 Hi, I'm Rusty Komori and this is Beyond the Lines. We are broadcasting live from the beautiful Think Tech Hawaii TV studio in the Pioneer Plaza in downtown Honolulu. This show is based on my book, also titled Beyond the Lines, and it's about leadership, creating a superior culture of excellence and finding greatness. My special guest today is an incredible woman who has accomplished many things in her life already. And I have no doubt that she will accomplish much more in her future. She is the champion of change, Kim Koko Iwamoto. And today we are going beyond bravery, Kim Koko. Thank you, Rusty. Great having you on the show today. Thank you so much. Congratulations on your 60th episode. Thank you for being here on my 60th episode. No, it's so great. I love talking with you earlier and you got a law degree. Yes. From where? From the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. And it was one of the most affordable law schools in the country. And it allowed me to pursue a public interest career without paying overwhelming student loan debt. Wow. Now, we have so much to talk about today, and I'm so excited to have you here. What is your connection to Robert's Hawaii? My grandfather is Robert, my father's Robert, so it's been a family company. I worked for the company since I was 12. Every weekend, every holiday, I washed cars because they were a rental car division. I poured beer and Mai Tai's on the Leakai catamaran when we had that. I was a reservationist for Robert Silverknighters. And today, actually, the company is 100% employee-owned. The company went through an employee stock option purchase. So it's a model of basically democratic socialism. For a family company to go, then, to be transferred to the employees, it's an honor to have been part of that legacy. Yeah. Now, Kim Coco, what other significant jobs have you had? My first job after graduating from law school, I was managing attorney of volunteer legal services, Hawaii. And we did legal clinics all across the state, including in homeless shelters and elder care centers. That was a great job. And then, yeah, so that was one of the most... And then later on, I served on the board of education. And I felt like that was a job for me. I put in at least 40 hours a week there. In fact, I had to hire some people to help me with my... Running my company so that I can focus on that. And Governor Abercrombie appointed you as for another position? Yeah. So after I left the board of education, I was elected to two terms. And then after that ended, I went, Abercrombie appointed me to the Civil Rights Commission. Fantastic. Yeah. Kim Coco. Yes. Who is Kim Coco Iwamoto? I am a settler, Aloha Aina, that's been an interesting moniker for me right now, given what's going on on the Mauna Kea. And I've been involved with Hawaii Alliance for Progressive Action, and we have been working on environmental issues, such as banning pesticide use or restriction use pesticides, being sprayed near schools. And I think I'm not sure if your viewers realize that the DOE just kind of affirmed not spraying glycophate on school campuses to protect the kids and the workers. So I've been working on a lot of environmental issues, that's Aloha Aina. And a settler referring to my family's history here in Hawaii as part of the whole colonizing experience of Hawaii, where in every instance of colonization, they bring oftentimes people to work in the land in order to displace the locals. And so that was my historical experience. And so for me, that awareness allows me this sense of humility and a sense of responsibility to give back to both the land and the whole sculpture here. I love it. Now, you're also a foster parent. I have been a foster parent. Currently I did adopt a three-year-old, she's now six. But when I was foster parenting, yeah, I was a licensed therapeutic foster parent. I was licensed by the state of Hawaii. And I had several teenagers, actually, they were all, I got licensed specifically. So when I was living in New York City, I was volunteering at a community center working with LGBT youth. And I knew that a lot of them were homeless because their parents came out. And I wanted to get licensed as a therapeutic foster parent here in Hawaii when I returned so that I could provide a loving home, a supportive home for an LGBT person who's in the foster care system. And so I had five actually during that time I was licensed. And today they're all adults. Wow. That's fantastic. Yeah. I love hearing that. And you've been really supporting a lot of students over the years. Tell me how you've been helping students. Well, just in general, just working on the board of education, my main focus was of course, uplifting student potential. And that's something I think you write about in your book. But making sure that people could have opportunities and access to the tools they need to achieve their goals and what they have envisioned for themselves. But yeah, so part of being an ally, as an adult, part of being an ally to young people today, it's really important that we show up when they convene, when they hold, when they hold demonstrations and when they lead protests. It's important that adults show up and support their leadership. And so I think the photo you have is taken from that experience when they protested gun violence. And again, it's important for adults to show up and not take the floor, but just be there supporting. Now in 2013, the Obama White House honored you as a champion of change for your advocacy for bullying in schools. Were you ever bullied? