Shimako is primarily focused on evaluations related to agriculture and natural resources management. She has 20 years of international development experience across regions (East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific regions) at ADB, the UN, NGOs, and JICA. Shimako’s international career began in Sarawak, Malaysia, where she worked on forestry and indigenous people.  Before that, she was with the National Institute of Genetics, Japan and holds a Ph.D. in biology from Tokyo University of Science and a Master of Environmental Management from Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.