USJETAA JET35 Alumni Reunion

May 20-22 | Seattle, Washington

Friday, May 20, 2022

[11:00]  Registration & Japan Expo Hall Open

• Registration opens at Motif Seattle’s 3rd Floor (attendees must register before entering conference hall & show proof of vaccination/negative test)
• Japan Expo Hall booths open at Motif Seattle 3rd Floor & attendees can meet representatives of JET-related organizations, cultural & educational institutions, and innovative local companies.

[11:00]  Optional Activities Kickoff

NOTE: Most activities require advance registration, and attendees must cover their own transportation and meal costs. A link to register will be sent to all registered attendees. Or check this webpage or email reunion@usjetaa.org to sign up!

• One-on-One Career Counselling Sessions Begin (throughout Friday & Saturday, by appointment only)
• [11:00-12:00] Insider Tour of Pike Place Market (registration required)
• [11:30-1:30] JET20+ Luncheon (registration required)
• [1:15-2:15] Samurai Undressed: Traditional Japanese Armor Demonstration

[2:30-2:45]  Opening Remarks

• [Emcee] James GANNON, Interim Executive Director, USJETAA (Ehime, 1992-1994)
• Paige COTTINGHAM-STREATER, Chair, USJETAA; Executive Director, Japan-US Friendship Commission (Mie, 1988-1989)
• INAGAKI Hisao, Consul General of Japan in Seattle
• SHIMOTORI Mayumi, Executive Director, Japan Local Government Center/CLAIR-NY

James GANNON, Interim Executive Director, USJETAA (Ehime, 1992-1994)

In March 2022, Jim Gannon was named interim executive director of the US JET Programme Alumni Association (USJETAA). He taught for two years on the JET Program in Ehime Prefecture from 1992 until 1994, and he has worked in US-Japan relations ever since returning to the United States in 1995. Jim also is vice chair of USJETAA and a member of the JETAA USA Board of Advisors, and he previously served on the board of JETAA-NY. For nearly 20 years, from 2001 to 2021, he led the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA), a foreign policy institute that hosts high-level policy dialogues, legislative exchanges, and foreign policy research. As executive director, he created and leading a wide range of initiatives designed to strengthen US-Japan relations and encourage deeper international cooperation. He now is a senior fellow there.

Jim writes extensively on US-Asia relations, global health, development, and civil society, and he is co-editor of A Growing Force: Civil Society’s Role in Asian Regional Security (2013) and Looking for Leadership: The Dilemma of Political Leadership in Japan (2015). He received a BA from the University of Notre Dame, carried out graduate research at Ehime University in Japan, and has a master’s degree from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Paige COTTINGHAM-STREATER, Chair, USJETAA; Executive Director, Japan-US Friendship Commission (Mie, 1988-1989)

Ms. Cottingham-Streater directs the work of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, an independent federal government agency that supports research, education, public affairs and exchange with Japan. Its mission is to support reciprocal people-to-people understanding, and promote partnerships that advance common interests between Japan and the United States. She also is secretary-general of U.S. CULCON [Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange], and she serves as chair of the USJETAA, which she helped to found.

Prior to joining the Commission, Ms. Cottingham-Streater served as Deputy Executive Director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation where she worked for sixteen years. In addition to providing strategic leadership for the Mansfield Foundation, she directed the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program, a Congressionally-established professional exchange for mid-level federal government employees. Previously, Ms. Cottingham-Streater was Director for the U.S.-Japan Project at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, DC. And prior to that she served as counsel and legislative assistant in the office of Congressman Donald M. Payne (D-NJ). She was also a participant in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET), a staff attorney at the U.S. Department of Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Ms. Cottingham-Streater received her Juris Doctor from the National Law Center at George Washington University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Connecticut College in Government and Asian Studies and her contributions to US-Japan relations were honored with the announcement that she will be a 2022 recipient of Japan’s imperial decoration, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.

INAGAKI Hisao, Consul General of Japan in Seattle

Consul General Inagaki joined the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1985. After serving as Director of Internet Public Relations Division, Minister’s Secretariat, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), he was appointed as Consul General of Japan in Seattle in July 2020.

Past assignments include postings in the United States three times, including in Washington D.C. and Chicago. Having an MS from both the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he has an extensive career and experience in the fields of both Japan-US bilateral relations and information systems at MOFA. Mr. Inagaki is married, with a daughter.

SHIMOTORI Mayumi, Executive Director, Japan Local Government Center/CLAIR-NY

Mayumi Shimotori was appointed as Executive Director of Japan Local Government Center (CLAIR New York) in August 2020. Before her assignment to New York, she worked primarily in various departments of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for more than 25 years. The administrative fields in which she was involved include waste management, sewerage, public hospital management, long-term urban planning, measures for U.S. military facilities in Tokyo, exchange with international cities, and public relations. To gain even broader experience, she has been sent to and worked for another local government and a private think tank in Tokyo.

During her time at JLGC, New York, she has overseen the continuation of its activities to provide information and liaison support to prefectural and municipal governments in Japan, maintain and strengthen sister state and sister city relations, provide training and study opportunities for Japanese public officials, and work with CLAIR Tokyo and colleagues at MOFA to support the JET Program and JET alumni community. These missions have been exceptionally challenging during the pandemic, as everyone has had to adapt to new limitations and new ways of working and communicating, but she is appreciative of the breadth this has added to her experience.

[2:45-2:50]  Special Greetings (via video message)

Hon. Yoshimasa HAYASHI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan

Hayashi Yoshimasa was appointed as Minister for Foreign Affairs in November 2021. He has served in the National Diet of Japan since 1995, and he currently represents Yamaguchi Prefecture’s 3rd Electoral District in the House of Representatives. A member of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), he previously was elected to five terms in the House of Councillors. He has served as in a wide range of top Cabinet posts, including as Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (2017-18), Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (2012-15), Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy (2009), Minister of Defense (2008), State Minister of Cabinet Office (2006-7), and Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Finance (1999-2000). In 2012 he was a candidate for the Presidency of the LDP.