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I think most people have experienced some form of bullying, including bullies. Yeah. Right? I mean, that's the thing that we, I think we need to kind of recognize is that within a school setting, it's an opportunity to intervene in an educational way. I don't believe in just punishing kids and putting them into their school to prison pipeline. I believe in treating the whole person and the whole community. When there's bullying that happens in a school, obviously there's a victim, there's a bully in those bystanders, and the whole community is traumatized. But back to my experience with bullying. Yeah. Yeah, of course. So being in a very out person, attending St. Louis High School, yeah, people actually felt persons, I guess, by what they weren't familiar with or what they didn't know, what they were assuming about me. Yeah. So I would have to like stand my ground. Bullies are, they just, they're just jealous. Well, you know, one of the things I realized, so when I was in, so going into St. Louis High School and I really stood out there among the, all the boys there. So our school counselor actually said to me, you're kind of different than the other kids. Do you think you can be transsexual? So the school actually brought this idea that I was differently gendered and so they actually then contacted my parents and they got me to go to some kind of therapy around this issue. No way. Which was really actually helpful because the therapist was really knowledgeable and very helpful to my family, to my parents. And I remember one day my father picked me up from school, which was unusual because he was a working businessman and my mother was the one who would pick us up from school, but wanted to keep it to me up from school and he said, you know, I know you're having a really challenging time right now. We're going to therapy and I just want you to know that we love you and no matter what you choose to be, whether it's a bus driver, a teacher, a lawyer, doctor, a man or a woman, he's like, he told me that we will love you and support you no matter what. And that was when I was like 12 or 13 and it was really something that I could put on to and I was able to internalize that message so that when bullies did bring it to me or when people said disparaging things about me, I can tap into that sort that will spring of feeling valued and loved by my familial unit and so regarding your comment about bullies being traumatized themselves, I was able to actually hear what they're saying and know that that was their problem, that they were struggling with something and I was able to be sympathetic with them in that way. Very true. Yeah. So, but the most important thing for myself or for anyone who's bullied is to not internalize it, but in order to get to that place of knowing that that's somebody else's thing and not your own thing, you need to start with a good self-esteem, which oftentimes comes from our parents. Yeah, or some very influential adult. The inside. Yeah, that's really important. We need to tap into that. Yeah. Kim Coco, what's been your biggest adversity, your biggest challenge in your life that you have to overcome? Well, you know, so I when I was younger, I taught myself how to sew. I wanted to go into fashion. Yeah. I learned how I went to powder making school and by the time I was a senior in high school, I was producing my own fashion shows. I applied to one college and that one college was the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. I was so like clear clear about what I wanted to do. And so I got there. I got my degree in fashion. I was working in the fashion industry. Suddenly, and this is in the early 90s in New York City, again, in the fashion industry, I had no idea that I would be discriminated against for being trans. I didn't think I guess growing up in Hawaii, I just didn't think that was an issue for people. Again, I worked in my father's company, Roberts Hawaii, and I worked alongside transgender, other transgender people. In fact, one was even a supervisor. So I never saw that as being a as being a disadvantage or some kind of obstacle for me achieving my dreams or what I wanted to do. So suddenly, you know, in the moment that I thought that I was going to be launching my career, I felt myself catapulted into a wall of discrimination. And I learned that I went to a legal clinic, much like the ones that I would later run in New York City, I mean in Hawaii. But I went to a legal clinic in New York City and I found out from the attorney there that there were no protections. There were no protections for lesbian, gay employees, that there were no protections for trans people. And in fact, the law protected the employer's right to discriminate. And it was then that I realized that I need to do a courtship and go into law. Like I wanted to go to law school at that point. I'm like, this isn't right. If this is going to be an obstacle, I need to see what I can do to change the laws. And so I went to law school and I eventually was able to participate in changing civil rights laws here in Hawaii. Fantastic. I mean, you're so busy. I mean, I don't know how you do everything you do. This happened to us and opportunities to present themselves. Right? Yeah. Now, in this passive, a few months ago, you won the 2019 LGBT visionary award. You're the author. And I was there at the Sheraton when you got honored. And you spoke about vision without limits. Right. Tell me more about that. Well, that was the title of the award. And so I kind of use that as a reference. Yeah. And basically at this point, you know, most civil rights most civil rights issues have relied upon our allies, whether it's the African American civil rights issues with women's civil rights, LGBT civil rights, we've, whenever you're in a minority position, whether it's because of numbers or power and access, we rely on our allies. So the LGBT movement, and my experience of it here in Hawaii, it was clear that we relied on our allies, our cisgender, heterosexual friends and family to stand with us in all of our work that we've done. So we were able to achieve quality or at least move towards achieving equality with the help of so many people. And so my speech was really about, was really about honoring our allies. How do we honor the people who stood next to us and with us? And one of the things I've been speaking about, I've been speaking at Hilo Pride, Kauai Pride, and I'll be able to, I've been invited to participate in Honolulu Pride in October, but one of the things I've been speaking about right now is the fact that native Hawaiian cultural practitioners stood with us, the LGBT community when we were going for civil unions and then marriage. They stood with us, they talked about how the Hawaii culture, the sense of place was always welcoming of us and our relationships, our sacred relationships and, you know, advocates like Vicki Takamini Holt, Shizu Komuhula, and to Vicki, so how she put