Arcadia AAUW Presents 2013 Woman of Achievement Award to Tamara Kato

Arcadia businesswoman Tamara Kato has received the 2013 Woman of Achievement Award from fellow members of the Arcadia Branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Arcadia AAUW has given this award annually since 1985 to a woman who is active in AAUW or to a professional woman who has made significant contributions to her community. Kato meets both of these criteria! She is currently Membership Chair of the Arcadia Branch of AAUW, and she is a prominent businesswoman in Arcadia.

Many in the community know Tamara Kato as president of Comfort Keepers in Arcadia a business that offers home care services to seniors. When Kato began Comfort Keepers in 2008, her goal was to establish and grow a home care franchise serving hundreds of seniors in the San Gabriel Valley. To that end, she and her staff have succeeded in building a thriving business that meets many seniors’ needs.

Originally from Ohio, Kato opted to come to California to escape the cold weather and to attend school here. She is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Los Angeles and CSU-Los Angeles. Back in Ohio, she attended Xavier University in Cincinnati and received her MBA. But California beckoned, and here Kato worked in sales and brand management for Procter and Gamble and was employed by Caremark Home Care as Marketing Director in charge of business development before starting her own business.

Kato’s career commitments are full-time, but she still finds time to volunteer her services to the community. She has been volunteer as well as president of the Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California for over 20 years and is secretary of the Alhambra Case Management Board for seniors. She is currently membership chair of the Arcadia Community Coordination Council. Kato belongs to several professional organizations. This busy lady is co-chair of the Alzheimer’s Task Force-Dementia Education for Professionals and is a board member of the Arcadia Chamber of Commerce that supports business development.

A modest person, Tamara Kato acknowledges that she would not have been able to dedicate so much time to start and grow her business without her family’s support and their willingness to be so self-sufficient. Members of her family attending the award presentation were her husband David and daughter Marissa. Daughter Mikaela was unable to attend. The Arcadia Branch of AAUW was pleased to present the 2013 Woman of Achievement Award to this truly deserving woman.

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