10/02/2026
Three Decades of Service and Empowering Youth:
JCYC Executive Director Jon Osaki - By Lauren Kawana
In 1972, when 5-year-old Jon Osaki first walked into JCYC’s daycamp, his future was set in motion. He came back to JCYC every summer until middle school, learning to appreciate culture and enjoying being part of a larger community.
As a teen looking for his first summer job, he was encouraged by then-Executive Director, Jeff Mori, to become a daycamp counselor. “Until that moment I had never thought about working with kids,” Jon says. “Almost instantly something about working with young people felt right.”
After high school, Jon began managing JCYC’s summer and afterschool programs, and later with a college degree in business from SF State, he expected to move on to the private sector. But he was offered a position running a new youth employment program and Jon chose to stay with the organization.
Then in 1996 came the biggest opportunity of all: JCYC’s Executive Director Jeff Mori was appointed to run the Mayor’s Office of Children and Youth and saw 29-year-old Jon Osaki as a possible successor. “JCYC’s Board of Directors, with some encouragement from Jeff, decided to take a chance on me,” Jon recalls. “It was incredibly intimidating to take over for a predecessor who had run the organization for over two decades.”
Now in 2026, Jon’s leadership spans three decades, during which JCYC has grown from an organization with an annual budget of $4 million to $22 million. Over the past 30 years, JCYC has expanded its programs to serve over 7,000 youth a year and over 110 staff members.
In celebration of 30 years of advocacy, weathering difficult times and championing opportunities for youth, Jon reflects on his role as a leader and his hopes for JCYC’s ongoing legacy.
