Amy Igloi Matsuno

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Amy Igloi Matsuno

Amy’s on the Bay, Port Orchard, Wash.

Amy Matsuno was 3 years old when she was adopted from Korea. Her biological parents had died nine months earlier, and no one realized a high fever she contracted at the orphanage had caused a hearing loss.

At first, her adoptive parents thought a language barrier caused her speech impediment. But when she was 4½, testing revealed a 33 percent hearing loss in one hear and a 36 percent loss in the other. After the tests, Matsuno got hearing aids and started going to speech therapy.

Despite a late diagnosis, Matsuno excelled in school and sports, especially soccer. Although it was difficult to be Asian, hearing-impaired and non-Catholic in her Catholic school, Matsuno says she wouldn’t change anything about my life. “All these things gave me the strength to open my own business at 25. There’s nothing I can’t do.”

Today, Matsuno and her husband Grant own Amy’s on the Bay, a steak and seafood restaurant with Asian influences. She’s also a recent graduate of the University of Washington. She’s also considering running run for city council in her town of 8,000. “I want to help the community and make the town more prosperous,” she says.