Known for his remarkable service in the Clark County School District, Wayne Tanaka has made brilliant impacts in the lives of his students, colleagues, and the Las Vegas community as a whole. He was born in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, as a second generation Asian-American to a Japanese father and a Japanese-American mother. He grew up with a strong sense of community and attended Kamehameha III School and Lahainaluna High School. Tanaka eventually went to University of Utah majoring in geography and minoring in political science and history.