About Tanya
My Candidate Statement
I am TANYA YAMANAKA AYNESSAZIAN, descendant of grandparents Yoshiye Moriyama born in Hakalau and Tomito Yamanaka of Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. I have served the people of Hawaii Island for 20 years as an employee or board member of 501(c)3 organizations including The Arc of Hilo, Bay Clinic, Volcano Art Center, Arts and Sciences Center, and Hawaii Island Adult Care (HIAC), the state’s largest adult day care center.
Caring for kupuna and family caregivers over the last 10 years in Hilo as the business manager of HIAC has inspired me to run for office, along with my deep desire and appreciation for peace, beauty and social harmony. Our world is at war. We need hard working, heart-centered servant leaders more than ever before to cultivate compassion and increase the quality of life for our keiki, kupuna and all future generations. I humbly ask for your trust and support to allow me to represent you.
Why am I running for office?
We need hard working, heart-centered servant leaders more than ever before to cultivate compassion and increase the quality of life for our keiki, kupuna and all future generations.
Things don’t look so good on all fronts from my perspective. And I swear to you – I am an optimist and positive thinker. But the last 5-10 years (maybe it’s midlife reflection), I am also seeing the world as a realist. At the very least, I know in my heart that we can do remarkably better. When you know the talent, expertise, knowledge, gumption and indigenous wisdom that’s available in our community, and you can see the higher potential of what we could be doing, well, you figure out what role you can play to try to reach that higher potential.
More About Me
LEADERSHIP STYLE: In the context of running for office, I am a cross between a servant leader and transformational leader. Servant leaders empower the whole team, organization or community. Transformational leaders care about each individual and inspire a collective to work toward a common goal.
PERSONALITY: I am a curious and creative thinker, and I love to learn. I am inspired by others and am a natural networker. I share my own take on my personality because I think personality is very important when deciding who to represent you. There is no right or wrong here; it’s a matter of preference, so it does matter. I also hope you find my candor refreshing and at least somewhat lighthearted, as it is intended, if you are still reading this page.
I am a hard working, fun-loving, naturally-inspired and inspirational person. I can also be very serious. I challenge myself by doing things I never thought I could do. I was shy as a child, but loved to play. I have never lost that connection to play, especially after having kids. I learned how to write and perform stand up comedy at the age of 34 in Chicago. I was immediately hooked! Two years later, I experienced energy healing and learned reiki, and became a reiki master. The next year I learned how to sing, write and record original music in Los Angeles. I learned how to tap dance at the age of 45 with Michael Misita for the Hilo Palace Theater’s production of La Cage Aux Folles in 2014. In 2019, Sherri Thal and I teamed up as “The Singing Lobbyists” to make advocacy fun by pairing music and comedy with politics. In 2023, I returned to school to learn about creative entrepreneurship and the transformation economy. This year, I danced Samba! I love to learn. I have a lot of energy.
SERVICE: I have served the people of Hawaii Island for 20 years as an employee or board member of 501(c)3 organizations including The Arc of Hilo (Marketing Director), Bay Clinic (Board Member & Chairperson), Volcano Art Center (CEO) and Hawaii Island Adult Care (HIAC), the state’s largest adult day care center, from 2014 – 2024. I learned a lot about myself and how the county, state and federal budgets affect our day to day lives at the community level, and I learned by doing at all of these organizations. Bay Clinic was in dire straits when I first joined the board. I learned a lot about our state’s safety net and fought for universal health care, state and federal funding for FQHCs, and learned how to effectively and efficiently chair meetings.
I am a grant writer, and come from the nonprofit sector, so I know how to envision a better way of doing something to increase outcomes for more people, and I can relate that to a budget (albeit much smaller than any state agency). Being accountable for outcomes is important to me. Making things better for myself and for others is important for me. Caring for kupuna & family caregivers, and our employees, donors, funders and grantors over the last 10 years in Hilo as the business manager of HIAC (and interim director twice) has inspired me to run for office, along with my deep desire and appreciation for peace, creativity and social harmony.
COMPASSION: I take time to feed myself spiritually, and to feel the world around me. The word compassion literally has the word compass in it. What direction are we headed in? Is there a conscious choice that was made to lead us into chaos? I navigate the choppy waters with my heart, because this generally does not fail me. Compassion is what connects us to whatʻs important. I find compassion to be a very strong value held in most of the close friends I have. I envision that we can have a more caring economy based our shared value of compassion.
COURAGE: I generally love to listen to all sides of an issue and try to see as many solutions and components as possible. I will speak up for others if they cannot find their voice, even if I disagree with them. Everyone has the right to be heard. Far from that shy child I used to be, today I have the courage to ask questions and share my own unique take on things. We all have something special to contribute. I encourage you to know what makes you different and to share that in whatever way feels right.