herself out there in front of her community and in front of the public at large and said, this is the right thing to do to support LGBT people in this recognition of their sacred relationships. Today, and to Vicki, along with our other allies are asking the people of Hawaii, including LGBT people, to stand with them and honor their sacred relationships with the Aina, with the Mauna, with Mauna Kea, with the land, with each other, with their culture and their practice, Hawaii became the birthplace of same gender marriage across the world, partly because of where we are, the culture, the host culture that established itself here, that we as settlers have arrived to and we benefited from as a community. So how do we now at this point, do we not, do we abandon them when they were there for us, when, when the culture was respectful and inclusive of us? And I challenge all of my LGBT community members, brothers and sisters, to stand with the Aina protectors right now, to say they stood with us and recognize our sacred relationships. We must stand with our allies and stand with them in honoring their relationship with the Aina. Well said. I love, I love hearing your insights. I love talking with you. We're going to take a quick break. And then when we come back, we're going to continue going beyond bravery. You are watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii with my special guest, Kim Koko Iwamoto. We will be back in one minute. Aloha. I'm Mellie James, host of Let's Mauna Up. Tuesdays, every other Tuesday from 11 to 1130. This show is meant to dive into stories of local product entrepreneurs and how they're growing their companies from right here in Hawaii. I'm so thrilled to have our show kicked off. And so please join us on Tuesdays at 11 o'clock as we talk to local entrepreneurs and hear their stories. Aloha. I'm Keisha King, host of At the Crossroads, where we have conversations that are real and relevant. We have spoken with community leaders from right here locally in Hawaii and all around the world. Won't you join us on thinktechhawaii.com or on YouTube on the Think Tech Hawaii channel. Our conversations are real, relevant and lots of fun. I'll see you at the Crossroads. Aloha. Welcome back to Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. My special guest today is an amazing woman who wants equality and fairness for all people in society. She is the champion of change, Kim Koko Iwamoto. And today we are going beyond bravery. Kim Koko, you were featured on the cover of the Advocate magazine with other elected officials who have broken through glass ceilings. Right. Tell me how you felt being honored, you know, on the cover. Well, it was an honor to be to have that that exposure and the recognition. But for me, it really feels a recognition of Hawaii and the people who elected me in 2006 and then reelected me in 2010, the fact that they were able to see beyond somebody just being transgender and actually see my qualifications and my passion and my advocacy for students in our public school system. So that, I mean, it really truly is a testament to us, to the people of Hawaii. But it was an honor and actually it was not even. So when I originally won my first election in 2006, most candidates on election night, you host something at some place publicly accessible where the media can come and like celebrate with you if they want to. So I rented out a restaurant and I made sure the media knew where we were going to be and no media showed up. So I'm like, Oh my God, I spent all this money and like nobody came. So but it was really funny because the next day when the national when the national networks when they were alerted to the fact that Hawaii elected an openly trans person to a statewide office like the Board of Education, it was a big deal on national scene. So suddenly all of the local affiliates were like trying to chase me down in the street. It was kind of like a little bit absurd, actually. And so it was funny that I mean, and so I talk about this with other people when I when I when I speak to other national people who are interviewing on a national scale that Hawaii is so blasé and in a way in a good way about, you know, that somebody's trans like so what big deal. And so it wasn't a big deal to a lot of the local networks. And then the fact that the national networks made it a big deal and then they had to flip and go, OK, well, it should like it's big deal. So I kind of like that. I like the fact that it wasn't so noteworthy on one hand. And then obviously when I during all the years that I served, it was never an issue either. Yeah. Now, Kim Coco, let's talk about my book Beyond the Line. So I mean, you you remind me so much of the book. And one of the things I talk about in the book is courage. And the most successful leaders, they have courage to do and fight for what's right. Tell me your thoughts about courage and bravery. Yeah, you know, that's not really I don't think about being motivated by courage, I guess. For me, it's about living. Everything I think I do is about living my gratitude, feeling this connectedness to knowing that I am grateful for the access I've had and the resources and the community and even having supportive parents. Not everyone has that. You know, so I feel like for me, it's it's really important in the sense of giving back. And then also standing again, I mentioned this before about being an ally to others. So for me, just standing in solidarity with others, whether it's young people, whether it's Kanaq Amali, whether it's other LGBT people who are struggling. I think it's really our immigrants right now are dealing with a crisis at the border at the border of the United States with Mexico, you know, they're caging young children in the squalid conditions. They're quite inhumane. It reminded me of and it's been reminding me of the experience my mother had. She was born in California and of Japanese parents. And so her and her eight siblings and her parents were all put into these concentration camps that the America started calling internment camps, but really, truly the concentration camps, 120,000 immigrants and American citizens of Japanese ancestry were put into these camps. Eighteen hundred died during those years. So for them, it was a death