Atsuko Fish

Atsuko is a founding trustee of the Fish Family Foundation, established in 1999. As part of this Foundation, she also founded the Japanese Women’s Leadership Initiative (JWLI) in 2006, the Champion of Change Japan Award in 2017, and the JWLI Bootcamp in 2019. These programs are among the leading social entrepreneurship and innovation programs in Japan.

In the wake of the devastating earthquakes and tsunami in 2011, Atsuko established the Japanese Disaster Relief Fund-Boston, which raised approximately $1 million and distributed 24 grants to 19 organizations and projects working directly in Tohoku in two years. The grantees reported that JDRFB’s $1 million grants were leveraged for $6 million of economic impact.

Atsuko also served as a board chair of the Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence for over 10 years, and as a trustee of Simmons College. She was a board member of The Boston Foundation, Health and Development Service, the Japan Society of New York, and Management Sciences of Health. She currently serves as a board member emeritus of the U.S.-Japan Council.

In recognition of her achievements, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan awarded Atsuko the Foreign Minister’s Commendation in 2012. In 2013, the White House named Atsuko a recipient of the Champion of Change Award. In 2018, Atsuko was conferred by the Emperor of Japan the Order of the Rising Sun and the Gold Rays with Rosette for her contribution to the advancement of women’s leadership in the Japanese social sector.