Shinobu Ando is the director of Next Steps Transitional English Program (Next STEP) at Asian American Civic Association (AACA), a community-based non-profit organization in Boston's Chinatown. Next STEP is Levels 6-10 in the continuum of the agency’s 10 levels of ESOL classes. The program prepares adult learners for college, vocational training, and employment. She also supervises an outstationing coordinator who is a liaison between the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) funded ABE/ESOL programs and the two MassHire Career Centers in Boston. Shinobu was born and raised in Japan and moved to the United States as an adult.