Kim founded Shine On! Kids (originally the Tyler Foundation) with her husband, Mark Ferris after their son, Tyler, died from complications of infant leukemia in 2006. From 1990, Kim worked in Tokyo as a professional voice-over artist, TV and radio announcer, and narrator for educational recordings. She graduated with a BA in mathematics and an MS in systems engineering from the University of Virginia.
Dr. Hara joined the Shine On! Kids Board of Directors in 2008, where his experience and professional expertise has been very helpful in expanding our programming and outreach. He is currently the Vice President of the Children’s Medical Center, Osaka City General Hospital and clinical professor at Osaka University, School of Medicine. Dr. Hara received his degree from Osaka University, School of Medicine in 1980. His career in pediatrics began during his residency at Osaka University Hospital and continued at Osaka Kaisei Hospital, followed by Suita Municipal Hospital where he was chief of division. In 2005 Dr. Hara joined Osaka City General Hospital as chief of division for hematology/pediatric oncology. Dr. Hara holds several leadership positions in the medical community, including the: Japanese Society of Pediatric Oncology; Japanese Pediatric Brain Tumor Consortium (president); Japan Association of Childhood Leukemia Study; Japanese Society of Pediatric Hematology; Japan Society for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, and Japan Rhabdomyosarcoma Study Group (vice-chairman).
Dr. Kuroda graduated from Keio University, School of Medicine (pediatric surgery) in 1982. He was a fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital (US) in the Department of Pediatric Surgery in 1988 before returning to Japan and becoming an assistant at the Department of Surgery, Keio University in 1990. From 1992 to 2010 he held a number of senior positions in pediatric surgery at several top hospitals in Tokyo before becoming a professor at Keio University, his alma mater, in 2011. He is also an advising doctor, medical specialist and counselor of the Japanese Society of Pediatric Surgeons.
Dr. Nishimura is a professor at the University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery. He assisted in revising the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals as a member of the Central Environment Council of the Ministry of the Environment.
Ms. Tanimoto is the Forbes JAPAN Executive Officer and Web Editor-in-Chief. After working at a securities company and as a financial and economic presenter for Bloomberg TV, she earned an MBA in the United States. She later worked as an anchor for Nikkei CNBC and was the company’s first female commentator. She has interviewed more than 3,000 VIPs, including Audrey Tan, Taiwan’s Minister of State for Digital Affairs, Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister, Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Inc. and Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks. Currently, she is a moderator for economic symposiums, a judge for the Forbes Test for Government Startups and the Open Innovation Awards, and a corporate board member and advisor.
Dr. Yamamoto received her Doctor of Science degree in 2011 from the Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine at Azabu University, specializing in Animal Applied Science. From 2011 to 2015, she conducted research on assistance dogs, service dogs, and courthouse facility dogs as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Yamamoto joined Teikyo University of Science in 2015 as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences and has been an Associate Professor since 2025, teaching in the
Department of Animal Sciences. She is a director of the Japanese Society for Assistance Dogs for the Disabled, executive director of the Society for the Study of Human Animal Relations, and a director of Tsunaggu Children’s Support Center, a certified non-profit organization.
Ms. Matsunaga is Regional Director for NE Asia at Turnitin Japan. Prior to this role, she served in senior sales leadership positions at Dow Jones & Company, Clarivate Analytics and ICIS, a division of RELX. Ms. Matsunaga earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Masters in International Business Studies from the University of South Carolina.
Kelly lived in Asia for many years as an expatriate where she honed her non-profit volunteering and management skills – notably as director overseeing all of the Tokyo Girl Scout troops. She has been an active Shine On! Kids volunteer since its inception, supporting Tokyo events both remotely and in person. Now based in Tucson, the headquarters of Beads of Courage® USA, Kelly serves as a key liaison assisting Shine On! Kids in efficiently managing bead procurement and staying updated on program innovations.
Yuji was registered as a certified public tax accountant in Japan in 2010. He has more than eight years of experience in advising domestic and outbound M&A for global companies and a comprehensive knowledge of accounting and international taxation.
Admitted to the bar in 2008, Nakamura provides legal services to both corporate and individual clients. His practice focuses on corporate legal matters for small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as a broad range of issues affecting individuals. In recent years,he has handled a growing number of estate administration cases, including adult guardianship and appointments as inheritance estate liquidator. He is also increasingly involved in inheritance-related matters arising from estate administration.
In 2019, Shine On! Kids launched a special advisory board to look after the Hospital Facility Dog Training program here in Japan.
The first board meeting: (from front left) Dr. Yuko Takayanagi, Dr. Sayaka Kuze-Arata, Dr. Ryohei Nishimura, Dr. Mariko Yamamoto, (back L-R) Kimberly Forsythe (president), Yayoi Suzuki (interpreter), Marina Rodriguez (dedicated Assistance Dog trainer), Miho Neely (general manager)
(in alphabetical order)
Sayaka Kuze-Arata, DVM, PhD is a lecturer at Azabu University, School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Veterinary Nursing and Health Science Laboratory of Veterinary Clinical Nursing.
Dr. Kuze-Arata is secretary of the Japanese Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, and is involved in the mental care of cats and dogs as a certified veterinary behaviorist in Japan.
Ryohei Nishimura, DVM, PhD is a professor at the University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences Laboratory of Veterinary Surgery.
Dr. Nishimura assisted in revising the Act on Welfare and Management of Animals as a member of the Central Environment Council of the Ministry of the Environment.
Tomoko Takayanagi, MD, PhD is a visiting professor at Aichi Medical University and executive director at Japan Service Dog Association
Dr. Takayanagi contributed to the compilation of the 2002 law concerning Assistance Dogs for persons with physical disabilities as a member of the Japanese Health and Labor Sciences Research group.
Mariko Yamamoto, PhD is a lecturer at Teikyo University of Science, Department of Animal Sciences
Dr. Yamamoto has extensive knowledge of working dogs in the United States and Japan through her post-doctoral research at UC Davis.