Will Toutai: PI Leader

William Toutai, businessman, entrepreneur, and Pacific Islander leader.

Will Toutai was my table companion during the workshop portion of  the Asian Pacific Islander Democratic Caucus AANHPI Day on the Hill on January 9, 2024. I introduced myself as a candidate for Utah House HD 27, and I asked Toutai what he most wanted me to know about Pacific Islanders. He told me that the PI population were more than dancers and singers. He said something on the order of, “Sure, we are laborers, but we are also tech workers, business owners and entrepreneurs.” Will’s words echo the message given by Hema Katoa in the early 2000’s when my colleague at the Utah State Office of Education, now the Utah State Board of Education, Tom Sachs planned the first of two annual conferences for school counselors focused on meeting the needs of Pacific Islander students. Katoa agreed to be the keynote and help plan those early conferences on the condition that we not include any dancing Pacific Islanders. 

Toutai was born and raised in Southern California. He graduated from California State University San Bernardino and the Keller Graduate School of Management. Among his many accomplishments, Toutai has owned a construction company, and worked with real estate operations. He is a social media specialist and a technology consultant. He recently took on a staffing agency management position. Toutai, now a resident of Utah, works hard to make a difference for himself and for his family as well as the broader Pacific Islander community. He provides us a good reminder to look at all people as individuals with unlimited potential.