Though born and raised in San Jose, M. Kimura felt a sense of cultural isolation, resulting in a series of bad choices. “I was not the model minority … I was doing all the wrong things.”
Dropping out of school, then enrolling in alternative high school led to an enlistment in the U.S. Navy. Achieving the rank of petty officer first class, operations specialist (OS1) and completing 10 years of active and reserve duty, Kimura found a calling in field of mental healthcare, focusing on PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).
Now a veteran, the combination of having completed a master’s degree, a broad range of clinical experience serving civilians, active service members, and veterans, and setting up a private practice resulted in an appointment as a deputy secretary for the California Department of Veteran Affairs (CalVet)…