Nadya Okamoto
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Nadya Okamoto | |
|---|---|
 Okamoto at the 2018 Texas Teen Book Festival | |
| Born | February 11, 1998 New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
| Occupations | Entrepreneur, author |
| Political party | Democratic |
Nadya Teresa Okamoto (born February 11, 1998) is an American social entrepreneur who is the founder and former executive director of the non-profit organization Period Inc.,[1] which distributes menstrual hygiene products and advocates for ending what is known as the tampon tax.[2] In January 2020, Okamoto stepped down from Period Inc. as executive director; later that year, she left Period Inc. entirely after controversy over alleged misconduct.[2]
In November 2020, Okamoto co-founded and began serving as CEO of August, a for-profit, lifestyle period brand.[3][4] The company also built Ask August, an educational "judgement-free platform" that "makes it easier for Generation Z to navigate the process of menstruation."[5]
In 2017, Okamoto launched an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the Cambridge, Massachusetts City Council.[6] Her debut book, Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement, was published in October 2018.
Okamoto was born in New York City and moved to Portland, Oregon, at the age of nine.[7][8] She is of Japanese and Taiwanese decent.[1] Her mother is Sophia Tzeng, and her father is Shintaro Okamoto. Okamoto is no longer in contact with her father, and she has stated that she experienced sexual abuse and domestic violence from him in her childhood.[9]
Okamoto attended the private K-12 school Catlin Gabel[10][11] In December 2019, Catlin Gabel School published a report on the school's history of abuse by faculty towards students, wherein Okamoto's experience of harassment and grooming from her student advisor of four years was included.[12] Okamoto came forward publicly with more details on her experience related to the abuse in January 2020.[13] It was later revealed that her former student advisor was fired immediately after the inappropriate behavior was reported to the school.[13] He publicly denied all allegations.[13]
During her senior year of high school, Okamoto received the Gates Millennium Scholarship.[14] Okamoto was also a 2016 Coca-Cola scholar.[15] She received the first place 2016 Most Valuable Student Scholarship by the Elks National Foundation.[16] In October 2019, Okamoto was given Catlin Gabel's Distinguished Alumni award.[17]
Okamoto was accepted into early admission at Harvard College and graduated in June 2021.[18][8]