimura is a former referee of the State Bar of California and Judge Pro Tem of the Los Angeles Municipal Court. He has been a member of the Judicial Review Committee of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and on the Judicial Evaluations Committee and Board of Governors of the Japanese American Bar Association of Greater Los Angeles, of which he is a founding member. Moreover, Mr. Nishimura has been a panelist speaker for the Public Utilities Commission, the State Bar of California Annual Convention and the Judiciary College in Berkeley, California.
In addition to his professional affiliations, Mr. Nishimura believes in giving back to the community and has been involved with the Japanese American National Museum, Go For Broke National Education Center, Twin Counties Optimist Club (founding member), Bell Gardens Rotary Club, Southeast Youth Organization, Orange County Buddhist Church (Board of Directors), City of Cerritos Beautification Program, Little Tokyo Service Center (Board of Governors), a sponsor of the Little Tokyo Historical Society Sei Fujii Lantern Project, and the Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic (founding Board of Director).

Dr Helen Chen, is a board certified radiation oncologist and trained at UC Irvine and the City of Hope Medical Center. She has practiced radiation oncology in Southern California for 20 years. She currently practices as the Medical Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the City of Hope/South Pasadena. Dr. Chen grew up in Monterey Park, California, in a family that has been dedicated to public service. Her mother has a Masters in social work. Dr. Chen received her bachelor’s degree with distinction from Stanford University and attended UC San Francisco Medical School. She has been on the board of various Asian American physician organizations. Her spouse and in-laws are of Japanese descent, and she has been an active member of the Japanese American Medical Association, most recently on their Scholarship Committee. Dr. Chen is highly interested in the mental health aspects of all patients, and in particular Asian American and Japanese American patients who often do not have adequate access to psychological services due to lack of education, insurance resources, language barriers, and cultural beliefs.

Yoshiyuki Taki is an attorney practicing immigration law for the past 17 years, helping Japanese people and companies to relocate to the United States. He was admitted to the State Bar of Arizona in 1996 and earned Bachelor of Law from Niigata University, Niigata, Japan, a Master of Comparative Law from Indiana University School of Law, a Master of Arts in Ministry from Hope International University, and a Master of Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He serves a predominantly Japanese clientele and cares deeply for the Japanese community. Mr. Taki is an active member of the American Bar Association, American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Japan Business Association.
As Treasurer and Secretary, he ensures that the financial books and records of the organization are accurate and up to date. He is responsible for the organization’s tax filings.

Natalie Profant Komuro has 25+ years experience in homeless services, including 17 years in nonprofit management. She is currently the Continuum of Care manager for the City of Ontario. From 2007-2019, she was the executive director of Ascencia, a nonprofit homeless service agency that offers on-site psychiatry and trauma therapy, including EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) methods to assist homeless clients. She taught marketing for nonprofit organization as an adjunct professor at California State University, Los Angeles. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Pomona College and her Master of Arts from UCLA in Urban Planning.