Board of Directors
Michael K. Iwahiro
President
Mike fondly recalls proposing the idea of an ABAS scholarship while serving on the ABAS board in the 1980s. Then-president Jeffery Ogata responded along the lines of, "We should be able to afford a couple hundred dollars, and you can be the chair." Mike is now honored to serve as president of a foundation that awards close to $20,000 in ABAS scholarships annually, helping local law students pursue their legal education and service to the API community.
Timothy G. Yeung
President Elect
Tim Yeung is the Managing Partner of Sloan Sakai Yeung & Wong LLP where his practice includes all areas of labor and employment law. Tim is the former Chair of the 6,000 member State Bar Labor & Employment Law Section. He is also a contributing author to the California Public Sector Employment Law treatise and the California Public Sector Employment Law treatise, both published by LexisNexis.
Henry D. Nanjo
Secretary
Henry D. Nanjo, Secretary, who has a decade in private practice as a litigator and over twenty five years as a government lawyer, currently is an Assistant Chief Counsel with the CA Department of General Services. He is a past President of ABAS, Asian/Pacific Bar Assn. of CA, and the APSEA Foundation. Henry is a founding member of CAPITAL, and continues to be active in a number of community and church activities.
Jerilyn Paik
CFO/Treasurer
Jerilyn (“Jeri”) Paik formed the ABAS Law Foundation in 1997, and is the CFO. She serves as a co-chair of the Speaker Series and formerly chaired the ABAS annual golf tournament. When not helping her favorite non-profit, she can be reached at her law firm. She is certified by the State Bar of CA, Bd. of Legal Specialization, as a specialist in her principal areas of practice, which are estate planning, probate and trust administration. For more information about her, visit www.jplawoffice.com.
Yoon-Woo Nam
Board Member
Nicholas Awakuni
Board Member - Social Media Chair
Nicholas Awakuni is a Senior Associate with PricewaterhouseCoopers working in State Tax Law and controversy. He began his involvement with ABAS during his time at UC Davis School of Law, volunteering at events such as the annual golf tournament. After graduating in 2021 he continued volunteering and later joined the Law Foundation Board to take a more active role in contributing to the Asian-American legal community.
Sharon Ito
Board Member - Sacramento Japantown Museum Chair
Sharon Ito serves as chair of the Reclaim Sacramento Japantown Committee, a community-based educational project of The ABAS Law Foundation. The Sacramento Japantown Museum Exhibit Project will install "Destroyed By Design" at the Sacramento History Museum in October 2026. Sharon brings a background in the news media, strategic communications, and community service. She is a senior fellow with the American Leadership Forum and recipient of the Florin JACL Carol Hisatomi Women’s Leadership Award.
Emmanuel Salazar
Board Member (Ex Officio - ABAS President)
Emmanuel is the current President of the Asian/Pacific Bar Association of Sacramento (ABAS). He also serves as president of the NFALA Foundation, as well as the ABAS representative to the Unity Bar of Sacramento and the Sacramento County Bar Association. He was a cofounder and past president of the Sacramento Filipino American Lawyers Association (SacFALA) (2019) and past co-chair of SacLegal (2017-2018). He is a Supervising Deputy Attorney General in the California Department of Justice. His main practices deal with healthcare and civil fraud. His work has helped recover over $1.2 billion of taxpayer monies from pharmacies, pharmaceuticals, health care facilities, and other medical providers. He is a graduate of UC Davis School of Law.