Former Congressman Mike Honda of California joins PartnersGlobal’s Board of Directors
March 16, 2023
PartnersGlobal is pleased to announce the appointment of Congressman Mike Honda to its Board of Directors today. Honda comes to the Board following a lifetime of distinguished public service, including a 16-year career in Congress. Partners is delighted to welcome Honda, a longtime public servant with a history of promoting inclusive and just policy solutions, to advance its mission to support resilient civic space throughout the world.
“I am deeply honored to join Partners’ Board of Directors,” said Honda. “I look forward to working with an inclusive and innovative organization that stewards a global network of independent peacebuilding centers in 20 countries. Partners prioritizes resilient local leadership to create solutions that enable peace and democracy to flourish.”
Honda is no stranger to the causes of peacebuilding and social justice. During his childhood in California, his family was among 7,000 individuals sent to the Granada War Relocation Center in Colorado under the policy of Internment of Japanese-American citizens during World War II. Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, Honda recalled Japanese-American internment and warned against renewed racial profiling. In 2002, he voted against the authorization of the use of military force against Iraq and later worked to improve security at the U.S. Capitol.
“Congressman Honda has been a changemaker his entire life,” said Board Chairman Chris Mitchell. “Partners will learn and benefit from his decades spent modeling the values of peacebuilding and democracy promotion through his service to community and country.”
Following the end of World War II, Honda and his family returned to the Bay Area and settled in San Jose, where he worked as a teacher and principal throughout the 1970s and 1980s. In 1971, Honda joined the San Jose planning commission and served for a decade, later serving on the San Jose school board for nine years (1981–1990) before winning election to the Santa Clara County board of supervisors. In 1996, Honda was elected to the California State Assembly, representing San Jose.
Honda would then go on to represent his district in the United States Congress. During his tenure as a legislator, Honda quietly attained positions of authority in the House Democratic Caucus, serving on the party’s Steering and Policy Committee and rising to a seat on the House Appropriations Committee. An advocate of tolerant and inclusive policies, Honda led the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and helped found the LGBT Equality Caucus.
“Congressman Honda’s tireless, lifelong dedication to inclusion, equity, and social justice is an inspiration to Partners,” said Co-Executive Director Roselie Vasquez-Yetter. “His exemplary leadership on issues affecting vulnerable and marginalized populations will strengthen our efforts to amplify their voices and build community resilience.”