Minister Hayashi graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Tokyo, and also received a masters in public administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

[2:50-3:35]  Keynote Address 

Bill TSUTSUI, President & CEO, Ottawa University; Award-winning Historian and Author of Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters

Bill Tsutsui is an award-winning historian and teacher, frequent public speaker and media commentator, and a seasoned academic administrator with a record of innovation. Born in New York City and raised in Texas, he holds degrees from Harvard (A.B. 1985), Oxford (M.Litt. 1988), and Princeton (M.A. 1990, Ph.D. 1995) universities. He began his academic career at the University of Kansas, where over 17 years on the faculty he served as acting director of KU’s Center for East Asian Studies, chair of the Department of History, and associate dean for international studies in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. From 2010 to 2014, he was dean of Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences and professor in the Clements Department of History at Southern Methodist University and, from 2015 to 2019, he was president of Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. In July 2021, he was named president and CEO of Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas.

Dr. Tsutsui researches, writes, and speaks widely on Japanese economic and environmental history, Japanese popular culture (especially the Godzilla movies), Japanese-American identity, and issues in higher education. He is the author of Manufacturing Ideology: Scientific Management in Twentieth-Century Japan, Banking Policy in Japan: American Efforts at Reform During the Occupation, Godzilla on My Mind: Fifty Years of the King of Monsters, and Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization, as well as numerous essays on modern Japanese history. He is highly opinionated about BBQ, proud to have once driven the Zamboni at an NHL game, and slightly embarrassed to be Level 40 in Pokemon Go.

[3:35-3:50]  JET Community Welcome

[Seattle Welcome from Pacific Northwest JET Alumni Association (PNWJETAA)]

• Samantha CORPUZ, Co-President, PNWJETAA (Gunma, 2012-2016)
• Cheryl HOU, Co-President, PNWJETAA (Toyama, 2005-2008)

[JETAA USA Country Representative]

• Megan DeVILLE, Country Representative, JETAA USA (Aomori, 2009-2010)
• Valerie STEWART, Country Representative, JETAA USA (Saga, 1999-2002)

[Speakers]

Samantha CORPUZ, Co-President, PNWJETAA; Program Assistant, Laurasian Institution (Gunma, 2012-2016)

Samantha Corpuz has served as Pacific Northwest JETAA’s President since 2020 and was re-elected as Co-President this year. She was an elementary and junior high school “one-shot” (in the unique position of having no base school and 8 placement schools) ALT in Matsuida-machi, Annaka-shi, Gunma-ken. Outside of the classroom, she joined a local wadaiko group, travelled to 39 prefectures, and served two terms on Gunma AJET as Secretary and President. In her current role with Laurasian Institution, she provides program and administrative support for Japan and US government-sponsored initiatives that took inspiration from the JET Program, but in reverse. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Dialogue from Simon Fraser University, Canada, and loves to spend her time on good food, wine, and yarn crafts. She has two cats, Toast and Poptart, whom she co-parents with her partner and fellow Gunma JET, Patrick Penny.

Cheryl Hou, Co-President, PNWJETAA; Domestic & International Buyer, Golden International Corporation (Toyama, 2005-2008)

Cheryl Hou came out of JETAA retirement and is serving a one year stint as co-president of the Pacific Northwest JETAA for 2022/2023, as well as remaining a member of the JETAA USA Advisory Board. She graduated from University of Washington with a double degree in International Relations and English Creative Writing; she currently works in Food Acquisition and Buying at Golden International Corporation, and introduces various food products from Asia to the Pacific Northwest.

She was a Junior High School ALT at two schools in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, from 2005 to 2008. She served as regional coordinator on her last year of JET, and joined PNWJETAA upon returning to Seattle.

She bounced between several roles, including PNWJETAA President from 2012-2014, National Conference Coordinator in 2014, and had the honor of being elected as a JETAA USA Country Representative from 2015 to 2018, before stepping back to work in supporting roles on the Advisory Board and re-focusing locally. Cheryl currently sits on the boards of the Seattle Cherry Blossom and the Japanese Cultural Festival; she is an avid traveler, spends all her free time reading, cooking, writing, playing video games, organizing events and parties, and learning new crafts and hobbies. She’s a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.

Megan DeVILLE, Country Representative, JETAA USA (Aomori, 2009-2010)

Megan was an ALT in Aomori Prefecture from 2009 to 2010, where the New Orleans native quickly learned to love snow.  After leaving Japan, she became an active member of JETAA Mid-South, serving  as chapter president (2013-2021) and senior advisor (2021-2022) until election as a JETAA USA country representative in April 2022.

Megan graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a double major in International Business and Japanese Studies and now works at Laitram L.L.C., a global manufacturing and innovation company, where she is known as the “HR Computer Nerd” for her 12 year career in Human Resources technology and processes.

Between her ‘day job’ and ongoing work with JETAA, Megan can be found at ballet class, practicing with her two bands,  traveling with her husband, or pursuing some new health and fitness interest.

Valerie STEWART, Country Representative, JETAA USA (Saga, 1999-2002)

Valerie Stewart was an ALT in Saga-Ken in the seaside towns of Genkai and Karatsu from 1999 to 2002. A native of Atlanta, GA, Valerie has served both as a secretary and treasurer for JETAASE (Southeast) from 2010 to 2021 and is now serving as a country representative in her second term.

Valerie graduated from the University of Georgia, receiving a BBA in International Business and a minor in Japanese Language & Literature. Currently, she works in marketing and partnerships for the global concierge and loyalty company, John Paul.

Also passionate about genealogy, you might find Valerie in the Georgia Archives researching her family’s history or traveling to places from her family’s past.

