Nadya Okamoto

Okamoto was born in New York City before moving to Portland, Oregon.[7] Her mother, Sophia Tzeng, graduated from Harvard University in 1995 and later Columbia Law School.[8] Tzeng was previously a visiting instructor of social impact management at the University of Portland.[9] Her father, Shintaro Okamoto, is the founder of Okamoto Studio. He attended Brown University and Hunter College.[10] Okamoto is no longer in contact with her father and has shared her story publicly of experiencing sexual abuse and violence in her relationship with him as a child.[11]

Okamoto attended Catlin Gabel School[12] as a Malone Scholar, a scholarship at the school offered to students in need of financial assistance.[13] In December 2019, Catlin Gabel 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.[14] Okamoto came forward publicly with more details on her experience related to the abuse in January 2020.[15] It was later revealed that her former student advisor was fired immediately after the inappropriate behavior was reported to the school.[15] He publicly denied all allegations.[15]

During her senior year of high school, Okamoto received the Gates Millennium Scholarship.[16] Okamoto was also a 2016 Coca-Cola scholar, and designated as a notable alumnus of the program.[17] She was also chosen as the 2016 Most Valuable Student Top Scholarship Winner by the Elks National Foundation, given to one female student per year.[18] In October 2019, Okamoto was given Catlin Gabel's Distinguished Young Alumni award.[19]

Okamoto is a student at Harvard College, and was admitted as a member of the Class of 2020.[20]

In December 2014, Okamoto founded Period Inc. with Vincent Forand, a high school classmate. The organization distributes menstrual hygiene products, has campus chapters at universities and high schools around the United States, and advocates for ending what is known as the tampon tax.[21] Under her leadership, the organization registered 800 chapters in all 50 US states and 40 other countries.[22] In 2017, Okamoto's organization hosted their first "Period Con," a global conference for young activists.[23]

Okamoto moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts, in August 2016 to attend Harvard College. Less than seven months later, Okamoto announced her candidacy for Cambridge City Council, with a campaign team primarily composed of other Harvard students. She was the youngest candidate in the race and focused her campaign on issues of affordable housing, education equity, and climate change. Okamoto eventually lost the election, taking 15th place out of 26 candidates.[24][25]

In 2018, Okamoto published her debut book, Period Power: A Manifesto for the Menstrual Movement with publisher Simon & Schuster, which made the Kirkus Reviews list for Best Young Adult Nonfiction of 2018.[26]

In 2017, Okamoto was named as one of Teen Vogue's 21 Under 21.[27] Okamoto was awarded the L'Oréal Women of Worth award at the annual Glamour Women of the Year ceremony in November 2019.[28] In December 2019, Okamoto was named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 in law and policy.[29]

On January 29, 2020, Okamoto announced that she had stepped down from Period Inc. as Executive Director; at the time, she stated that she would continue working with the organization.[30] In June of 2020, other activists accused Okamoto of monopolizing visibility and resources for her organization and its associated chapter. Period later confirmed that Okamoto was no longer working with the organization.[31] She was also accused of exaggerating the extent of her experience with homelessness, as Okamoto had described herself as "legally homeless" during a period when her family was experiencing financial instability and living with friends.[2]

• Period, Inc.