Cultural placemaking is the heartbeat of KOHO—a community-powered space born in San Francisco's Japantown to support artists, entrepreneurs, and cultural stewards.
This session traces the origin of KOHO as a response to the need for accessible, meaningful space in a rapidly changing city, and how it has grown into a hub for creativity, resilience, and shared values.
We'll explore how placemaking becomes a tool for resistance and regeneration, especially in communities with deep historical roots.
From there, Susie Kagami shares her personal journey—from raising her son in Japantown and witnessing its transformations, to her role as Cultural District Manager, and ultimately founding KOHO to reimagine space as a site for healing, collaboration, and joy.
Together, we'll reflect on how purpose emerges from place, how our ancestors shape our path, and how to align work with the values that sustain us.
About Susie Kagami
Photo Credit: Jason Leung
KOHO | Founding Executive Director
Susie has championed strategic plans & partnerships for Asian-American non-profit organizations for over 17 years.
She leverages key opportunities & empowers teams to successfully build thriving cultural communities. She has held leadership roles in the AAPI non-profit space as former Executive Director of the Asian American Women Artists Association, Manager of the Japantown Cultural District, in Development at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California and Operations at the Oakland Asian Community Center.
As a community organizer and non-profit staff in Japantown for over a decade, Susie also raised her son in the schools, youth programs, and cultural surroundings of his heritage through the nurturing of the Japantown community.
