Tomio Moriguchi

Tomio Moriguchi is a life-long resident of Seattle. He earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of Washington in 1961 and joined the family business, Uwajimaya Inc., in 1962 with the passing of his father, Fujimatsu Moriguchi.  Tomio is currently its Chairman of the Board. Uwajimaya businesses include three retail Uwajimaya Asian Food & Gift Markets, Kustom Foods (manufacturer of Asian foods) and Food Service International (wholesaler to Asian restaurants).  Tomio led the successful real estate development of Fujisada Condominiums and the Uwajimaya Village complex in Seattle’s International District. Tomio has received numerous awards and recognitions of his business leadership and volunteer involvement in civic and charitable affairs.

In the mid 1960’s, the Seattle Model City program was formed and designated a large parcel of land, from about 2nd and Yesler Avenue all the way to what is now MLK Way, for massive urban renewal.

This program to provide better housing for the masses was far from perfect. Inequalities, discrimination and hardships are difficult issues to overcome. If you are a member of any majority community within a society, these facts may be more of an annoyance rather than of any interest or concern. We as people of color or non-main line heritage need to deal with these issues on a daily bases. The goals of the Model City program although best intended did not achieve its lofty goals.

Photo courtesy Tomio Moriguchi.

I went to see what this was all about since parts of the ID and our business (Uwajimaya) was included in their land swash. I was told to put together a group of interested people to join in the Model City program. We were sent a few dollars and a technical advisor.

A few of us met to form the International District Improvement Association, known to us as Interim. As chair of this new organization, we rented a store front and hired an executive director. The Model City program was successful for the ID as it provided the impetus and planted the seed of working with government to better provide, housing, and health and related social services.

For me and the people in the district, the fundamental desire was to have a safe desirable place we can be comfortable. Having worked at the family business since I was 10 years-old in the Seattle Chinatown International area, I felt that both the business and its location should be a comfortable place to visit. When the opportunity came to help the Model City program and enhance as well as preserve this district it was only natural to step-up to do a fair share of the lifting. We saw movements to preserve the Pike Place market area by people like Victor Steinberg and a valuable historical asset was preserved. If the Seattle Chinatown International District was allowed to succumb to the bulldozers, it would have taken more than all the Kings men to put it back together.

Coupled with what our father told us – that as we come into the world naked and leave naked – we knew that it was what we do while here that defines us.

With an Asian Confucius background, the desire to be harmonious is important, too. The challenge in both my business and non-profit work was, and is still today, to harmoniously accomplish goals while not being confrontational. This method has served me well in both business and my many non-profit works. I believe that by continuing to recruit fresh faces and working together, the ID continues to have a bright future.

Shortly thereafter, I established The Oki Foundation and became a full-time volunteer devoted to causes that I care passionately about – particularly if they benefit children. I even went so far as to develop a personal mission statement, which is: “To marry my passion for things entrepreneurial with things philanthropic in ways that encourage others to do the same.”

I’ve served on almost one hundred advisory boards and boards of directors for both for-profit and nonprofit corporations and I’ve founded or co-founded sixteen nonprofit organizations. The most recent entities are SeeYourImpact and the Outrageous Learning Foundation. To give you an idea of the thinking and inspiration behind them, I’ll briefly share the story of each.

SeeYourImpact is a micro-giving organization that connects donors in the developed world with recipients in the developing world. What makes it unique is that we’ve designed a system that allows charities on the ground in the recipient country to capture digital photos and video of the actual beneficiary of a gift. SeeYourImpact will then route these images to the appropriate donor to create a meaningful, virtual connection between them.

This idea materialized because I noticed a sizeable void in the philanthropic world. I know everyone isn’t capable of writing large checks, but I also know there are a lot of people with very good intentions who haven’t been active in conventional philanthropy. That’s why I became determined to find a way to engage them. Now, with a small gift of $5 to $50, they can have a significant, positive impact on the life of someone living on the other side of the world.

I also wanted to create a satisfying, personal connection that might inspire them to give repeatedly and tell their friends about it. It’s a groundbreaking concept and I’m confident it’ll improve the lives of thousands and perhaps even revolutionize global philanthropy as we know it.

