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 development of Motivated To Act, a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to providing preventative measures to combat bullying and discrimination against children. Through the Confident Life™ program, his 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 multicultural 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 also includes fair play (sportsmanship) as part of the lessons children learn and the film adaptation features five former NFL players.

He lives in San Diego and also works as an Enterprise Lending Officer with Bank of America.