[3:50-4:00]  Spotlight on Seattle & Kobe: Celebrating 65 Years of Friendship 

• Karin ZAUGG BLACK, Past President, Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association; International Business Protocol Liaison, Port of Seattle (Kobe, 1993-1996)
• Richard MEI, Consul General of the United States in Osaka-Kobe (MEF, Tokushima, 1981-1982) (video message)

[Speakers]

Karin ZAUGG BLACK, Past President, Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association; International Business Protocol Liaison, Port of Seattle (Kobe, 1993-1996)

Karin Zaugg Black serves as the International Business Protocol Liaison for the Port of Seattle and advises on protocol matters related to international delegations of business leaders, dignitaries, and government officials to facilitate positive business relationships. She supports the port’s various lines of business, including Airport, Seaport (in collaboration with the Northwest Seaport Alliance),
Cruise, Fishing, and Economic Development, and Tourism.

Ms. Zaugg Black served as Communications Director for the City of Seattle Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (OED) and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and has held other roles at the Japanese American Chamber of Commerce, Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI), and the Mayor’s Office of Kobe, Japan, on the JET program, serving as Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) from 1993-1996.

Ms. Zaugg Black currently serves on the Japan-America Society of the State of Washington board as past chair, as vice chair of the City of Seattle’s International Advisory Affairs Board, and as co-chair of Greater Seattle Partners’ Marketing Council. She served as president of the Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association from 1998 to 2015 and continues to serve on the board as past president. She is a graduate of the greater Seattle’s Leadership Tomorrow program. She and her husband Dan have two children and live in Seattle.

Richard MEI, Consul General of the United States in Osaka-Kobe (MEF, Tokushima, 1981-1982)

Richard Mei, Jr. joined the foreign service in 1987 and while working at the US Embassy in Tokyo in 2000, he resigned to work for Merrill Lynch Japan as their communications director. He rejoined the State Department in 2002 and was promoted to the senior foreign service in 2016.

A career public diplomacy (PD) officer, he has served in that capacity in Japan (three times), Burma, Bulgaria, Serbia, Kosovo, Kenya, Brazil, and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (Fulbright program). Besides living in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Fukuoka, he has travelled to all of Japan’s 47 prefectures.

Working in Osaka-Kobe marks a return to the region where, as a Monbusho English Fellow (present day Japan Exchange and Teaching Program), his unofficial PD career began in 1981. Richard is a native New Yorker, worked as an Assistant to NYC Mayor Ed Koch, and graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and Columbia University.

[4:00-5:00]  The 35 Year Experiment: Reflecting on the JET Program & the Bridges It Builds

• Diana Helweg NEWTON, Director, Southern Methodist University Tower Scholars Program; former State Department & National Security Council/White House (Yamaguchi, 1988-1989)
• Cara LAM, Content Designer, Instagram; Blogger & Vlogger, YouTube Channel Caradventures; Vice President, JETAANY (Niigata, 2016-2018)
• Monica YUKI, Vice President of Research & Insights, Parade Media; Member, JETAA USA Board of Advisors & USJETAA Board; Chair, JETAANY (Saitama, 2002-2004)
• [Moderator] Paige COTTINGHAM-STREATER, Chair, USJETAA (Mie, 1988-1989)

[Panelists]

Diana HELWEG NEWTON, Tower Center Colin Powell Teaching Fellow & Adjunct Professor; Director, Tower Scholars Program, John G. Tower Center for Public Policy & International Affairs, Southern Methodist University (SMU) (Yamaguchi, 1988-1989)

M. Diana Helweg Newton is the director of the Tower Scholars Program and senior fellow at the John Goodwin Tower Center for Public Policy and International Affairs at SMU where she lectures in the selective Public Policy and International Affairs minor. Mrs. Newton has also taught at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin. Before moving to Texas, she was an International Affairs Fellow (IAF) at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City and a Hitachi International Affairs Fellow at the Japan Center for International Exchange in Tokyo, where she worked as the project director for the Council’s Economic Task Force on Japan.

Prior to working at the Council, Mrs. Newton served as the Executive Assistant to the Deputy National Security Advisor at the National Security Council, and as the Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs at the State Department. Previously, she practiced law in the Legal Adviser’s Office at State, and she began her legal career at Morrison & Foerster in Washington, DC. She sits on the Hitachi IAF Selection Committee and the National Program Committee at the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the board of trustees at Deerfield Academy, and the International Center for Transitional Justice. She also serves as a commissioner on the Japan-US Friendship Commission and the US-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Exchange. She is a graduate of Yale University and Boston University School of Law. In between those two degrees, she worked as a CIR on the JET Program in Yamaguchi-ken in 1988-1989.

Cara LAM, Content Designer, Instagram; Blogger & Vlogger, YouTube Channel Caradventures; Vice President, JETAANY (Niigata, 2016-2018)

Cara Lam taught on the JET Program from 2016 to 2018, and her blogging and YouTube videos about JET and life in Japan as a foreigner have attracted hundreds of thousands of views. Cara ‘s professional writing career began in Japan in 2017 when she wrote freelance travel blogs for GaijinPot. Then in 2019, she moved back to the US and took on a marketing copywriting job at a fintech startup in New York City. From there, she learned about user experience (UX) writing and recently joined Instagram as a content designer. Nowadays, Cara spends her free time coaching and mentoring aspiring UX writers.

As the Vice President of JETAANY, Cara held the Meishi Exchange event in March 2022 and spearheaded the Linkedin Premium subsidy program in hopes of helping JET alumni expand their networks and advance their careers. Outside of JETAANY, Cara volunteers for a Japanese organization called Big Apple Beautifier, which gathers monthly to pick up garbage in downtown Brooklyn. Every couple of months, Cara blogs about her journey between continents and what it’s like to go from teaching English to working in big tech. You can read her blogs here.

Monica YUKI, Vice President of Research & Insights, Parade Media; Member, JETAA USA Board of Advisors & USJETAA Board; Chair, JETAANY (Saitama, 2002-2004)

Originally from Malibu, California, Monica attended the University of Colorado and has a B.S. in Business Administration with a double emphasis in Marketing and Human Resource Management. She participated in the JET Program from 2002-2004 as an ALT in Iruma-shi, Saitama-ken, where she developed a greater appreciation for Japanese culture and her family heritage. Now residing in New York City, Monica is the Vice President of Research and Insights at Parade Media Group, where she oversees print and digital consumer insights.  Monica has been involved in a leadership role with JETAA for the past 16 years. Currently she is the Chairman of the Board of Directors for JETAA New York’s 501(c)3 non-profit organization with over 2,000 members in NY, PA, and NJ. She also sits on the board of directors for USJETAA, the national 501(c)3 non-profit supporting alumni across the country, and on the JETAA USA Board of Advisors, following her 5-year term as a Country Representative.

