Kids Need to Read is honored to announce the addition of Dr. Bruce Matsunaga to the organization’s Board of Directors. Matsunaga has been volunteering regularly with Kids Need to Read as a photographer since 2009. His support of the organization’s literacy programs for children, as well as his photographic contributions, have been indispensable over the past five years.
Matsunaga earned a Ph.D. in English Literature and is the Director of Digital Technology for Arizona State University’s Department of English. His primary research areas are Digital Humanities and English Romanticism while his secondary research areas are Digital Pedagogies and Environmental Humanities. In the Department of English, Matsunaga manages their computational operations and websites, produces multimedia, manages social media, and provides one-on-one and group training for faculty, staff, and graduate students. His academic publications include the book Engaged Romanticism: Romanticism as Praxis (Cambridge Scholars Press, 2008) as a co-editor and article author; he was the technical editor of Connections (European Studies Annual Review, 2008); and he authored a review of “Buried Communities: Wordsworth and the Bonds of Mourning,” by Kurt Fosso (ANQ, 2005). His technical publications include a variety of help articles on computing tools and concepts. As a multimedia co-producer, he received a CINE Golden Eagle Award for the video, “English: Start Here, Go Anywhere.” Matsunaga has a history of service; at Arizona State University he serves on the Institute for Humanities Research Nexus Lab Advisory Board, the Digital Humanities Working Group, and the Technical Advisory Group. He was a founding member of the trap/neuter/return group on the Arizona State University campus called Mildcats at ASU and manages their website, Petfinders account, and PayPal account. Matsunaga lives in Ahwatukee, Arizona with his wife Priscilla and their five cats, Spot the salamander, and fishes.
Kids Need to Read warmly welcomes Dr. Matsunaga to the Board of Directors. His diverse talents will be of great value as Kids Need to Read continues to help disadvantaged children succeed through literacy.
