Warren T. Furutani has been a community and political activist for over 50 years. In the late 60’s he help start the Asian American and Pacific Islander social justice movement. He started as a student activist and fought for college admissions programs for people of color and women. He worked to establish ethnic studies and helped start Asian American Studies programs at UCLA and Cal State Long Beach.
He was one of the founders of the Manzanar Pilgrimage/Committee and worked in the APIA community and other communities of color around a multitude of civil rights and social justice issues.
He was also the first APIA elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education (two terms, eight years), the second APIA to be elected to the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees (three terms, ten years), and served in the State Assembly (three terms), where he chaired the APIA Legislative Caucus for three years.
He retired from the legislature in November, 2012 and has since served as a Commissioner on the Los Angeles City Board of Public Works. Currently, he is a senior fellow at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs and recently retired as a senior advisor to Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin De Leon.
Warren is married to Lisa Abe Furutani and they have two sons and two grand children.
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