Kimiko Marr | Founder/CEO
Kimiko has a BA in Film Studies from UC Santa Barbara and is mixed race Japanese American. Her mother’s family was incarcerated in Topaz, UT during WWII. She has attended pilgrimages to nine confinement sites (including Crystal City, TX) over the past six years. She has visited 13 of the 16 “assembly center” sites and all ten of the WRA camp sites.
To date, Kimiko has organized a multi-day pilgrimage to the Arkansas camps twice and Tadaima! A Community Virtual Pilgrimage twice.
She previously worked in the entertainment industry for 15 years.
You may contact her at Kimiko@JAMPilgrimages.com
Marissa Fujimoto | Founder/Creative Director
Marissa has a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Sanford-Brown College specializing in digital media. As a post production coordinator at Screaming Flea Productions, she worked directly with national networks such as A&E and Discovery. She currently co-owns Slager Fuj Creative Media, LLC and is actively building relationships in the greater Seattle area, producing videos for local businesses.
Her work experience, Japanese American heritage and her family members who were incarcerated in Minidoka, ID, have guided her to a documentary opportunity. She has attended pilgrimages to eight of the ten WRA confinement sites. Her passion is to educate younger generations and preserve the stories of aging survivors who were incarcerated in WWII.
You may contact her at Marissa@JAMPilgrimages.com
Greg Sommers-Herivel | Producer
Hailing out of Seattle, Greg combines his background in science and film to create a unique perspective in his productions. He has been producing and directing projects since 2003. His most recent production, Divine Shadow, a 14 episode web series, has won several awards including Best Director and Best Web Series. Greg joined JAMP in 2018 and been on several pilgrimages to eight of the ten WRA camp sites in the past two years.
You may contact him at Greg@JAMPilgrimages.com
Nicole Tanner | CFO
Nicole has a BS in Business Administration from the University of Illinois @ UrbanaChampaign. She has a background in accounting/business management and has spent the last three years as the Director of Operations for a local animal welfare nonprofit. She become involved with Tadaima! through her work with JAMP and is very proud to be a part of such an incredible project.
You may contact her at
Nicole@JAMPilgrimages.com
Marcela Bator | Associate Producer
Marcela is a Kanaka Maoli artist and storyteller from Wai'anae, Hawai'i. She earned a BA in Anthropology from the University of Hawai'i West O'ahu in 2020, and began her career as an anthropology research assistant focusing on the history of Honouliuli National Historic Site. Marcela is passionate about history and human rights, with particular focus on Kanaka Maoli and Indigenous representation, sovereignty, and rights to self determination. Marcela hopes to create public history and educational materials that focuses on history from the perspectives of those who lived it, particularly those from BIPOC and other underserved communities that history often overlooks.
Daniel Mimura | Director of Photography
Daniel is a cinematographer, camera operator, and steadicam operator based in Seattle. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin’s prestigious filmmaking program. Daniel has shot a wide range of local, national, and international productions including features, documentaries, TV shows, short films, music videos and commercials. He is half yonsei and his father’s family was incarcerated in Poston, AZ during WWII.
Chad Alsager | Editor
Chad is a Canadian born mixed media enthusiast and creator. His upbringing in rural Saskatchewan drives the dedication and perseverance he puts into his artistic expressions. In 2017, Chad, along with his business partner, Marissa Fujimoto, formed a video production company located in Seattle called Slager Fuj Creative Media. Although Chad loves all aspects of video production, he specializes in finalizing videos from the post production office.
Megan Martinez Goltz | Editor
Megan Martinez Goltz is a queer Chicanx filmmaker based in Santa Cruz, California. Megan brings Indigenous traditions to the foreground through collective story-telling and cataloging traditional ways of cultivating food, medicine, and music. In every aspect of their work, Megan creates space for healing by honoring heritage and bringing together community. They value respect and celebration - for elders as they pass on their teachings, for queer folks as they share their stories, and for a part of themselves that has been lost to cultural assimilation. By weaving vibrant histories across generations, borders, and languages, Megan paves a pathway to ancestral connection. They are dedicated to sharing stories that celebrate the authentic identities of individuals in ways that invite inclusion for folks to feel a sense of connection and belonging.
Supporting various projects across North America, Megan works as a director, editor and sound recordist. They hold a Bachelor of Arts in Film & Digital Media from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Megan is currently collaborating with cultural organizations to share legacy stories while they complete production on their personal legacy short film titled Bienvenida Abuelita.
McKenzie Fujimoto | Illustrator
My name is McKenzie Fujimoto. I’m a Yonsei whose family was incarcerated at Minidoka. Currently I am studying 3D animation at the Academy of Art University, and will be graduating with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Animation and VFX in fall 2020. I am a freelance illustrator and 3D animator. In my spare time, I like to practice rigging and modeling characters as well as sketching to continually advance my art.
For further information you can check out my Instagram @itmefuji or email me at mckenzie.fujimoto@gmail.com
Tyler Heydon | Production Assistant/B Camera
Tyler grew up just outside of Seattle and has always been interested in videography. Tyler graduated from Kennedy High School and received a select Honors Award for creating fun and engaging videos sharing the activities of a variety of school events and organizations. Now he is pursuing his passion at the Savannah School of Art and Design in Savannah Georgia. Tylers grandfather was interned at Minidoka internment camp, so he is especially excited to have the opportunity to work on JAMP and continue to learn and contribute.
Kazuhiro Edeza | Social Media Manager
Hiro is the founder and president of the Nikkei Student Union at San Francisco State University. As a shin-nisei, Hiro’s exploration of his own Nikkei identity led to an interest in the Japanese American WWII experience. From there, his passion for the community grew, and inspired his involvement in a variety of JA organizations. Hiro plans to continue working in the preservation of the JA experience after he completes his BA in History and minor in Asian American Studies at San Francisco State University.
Caroline Kimura | Production Assistant/Transcriber
For Caroline Kimura, learning about Japanese American history was something she was always interested in. With both sides of her family in camps (Manzanar and Topaz), she is interested in learning more about her ancestral heritage. In her spare time, she works on her photography and writing, hoping to represent and educate the masses on what it means to be Asian American.
Monika Mizota | Producer’s Assistant
Monika is of the Yonsei generation from the Bay Area, who regularly grew up going to her Japantown in San Jose, where she was able to celebrate her heritage. When she went to college, she felt disconnected to her culture which led her to adding a minor in Asian American Studies. She was able to combine her passions with her major in Television Studies, by making projects throughout her time at CSU Northridge that were about Asian American stories. Learning about her grandparents' experiences in internment camps all over the country; Topaz, Heart Mountain, Rohwer, and Amache, especially pushed her to fight harder to tell these stories.
As an Asian American woman, she is excited to be a part of the JAMP organization. She hopes to share more stories that help educate people, while also learning more about the Japanese American experience for herself.