NANCY K. HAYATA, PRESIDENT
Born and raised in Southern California, Nancy now resides in Torrance, California. She is a freelance graphic and web developer, and a substitute in the Torrance Unified School District as a classified employee. Nancy has a B.A. degree in Japanese from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and a B.A. degree in Fashion Design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM). She strives to share her Japanese heritage as a classical Japanese dance teacher and performer, is a board member of the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition and the Historic Wintersburg Conservancy. Nancy is active in both her local community, and in the greater Los Angeles and Orange County Japanese American communities.
BRETT SMITH, VICE PRESIDENT
A native of the South Bay who has fond memories of growing fruits and vegetables at Columbia Park as a kid. Brett Smith works in human resources at the Lundquist Institute on Harbor
UCLA’s property near Torrance. He holds several business degrees and is pursuing a Master of Science in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona.
ALVIN TAKAMORI, TREASURER
Alvin was raised in Gardena and currently lives in Torrance, California. He works as a freelance graphic designer and enjoys painting. He went to school at Occidental College and California
State University, Long Beach (CSULB).
While at CSULB, he started working for one of his professors at Stacy Dukes Design where he spent many years building and installing custom signs and displays. CSULB is also where he joined the Asian American Student Association (AASA) which introduced him to community involvement. He has served on the Board of Kasuya Kai, volunteered on the Planning Committee for the 2017 Little Tokyo Day of Remembrance Program, and Planning Committees for the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute (GVJCI) DOR since 2012. Alvin is currently President of the Board of Directors of the GVJCI. He is also the newsletter editor for the South Bay Watercolor Society (SBWS) and curates an annual art show at the GVJCI. He is also a member of the National Watercolor Society, AIGA, Adobe InDesign User Group, and Adobe Technology Exchange Group.
CATHIE TANI, SECRETARY
Cathie is a retired LAUSD teacher who enjoys retirement through social activities and community involvement. She and her husband, Gary, raised their children, Andrew and Kelli, in Torrance, where they were deeply rooted in the Japanese American community and nurtured by organizations that celebrated and preserved their cultural heritage. Throughout her children’s upbringing, Cathie served on PTA boards, nonprofit organizations, and church ministries. Today, Cathie and her family remain active supporters of the broader Japanese American community.
BRUCE EMBREY
Bruce Embrey is a champion of the Japanese American community as an educator on the tragedy of WWII incarceration history. An excellent and compelling speaker, he strives to raise awareness on the violation of civil liberties associated with the rights of those of Japanese ancestry during WWII. He has co-chaired the Manzanar Committee, since 2006, and is active in the Day of Remembrance in Los Angeles, the Japanese American Consortium, the United Farm Workers and was a “Manzanar Diverted” film consultant.
THE HONORABLE PATRICK J. FUREY
Patrick J. Furey was first elected to the Torrance City Council on June 3, 2008. He held the mayoral seat in 2014. As Mayor, he served as Chair of the State Legislative Advocacy and Federal Legislative Advocacy Committees. In addition, he serves as a member of the Sanitation District of Los Angeles County, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), and as the Chair of the Los Angeles County City Selection Committee. Prior to his election to City Council, Patrick Furey served Torrance as a civil service commissioner and a member of the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee on Ethics & Integrity.
ALAN KOSAKA
SID MORRISON
After 37 years, Sidney Morrison retired from the Torrance Unified School District, where he served as a high school History and English teacher, a middle school and high school assistant principal, high school assistant principal, elementary, middle school and high school principal. He also served as ACSA Region President and member of the ACSA State Board of Directors before becoming the ACSA State President. He was awarded the ACSA Middle School Principal of the Year and the Marcus Foster Memorial Award for Administrative Excellence. He now works as a consultant/coach in a variety of school districts and offers training sessions in ACSA academies. A Vietnam War Veteran, he was awarded a Bronze Star for valor under fire in 1969. Married with three adult children and four grandchildren, he is also a published novelist. A novel about Frederick Douglass will be published in February 2024.
KAITLYN TANG
Kaitlyn is a graduate of Stanford University, and currently works as a Data Scientist at JPMorgan Chase. She has previously worked with the Tuna Canyon Detention Station Coalition as a student ambassador and was a part of the 2019 Nikkei Community Internship Cohort. Kaitlyn enjoys studying and sharing history,especially that of Japanese Americans.
KRISTEN TANG
Kristen Tang graduated from UCLA with a degree in Cognitive Science and is a software engineer at AT&T. She likes to learn about and help preserve Japanese American history, and she helped edit videos for Tadaima’s 2020 Virtual Pilgrimage.
KANJI SAHARA, EMERITUS
Kanji Sahara was born in Hiroshima and came to Los Angeles when he was a half year old. During WWII, his family was incarcerated at Santa Anita, Jerome and Rohwer. In 1945, his family resettled in Chicago. Dr. Sahara worked for General Dynamics in Pomona and was an Engineering Supervisor. He was also a docent for the Japanese American National Museum for many years.