Adena Ishii has been involved with the League since 2010 when she volunteered to register her peers to vote, and support candidate forums and advocacy campaigns. In 2014, she won the Spirit of the League Award from the Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville League (LWVBAE) for her work getting students civically engaged. She was later hired as a consultant to increase the number and diversity of LWVBAE members, which led to a 50% increase. 

Adena realized that to make the League a more diverse organization, she needed to be on the board to make the change. In 2017, she was elected from the floor and became the youngest and first woman of color to serve as president of the LWVBAE. As president, she pushed for more paid staff; pioneered a new internship program; and worked to create a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. After serving two terms as president, she served on the LWV Futures Committee and as LWVBAE Voter Services Director during the 2020 election. Currently, Adena chairs the LWVC Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) and Governance Committees, as well as serves on the Development Committee, the Drag for Democracy Subcommittee, the Strategic Planning Task Force, and the LWVC DEI Consultant Task Force.

Outside of League, Adena recently graduated from Santa Clara University School of Law. She serves on other nonprofit boards and enjoys cooking and arts and crafts projects. She and her family live in South Berkeley.