Iao M. Katagiri

Biography

As director of the Office of Community Relations, Iao Katagiri supports RAND's business needs in Santa Monica by maintaining relationships with government officials, business and community leaders, and residents. Her work has fostered several advancements for RAND, including the construction of a new headquarters, the recognition of the new building as environmentally sensitive and visionary (awards include the Gold LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council and the Award of Excellence: The Americas from the Urban Land Institute), and the development of an annual conference on child care and early learning issues. Katagiri is RAND's general ambassador to the community: She frequently makes presentations about RAND to outside audiences, and her service on a variety of community boards and foundations helps RAND maintain its position as a leader of the local community. She is a past chairman of the board of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce and was instrumental in establishing its Santa Monica Business Alliance, in collaboration with the city's Economic Development Division, and the Chamber's charitable foundation. She is chairman of the board of WISE & Healthy Aging, and serves on the boards of Saint John's Health Center, the Police Activities League, Westside Food Bank, Connections for Children, American Red Cross of Santa Monica, Human Relations Council-Santa Monica Bay Area, and the Santa Monica College Associates. She was appointed by the Santa Monica City Council to the city's Arts Commission, is a longtime member of the city's Child Care & Early Education Task Force, is serving as an advisor to the city manager on the future of the Santa Monica Airport, and chaired the city's Work Force Housing Task Force.