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Interviews

Wendy Shiba

(b. 1950) Corporate attorney, executive, and advocate promoting allyship and DEI
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Shiba’s Advice for Young People

I’m often asked to give advice to young people. What has been the key to your success? I’ve been asked that often enough that I’ve thought about it, and I’ve boiled it down to sort of a three-part set of advice that I give. And it's pretty simple.

The first is, always do your best. Or said differently, I’ve said pursue excellence in everything that you do. And it doesn’t matter what it is that you’re doing, always do your best.

And the second is to always take the high road. In pressure, stressful work environments, sometimes it’s easy for people to want to lash out or fight back. I don’t typically see that turning out very well for people, so I said take the high road.

And the third thing is to never burn a bridge. And the example of that is, I’ve mentioned that the attorney who hired me in 1973 as a paralegal then referred me in 1993 for what was a really important job and a pivotal turning point in my career that led me into my corporate positions serving in the C-suite of three major public companies. So never burn a bridge.

business careers economics management mentoring

Date: Jul 3, 2025

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Kaori Nemoto

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum; Japanese American Bar Association

Interviewee Bio

Born in 1950 to Nisei parents, Wendy Shiba grew up in the all-White suburb of Westlake, Ohio. Despite the lack of representation, Shiba pursued higher education as a first generation and first woman in her family to do so. After graduating Temple Law School at the top of her class, Shiba went on to work in several prestigious positions, including as a law clerk to California Supreme Court Associate Justice Stanley Mosk, a law professor, a Big Law corporate attorney, and a C-suite executive for a Fortune 500 company.

Through her professional experiences, Shiba developed a passion for promoting allyship, DEI, and mentorship within the workplace and in the community. She served as NAPABA president from 2012 through 2013 and was a board member for the Japanese American National Museum since 2009.

Shiba today advocates for marginalized communities as chair for the ABA’s Center for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She hopes young people will consider how to embody allyship for communities that are especially at risk for discrimination and face constant threats to their civil liberties today. (September 2025)

 

*This interview was conducted as part of the Japanese American Bar Association (JABA) Legacy Project by the Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) Program intern co-hosted by JABA and the Japanese American National Museum each summer.

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