Board Members and Advisors

Daughter of George Nakashima and co-owner of George Nakashima Woodworkers. Born in Seattle and incarcerated in Minidoka, Idaho in 1942, Mira moved to New Hope, Pennsylvania in 1943, and attended New Hope-Solebury and Solebury School. Graduating cum laude from Harvard University in 1963, she received a Masters in Architecture from Waseda University in Tokyo in 1966, married one of her classmates, Tetsu Amagasu, and has four children: Satoru, Maria, Shanti and Misha, plus seven grandchildren. Mira returned to New Hope in 1970, began working part-time at Nakashima’s, and took over as creative director of the woodworking operation when her father, George, died in 1990. She has been a member of the Foundation since its inception in 1984 and is now married to Jonathan Yarnall.

Born in Germantown of Quaker background, Jon attended Germantown Friends School and Earlham College, where he majored in Political Science. He started as an assistant to the late master carpenter Robert Lovett, then apprenticed to the Austrian-trained Adam Martini in the Chair Department, where he has worked since 1974, and married Mira in 1985. He is a student of mysticism from Quakerism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, Japanese Zen and Tibetan Buddhism to Sri Aurobindo, George’s guru.

John received his BFA in Woodworking and Furniture Design in 1984 from Rochester Institute of Technology. He taught woodworking at the Rochester Institute of Technology and Penland School of Crafts. He worked for Thos. Moser Cabinetmakers in Maine, for over 18 years as designer, where he was awarded design patents and innovation design awards. In 2008, John began as General Manager of George Nakashima Woodworkers, and continues to create his own works while focusing on the process of making traditional forms. John earned a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from LaSalle’s Nonprofit Center and is a Board Officer for the Museum for Art in Wood in Philadelphia.

Irene Etkin Goldman first met George Nakashima in 1989 when she led a group of visiting artists from Russia to meet with him at his studio. Nakashima spoke of his dream to surround the globe with tables of peace. He asked if she would join in the dream, finding a place for peace tables in Russia and beyond. Believing that Art plays an important role in peacemaking, she was honored to have become his friend, and to continue working on realizing his vision.

 Among other organizations, Irene also has a long association with the Coalition for Peace Action as an activist, board member and chair emerita. She was honored nationally as one of “100 Women Peacemakers – Five Generations”; she was also inducted into the Douglass Society of Douglass College, Rutgers University “For outstanding achievements in the areas of human rights and activism”.

After a corporate career in broadcasting and publishing, Katherine was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug and started her own firm in strategic planning and marketing. She is the Executive Director of Einstein’s Alley, a non-profit corporation focused on expanding technology and entrepreneurship in New Jersey. Throughout her career and free time, she has focused on building organizations that promote diversity and inclusion. She also enjoys serving on the boards of several non-profits.

David has had a lifelong interest in the Nakashima legacy, first visiting the studio back in 1988. During his undergraduate studies at Allegheny College, he developed an interest in social justice and peace and conflict studies. His focus of studies was the American Civil Rights movement, the Holocaust and the anti-Apartheid struggle.
David pursued his graduate studies in business, earning an MBA from Wharton Business School in 1992. He then had a 30-year career in Human Resources consulting. After retirement David started designing and fabricating furniture utilizing used materials. David also serves on the board of Pittsburgh Center for Arts and Media, and the Japanese Nationality Room at the University of Pittsburgh. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Barbara has been the Executive Director of The Peace Center for more than 30 years. She created and implemented programs focused on prevention, intervention and tertiary methods to address conflict, violence, racism and bigotry in over 300 schools, businesses and communities in the tri-state area. Her work in coalition-
building (such as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General Task Force and Bucks County Violence Prevention Task Force) helped the community view violence as a public health issue related to the cycle of trauma. Simmons has been a Professor at Arcadia University’s International Peace and Conflict Resolution master’s program for the last 20 years.  Simmons was founding creator and producer of PeaceTalks, audio documentaries about peacebuilding around the world. She also traveled with the
International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers to Dharamsala, India to meet with the Dalai Lama.
Simmons served as Ambassador to WALKING WHILE BLACK: L.O.V.E. Is The Answer, serves on the Executive Committee of the NAACP, co-chair of the MLK Peace and  Justice Summit, and several other peace and justice efforts in Bucks County. She is Clerk of Newtown Friends Meeting.

Satoru “Ru” Amagusa is Mira Nakashima’s eldest son, and the grandson of George Nakashima. He got a BA from Syracuse University, and his MBA from Carnegie Mellon University. He worked in the financial field before returning to New Hope and beginning his career at Nakashima Woodworkers in sales. Ru also studied furniture design and woodworking, and spent time working in the shop and went on to establish his own woodworking company. As a member of the third generational descendent of George and someone that knew him intimately, he is proud to represent an ongoing Family presence within the Foundation.

Deirdre is currently the Executive Director, Head of Learning and Development at Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals. Her diverse past has given her rich experience that includes working in disciplines such as journalism, marketing, psychology, learning/development, clinical trial development, instructional design, organizational development, and culture change. Her commitment to the community is demonstrated through her volunteer work and positions held in community mental health in the UK and US along with her support for many non-profit organizations such as the Main Line Art Center and as a board member of the Center for Emerging Visual Artists.

While growing up on the Upper West Side in New York, Kevin developed an enthusiasm for social activism and intellectual debate, and a passion for theater. Kevin worked to restore and renovate theaters in addition to pursing theater recreationally. After attending Princeton for his undergraduate degree, he founded the Princeton Design Guild in 1985, a design/build practice with a craft-based philosophy. Kevin obtained his Master of Architecture from Yale University in 1991, and has received numerous awards for his design projects, was a full-time special lecturer at New Jersey Institute of Technology, and has served as an inspector for Princeton Township.