Meet Mimari

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I am a native of Japan, born and raised there.  I studied in the United States as a high school exchange student when I was 18 and as a graduate student in my late 20s.  I hold a bachelor's degree in English Linguistics from a university in Japan and a master's degree in Speech Communication with an emphasis on organizational and intercultural communication from a university in the U.S.  During my graduate school, I enjoyed helping fellow international college students and visiting scholars adjust to a new culture and academic environment that are different from their own.  I also worked with high school exchange students to experience living in the U.S. for one school year.    

I am a first-generation immigrant in the U.S.  I am a parent of children who are neurodiverse.  

I have over 30 years of experience facilitating systems change efforts and innovation development in youth- and family-serving systems.  I played leadership roles in my recent career professions which focused on creating a better future for the next generations of leaders and the workforce while improving the current systems to work better for the whole family including children, youth, parents, grandparents to thrive together.  

I am a certified youth resilience coach by Youth Coaching Institute (YCI) and working toward International Coaching Federation (ICF) ACC certification.  I am also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) by Project Management Institute (PMI), having experience managing projects of all sizes.

I have always been passionate about helping people.  When I learned about life coaching, I felt like I found my life purpose.  My personal and professional experiences provided me with insight into life coaching.   When I was studying abroad, I felt alone, didn't fit in, and lost my sense of self-identity and the direction of where I was headed in life at times.  I am a parent of children who are neurodiverse.  I didn't have the support I needed when we were going through very challenging times as a family.  Looking back on my life experiences, I wished I had someone to support me to get through those tough times, someone to hold me accountable for finding my own path forward to self-discovery, self-confidence, and happiness.  That is why I became a life coach to be that person for others and established Hall of Lanterns LLC.