Background
Tsunoda was born in Osaka, Japan in 1938.
Tsunoda was born in Osaka, Japan in 1938.
She is the "first Asian American women to serve as the chancellor of a multi-campus community college system". Her father, Yukio Nishimura, was a professional baseball player with the Hanshin Tigers, and her mother, Edith Sueko Higashi, was a Hawaiian Nisei. She has three younger sisters.
In addition to serving as chancellor of the University of Hawaii community colleges chancellor, she has been a special adviser on international affairs to the university.