Updates From The Editor In Chief
By Trevor Yokoyama | He/Him/His | Bellingham, Washington
Hello Everyone, I would just like to give a few updates on what the Young Buddhist Editorial has been up to. As of this month, the Editorial is now 8 months old and in that time we have been able to learn and grow both as individuals and as well as an organization.
Editorial Board Changes:
Joshua McKinney and Alex Sakamoto have now moved positions to be dedicated writers for the editorial. To fill these positions, the YBE editorial board has added two new faces. In order to get to know our new editors, I have asked both of them to include to write a quick introduction for themselves:
Derek Tahara
Vice-Editor
He/Him/His | Santa Clara, CA
Buddhist Involvement: Mountain View YABA
Fun fact: I was 11.8 oz as a baby
“Hi I’m Derek and I’m the vice editor of YBE. I’m affiliated with the Mountain View Buddhist Temple and I’m currently a staff writer for the Nichi Bei Weekly, the Japanese American newspaper in San Francisco.” - Derek Tahara (Vice Editor)
Anna Tsuchimoto
Buddhist Discussion Editor
She/Her/Hers | Denver, Colorado
Buddhist Involvement: Tri State Denver Buddhist Temple Member
Fun fact: I am hapa!
“Hi! I’m Anna, and I am the Buddhist Discussion editor. My home temple is the Tri State/Denver Buddhist Temple, but I attend the Berkeley Buddhist Temple when I am in school at UC Berkeley!” - Anna Tsuchimoto (Buddhist Discussion Editor)
Trevor Yokoyama
Editor In Chief
He/Him/His | Bellingham, Washington
Buddhist Involvement: Seattle YABA Liaison
Fun fact: My family owns a newt named Tornado that is older than me :)
To fill in Josh’s role, Trevor Yokoyama has changed positions from Buddhist Discussion Editor to fill in as the Editor in Chief. My home temple is the Seattle Betsuin and I just graduated from college in June!
YBE Team Additions:
To help out with the process of putting together new workshops as well as networking, YBE has added a new team member. I have also asked her to write a quick introduction about herself:
KC Mukai
Content and Outreach Coordinator (YBE Team)
She/Her/Hers | Fowler, CA
Buddhist Involvement: President of College YBA
Fun Fact: I like the smell of Home Depot
“Hello everyone! My name is KC Mukai (she/her/hers), and I am the Content and Outreach Coordinator for YBE as well as a new member of the Social Justice Committee! I am also a part of College YBA and Tsuru for Solidarity: Next Gen Coalition!” - KC Mukai (Content and Outreach Coordinator)
With the addition of KC, there are now 17 members on the YBE Team!
Column Reorganization:
Over the course of the past few months, we have received some feedback regarding confusion over the organization of our articles and content. To help remedy these issues, the Buddhist Discussion column and the Dharma Talks column have been combined into a single column. We are also introducing a new column called “Cultural Conversation” which will focus on contemporary issues that Young Buddhists face on a daily basis. Specifically, this column will explore the thoughts, opinions and experiences of these Buddhists as they navigate an evolving American culture.
New Guideline Changes:
Because of the reorganization of the columns, The Buddhist Discussion column now requires the main topic of the submission to be about Buddhism. Submissions relating to contemporary issues will be filtered into the Cultural Conversation Column.
New Youtube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNMhl83HMBaFjH9v2885dqg
Come check out the official YBE Youtube Channel! All of our workshops on “addressing Anti-Blackness and understanding the path of anti-racism” have already been uploaded. So if you missed the live webinars, please take a look!
It has been amazing to see the organization grow in such a small period of time. The YBE organization now has 16 board members who have ties all across America! Thank you all for your continued support and readership.
Namu Amida Butsu,
Trevor Yokoyama
YBE Editor-in-chief
