Jonathan is passionate about a range of policy issues. His primary focus is budget and finance policy, an interest driven by the role of money in setting policy agendas and priorities. Other major areas where Jonathan is active include K-12 education, human and sex trafficking, and environmental and climate change policy. Jonathan is also passionate for local government and the impact community leadership and elected officials can make as dual representatives and members of their community.

Jonathan is a participant of the Luskin Senior Fellows Program under the mentorship of former Assemblymember Warren Furutani. As the grandson of Japanese immigrants and plantation-laborers, Jonathan has a passion for representing and championing the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community and issues.

Jonathan was elected and currently serves as International Student Relations Director for Luskin’s Association of Master of Public Policy Students (AMPPS) student board. The first to hold this position, Jonathan has initiated a wide range of programs to better support international students. These programs include working with Career Services to provide better access to international job opportunities and clarify visa and work status information, working with the Department Chair and Administration to identify and uproot systemic biases in funding and financial opportunities, and working with faculty to make courses and lectures more accessible for MPP students from across the globe.