[Moderator]

Paige COTTINGHAM-STREATER, Chair, USJETAA; Executive Director, Japan-US Friendship Commission (Mie, 1988-1989)

Ms. Cottingham-Streater directs the work of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, an independent federal government agency that supports research, education, public affairs and exchange with Japan. Its mission is to support reciprocal people-to-people understanding, and promote partnerships that advance common interests between Japan and the United States. She also is secretary-general of U.S. CULCON [Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange], and she serves as chair of the USJETAA, which she helped to found.

Prior to joining the Commission, Ms. Cottingham-Streater served as Deputy Executive Director of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation where she worked for sixteen years. In addition to providing strategic leadership for the Mansfield Foundation, she directed the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program, a Congressionally-established professional exchange for mid-level federal government employees. Previously, Ms. Cottingham-Streater was Director for the U.S.-Japan Project at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, DC. And prior to that she served as counsel and legislative assistant in the office of Congressman Donald M. Payne (D-NJ). She was also a participant in the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program (JET), a staff attorney at the U.S. Department of Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Ms. Cottingham-Streater received her Juris Doctor from the National Law Center at George Washington University. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Connecticut College in Government and Asian Studies and her contributions to US-Japan relations were honored with the announcement that she will be a 2022 recipient of Japan’s imperial decoration, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon.

[5:00]  Special Supporter Dinner

• Hosted by anonymous donor at exclusive venue for attendees donating to receive a special supporter ticket

[7:00-10:00]  JET35 Welcome Reception

• Located at Optimism Brewing Company
• Featuring Mothra: JET Storytelling Hour hosted by Steven HOROWITZ, Founder, JETwit.com (Aichi, 1992-1994) — Click for more info & to sign up to tell your story

Saturday, May 21, 2022

[9:00]  Registration & Japan Expo Hall Open

[9:30-10:15]  Creators Panel: Telling the JET Story

• Zack DAVISSON, Manga Translator & Author of Yurei: The Japanese Ghost (Nara/Osaka, 2001-2006)
• Aaron WOOLFOLK, Award-winning Director of The Harimaya Bridge (Kochi, 1992-1993
• [Moderator] Lee-Sean HUANG, Director of Design Content and Learning, AIGA [American Institute of Graphic Arts], Co-founder, Foossa (Oita, 2003-2006)

[Panelists]

Zack DAVISSON, Manga Translator & Author of Yurei: The Japanese Ghost (Nara/Osaka, 2001-2006)

Zack Davisson is an award-winning translator, writer, and folklorist. He is the author of Yurei: the Japanese Ghost, Yokai Stories, Narrow Road, Amabie: Past and Present, and Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan and translator of Shigeru Mizuki’s multiple Eisner Award-winning Showa: a History of Japan, Tono Monogatari, and famous folklore comic Kitaro.

In addition, his work includes Demon Days: X-Men from Marvel comics, Wayward from Image, and The Art of Star Wars Visions. He has translated globally renowned entertainment properties such as Go Nagai’s Devilman and Cutie Honey, Leiji Matsumoto’s Space Battleship Yamato and Captain Harlock, and Satoshi Kon’s Opus.

He lectured on manga, folklore, and translation at colleges such as Duke University, Annapolis Naval Academy, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, UCLA, and the University of Washington and contributed to exhibitions at the Museum of International Folkart, Wereldmuseum Rotterdan, and the Art Gallery of New South Wales. He currently lives in Seattle, WA with his wife Miyuki, dog Mochi, cat Shere Khan, and several ghosts.

Aaron WOOLFOLK, Award-winning Director of The Harimaya Bridge; Producer, Director, and Writer, Young Lion Productions (Kochi, 1992-1993)

Aaron Woolfolk wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning T-Joy Co./Toei Company, Ltd. feature film The Harimaya Bridge. He also co-wrote the Ovation Award-nominated play Bronzeville. He was a Walt Disney Studios/ABC Entertainment Writing Fellow. Most recently, he wrote and directed the science fiction stories Family Line and Renaissance Man and the ghost story There’s Something Going On With Sam for the podcast anthology series Earbud Theater.

Aaron’s first film Rage! won a Directors Guild of America award, and his subsequent shorts Eki (The Station), Kuroi Hitsuji (Black Sheep), and Nico’s Sampaguita won several awards and screened internationally. Aaron’s work has been invited to screen at The Smithsonian Institution, the Toronto International Film Festival, Pan African Film Festival (where he was awarded the Best First Narrative Feature Director award for The Harimaya Bridge), Japan Society, and other prestigious showcases. In addition to being in development on several film projects, he is currently writing both a novel and a book of short stories. Aaron was born and raised in Oakland, California. He graduated with degrees in both Ethnic Studies and Rhetoric from the University of California at Berkeley and with an MFA in Film from Columbia University.

[Moderator]

Lee-Sean HUANG, Director of Design Content and Learning, AIGA [American Institute of Graphic Arts], Co-founder, Foossa (Oita, 2003-2006)

Lee-Sean Huang is an artist, designer, and educator. He was an ALT on the JET Programme in Oita Prefecture from 2003 to 2006, and has served as webmaster and board member of JETAANY. He is currently the Director of Design Content & Learning at AIGA, the oldest and largest professional association for design in the United States. He also co-founded Foossa, a design and strategy consultancy focused on innovation, content creation, and transformative learning. He has taught courses in design and innovation at New York University, the Parsons School of Design, and the School of Visual Arts. He earned a bachelors in Government from Harvard and a masters in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU. He published Look at the Beautiful, a collection of his street photography in late 2021.