The Outrageous Learning Foundation is an organization I formed after writing my book, “Outrageous Learning: An Education Manifesto”. I’d never written a book before, but I decided to do so after my wife Laurie encouraged me to tackle a big problem. I was threatening to retire from my full-time volunteer work and, faced with the prospect of her husband spending more time at home, she wanted to help me find a project that would keep me very busy. After a great deal of discussion, we both arrived at the same conclusion – our public education system is in dire need of reform and we’ve avoided the issue for too long. We had always been convinced that our time and money wouldn’t make a difference because the problems just seemed so large, complex, and intractable, but we decided it was time for me to roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty.

Please don’t get me wrong – I’m a product of Seattle’s public school system and, while the system wasn’t perfect back then, it served me and my family well. In the decades since my graduation, however, things have steadily become much, much worse. The problems are now so deeply ingrained, the outcomes are now so appalling, and the costs are now so astronomical that we, as a society, can no longer afford to accept the status quo.

I’m fortunate to be able to send my three children to private schools, but I understand this isn’t an option for many families. I believe that all families – regardless of their financial means – deserve an education system that is innovative, well-managed, and staffed by insanely great teachers.

I certainly don’t think I can achieve real, systemic education reform by myself, but I’m committed to raising awareness of the issues, igniting public dialogue, and working collaboratively to arrive at solutions with parents, students, teachers, and community leaders. That’s why I wrote the book. It’s an effective vehicle for spreading the message and engaging people who want to make a difference.

In closing, I believe that each of us has a duty to get involved in our communities – local, national, and global – and that we need to work collectively to make them better places for all of us to live. I intend to continue doing my part as long as I’m able and I hope to see you in the trenches.

President John F. Kennedy’s words changed my life, as they did for many of those who came of age during his presidency. They caused me to seriously consider the purpose of my life. I changed directions as a result of those words, and the thoughts they stirred up in me, enrolling in the graduate school for public administration instead of my original plan to pursue an MBA.

The only part of the country I truly know is Seattle. So when the time came to give something back, as JFK asked us to do, it was Seattle that I focused on.

I am a third generation Seattleite, who graduated from Roosevelt High School when there were only a handful of minority students there, as a result of housing discrimination in NE Seattle. It was a natural progression for me to enroll in the University of Washington after high school—why would I want to go anywhere else? While there, a small band of Asian students and myself—including kung-fu master Bruce Lee—would support each other and push each other to achieve, meeting regularly at the “HUB.” During these meetings, we would say our generation would build on the accomplishments of our ancestors and push us closer to the American Dream.

It was an optimistic time, but soon war was in the news. War in Vietnam.

Commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, I spent over a year in the Far East commanding an Army company—time that instilled in me an even greater love for my country, and a greater desire to improve it. After my service, I moved into public service, focusing on what I was good at: budgets, audits, treasury operations and numbers. I worked in Olympia for Gov. Dan Evan’s budget office, where I developed a close relationship with Ruth Woo. Throughout my political career, she’s been there, whether I was serving as King County Auditor, Seattle City Treasurer, most recently as Seattle Port Commissioner and running for King County Assessor.

Ruth was there for me, and in a similar way, I’ve tried to create a support system for others who want to give back to their community and encouraged young leaders like Gary Locke, Velma Veloria, Kip Tokuda, Conrad Lee and David Della and others to run for political office. I founded community-based organizations like Employment Opportunities Center, which helped several local Asian leaders get a leg-up, such as Al Sugiyama, Mark Okazaki, Vicki Assukura, Alison Sing, and many others. I founded the International District Rotary Club, which was the first to break down the gender barrier and introduce women to the Rotary organization worldwide.

No man or woman is an island. We have to push each other to excel, and nothing in my life gives me a greater sense of pride than supporting my community, and trying to leave it a better place, so our children can truly benefit from the struggles of our ancestors.

Because when it comes down to it, our legacy should be one of giving back, not taking.

In the past few years, Redmond has become a place of abundant diversity. These trends have created a new community that is not currently represented on council. Our council is not lacking experience, rather a member of the next generation who is passionate about service and ready to shoulder responsibility. The most important lesson I learned from my first campaign in college was that city politics is where the real work of the people gets done. That experience from college inspired me to take action in the community I now call home, Redmond.

The issues that are important to me are improving the lines of communication between the community and city council, and having just the right amount of government. City council has the most direct impact on our daily lives; therefore it is especially important that the city provides basic responsibilities without impeding on people’s livelihood. Please visit my website at www.sallyjchen.com to learn more about important issues.

My mother taught me that it is an honor to serve in your community, and that true leadership comes from getting involved.