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).
Tamara Kato holds the Woman of Achievement plaque awarded to her by the Arcadia Branch of AAUW. Husband David and daughter Marissa add their congratulations.
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. In 2008, Kato began Comfort Keepers because, to quote her, “I knew the aging baby boomer wave would create a growing market for this kind of service (home care).” Her goal as President of Comfort Keepers 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 both the Fashion Institute of Los Angeles and CSU-Los Angeles. Returning to Ohio, she attended Xavier University in Cincinnati and received her MBA. But California and its wonderful climate called her back West. Here in California, 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 in the community. She has been a volunteer as well as President of the Hemophilia Foundation of Southern California for more than 20 years and is secretary of the Alhambra Case Management Board for seniors in Alhambra. In Arcadia, she is currently membership chair of the Arcadia Community Coordinating Council and belongs to several professional organizations. This busy lady is co-chair of the Alzheimer’s Task Force-Dementia Education for Professionals. She 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.