George Kiriyama (1931-2005) was a career teacher and principal in Los Angeles, California. During World War II, he was incarcerated at the Manzanar and Tule Lake camps. After serving in the Air Force during the Korean War, he graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in U.S. History, received his teaching credential at the University of Southern California, and earned his Master's Degree in School Administration from Pepperdine University. He spent 39 years working for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), teaching at Pasteur Junior High School and Monroe and Hamilton High Schools, and later serving as principal of Gardena Community Adult School, which was renamed after Kiriyama in 2011. He developed curricula in multiculturalism and Asian American Studies for LAUSD as part of the Asian Pacific American Education Commission and represented District 7 on the LAUSD school board from 1995 and 1999. Kiriyama was also a board member of many community organizations, including the East West Players, El Camino Lions, Little Tokyo Towers, Wattstar Theatre, and the Senshin Buddhist Temple. In 1978, Kiriyama founded the Japanese American Historical Society of Southern California.