JET Alumni Publications
Below are several works that JET alumni published recently:
Ellen Kamei Elected as Mayor of Mountain View, CA
We would like to offer our congratulations to JET alumna Ellen Kamei (Mie-ken, 2005-2007), who has been chosen as mayor of the City of Mountain View, California! Ms. Kamei previously served as Vice Mayor, and currently works as External Affairs Area Manager for AT&T. Read more here.
New Movie: Stay
Watch here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0848F4GQV/ref=tsm_1_fb_lkThe film Stay, created by Executive Producer Christopher Rathbone (CIR Nikko Tochigi 1989-1991) and Director Darryl Wharton (Fukushima 2005-2007), is about a recovering addict's struggles to survive after losing his job. He meets a free spirited woman, who changes his world, but cannot stay in his life. Expanding to an international canvas, STAY, was shot in Tokyo. It has earned awards from the Miami Independent Film Festival, WorldFest Houston, the Mexico International Film Fest, Baltimore International Black Film Fest, and the Royal Starr Film Fest.Christopher Rathbone is an attorney working with the law firm City-Yuwa Partners in Tokyo, and is also a professor at Temple University Japan Law School. A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Darryl Wharton-Rigby is a Writer, Director, and Producer living in Saitama. He has an MFA in Film Directing from Chapman University and was a Lecturer for Morgan State University's Screenwriting and Animation program. The film, Stay, made him the second African-American to make a feature film in Japan.
Black Americans and U.S.-Japan Relations Recording
This event featured JET alumna, Paige Cottingham-Streater (Mie-ken, 1988-89), Executive Director of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission and was moderated by Morgan Pitelka, Chair of the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.Prior to joining the Commission, 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, Cottingham-Streater was director for the U.S.-Japan Project at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies in Washington, DC. In this capacity, she supervised visiting scholars, conducted research on US-Japan issues, managed the project’s budget and published the project’s newsletter.Event recording and more info: https://asianstudies.unc.edu/virtual-event-black-americans-and-u-s-japan-relations/Video: https://youtu.be/_espVsMLAL0
New Podcast: Japan Winecast
JET Alumnus, David Ellis's (Yamanashi, 1991-1994) podcast on Japan's unique wine scene focuses on the history of wine in the island nation, the unique varietals grown here and the fantastic wineries that I have discovered on my travels in the Land of the Rising Sun. For further information, visit his website, Close to Mount Fuji, to read more about the boutique wineries described on this podcast.To learn more go to: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/japan-winecast/id1549791326
A Mostly Not Untrue Walking Tour of Downtown Tampa - Feb 6
John McGee (Nagano 2004-2005; Kyoto 2018-2020) of the Environmental Team will be holding a walking tour of downtown Tampa, Florida on February 6. Tampa is an old city rich in history, but the history is often overrun by the rapid new development occurring here. This walking tour will not only let you stretch your legs through Downtown Tampa’s beautiful waterfront, but will provide a unique perspective on some of Tampa’s obscure history. We guarantee you won’t have heard these stories before. Like all oral history, these tales will leave you pretty sure some of it couldn’t have happened just that way, but not quite sure where to draw the lines. And when told in John McGee’s noted storytelling style, you’ll find you don’t really care!Event page: http://eteamsvc.com/a-mostly-not-untrue-walking-tour-of-downtown-tampa-2/
The Future of the Alliance under President Biden and Prime Minister Suga - Feb 10
JET alumnus Michael Green of Center for Strategic and International Studies will be speaking as part of this event. Register hereThe U.S.-Japan alliance is one of the strongest bilateral relationships in the world today. All the same, it often encounters times for necessary reflection and a reassessment of its most important pillars. As we enter 2021, there are many questions about the how the Suga government in Japan and the Biden administration in the U.S. will work together. Among the major agenda points are securing peace and stability in Asia, managing global trade networks, and ensuring the health of millions of Americans and Japanese amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Join us for a conversation with three experts from Japan and the U.S. on what 2021 will hold for relations between these Transpacific partners.
EngageAsia Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Awards - Feb 26
February 26, 2021 - 6:30 to 8:00 PM ESTCongrats to JET Alumnus, Daniel Carolin (Nagano-ken), winner of the EngageAsia Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Awards! The Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award was created in 2001 and administered by the United States-Japan Foundation (USJF) from 2002-2019. The award is now administered by EngageAsia with support from private donors and USJF. The award is offered in two categories, Humanities and Japanese Language, and honors top teachers who have dedicated their career to furthering mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese.The award is open to current full-time K-12 classroom teachers of any relevant subject in the United States.This virtual ceremony will honor 2020 Award Recipients, Daniel Carolin, Teacher of Japanese Language and English, Kennedy High School, Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Junko Tanaka, Teacher of Japanese Language, Clarendon Elementary School, San Francisco, California. The ceremony will include leaders in Japanese language and culture education as well as dignitaries. All are welcome to join but please register here!
Have something you think we should share? Email us at contact@usjetaa.org. Not all submitted ideas will be shared. |