[10:30-11:15]  The Road Less Traveled: JET Entrepreneurs

• Bruce RUTLEDGE, Founder, Chin Music Press; Publisher, Origami (MEF, Chiba, 1985-1987)
• Sarah SMITH, Co-Founder, The Dyrt (Miyagi, 1995-1998)
• [Moderator] Jennifer BUTLER, Senior Manager, Ashinaga (Shizuoka, 2001-2004)

[Panelists]

Bruce RUTLEDGE, Founder, Chin Music Press; Publisher, Origami (MEF, Chiba, 1985-1987)

Bruce Rutledge founded Chin Music Press, an independent book publisher, in 2005. Since then, the press has published award-winning books about Japan and the experiences of Japanese Americans such as Are You an Echo?, Kaibyo: The Supernatural Cats of Japan, Shiro, We Hereby Refuse, Yokohama Yankee, and Yurei: The Japanese Ghost. Bruce lived in Japan for 17 years. He was on the Monbusho English Fellows Program from 1985 to 1987 (Funabashi, Chiba). In 1987 he was at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Shinjuku to welcome the very first class of JETs to Japan. After his MEF stint, Bruce worked for a series of news organizations including Universal News Japan, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, NHK, and J@pan Inc magazine before moving to Seattle to start Chin Music Press. Bruce and his staff moved into Seattle’s Pike Place Market in 2014 to open a bookstore alongside their office. The store also features art and new products from Japan.

Bruce graduated from Kenyon College and received a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University. He’s originally from Cleveland, OH.

Sarah SMITH, Co-Founder, The Dyrt (Miyagi, 1995-1998)

Sarah Smith is the Co-founder of The Dyrt. The Dyrt is a top ranked camping app that offers campsite bookings and millions of photos, reviews and tips of campgrounds throughout the US.

Before founding The Dyrt, Sarah had a long career in international higher education, living, working (and sometimes camping!) in Japan, England and India. She lived in Miyagi Prefecture from 1995 until 1998 while on the JET Program. She has a masters degree in Intercultural Management from the School for International Training in Vermont.

[Moderator]

Jennifer BUTLER, Senior Manager, Ashinaga (Shizuoka, 2001-2004)

Jennifer Butler is the Team Director of the Student Relations Team (Japan) at the Tokyo headquarters of the Ashinaga Foundation, one of the largest nonprofits in Japan which provides education support to Japanese and international students who have lost one or both parents.  Under Ashinaga’s flagship “Ashinaga Africa Initiative” leadership program, she leads the Japan-based student relations team and works with senior leadership on activities and programming of student support teams in Ashinaga’s offices in the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Brazil.

Jennifer pursued undergraduate studies in International Relations and Japanese at The University of Alabama, and later a master’s degree in Japanese Studies from The University of Sheffield (UK), with a research focus on International Education Policy in Japan.  Her early career highlights include working as an ALT in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka (2001-2004) under the JET Program; as an office administrator at a Japanese immersion international school in Atlanta, Georgia; and as the Cultural Programs Coordinator at the Consulate-General of Japan in Nashville.  She has been active in the South Central JET Alumni chapter, the Music City JET Alumni chapter and served two terms as a US Country Representative.

After leaving Nashville, Jennifer returned to the world of international education managing the study abroad office at Jackson State University, a historically Black university in Mississippi. She subsequently returned to Japan to undertake intensive Japanese language training at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies (IUC) in Yokohama before joining Ashinaga Foundation in 2018. She is an active member of several organizations including the US-Japan Council, NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the National Association for Black Engagement with Asia (NABEA).

[11:15-12:00]  Culinary Adventurers: Drawing on the JET Experience

• Lillian Hanako ROWLATT, Co-Founder, Kokoro Care Packages (Niigata, 2003-2005)
• Sarah YOKITIS, Sales Manager & Certified Sake Adviser, Yaegaki Corporation of USA (Kumamoto, 2006-2007)
• [Moderator] Cheryl HOU, Domestic & International Buyer, Golden International

[Panelists]

Lillian Hanako ROWLATT, Co-Founder, Kokoro Care Packages (Niigata, 2003-2005)

Lillian Hanako Rowlatt is a half-Japanese Canadian currently living in Los Angeles. She was an ALT on the JET Program in Kashiwazaki, Niigata from 2003 to 2005 and later went on to co-found Kokoro Care Packages as a way of connecting people to the traditions and culture of Japan through locally-made artisanal foods. Kokoro Care Packages promotes the philosophies surrounding Japanese food while supporting local farmers, producers, and their communities. Lillian has always believed in the power of food to nourish one’s body while connecting people to the land and people who created it. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from Queen’s University and spent almost a decade in finance before co-founding Kokoro Care Packages.

Sarah YOKITIS, Sales Manager & Certified Sake Adviser, Yaegaki Corporation of USA (Kumamoto, 2006-2007)

Sarah Yokitis has been working in the sake industry since leaving Japan in 2018 and is the current sales manager at Yaegaki USA, located in Los Angeles. In the spring of 2019, Sarah was invited to visit the company’s headquarters in Himeji, Hyogo prefecture and see firsthand the agricultural resources and brewing methods that Yaegaki has been using for over 350 years.

Sarah is enthusiastic about demystifying sake to Americans and sharing its versatility in both taste and pairing. Previous to Yaegaki, Sarah worked in Japan for over 11 years as an English teacher and yoga instructor in both the Kyushu and Kansai areas.  She holds the Certified Sake Adviser qualification from Sake School of America.

[Moderator]

Cheryl HOU, Domestic & International Buyer, Golden International Corporation, Co-President, PNWJETAA (Toyama, 2005-2008)

Cheryl Hou came out of JETAA retirement and is serving a one year stint as co-president of the Pacific Northwest JETAA for 2022/2023, as well as remaining a member of the JETAA USA Advisory Board. She graduated from University of Washington with a double degree in International Relations and English Creative Writing; she currently works in Food Acquisition and Buying at Golden International Corporation, and introduces various food products from Asia to the Pacific Northwest.

