K. Patrick Okura, Ph.D.

2005 Kun-Po Soo Award Recipient

Lecture Title: Leadership Through Example: Mentorship and Networking (Posthumously)      

The life of K. Patrick Okura is a dynamic example of leadership through example. He served as the unofficial mayor of the Santa Anita Assembly Center (a Japanese American internment camp) in 1941, served as the National President for the Japanese American Citizen's League (JACL) from 1962-1964, where he led the effort to join Martin Luther King, Jr., in his march on Washington, DC, in 1963, to the Director of the Okura Mental Health Foundation, in addition to other leadership positions in various agencies. His life story is chronicled in Victory Without Swords: The Story of Pat and Lily Okura. Japanese American Citizens in 1941 America by Robert B. Kugel, Heritage Press, 2004.