Kathy Wale

Kathy is a sansei Japanese Canadian, born and raised in Toronto. Her father, Raymond Kitaura, was born in Lethbridge, Alberta but grew up in Japan, and after marrying her mother, Toshie, they moved to Toronto. The JCCC offered a place where they could continue to connect and celebrate their Japanese culture while embracing their new home in Canada.

After graduating from the University of Western Ontario, Kathy took an unusual route to her current career, dabbling in retail, print production, instructional design, and project management before landing as a live and virtual event producer. With over 20 years of experience in the corporate communications industry, she has worked with a variety of companies in the pharmaceutical, banking, and retail sectors planning meetings and events in Canada, the US, and Europe. One of her most exciting projects was a 7-year run on the broadcast team of Mobile World Live TV for the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. She currently freelances for a number of agencies in Toronto.

With her experience in live events, Kathy is excited to bring her skills to support the many diverse activities at the JCCC, such as Keep the Lantern Lit and the Sakura Gala.