Akira Kumamoto

Akira Olivia Kumamoto is a digital video and print journalist based in Southern California. She specializes in social media optimization and curating journalism for social platforms. Akira currently works as a social video producer on the digital audience team at the Associated Press. In her nearly decade-long career, she has made her mark at USA Today, McClatchy (based at the Sacramento Bee), Snapchat, BuzzFeed, Brainjolt and at NBCUniversal’s Today Show. She’s also written essays for Catapult Magazine and is a culture freelancer for the Japanese-American publication Nichi Bei.

Akira has a Master of Journalism from UC Berkeley (’17). She is proud of her Japanese American and Mexican American heritage, and hones what she’s learned from her multiracial experiences in her reporting. In her spare time, she loves to hang out with her husband, her sweet baby boy, Koji and her two cats.