She was a Junior High School ALT at two schools in Toyama City, Toyama Prefecture, from 2005 to 2008. She served as regional coordinator on her last year of JET, and joined PNWJETAA upon returning to Seattle.

She bounced between several roles, including PNWJETAA President from 2012-2014, National Conference Coordinator in 2014, and had the honor of being elected as a JETAA USA Country Representative from 2015 to 2018, before stepping back to work in supporting roles on the Advisory Board and re-focusing locally. Cheryl currently sits on the boards of the Seattle Cherry Blossom and the Japanese Cultural Festival; she is an avid traveler, spends all her free time reading, cooking, writing, playing video games, organizing events and parties, and learning new crafts and hobbies. She’s a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none.

[12:00-1:30] JET35 Bento Lunch

Walk with us one block over to Rainier Square’s 3^nd floor roof deck for a COVID-safe, outdoors lunch at the base of the iconic Rainier Tower, designed by legendary Japanese architect Minoru Yamasaki. 

[1:30-2:30]  Breakout Sessions

• Breakout sessions are limited to 50 participants each. 
• The breakout rooms are one floor up, on the 4th Floor of Motif Seattle 

BREAKOUT 1: Career Strategies for JET Alumni

• Emily Kikue FRANK, Owner, Denver Career Catalyst (Hokkaido, 1993-1996)
• [Chair] Megan DeVILLE, Country Representative, JETAA USA; Senior HRIS Analyst, Laitram  (Aomori, 2009-2010)

[Speaker]

Emily Kikue FRANK, Owner, Denver Career Catalyst (Hokkaido, 1993-1996)

Emily is a professional career counselor with over 15 years of experience, including both higher education to private practice.  She was  also a Hokkaido AET (1993-1996) and has coached many other JETs, both individually and in groups, over the last 5 years.  She has a passion for working with creative people and those transitioning back to life in the US.  Her practice covers deeply personal topics like identity and finding meaning, as well as such nitty-gritty things like resumes and salary negotiation.

She holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Smith College and an M.A. in professional counseling from Regis University in Denver, CO.  She calls Denver home, but is happy to work with people all over the world.  Emily married artist and fellow Hokkaido JET Jolyon Yates in 1998, and the two are the happy parents of 2 dogs, Lily and Gordon.

[Chair]

Megan DeVILLE, Country Representative, JETAA USA (Aomori, 2009-2010)

Megan was an ALT in Aomori Prefecture from 2009 to 2010, where the New Orleans native quickly learned to love snow.  After leaving Japan, she became an active member of JETAA Mid-South, serving  as chapter president (2013-2021) and senior advisor (2021-2022) until election as a JETAA USA country representative in April 2022.

Megan graduated from Loyola University New Orleans with a double major in International Business and Japanese Studies and now works at Laitram L.L.C., a global manufacturing and innovation company, where she is known as the “HR Computer Nerd” for her 12 year career in Human Resources technology and processes.

Between her ‘day job’ and ongoing work with JETAA, Megan can be found at ballet class, practicing with her two bands,  traveling with her husband, or pursuing some new health and fitness interest.

BREAKOUT 2: Writing About the JET Experience

• Brian WATSON, Author, Translator, and Interpreter; Senior Specialist, Nintendo of America (Saitama, 1988-1991, CLAIR 1991–1994)
• [Chair] Bahia SIMONS-LANE, Executive Director, International Student Conferences; former Executive Director, USJETAA (Gunma, 2005-2007)

[Speaker]

Brian WATSON, Author, Translator, and Interpreter; Senior Specialist, Nintendo of America (Saitama, 1988-1991, CLAIR 1991–1994)

Brian Watson is currently revising and querying his first memoir, Crying in a Foreign Language; Pink Lady, Fictional Girlfriends, and the Deity that Answered my Plea. Originally from New York State, he lives in the Seattle area after years in Massachusetts, Japan, and British Columbia.

His time in Japan began with three years on the JET Programme as an ALT in Saitama, three years as a Programme Coordinator for CLAIR, and an additional four years living and working in the Tokyo area. He currently works for Nintendo of America as a Senior Specialist for Training and Projects after many years as a translator and interpreter.

His recent essays and a book review have appeared in Brevity’s online blog. His essays and book reviews have also appeared in Hippocampus magazine. He is the author of an recent article on marriage equality in the US and Japan for JETs on Japan and was recently a guest on the Second Adolescence and the Being LGBTQ podcasts. He spends his days with his partner/spouse of twenty-eight years, Hiro. Brian lives online at iambrianwatson.com—sign up for his Out of Japan newsletter, quickly look at Japanese history, culture, and Brian’s time in Japan, there and follow him on Twitter @iambrianwatson and on Instagram @iambrianwatson.

[Chair]

Bahia SIMONS-LANE, Executive Director, International Student Conferences; former Executive Director, USJETAA (Gunma, 2005-2007)

Bahia Simons-Lane is the Executive Director at the nonprofit organization International Student Conferences (ISC). Prior to this, Simons-Lane held the position as Executive Director of the U.S. Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme Alumni Association (USJETAA).

Previously, Ms. Simons-Lane has worked as a graduate research assistant at the Office of Global Learning at Florida International University (FIU), editorial assistant for the Comparative and International Education Society, and office manager and marketing analyst for a software and consulting company based in Washington, DC.

Simons-Lane was an English teacher in Japan with the JET Program from 2005 to 2007 and then the assistant language teacher (ALT) advisor for the Gunma Prefecture Board of Education, Compulsory Education Division. Ms. Simons-Lane holds a B.A. and graduate certificate in Theater Arts from the University of California Santa Cruz. She earned her M.S. in International and Intercultural Education in 2014 at Florida International University where she is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in International and Intercultural Education.

