Deputy Chief Terry S. Hara
Spirit of Los Angeles

Deputy Chief Terry S. Hara is the Commanding Officer for Operations West Bureau (OWB) and is responsible for overseeing the geographic area operations of: Hollywood, Wilshire, West Los Angeles, Pacific, Station #20, the LAX Substation, and the West Traffic Divisions.

Deputy Chief Hara joined the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) in February 1980. He is the highest ranking and the first Asian American to achieve the rank of Deputy Chief on the LAPD. He was first introduced to law enforcement as a Police Explorer Scout with the Long Beach Police Department. As a result of his continued interest in law enforcement, he applied and was accepted to the LAPD. He has held numerous positions and worked various assignments within the Police Department. Some of these assignments included undercover work as a narcotics officer, uniformed patrol, traffic accident investigator, and motor officer. Additionally, Deputy Chief Hara has worked as a staff writer for the Use of Force Review Section and held the position of Uniform Coordinator and Work Permit Coordinator. He has also worked as a patrol supervisor, as a supervisor of academics for recruit training, a personnel complaint investigator, and lieutenant patrol watch commander. He has held the position of Aide (Adjutant) to the Commander of Training Group, Adjutant to the Commanding Officer, Human Resources Bureau, and Adjutant to the Chief of Staff.

His previous command assignments include: Training Group and Training Division, Southeast and Wilshire Divisions, where he commanded Detectives, Patrol, Vice, Gang Units, and Community Relations. Prior to Southeast Division he commanded Detective Support Division where he was in charge of the Bomb Squad, Asian Crime Investigation Section, Fugitive Warrant Section, Special Investigation Section, Criminal Conspiracy Section, FBI task force on violent crime, Audit Section, Criminal Investigation Section on counter terrorism, and Career Criminal Apprehension Section.

Deputy Chief Hara was previously the Department’s Employee Relations Administrator (ERA) for the Chief of Police. As the ERA, he was responsible for serving as official liaison between Department management and employee organizations. Additionally, he was responsible for investigating and resolving grievance matters at the Chief of Police level of review. Reviewing all requests for administrative transfers and providing a recommendation to the Chief of Police. Deputy Chief Hara has worked at numerous assignments within the Police Department that include Personnel Division, Wilshire, Southeast, Southwest, Newton and Harbor Areas, South and Central Traffic Divisions, Detective Support Division, Internal Affairs Group, Training Division, Training Group, Human Resources Bureau, Employee Relations Group and the Office of the Chief of Police.

Deputy Chief Hara holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from National University, and has attended California State University, Long Beach, Department of Criminal Justice, and the University of California Los Angeles Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences and School of Public Policy and Social Research. He is a graduate of the Senior Management Institute for Police Program from the Police Executive Research Forum at Boston University. He is also a graduate from the FBI Explosives Unit-Bomb Data Center Hazardous Devices School, Executive Management Course. Deputy Chief Hara is a graduate of the Department’s West Point Leadership and Command Program. He is a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He is Vice Chairman of the Board for the Los Angeles Police Historical Society. Deputy Chief Hara is past president of the Japanese American Optimist Club of Los Angeles, a civic organization. He is also a member of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Southern California and President-Elect of the Nisei Week Foundation. Deputy Chief Hara is married to his wife Gayle, a Deputy City Attorney for the City of Los Angeles, and has two children, a son Mark and a daughter Kimberly.

Peter Woo
Dream of Los Angeles

Peter and Charlie Woo are brothers and co-founders of Megatoys, a toy manufacturing company headquartered in Los Angeles, with an office in Hong Kong and manufacturing plant in China. They are also known as the founders of the Los Angeles Toy District, credited with turning the once blighted industrial area in Downtown Los Angeles into a thriving international trade center, where they helped hundreds of immigrant entrepreneurs start their businesses and create thousands of jobs.

Charlie came to Los Angeles from Hong Kong at age 17 to attend UCLA, majoring in Physics. He earned a bachelor of science degree summa cum laude, in 1972, and his master’s degree in 1975. Peter immigrated to Los Angeles with the rest of the family a few years later. During the summer of 1979, the family started a small toy import/wholesale business. They pulled together the family savings, and could only afford to rent a 400 square feet storefront in the rundown industrial part of Downtown Los Angeles. As the business grew, they invested and refurbished many of the neighborhood warehouses and helped other Asian immigrants open wholesale toy businesses. Hundreds of toy suppliers now cluster around a ten city block area that was once a deserted warehouse district, creating an international wholesale trade center. Peter and Charlie Woo now employ over three hundred local residents for their businesses.

Peter is currently the President of Megatoys and the Chief Executive Officer of California Costume Collections, Inc., a sister company that manufactures Halloween costumes. Additionally, he is the past Chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles. Peter has a long history of promoting Los Angeles in the international arena to attract business and investments. Most recently, he was part of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Asian trade delegation in 2006. Previously, he co-chaired the "Los Angeles Week in Hong Kong" event for Mayor Bradley in 1991. He served as Mayor Riordan’s advisor on international trade and traveled with him to Israel in 1996 and to China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in 1998. He was also a member of Mayor Hahn’s Asia trade mission in 2002.

Peter is active with numerous community groups. He was the founding president of the Los Angeles Historic Cultural Neighborhood Council and the Chair of the Hollywood Beautification Team. He also served on the Boards of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles and Friends of Chinese American Museum.

Charlie Woo
Dream of Los Angeles

Charlie is currently the CEO of Megatoys and chairs the Workforce Investment Board for the City of Los Angeles. Originally appointed by Mayor Bradley to this body to oversee the nation’s second largest workforce development system, he has been reappointed by the three subsequent mayors as its chair. He is a member of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs and a former member of the State Commission for Economic Development. He is a former Chairman of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and has been the only Asian American to head the 119-year old business organization.

Passionate about political involvement, Charlie helped found CAUSE, Center for Asian Americans United for Self Empowerment in 1993, and has served as its chair since 1996. Additionally, Charlie currently serves on the boards of the LA Police Foundation, LA Inc., KPCC Public Radio, Pitzer College, and UCLA School of Public Affairs. He previously served as chair of the Asian Rehabilitation Services, Inc., and was on the boards of LA Library Foundation, Town Hall Los Angeles, LA’s Best, American Red Cross LA Chapter, and YMCA Metropolitan Los Angeles.

Takashi Saito
Hope of Los Angeles

Takashi Saito is the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Japan-born All-Star closer, who registered 24 saves in his rookie year of 2006 and 39 saves during the 2007 season. The 38-year-old was a 2007 National League All-Star, and one of 10 finalists for the "DHL Presents the Major League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year Award.”

Saito signed a minor league deal with the Dodgers in 2006 as a 36-year-old rookie, and surprised fans by converting 24 of 26 save opportunities, posting a 2.07 ERA, and striking out a Major League-best 107 hitters among relievers. He made his Major League debut on April 9, 2006 against the Philadelphia Phillies, pitching a two-thirds scoreless inning. He recorded his first Major League save on May 15, 2006 against the Colorado Rockies.

Saito was born on February 14, 1970 in Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. He pitched for the Yokohama BayStars of the Japanese Central League, compiling a record of 87-80 over 13 seasons from 1992-96 and 1998-2005. Like former Mariners closer Kaz Sasaki, Saito attended Tohoku Fukushi University in Sendai. Saito was originally a position player, but he became a pitcher in his second year of college. He was drafted in the first round by the Yokohama Taiyo Whales in 1991, and went on to earn Japanese Professional Baseball League All-Star honors a total of four times (1994, 1996, 1999, 2001).