S. Floyd Mori is an American of Japanese heritage. He has been an Educator, Politician, Author, Entrepreneur, International Business Consultant, and President/CEO of Non-profit Organizations.
Mori was born in Murray, Utah, to immigrant parents from Japan. He is the seventh of eight children. He grew up on a farm and graduated from Jordan High School in the Salt Lake Valley. Active in sports, he became a high school All State Baseball Player. After graduation, he served for six months on active duty at Fort Ord, California, with the United States Army Reserves. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. He entered college at the University of Southern California (USC). He interrupted his college studies to serve a two-year mission to Hawaii for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). He then attended Brigham Young University (BYU) from which he received a Bachelors Degree with a dual major in Economics and Asian Studies. He received a Masters Degree in Economics and Political Science from BYU. He has attended fellowship programs at Stanford University, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara.
He taught Economics at Chabot College in Hayward, California, for ten years. He was on the Faculty Senate, was a member of the credit committee for the college credit union, taught religious education classes, was advisor of student clubs, and was a member of several professional organizations. He left teaching when he became a California State Assemblyman.
In 1972 Mori was elected as a City Councilman of the City of Pleasanton, California, and later served as Mayor of Pleasanton. He was elected to the California State Assembly in March 1975 and served for six years in that capacity as one of the first two Assembly members of Japanese descent. As an Assemblyman, he introduced one of the first spousal abuse laws in the country which addressed spousal rape. He also was instrumental in working on equality in collegiate athletics for women among other important issues such as work with Asian Americans and other minorities. He served as the Director of the Office of International Trade for the State of California. He has been an International Business Consultant for over thirty years. He and his partners took Subway Sandwiches and Pennzoil to Japan. He has also owned a golf business, selling golf shafts and making custom golf clubs. He was a consultant in government relations and served as the Utah Trade Representative to Japan. He was on the Utah Governor’s Asian American Advisory Board and the Small Business Administration Advisory Committee in Utah. He has served on various other local, regional, and state boards and commissions. He has also served on boards of non-profit organizations and business entities.
Mori has held local chapter and national positions for the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), including four years as National President and four years as a National Vice President. He joined the National JACL staff in 2005 and was Director of Public Policy in Washington, D.C, following which he became the National Executive Director/CEO of the JACL. He retired from that position in 2012 and received the title of Executive Director Emeritus. He has been on the Executive Council of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCR), and he was Chair of the National Coalition of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA). He served as the President/CEO of the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies (APAICS) for six years, retiring from that position in May 2018.
Among his accomplishments while serving the JACL in various capacities were chairing two National JACL Conventions and organizing a National JACL Golf Tournament as well as local JACL golf tournaments. He worked on securing corporate partners for the JACL and enhanced the Fellowship program. He started a JACL Gala in Washington, D.C. He initiated the D.C. Digest, a weekly email communication which was later named the JACL Digest. He also organized and chaired the first Nihon Matsuri (Japan Festival) in Utah.
He is a member and supporter of many civil rights and community organizations. He is on the Joint Diversity Council for Comcast NBC/Universal. He is on the Board of Governors for the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) and the Board of the Independent Voters Project. He is a member of the Board of the National Veterans Network and of APIA Vote. He has served on the Board of the National JACL Credit Union. An avid golfer, he was President of the Board of Alpine Country Club. He has received various awards, including a Voices of Courage Award from the Islamic Center of Fresno; an Outstanding Citizen Achievement Award from OCA National; Community Leadership Award from APAICS; Leaders and Legends Honoree from WWAAC (Who’s Who in Asian American Communities); Hall of Fame Award from MMTC (Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council); and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette Award from the Government of Japan; among others. He has held many church and civic volunteer positions including in youth sports, the Boy Scouts, and inner-city service missionary work. He is married to Irene Mano Mori. They have five children and thirteen grandchildren.
Mori has spoken numerous times to different groups and has written many articles over the years about the Japanese American and Asian American experience. He has published a book entitled, The Japanese American Story As Told Through a Collection of Speeches and Articles, which covers much of the history of Americans of Japanese heritage as well as his own personal experiences. He has also published several other books and ebooks.
