{"id":2548,"date":"2021-05-19T14:06:31","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T21:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/?p=2548"},"modified":"2025-08-13T10:52:35","modified_gmt":"2025-08-13T17:52:35","slug":"introducing-our-new-board-members-a-warm-welcome-to-john-and-sandra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/ja\/2021\/05\/19\/introducing-our-new-board-members-a-warm-welcome-to-john-and-sandra\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing Our New Board Members: A Warm Welcome to John and Sandra"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Interviews edited by Randy Kondo<br>Translated by Sayaka Endo<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Nikkei Seniors Health Care &amp; Housing Society is pleased to announce the appointment of two new directors to the NSHCHS Board:\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u30b8\u30e7\u30f3\u30fb\u30ab\u30df\u30bf\u30ab\u30cf\u30e9<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sandra Song<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0 <\/span><\/h3>\n<p><strong>We asked John and Sandra to tell us a bit about themselves so that we can get to know them better.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/JohnKamitakahara.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2550\" width=\"300\" height=\"475\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">John is a B.C. born and raised Sansei who is currently the owner of Kami Insurance Agencies Ltd.\u00a0 Being involved in the local Japanese community was not always on his mind growing up in Burnaby but this changed in his mid-twenties.\u00a0 John developed an interest in his Japanese culture and heritage, lived in Japan for a year, and returned with a new outlook on his background.\u00a0 He embraced his heritage and became more involved in his father\u2019s established insurance business. Through this work, John has made strong connections with many members of the Japanese Canadian community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">John joined the Board of Directors because of a desire to contribute to the Nikkei societies and because of his personal challenges in finding good care and housing for his ageing parents.\u00a0 John recalls that his mother participated in the <strong>Nikkei Seniors\u2019 Iki Iki program<\/strong> which was a <strong>bright light<\/strong> for her.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With COVID-19 adversely affecting the funding of many not-for-profit societies such as the NSHCHS, John <strong>hopes to find creative ways<\/strong> to raise funds for the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nikkeiplacefoundation.org\">Nikkei Place Foundation<\/a><\/strong>, other local societies and businesses that have been affected by this pandemic.\u00a0 He believes that <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/nikkeiplace.org\">\u65e5\u7cfb\u30d7\u30ec\u30a4\u30b9<\/a><\/strong> with the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/ja\/inspire-action\/\">NSHCHS<\/a><\/strong> and the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/centre.nikkeiplace.org\">NNMCC<\/a><\/strong> are necessary to care for our elders and to keep Japanese culture alive for future generations.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SandraSong.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2549\" width=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SandraSong.jpeg 495w, https:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/SandraSong-100x108.jpeg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 495px) 100vw, 495px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sandra currently serves as an administrator at Adler University and provides oversight to three graduate programs in Public Policy and Administration.\u00a0 She possesses over ten years of policy experience in the federal government and has served in various not-for profit organizations as a volunteer Board Advisor\/Consultant across a range of issues, including government relations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Her knowledge of seniors is both academic and personal.\u00a0<\/strong> As an academic, she studied the different issues and challenges facing the elderly in Canada and also volunteered at a gerontology unit during undergraduate studies in Montreal.\u00a0 On a personal front, Sandra has an elderly parent presently dealing with the challenges of dementia.\u00a0 This experience has made her more conscious that we must <strong>advocate for our vulnerable seniors<\/strong> to maintain a life of <strong>dignity with person-centred care<\/strong>.\u00a0 When our parents and elders cannot \u201cvoice\u201d their concerns, we must step in to ensure they are heard.\u00a0 <strong>The NSHCHS\u2019s mandate<\/strong> to \u201cserve our seniors and help them lead a life with good health and vitality for all\u201d <strong>aligns with her values and commitment<\/strong> to social justice and to ensure delivery of programs and services that are inclusive and barrier-free.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sandra\u2019s knowledge of the Japanese Canadian community mainly springs from her relationship with her husband who comes from the Tohoku region.\u00a0 And, as a second generation Asian Canadian of immigrant parents, she understands the challenges seniors face in building a life in their adopted community\/homeland.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We are most fortunate to have two qualified, experienced, and enthusiastic new directors and we look forward to their contributions to the Board and to the NSHCHS.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>A warm welcome to John and Sandra!<\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Interviews edited by Randy KondoTranslated by Sayaka Endo The Nikkei Seniors Health Care &amp; Housing Society is pleased to announce the appointment of two new directors to the NSHCHS Board:\u00a0John Kamitakahara and Sandra Song.\u00a0 We asked John and Sandra to tell us a bit about themselves so that we can get to know them better. John is a B.C. born and raised Sansei who is currently the owner of Kami Insurance Agencies Ltd.\u00a0 Being involved in the local Japanese community was not always on his mind growing up in Burnaby but this changed in his mid-twenties.\u00a0 John developed an interest in his Japanese culture and heritage, lived in Japan for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[190,211,212,207,213,208],"class_list":["post-2548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-board-member","tag-board-of-directors","tag-john-kamitakahara","tag-new-board-members","tag-sandra-song","tag-welcome"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Introducing Our New Board Members: A Warm Welcome to John and Sandra - Nikkei Place Seniors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/ja\/2021\/05\/19\/introducing-our-new-board-members-a-warm-welcome-to-john-and-sandra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ja_JP\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Introducing Our New Board Members: A Warm Welcome to John and Sandra - Nikkei Place Seniors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Interviews edited by Randy KondoTranslated by Sayaka Endo The Nikkei Seniors Health Care &amp; Housing Society is pleased to announce the appointment of two new directors to the NSHCHS Board:\u00a0John Kamitakahara and Sandra Song.\u00a0 We asked John and Sandra to tell us a bit about themselves so that we can get to know them better. John is a B.C. born and raised Sansei who is currently the owner of Kami Insurance Agencies Ltd.\u00a0 Being involved in the local Japanese community was not always on his mind growing up in Burnaby but this changed in his mid-twenties.\u00a0 John developed an interest in his Japanese culture and heritage, lived in Japan for [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/ja\/2021\/05\/19\/introducing-our-new-board-members-a-warm-welcome-to-john-and-sandra\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nikkei Place Seniors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nikkeiplacefoundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-19T21:06:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-13T17:52:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Banner-NSHCHS.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lindsay Fong\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@nikkeiplace\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@nikkeiplace\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"\u57f7\u7b46\u8005\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lindsay Fong\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"\u63a8\u5b9a\u8aad\u307f\u53d6\u308a\u6642\u9593\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3\u5206\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Introducing Our New Board Members: A Warm Welcome to John and Sandra - Nikkei Place Seniors","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/seniors.nikkeiplace.org\/ja\/2021\/05\/19\/introducing-our-new-board-members-a-warm-welcome-to-john-and-sandra\/","og_locale":"ja_JP","og_type":"article","og_title":"Introducing Our New Board Members: A Warm Welcome to John and Sandra - Nikkei Place Seniors","og_description":"Interviews edited by Randy KondoTranslated by Sayaka Endo The Nikkei Seniors Health Care &amp; Housing Society is pleased to announce the appointment of two new directors to the NSHCHS Board:\u00a0John Kamitakahara and Sandra Song.\u00a0 We asked John and Sandra to tell us a bit about themselves so that we can get to know them better. 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