Yuko Okabe (she/they) is an illustrator and cultural worker playing at the intersection of youthful whimsy and community engagement. She received a BFA in Illustration from the Rhode Island School of Design. Previous fellowships include RISD’s Maharam STEAM Fellowship with the Boston Children’s Hospital, RISD’s Leadership and Community Engagement Fellowship with DownCity Design, Enterprise Community Partners Rose Fellowship with North Shore Community Development Coalition, and the Walter Feldman Fellowship for Emerging Artists with Arts and Business Council of Boston. 

Previous collaborators include Big Cartel, Hester Street, Design Studio for Social Intervention, The New York Times, City of Boston, The Experience Alchemists, and Light Grey Art Lab. She has received recognition from the Society of Illustrators NYC, Society of Illustrators LA, Creative Quarterly, 3x3 The Magazine of Contemporary Illustration, MIT Architecture, Boston College, Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast, and Tucson Weekly. She has been awarded residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, Walkaway House, Pao Arts Center, and Urbano Project. She’s a proud auntie and an amateur oatmeal influencer @yukoats.