BREAKOUT 3: Sister Cities, KenJETkai, & Other Innovative Exchanges: Sustaining Ties with Communities in Japan

• Matthew GILLAM, Senior Researcher, Japan Local Government Center
• Dustin HENRICH, Heartland JETAA President; Committee Member of the City Independence Japan Sister City Committee; Senior Systems Engineer, Cerner Corporation (Osaka, 2012-2014)
• Jennifer MURAWSKI, Communications and Events Coordinator, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute; Board Member, Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Association (Wakayama, 2005-2007)
• Karin ZAUGG BLACK, Past President, Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association; International Business Protocol Liaison, Port of Seattle (Kobe, 1993-1996)
• [Chair] Mark FREY, Member, JETAA USA Board of Advisors; Marketing & Sales Senior Manager, PwC (Kumamoto, 2002-2006)

[Speakers]

Matthew GILLAM, Senior Researcher, Japan Local Government Center

Matthew first travelled to Japan in 1979 and then went on to major in Asian Studies, Japanese Language, at the University of Iowa, including a year abroad at Kansai Gaidai in Osaka. Spending a total of nine years living in Japan from 1984 to 1993, he cobbled together a living teaching English to everyone from youchiensei to company presidents and capped off his time there with a two-year apprenticeship at Seisetsusha, a ‘starving artist’ architectural design office in Kyoto. After returning to the States and spending two years in the western suburbs of Chicago, he ended up getting a Master’s Degree in International Security Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. This eventually led to his work at JLGC, where, among other things, he conducts research on public administration issues, supports Japanese prefecture and local government activities in the United States and Canada, including economic development and sister city & state relations, and helps handle JET Program and JET alumni matters.

In recent years his primary areas of interest have included the history and development of JETAA, urban agriculture, resilience, and disaster recovery. He also volunteers with various groups, including All Hands and Hearts and JETAA International.

Dustin HENRICH, Heartland JETAA President; Committee Member of the City Independence Japan Sister City Committee; Senior Systems Engineer, Cerner Corporation (Osaka, 2012-2014)

Dustin Henrich first traveled to Osaka, Japan in 2007 with his dad and his Taekwondo school as well as Taekwondo schools from Oakland to train with the Japanese Taekwondo Olympic Team and tour the Kansai area for 5 days. During that brief period, Dustin was touched by the hospitality of his home-stay family and was hooked after that. He ended up studying abroad for a semester in 2009 at Kansai Gaidai in Osaka and following that, would end up back in a little town in the mountains, Nose-Chou, Osaka as ALT from 2012 to 2014. 

After returning back to the Kansas City, Missouri Metro, he ended up going back into the healthcare tech field where he manages hospital systems of over 20,000 medical healthcare providers and clinicians along the Pacific Coast. Outside of tech, he got involved with Heartland JETAA and the City of Independence Japan Sister City Committee. Some of the responsibilities for the sister city recently have been leading a massive fundraising effort to revitalize, redesign, and redevelop the Japanese garden for their 45th anniversary in 2023. His other task involves building and maintaining their website, IJSCC.

Dustin is a past web admin, secretary, and newsletter coordinator for Heartland JET Alumni Association (Heartland JETAA). Dustin currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri.

Jennifer MURAWSKI, Communications and Events Coordinator, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute; Board Member, Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Association (Wakayama, 2005-2007)

Jennifer Murawski was an ALT in Tanabe City, Wakayama, from 2005-2007. After returning from Japan, she worked in higher education as a public outreach program coordinator and undergraduate advisor for Asian languages and cultures at the University of Pittsburgh. For the past six years, she has managed communications and public outreach initiatives for a National Science Foundation-supported research institute in Berkeley, California.

She is a past president, secretary, and membership coordinator of the JET Alumni Association of Northern California and Nevada (JETAANC), and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Association (OFSCA) since 2015, currently supporting OFSCA’s 60th anniversary programming. Jennifer currently resides in Pennsylvania and is a member of JETAANY.

Karin ZAUGG BLACK, Past President, Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association; International Business Protocol Liaison, Port of Seattle (Kobe, 1993-1996)

Karin Zaugg Black serves as the International Business Protocol Liaison for the Port of Seattle and advises on protocol matters related to international delegations of business leaders, dignitaries, and government officials to facilitate positive business relationships. She supports the port’s various lines of business, including Airport, Seaport (in collaboration with the Northwest Seaport Alliance),
Cruise, Fishing, and Economic Development, and Tourism.

Ms. Zaugg Black served as Communications Director for the City of Seattle Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (OED) and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, and has held other roles at the Japanese American Chamber of Commerce, Recreational Equipment Incorporated (REI), and the Mayor’s Office of Kobe, Japan, on the JET program, serving as Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) from 1993-1996.

Ms. Zaugg Black currently serves on the Japan-America Society of the State of Washington board as past chair, as vice chair of the City of Seattle’s International Advisory Affairs Board, and as co-chair of Greater Seattle Partners’ Marketing Council. She served as president of the Seattle-Kobe Sister City Association from 1998 to 2015 and continues to serve on the board as past president. She is a graduate of the greater Seattle’s Leadership Tomorrow program. She and her husband Dan have two children and live in Seattle.

Mark FREY, Member, JETAA USA Board of Advisors; Marketing & Sales Senior Manager, PwC (Kumamoto, 2002-2006)

Mark Frey has been a leader in JETAA and US-Japan exchange for almost 20 years. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Oakland-Fukuoka Sister City Association (OFSCA) and University of Chicago Alumni Association Bay Area Club. He is a proud “Monbassador” cultural ambassador for Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture, where he served as an Assistant Language Teacher on the JET Program. After returning from Japan, he became President of JETAA Northern California (JETAANC) and served as Country Representative of JETAA USA, for which he currently sits on their Board of Advisors. He also served on the Working Committee of the JETAA USA Building Capacity Initiative that laid the groundwork for USJETAA, the national U.S. JET Program alumni association.

