During her youth, Judge Nakata's family was one of only a handful of minority families residing in the Wenatchee Valley. This had its advantages in that a person is much more likely to be included if he or she is only a group of one.

Judge Nakata graduated as the valedictorian of her high school class and went on to receive her Political Science degree in 1978 from the University of Washington. In 1982, she received her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas. After law school, Judge Nakata worked in King County, Washington as a Public Defender for the Eastside Defender Association, then switched to the prosecution side as an Assistant Chief Attorney for the City of Seattle. In 1998, after a short stint in the civil law department for Seattle, she moved back to Wenatchee and was employed by the Chelan County Prosecutor's Office where she eventually became the Chief Criminal Deputy.

In 1994, Judge Nakata ran for judge in a four-person race for Chelan County District Court. In January of 1995, she took the bench and ran unopposed last term. She has served on the District and Municipal Court Judges Association Diversity and Legislative Committees, and was elected last spring to serve a three-year term on the District and Municipal Court Judges Association Board of Governors.

Judge Nakata's family history and background of growing up as a minority in a small rural town make her a self-described hodgepodge of political philosophy, which she hopes suits her well in her role as judge.