Saratoga resident Beverly Harada, a trustee of the Hakone Foundation in Saratoga,

Saratoga resident Beverly Harada, a trustee of the Hakone Foundation in Saratoga, will be recognized today by Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss during the annual Asian American Heroes Awards ceremony at the Quinlan Community Center in Cupertino.

Harada is among 16 community leaders and organizations being honored in the 12th and final year of the event due to Kniss being termed out.

The Hakone Foundation was launched a little more than a decade ago, and Harada was the first Japanese-American board trustee.

She built the Hakone website and helped launch numerous annual events such as the Autumn Opera and the Lunar New Year Celebration.

She has been heavily involved in the Saratoga High School music program and is a leader with the Chi Am Circle, a philanthropic group of Asian Women who provide various community services throughout Silicon Valley.

Harada has also been instrumental in bringing traditional Japanese and Chinese music, performing arts, martial arts and other multi-cultural programs into the Hakone Foundation. She has recruited and inspired many leaders to provide public support for many philanthropic organizations.

The other honorees are:

• Manjula Gupta, producer and host of Chai with Manjula, a show about giving
• Cathy Tam of Cupertino, a dedicated community leader within the Cupertino Union School District
• June Klein of Palo Alto, VP for business affairs and CFO of Palo Alto University
• Chiao-Wen Chen, founder of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Chinese Family Support Group at River of Life Church
• Jeffrey Pea, founder of Lynbrook High School’s NAMI club
• Santa Clara County Hepatitis B Free Campaign, promoting awareness of hepatitis B and liver cancer
• Anita Sathe of Mountain View, volunteer chair and case manager at the South Asian Heart Center
• Malaya Arevalo of San Jose, HIV Program Manager at Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI)
• Chen Sung of Cupertino, full time volunteer and community organizer
• Jeremy Nishihara of Cupertino, communications director at Cupertino Union School District
• Asian American Cancer Support Network, a community resource network for Asian Americans affected by cancer in the Bay Area
• India Currents, a multicultural identity publication devoted to the exploration of heritage and culture of India as it exists in the United States
• Dujari Anjali, co-founder of Maitri, creating a community without violence