Ron Wakabayashi retired as the Western Regional Director of the Community Relations Service, USDOJ in 2020 after 20 years of service. He served as the executive director of both the Los Angeles City and the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commissions from 1991-1999. Prior to that, he served as the Vice President of Community Problem Solving for the United Way of Greater Los Angeles.

During the period 1981-1988, he was the national director of the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). In that time period, the JACL led a national legislative campaign seeking formal apology and monetary compensation from the US Government for the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. The passage of the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 concluded the historic campaign and served as a forerunner. To contemporary Black Reparations that are currently active.

In this same time period, the JACL responded to the spike in anti-Asian Violence in the 1980s, resulting from backlash to the growth and impact of the Japanese economy, particularly in the auto industry. The murder of Vincent Chen stands as a symbol of that time period. The first compilation of Anti-Asian Violence was published by the JACL in 1985.

In retirement, conflict resolution working remains an area of active interest. Ron works with the Divided Community Project at the Moritiz School of Law, at the Ohio State University on subjects such as the Hamas-Israel related campus tensions, Black Reparations and other community conflict issue.

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