Celebrating the Trailblazers: VAF honors AANHPI Icons
What: An iconic gathering of AANHPI broadcast journalists
When: Thursday, June 25
Doors open at 8 p.m.
8:30 p.m. Welcome & VAF Icons Awards Dinner
Where: Diane's Place Event Center
117 14th Avenue NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Minneapolis, MN – As some of the very first to break barriers for the AANHPI community in newsrooms across the country, Dianne Fukami, Lonnie Wong, and Jan Yanehiro reported the news with integrity, professionalism and grace. This summer, The Very Asian Foundation (VAF) is honored to present these three legendary broadcasters of Asian American descent with the VAF ICON Award for their trailblazing and illustrious careers.
Coinciding with the 2026 Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) Convention, the journalists will be recognized as VAF ICON Honorees for their decades-long careers, steadfast dedication to journalistic excellence, and their lasting influence on generations of AANHPI storytellers. This event is held in partnership with VAF partners The Asian American Foundation and United Talent Agency.
Dianne Fukami
Dianne Fukami is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist. She began her career at KPIX-TV, now the CBS O&O in San Francisco, where was hired right out of college as the news department secretary. By the time Fukami left 15 years later, she had become the Assistant News Director, the second highest-ranking person in the newsroom and one of the only Asian American news executives in the country at that time.
Following her television news career, Fukami became a documentary filmmaker, with her work cited as source material in many higher education Asian American history books.
Fukami was also on the faculty of Academy of Art University teaching multimedia communication and newscast production to college students for 10 years.
A founding member of the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of AAJA, Fukami has served in leadership and advisory roles with numerous nonprofit organizations, including the National Japanese American Historical Society, the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California, the Topaz Museum Board, the U.S.-Japan Council, and the Vincent Chin Institute. Fukami’s most recent honors include being named a recipient of the National Japanese American Citizens League Biennium Award in 2022 and induction into the Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame, also in 2022.
Lonnie Wong
With a broadcast journalism career spanning more than four decades, Lonnie Wong has built a distinguished career reporting on natural disasters, political scandals, high profile murders and has covered the administrations of seven California governors beginning with Ronald Reagan.
A Sacramento native and graduate of the University of California, Davis, Wong began his journalism journey at the student-run radio station KDVS before building a distinguished career in television news. During his nearly 43 years at Fox40 Sacramento, he served in numerous roles, including reporter, assignment editor, field producer, producer, and host of public affairs programs such as FACETS, which highlighted Asian Pacific community issues. Wong has been recognized by the California State Legislature and its Joint Asian Pacific Islander Caucus in a ceremony on the floor of the State Assembly and presented the API Heritage Award for excellence in News Media.
Lonnie has been active in civic and non-profit groups in Sacramento for three decades and currently serves on the boards of numerous organizations in the community devoted to the advancement of the Asian Pacific Islander communities. He helped found and lead several influential organizations, including the Chinese American Council of Sacramento, CAPITAL, the Asian Pacific Rim Foundation, and the Sacramento chapter of AAJA. His decades of service to journalism and the API community were recognized with the National AAJA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.
Jan Yanehiro
Jan Yanehiro is the pioneering journalist who co-founded the Bay Area staple “Evening Magazine” pioneering the magazine format for television becoming the one of the first Asian Americans to host a nightly entertainment television program. Traveling the world profiling extraordinary people and places earned her a multitude of accolades and awards including a Regional Emmy, the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanitarian Award, induction into the Academy of Television and Radio Hall of Fame, and the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Silver Circle Award. She also hosted acclaimed documentaries on the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, including Resettlement to Redress, which chronicled the signing of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988.
Jan served as Director and Founder of the School of Communications and Media Technologies at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco mentoring and educating the next generation of media professionals.
As a community advocate, she serves as Chair of Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation Legacy Council, and in leadership roles with the U.S.-Japan Council Advisory Board, the San Francisco–Osaka Sister City Association, Nikkei Nexus, the International Women’s Forum, The Bank of Marin and as the first Board Chair of The Representation Project on gender equality. Born and raised in Hawaii and a graduate of California State University, Fresno, Jan is also a bestselling co-author and a devoted mother and grandmother whose impact continues to inspire communities across generations.
“Every trail begins with someone willing to step where no path exists. The honorees we are celebrating did exactly that,” said Michelle Li, co-founder of VAF. “Through talent, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to their craft, they challenged assumptions, shattered ceilings, and created opportunities for those who could follow. Their impact reaches far beyond the newsroom and we are honored to recognize them,” Li said.
The Very Asian Foundation is a 501(c)3 founded by journalists whose mission is to shine a light on Asian experiences through advocacy and celebration. It was founded by broadcast journalists Michelle Li and Gia Vang after a television viewer left a racist voicemail for Li that ultimately sparked a global moment of unity in 2022. The viewer complained Li was being “very Asian” for talking about the tradition of eating dumplings on New Year’s Day during a newscast. It sparked global merchandise sales that raised tens of thousands of dollars for AAJA and other causes. VAF now works as a journalist-founded organization to help people solve problems – whether that’s with community partnership or the group’s signature programs, The May Book Project and Creators Microgrant Program. The national FBI office also recognized The May Book Project as a way to fight anti-Asian hate responsibly and thoughtfully. VAF understands that to be a part of narrative change means being a community builder at local levels.
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Contact:
Gia Vang: gia@veryasianfoundation.org, 916.479.6802
Sandy Lee: SandyLee11@gmail.com
