Chrissy Shimizu Named Executive Director Of Wing Luke Museum

The Wing Luke Museum has named Chrissy Shimizu as its new executive director following a year-long nationwide search that included input from community members and museum staff.

Shimizu, who previously served as the museum’s director of individual giving from 2017 to 2021, will begin her new role May 11. Museum leaders described the appointment as a return for a familiar face with strong ties to the community the institution serves.

“The search committee, in partnership with executive search firm Koya Partners, undertook a rigorous national search that brought us many talented candidates,” said Mike Myint, a trustee and chair of the Executive Search Committee. “After a process that involved multiple stakeholders and three rounds of interviews, Chrissy Shimizu was a unanimous choice.”

Born and raised in Seattle, Shimizu has long been involved in advocacy and community work in the city’s Chinatown-International District. She is widely recognized as an advocate for Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities as well as other communities of color.

Shimizu currently serves as executive director of Puget Sound Sage, where she has spent the past five years building experience in community-centered advocacy, fundraising and coalition building.

Leaders of the museum say those experiences, along with her deep roots in the Chinatown-International District, make her well suited to lead the institution forward.

“Christina is a dynamic leader with a proven track record of serving marginalized communities. She is energetic and effective in transition management, staff engagement and community coalition building,” said Ellen Ferguson, president of the museum’s Board of Trustees. “She brings deep ties in the C-ID community and speaks of returning to the Museum and neighborhood as ‘coming home.’ We believe she embodies the crucial competencies and characteristics necessary to carry the Museum’s legacy forward. We are grateful to the Executive Search Committee, Board of Trustees and staff for their dedication and time throughout the process.”

Ferguson also expressed appreciation for Kamahanahokulani Farrar, who served as interim executive director during the search process.

Ferguson credited Farrar with providing stability, guidance and structure during the transition, while museum staff continued to carry out programming, exhibitions and community events.

Shimizu’s return to the museum is being described as a “homecoming” by leaders who say her familiarity with the organization and its mission will help strengthen the museum’s ongoing role in preserving and sharing Asian American history and culture.