[2:35-3:35]  Bringing Japan Home: Community Connections to Japan

• Stacey JEHLIK, International Affairs Director, City of Seattle (Kobe, 1996-1997)
• Ellen KAMEI, City Council Member, Mountain View, CA (Mie, 2005-2007)
• Adm. James D. KELLY, President, John Manjiro-Whitfield Commemorative Center for International Exchange; former Commander, US Naval Forces Japan
• Dale WATANABE, Executive Director, Japan-America Society of the State of Washington
• [Moderator] Shanti SHOJI, Director of Programs, Sasakawa USA; Co-founder, Kizuna Across Cultures (Kagawa, 2002-2004)

[Panelists]

Stacey JEHLIK, International Affairs Director, Office of Intergovernmental Relations, City of Seattle (Kobe, 1996-1997)

As the international affairs director for the City of Seattle, Stacey Jehlik manages the City’s relationships with foreign governments. This includes tracking the City’s international engagement efforts, managing relationships with the consular community, monitoring the Sister Cities program, coordinating meetings for inbound international visitors, coordinating activities with local stakeholder organizations, including the Seattle International Affairs Advisory Board, and exploring international travel opportunities for city officials.

She has a longstanding passion for international affairs developed from time spent living in Nagoya and Kobe, Japan. She speaks Japanese fluently, and spent her early career as a self-employed Japanese-English translator and project manager. Stacey is also a co-owner of Obec Brewing, a craft brewery established in Seattle in 2017. She co-founded the nonprofit Center for Czech Education and Culture (2008) and supports the work of the Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic. She holds a B.A. in Asian Studies from Claremont McKenna College and an M.A. in International Studies (Japan Studies) from the University of Washington.

Ellen KAMEI, City Council Member, Mountain View, CA (Mie, 2005-2007)

Ellen Kamei is a councilmember and former mayor of the City of Mountain View, CA in the heart of Silicon Valley. Multiracial and multilingual, Ellen is a public servant passionate about youth and civic engagement, mental health services, and social equity for women and communities of color. Her City of Mountain View committee duties include serving as chair of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Race, Diversity, and Inclusion and the Council Youth Services Committee. She is the president of the League of California Cities Women’s Caucus, treasurer for the League of California Cities Peninsula Division, and member of the Cal Cities Board of Directors.

Ellen is an alumnus of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program, the US- Japan Council Emerging Leaders Program. She formerly served on the boards of the Japantown Community Congress of San Jose, supervising the Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) Program, and the New Generation Nikkei Fund. She completed her M.P.A. from the University of Pennsylvania and B.A. from the University of California, Santa Barbara B.A.

Adm. James D. KELLY, President, John Manjiro-Whitfield Commemorative Center for International Exchange; former Commander, US Naval Forces Japan

Rear Admiral (ret) James “Jamie” Kelly had a 36-year career in the US Navy, culminating in his assignment as Commander US Naval Forces Japan (CNFJ) from 2005 to 2009. The longest-serving CNFJ in history, in this post he was responsible for the shore-support and basing issues of USN forward-deployed forces assigned in Japan, operating throughout the Indo-Asia-Pacific area, including six naval bases under his Command, and for keyUS-Japan alliance priorities including managing the first forward deployment of a USN nuclear-powered warship outside of the United States, the USS George Washington.

RADM James Kelly is a 1973 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. Designated a Naval Flight Officer (NFO) in 1974, he was the “Gray Owl” of the Navy from 2008-2009 as its longest serving NFO prior to his 2009 retirement from the USN. Nine of his 36 years of active duty were with the US Forward Deployed Naval Forces to Japan, and his career included commands of squadrons, ships, naval bases and a strike group. For his service to the alliance, he was recognized by the Government of Japan with the Emperor’s Order of the Rising Sun, gold and platinum stars. Following Navy active duty, he was Dean, College of Operational and Strategic Leadership at the United States Naval War College from 2011-2017. He is currently president of the John Manjiro-Whitfield Commemorative Center for International Exchange (US).

Dale WATANABE, Executive Director, Japan-America Society of the State of Washington

Dale L. Watanabe has been executive director of the Japan America Society of the State of Washington (JASSW) since May 2012. He was born and raised in the south end of Seattle, graduating from Tyee High School. Watanabe graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, and also earned an MBA from Seattle University.

He worked for over 20 years with Microsoft as a senior business development manager, before stepping away in 2011. He served as Commander of the Nisei Veterans Committee (NVC) in 2006 during the initial kickoff of the organization’s $2.5M Capital Campaign to remodel the NVC Memorial Hall, and has served on the NVC Board of Directors since 2004.

[Moderator]

Shanti SHOJI, Director of Programs, Sasakawa USA; Co-founder, Kizuna Across Cultures (Kagawa, 2002-2004)

Shanti Shoji serves as the director of programs for Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA. She has spent her entire career in US-Japan relations, which includes six years in Japan, two of those on the JET Program as an ALT in Kagawa prefecture, and 15 years in Washington, DC, covering issues from grassroots diplomacy to foreign policy. In 2011, she co-founded Kizuna Across Cultures (KAC), a non-profit that has since connected over 14,000 high school students across the US and Japan through Global Classmates, the organization’s flagship virtual bilingual and cultural exchange. Ms. Shoji currently serves as a board member for KAC and American Friends of The International House of Japan. She earned her Master’s degree in International Communication from American University’s School of International Service and received Bachelor’s degrees in Japanese Language and International Studies from the University of Oregon.

[3:35-3:45] Wrap-up & Next Steps

[6:00-8:00] Haru Matsuri JET35 Dinner Reception

• Come wearing your yukata or jimbei as we celebrate the JET alumni community and our connections with Japan and with each other!
• The closing reception will feature a silent auction and much more.

Sunday, May 22, 2022

Optional Activities/Excursions

NOTE: Most activities require advance registration, and attendees must cover their own transportation and meal costs. A link to register will be sent to all registered attendees. Or check this webpage or email reunion@usjetaa.org to sign up!

• [8:45-10:00]  JETAA Chapter Leaders Brunch
• [10:15-1:30] Japanese-American History Tour of Nisei Veterans Committee Memorial Hall w/ walking tour of International District (registration required)
• [11:00-12:30] Walking Tour of Ballard neighborhood (registration required)
• [2:00-3:00] Japanese-American History Tour of the JCCCW Building, Northwest Nikkei Museum & Hosekibako Japanese Shop (registration required)
• [2:00-4:00] JET35 Seattle Scavenger Hunt

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