camp. You know, when you think about it that way, one of my uncles was part of the 1800 people who died because there wasn't poor health conditions, lack of medical supplies, lack of medical care. Yeah, so for those 1800s, it was a death camp for the others. It was just a concentration camp. But, you know, the idea that the United States Congress apologized and the president in the 80s apologized for that Congress came up with a report that cited the hysteria, the racism, the poor political leadership, all of these things that went into place in order for so many Americans and immigrants to be put in concentration camps in the 1940s. And then today we're using that same playbook to to cage migrant children today. So, yeah, standing up, speaking out about that, I was just speaking at the Lights for Liberty. I was a vigil held at the Capitol on Friday, being able to give that kind of perspective on our history, the United States history of racism, this idea that we can put children in cages and in captivity, starting with Native Americans. So there's actually one army base in Fort Sill, Oklahoma, that first incarcerated Apache children and their families. Then they put Japanese Americans there. And today they're planning on housing 1,400 migrant unaccompanied migrant children in the army base. So this history in this one place is kind of amazing and very telling. So, yes, being able to speak out. So all of these things that I do and try to speak on and advocate for, you know, having a moral compass on, I do because yeah, I've just I can. Yeah. So what do you what do you what does one do and how does one fulfill the responsibility when you have access, when you can articulate complex issues? Yeah, when all of these things come together, I feel like there's a responsibility and almost an obligation. I think in certain cultures, this feeling of obligation is we're always always present. And so for me, that's also true. Makes sense to me. Yeah, that makes sense. Now, Kim Coco, you are a woman of great character. What's what do you think is your strongest character trait and why? OK, so I guess it's a combination maybe of both. And I and I fight this. I fight this tendency to be. I guess like funny or make I make people feel comfortable. They find me somewhat entertaining. I don't know. There's this aspect of me that I don't want it to be mistaken as I'm not trying to socially seduce somebody in terms of like like me. I don't want it comes across sometimes like I want you to like me. But part of me, I don't care if people like me. I just want them to hear the message whatever I'm talking about, whether it's, you know, migrant incarcerating migrant children, whether it's standing with the eye and the protectors, all of these issues are are more important than me. But I feel like there's this kind of aspect of people will hear things are open to hear it if they like, I guess, the messenger. Yeah. So I struggle with that. Yeah, I get it. But that but I think that's an important combination, too, is that you be able to connect with whoever you're speaking to, whether it's somebody across the table from you or across through a camera. Yeah. That there's some kind of connection and then hopefully that the message can be heard. I'm just having awareness about all of that. That's fantastic. Yeah, but it's a struggle because I don't want to have to. I hope people. Yeah, it's a struggle because I don't really want people to like. I don't want them to like me. I just want them to hear the message. Yeah, got it. Now, Kim Coco, what are what are some of your most biggest accomplishments so far? I think that sense of accomplishment comes from the sense of like, what were my biggest challenges and being able to meet them or to find yourself in in meeting those challenges. So when I was 26, my mom had a massive stroke and they removed one third of her brain and, you know, she was basically a vegetable and, you know, so we, you know, we she was a ferociously or she was a strong woman and we knew that she wouldn't want to love like that. So we, our family agreed to just let her go. And so we pull the plug, pull the plug and she actually like in the dehydration process, her brain got the swelling went down and she totally like came back to life. Oh, wow. No, it was amazing. It was truly amazing. It was an amazing experience. And so suddenly it's like, now what? Now because she was very, she was incapacitated. They removed one third of her brain so she couldn't like, you know, she needs somebody to take care of her. So I actually deferred going to law school for a year. So I'm like, OK, all the doctors said that the first year of rehabilitation is the most crucial. So coming back and doing that at 26 when actually I didn't have the greatest relationship with her as an adult, it was kind of a, you know, we were kind of a little bit of strange. So taking care of this woman was trapped in the history of my mother's body. And that's kind of how I felt about her at the time because she wasn't the same person. She was so like I said, mentioned she was very strong and now she was super sweet and giggly and she laughed at my jokes and it was really so that one year of being with her twenty four seven was really challenging. But also I felt like it helped me know my potential as a caregiver. And then later on it allowed me to feel strong enough to be a single foster parent and then later on to adopt my daughter. So that was truly a gift that really continues to continues to give me something even though people think my family thanks me for taking care of my mom. And I really found it to be such a gift to myself. Yeah. Wow. Kim Coco, I could talk to you for the entire day. You know, I just I, you know, I really want to thank you for being on the show today and really sharing your insights. I mean, it's I don't I want. I want to talk with you for a long time. Oh yeah, let's do that. But thank you for joining me today. Thank you so much, Rusty. And thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com and my book is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. I hope that Kim Coco and I will inspire you to have a culture of equality and fairness for every person in our society and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha.