nwasianweekly.com
Jan. 12, 2008

Photo provided by Seattle Central Community College

Bea Kiyohara

Longtime educator to retire from SCCC

By Eleanor Lee
Northwest Asian Weekly

After 26 years at Seattle Central Community College, Bea Kiyohara is retiring next month. Kiyohara, who came to the college as a counselor in 1982, is currently the vice president of student services.

Dr. Mildred W. Ollée, president of Seattle Central, said in a statement to the Northwest Asian Weekly, “Bea’s legacy is best reflected in the lives of thousands of students to whom she has been a mentor and advocate for over 20 years. At Seattle Central, she developed programs that have greatly enhanced our ability to provide critical support to our students. While her departure leaves a void in our college family, I know she will continue to serve through her work in the Asian community and her many other interests.”

One of her many interests that she is widely known for in the community is her work with the Northwest Asian American Theatre, which she co-founded and served as artistic director of for 15 years. She is currently on the board.

Credited as one of the main reasons the theater company has survived for more than three decades, Kiyohara said she channeled civic activism into her passion for theater.

In a previous interview with the Northwest Asian Weekly, Kiyohara said, “Theater, for us, really started as a vehicle for the (civil rights movement). The idea of it was to educate and to politicize. It’s evolved a great deal since then, but that was the initial intent of the theater company.”

Kiyohara’s dual interests of education and the arts are apparent in her community service. She has chaired the King County Arts Commission and the Seattle Coalition for Educational Equity. She was also a member of the Seattle Arts Commission.

Seattle Central has a special send-off celebration for Kiyohara planned for later this month.

Eleanor Lee can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.

Send correspondence to:
Northwest Asian Weekly • P.O. Box 3468 • Seattle • WA  98114
Tel: 206.223.5559 •  Fax: 206.223.0626 • Email: info@nwasianweekly.com
Please bookmark this site: www.nwasianweekly.com.