Ohana means family, and family means nobody is left behind or forgotten.

I was born on April 17, 1974 in San Francisco, California. Growing up in the Bay Area, I was raised by my hard-working parents, Mel and Mitsu Maeda, who surrounded me with love, and support, and instilled in me the values of hard work, and the love of family. We lived in a two-story house in Daly City with my brother, Kevin, and sister, Kim, and our Pekingese dog, Sandy. Daly City was often foggy and cold, but that didn’t stop me from going out to play in our steep hilly backyard or run across the street to play at our elementary school. We were so close to our elementary school, my Mom could wave to us from the window of our house and see us during our school recess! I attended elementary, middle, and high school in Daly City.

After graduating from Westmoor High School, I continued my education at the University of California, Santa Barbara. There, I double majored in Biology and Environmental Science and met my future husband, Kevin Chu. After graduating from UCSB, I pursued my Master’s Degree from the University of California, Los Angeles in Industrial Hygiene. I got my first career job at UCLA, as an Environmental, Health Scientist and settled down with Kevin Chu in South Pasadena. We got married and bought a home in San Gabriel and together, we embarked on our adventures of raising our two children, Sam and Alex. Balancing family life with my career was quite challenging and I moved to part-time work when Alex was born to spend more time with our children.

I enjoyed time spent with my family, taking the kids to swimming lessons, soccer games, and track meets. Never a dull moment with many busy weekends keeping me on my feet and active. We also were able to squeeze in family trips to visit my family in the Bay Area and also outings with friends to Bryce Canyon, Las Vegas, and Morro Bay.

I am grateful for my time here with all of you. With faith, I hope that my journey is far from over. I envision many more days and nights enjoying life and spending time with my family and friends and I hope to move onward and forward, to at some point retire and plan to go on another cruise, visit Australia and Japan, and continue to enjoy crocheting and running!