STEPHEN TAKO

Personal Bio

Stephen Tako – Author, Film Producer & Anti-Bullying Advocate

Stephen Tako is a Senior Advisor on Childhood Bullying with the Child Safety Network. Being a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, he has authored several anti-bullying themed books for adults and children. As a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), he has produced, directed, cast and performed in films and public service announcements focusing on youth issues such as bullying, discrimination, neglect and suicide.

One of Stephen’s most ambitious projects is the co-development of The Confident Life Program™, a Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) multimodal school curriculum. He and his partner formed Motivated To Act, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, dedicated to providing preventative measures to combat bullying and discrimination for children. This organization provides services to schools and other youth organizations through the use of lesson plans, music and storytelling.

Stephen created an award-winning series of books and films based on the character Junga the Dancing Yeti® This fictional character experiences bullying and discrimination mostly because of his appearance. Children ages 4-8 learn important life-lessons so critical for their age group regarding empathy, inclusion, overcoming age-appropriate adversity and other related issues. His third book in this series includes sportsmanship as part of the lessons children learn and the film adaptation features five former NFL players.

His talk show “Tako Talk” includes over 30 episodes where Stephen interviewed people who have been bullied and how they overcame their hardships. He has been featured on international podcasts, radio shows and live stages to discuss bullying prevention.

Since 2010, Stephen has been the regular host of the Los Angeles Movie Awards, NYLA International Film Festival and the Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood.

Originally from the Cleveland Ohio area, he resided in Los Angeles for 30 years before moving to San Diego in 2019 with his fiancé’ and has one son in Los Angeles. He is an active member in the La Jolla Golden Triangle Rotary Club, Youth Services Committee.