Building community one JET at a time.

This fall, Ms. Casey Nealy joined USJETAA as Program Coordinator. As the coordinator for USJETAA, Ms. Nealy will be working to support the 19 JETAA chapters across the United States, JET alumni, and current JETs living in Japan. She will help manage USJETAA’s grant programs including the Micro-Grant Initiative for current JETs, the leadership program for JET chapter leaders, and the Sasakawa grant program for JETAA chapters and subchapters.

She will also facilitate a monthly informational webinar series for JET alumni and chapter leaders. She hopes to act as a resource for the JET alumni community in their activities to advance and strengthen the U.S.-Japan relationship.

Ms. Nealy was an Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme from 2013 to 2015 living in Tamana city in Kumamoto Prefecture after having a short term study abroad experience at Meiji University in Tokyo, Japan where she was a student in the summer of 2012.

Ms. Nealy brings to the position experience in international exchange, program coordination and grant management. After the JET Programme, Ms. Nealy worked for the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC processing JET applications and facilitating JET applicants’ interviews. She went on to work with international exchange and education focused non-profits including the Meridian International Center and the Washington Center.  Prior to joining USJETAA, she was the program coordinator for the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship program, a diversity pipeline program for the Department of State Foreign Service.

Since 2017, Ms. Nealy has volunteered as a stage manager as a part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC where she enjoys working with the local Japanese community. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in International and Intercultural communication at American University.