By P.C. Staff
LOS ANGELES — Five Japanese American community leaders have been selected as the 2015 Women of the Year by the JACL Downtown Los Angeles Chapter and the Japanese Women’s Society of Southern California.
Kimiko Goya, Yoshie Hirata, Martha Nishinaka, Pearl Omiya and Nancy Takayama will be honored on May 3 at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello, Calif. Goya worked as a Japanese school teacher for 25 years before retiring in 2011. She has also served as president of the Okinawa Association of America. Hirata retired from JFC Los Angeles in 2000. She is currently a member of the board, treasurer and office worker for the Japanese Community Pioneer Center. For more than 10 years, Nishinaka has served as president of the United Methodist Women at Centenary United Methodist Church in Los Angeles, in addition to working as an office manager and director of operations for Pagiel Shecter, M.D.Omiya serves as executive director of the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center, overseeing its operations, finances, programs and services. And Takayama has served as president of the San Fernando Valley JACL as well as a board member of the JACL Pacific Southwest District before working full time for PSWD JACL in 2012.
