Founded in 1979 by Esther G. Kee and the late Joji Konoshima, the US-Asia Institute is a private, United Nations-associated nongovernment organization (NGO) under Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code. We are a nonprofit organization devoted to improving understanding and strengthening ties between the people and governments of the United States and Asia. Through conferences, off-the-record briefings, people-to-people exchanges, and ongoing interaction at all levels, the Institute has effectively built a bond of trust and mutual respect over the past 31 years and has succeed in keeping channels for dialogue open. The Institute is unique in that its leadership includes many with close, ancestral, professional, and cultural ties to the region. The Institute’s network of political, business, government, and academic leaders here and abroad provides unique insight and access towards this important relationship.