Jade

Jade Keala Agua, Ed.D., is Executive Director of Friends of Mukai, where she leads efforts to steward, uplift, and celebrate the historic Japanese American Mukai Farm & Garden on Vashon Island, Washington. With over 20 years of experience in learning, organizational development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), she brings a race-conscious, equity-minded lens to community engagement and nonprofit leadership.

Previously, Dr. Agua served as Chief Learning Officer at the USC Race and Equity Center, where she built cross-sector partnerships and delivered high-impact professional learning and coaching programs. She also consults on projects that advance DEI capacity and culturally inclusive data practices in arts and cultural organizations, foundations, and educational institutions.

Dr. Agua holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Southern California. Her dissertation, Managing for Racial Equity: How Mid-Level Managers Can Transform Organizations, reflects her commitment to cultivating equitable systems and transformative leadership.