Yoko heads ADB’s environmental sustainability work, including biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration, air quality, circular economy and waste management, and nature-based solutions and investments. She has over 25 years of professional experience working on biodiversity and natural resources management.

Prior to joining ADB, she directed the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme as its Global Manager at the United Nations Development Programme in New York. Before that she worked at GEF and held key positions for over a decade. At the World Bank, Yoko served at the Rwanda Country Office and managed its environment portfolio. Yoko also worked at the World Wildlife Fund as its Conservation Director in Mongolia and later as a Senior Advisor on Multilateral Relations in Washington, D.C. Yoko is a Japanese national and holds a master’s degree in international development with a focus on environment management.