Debra Nakatomi
President, Nakatomi & Associates
Debra Nakatomi is president of Nakatomi & Associates, a firm specializing in strategic communications addressing health, education, and environmental issues. Debra brings extensive experience developing successful outreach campaigns targeting diverse audiences, community engagement programs, and media advocacy campaigns. For more than 20 years, the firm has led communications initiatives reaching diverse communities, including Asian American and Pacific Islander, Native American, and Middle Eastern populations.
Debra oversees the planning and management of client projects, developing new business, and applying communications to promote change and engage community. Debra has led successful initiatives for the State of California, the California Public Utilities Commission, Freddie Mac, Southern California Edison, County of Los Angeles, The Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs, The James Irvine Foundation, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She served as acting communications director for The California Endowment, a foundation with more than $3 billion in assets dedicated to expanding access to the health care needs of underserved Californians.
Debra is an invited speaker on philanthropy, inclusiveness and communications as a tool for change in business and non-governmental organizations. Recently, she has presented in London, Johannesburg, Santhoven, Germany, and Tokyo.
Debra serves on the Board of Directors of Girl Scouts of the USA, where she is international commissioner to the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, the world’s leading advocacy organization for girls. She serves on the board of the Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum and the Little Tokyo Service Center Community Development Corporation. She is former chair of the Board of the Los Angeles Women’s Foundation.
Debra completed the Management Development Program for Entrepreneurs at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management and the Gallup Leadership Program. In 2000, Debra was a fellow at the Asian Pacific American Women’s Leadership Institute. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from California State University, Sacramento.