Westwood Village Improvement Association elects new board secretary

A newly elected secretary for the Westwood Village Improvement Association plans to use her knowledge as a business owner to help improve the Village.

The board elected Kifishia Kawachi, who ran unopposed, as the new board secretary at its Thursday meeting.

Kawachi, who serves on the association’s Clean, Safe and Beautiful Committee, will now also serve on the association’s Executive Committee, which includes the board’s chair, vice chair, treasurer and secretary. Kawachi said it will be her responsibility as secretary to keep agenda minutes and take notes during board meetings.

Andrew Thomas, executive director of the association, said members on the Executive Committee oversee the association’s budget, staff members and policies.

Thomas added he thinks Kawachi is an active contributor on the board who will excel as secretary.

“Kifishia joined our board in July of 2016 and she’s been very active since that time,” he said. “She … is very engaged in all aspects of the board and we are all really excited that she’s decided she wants to be in an officer position.”

Kawachi is also the owner of Sepi’s and The Flame Broiler in the Village. She said she thinks her experience as a business owner will help her give input on how customers perceive the Village.

“I’ve owned Sepi’s for seven and a half years now,” she said. “I owned at a time when the (association) wasn’t implemented. I remember how terrible it was then, in terms of the aesthetics and I am glad the (association) has done what it has done so far.”

Kawachi added she plans to focus on the Village’s aesthetics, because as a restaurant owner she wants the Village to be an inviting experience for visitors.

“I am invested in making sure Westwood Village thrives and is an interesting spot for people to want to come,” she said.