Haley’s Story
A Life Dedicated to Medicine and Others
Haley Nakata dedicated her life to medicine, to the people she loved, and to making a difference in the lives of others.
Chapter One
Who Haley Was
Haley Nakata was more than an accomplished physician. She was a daughter, sister, wife, friend, mentor, and someone whose warmth, determination, and care for others left a lasting impression on the people who knew her.
USC was an important part of Haley’s story. As an undergraduate, she studied Human Biology and Psychology, graduating Summa Cum Laude as a Renaissance Scholar. She was also a USC football student trainer and a member of Tri Delta, where she served in academic leadership roles.
Those who knew Haley saw the same qualities throughout every part of her life: intelligence, drive, compassion, and a genuine desire to help others. She expected a great deal from herself, but her accomplishments were only one part of who she was. Her relationships with family, friends, colleagues, patients, and the people she mentored were just as important.
Haley cared deeply about the people around her, and she brought that same sense of purpose into medicine.
Chapter Two
Her Life in Medicine
Medicine was not simply Haley’s career. It became one of the defining passions of her life.
Undergraduate
University of Southern California
Human Biology and Psychology · Summa Cum Laude · Renaissance Scholar
Medical School
USC Keck School of Medicine
Also served as an academic coach and tutor
Residency · 2019–2024
LAC+USC Medical Center
Orthopaedic Surgery Residency, ultimately serving as Chief Resident
Fellowship
Duke University
Hand Surgery Fellow, specializing in hand and upper-extremity surgery
Throughout her training, Haley contributed to orthopaedic medicine through research, education, and patient care.
She published peer-reviewed research across multiple areas of orthopaedics, including trauma, sports medicine, arthroplasty, and upper-extremity surgery. She contributed to book chapters, presented research at national and international meetings, and served as a co-investigator on an American Foundation for Surgery of the Hand Fast Track Grant.
Haley was building an extraordinary career in a specialty where women remain underrepresented. Her journey became part of the inspiration for the Foundation’s commitment to helping other women pursue their own paths in orthopaedic surgery.
Chapter Three
Her Cancer Story
The goal is not to suggest what might have happened differently for Haley. It is to ask what can be done differently for someone else.
Haley’s experience with cancer changed the course of her life and the lives of everyone who loved her.
It also brought greater meaning to questions surrounding early cancer detection, preventative screening, and access to comprehensive genetic information, particularly for younger women who may not otherwise consider themselves at significant risk.
Rather than allowing Haley’s experience to end with her story, the Foundation seeks to turn it into action.
By supporting programs focused on early detection and enhanced genetic testing, the Foundation hopes to give young medical professionals greater access to information that could help them better understand their own health and potential risks.
Knowledge can create choices. Earlier information can create opportunities for action.
The Foundation believes expanding access to both is a meaningful way to honor Haley.
Chapter Four
Her Legacy
The Haley Nakata Foundation was created to ensure that Haley’s impact continues. Its two areas of focus come directly from the worlds that shaped her life.
01
Women in Orthopaedic Surgery
The Foundation supports women in orthopaedic surgery through research stipends and grants, helping provide the resources and opportunities needed to contribute directly to the field and advance the future of orthopaedic medicine.
02
Cancer Detection & Genetics
The Foundation supports programs focused on early cancer detection and enhanced genetic testing for young professionals in the medical field, with the goal of expanding access to information that can help people take a more proactive role in their health.
These missions may address two different areas of medicine, but they share one purpose:
Turning Haley’s life into opportunities for others.
Every researcher supported, every woman given an opportunity to advance in orthopaedic surgery, and every person given greater access to potentially important health information carries a piece of Haley’s legacy forward.
Carrying Haley’s Legacy Forward
Haley accomplished an extraordinary amount in her life, but her story is about more than what she achieved.
It is about what she inspired.
The Haley Nakata Foundation exists to carry that inspiration forward by investing in people, research, and programs capable of making a meaningful difference in medicine.
Her story is the beginning. The impact made in her name is what comes next.