MAUREEN AND MIKE MANSFIELD FOUNDATION - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow at the Mansfield Foundation
Alexander Ilitchev is a senior fellow at the Mansfield Foundation. He is a career diplomat with extensive experience in the prevention, mediation, and resolution of armed conflict, most recently with the United Nations Secretariat. He began his career at the UN in 1992, serving as Senior Officer in the Department of Political Affairs. He covered various UN sanctions regimes as well as the Council's work on various crises and conflicts. From 1997-2014 he was Northeast Asia Team Leader with the Asia and the Pacific Division. In that position he actively promoted preventive, good offices, and mediation efforts by the Secretary-General, focusing on the Korean Peninsula and on promotion of multilateral dialogue and cooperation on regional security. As policy adviser to the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for the Korean Peninsula from 2003-2005 he was responsible for the conceptual and operational aspects of that good offices diplomatic effort. Following his retirement from the UN, he served as a member of the Secretary-General's High-Level Independent Panel on UN Peace Operations.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Mansfield Foundation Investment Committee
- International Investment Firm Consultant
Alicia Ogawa seves as the Chair of the Mansfield Foundation Investment Committee and is currently a member of the New Governance Task Force at KT (Korea Telecom). Until June 2023, she ran the Project on Japanese Corporate Governance and Stewardship at Columbia Business School. Since 2008, she has been a consultant on Japan strategies to two of the largest U.S.-based activist hedge funds, and an advisor to several Japan-focused activist funds. She is a director at the London Stock Exchange-listed Nippon Active Value Fund, as well as the Tokyo-based activist fund Misaki Capital. She is an advisor at Questhub, a Tokyo-based governance advisory firm.
She spent a decade as an assistant adjunct Professor at Columbia's School of International and Public Affairs running graduate seminars on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance issues. Between 2000-2006, she was managing director at Lehman Brothers in New York City, where she was responsible for managing the firm's global equity research product. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers, Ogawa spent 15 years in Tokyo, where she was a top-rated bank analyst and director of research for Nikko Citigroup.
She is currently a member of the board of directors of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, and a member of the board of directors of Pure Earth, a global NGO dedicated to addressing lead and mercury pollution. She graduated from Barnard College and earned a master's degree in international affairs at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.
Job Titles:
- President and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute
Ambassador Kathleen Stephens is President and CEO of the Korea Economic Institute and a former United States Foreign Service Officer. She was U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Korea from 2008-2011. Other overseas assignments included postings to China, the former Yugoslavia, Portugal, Northern Ireland-where she was U.S. Consul General in Belfast during the negotiations culminating in the 1998 Good Friday Agreement-and India, where she was U.S. Chargé d´Affaires (2014-2015).
Ambassador Stephens also served in a number of policy positions in Washington at the Department of State and the White House. These included acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs (2012), Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (2005-2007), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs (2003-2005), and National Security Council Director for European Affairs at the Clinton White House.
Ambassador Stephens joined Stanford University in 2015 as the William J. Perry Fellow for Korea at Stanford University's Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center. In addition to serving as a Mansfield Foundation Distinguished Fellow, she is the Pacific Century Institute board chairman, a trustee for The Asia Foundation, and on the board of The Korea Society.
Job Titles:
- Lead Independent Director of Meta and Chairman Emeritus of the American Council
Ambassador Kimmitt is Lead Independent Director of Meta and Chairman Emeritus of the American Council on Germany. He is a member of the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Trilateral Commission. His foreign language is German.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner, the Asia Group
- Partner at the Asia Group
Ambassador Kurt Tong is a Partner at The Asia Group, where he leads the firm's work in Japan and the broader East Asia region. A leading expert in diplomacy and economic affairs in East Asia, Ambassador Tong has thirty years of experience in the Department of State as a career Foreign Service Officer and member of the Senior Foreign Service.
Prior to joining The Asia Group, Ambassador Tong served as Consul General and Chief of Mission in Hong Kong and Macau. Prior to that role, he served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Economic and Business Affairs at the State Department from 2014 to 2016. He also served as the Deputy Chief of Mission and Chargé d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo from 2011 to 2014.
Prior to these positions, Ambassador Tong served as Ambassador for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in 2011, leading the U.S. chairmanship of the organization during one of the most productive periods for APEC. As Director of Korean Affairs in the State Department's Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, he played a leadership role in negotiations with North Korea as part of the Six-Party Talks and in securing the release of captive Americans held there. He was one of the original architects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement during the Bush and Obama administrations, including while serving as Director for Asian Economic Affairs at the White House National Security Council from 2006 to 2008.
Earlier in his career, Ambassador Tong served as Economic Minister-Counselor in Seoul, Counselor for Environment, Science and Health at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Deputy Treasury Attaché in Tokyo, and as an economic officer in Manila.
Ambassador Tong holds a B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and studied economics at the U.S. Foreign Service Institute. He has also studied at the Beijing Institute of Education, Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies in Taipei, Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Tokyo, and International Christian University in Tokyo.
J. Thomas Schieffer served as U.S. ambassador to Japan from 2005-2009. During his tenure in Tokyo, he was involved in negotiating the most far-reaching reorganization of the U.S.-Japan alliance since the 1960 signing of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security. In 2009, Ambassador Schieffer received the Distinguished Public Service Award, the Defense Department's highest civilian award, in recognition of his work in strengthening the U.S.-Japan alliance. Ambassador Schieffer's diplomatic career began in 2001, when he was appointed U.S. ambassador to Australia. In 2006 the Governor General of Australia presented Ambassador Schieffer with the Order of Australia, the highest award a foreigner can receive, for his work in strengthening the U.S.-Australia alliance. In 2009, he was decorated by five U.S. intelligence agencies and the FBI for his work in Japan and Australia. He was elected to the American Academy of Diplomacy in 2016.
Prior to his diplomatic service, Ambassador Schieffer was an investor in the partnership that bought the Texas Rangers Baseball Club. He served as team president for nine years and in 2014 was elected to the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame. Ambassador Schieffer also has had a long involvement in Texas politics. He was elected to three terms in the Texas House of Representatives and has been active in many political campaigns. Ambassador Schieffer is the founder and principle of Envoy International LLC, a consulting firm that provides a wide range of services to international companies. He attended the University of Texas, where he earned a BA, an MA, and studied law.
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant
- Office Manager
- Office Manager and Executive Assistant at the Mansfield Foundation
Amelia Hecsh is the Office Manager and Executive Assistant at the Mansfield Foundation. Ms. Hecsh joined the Foundation as an intern in December 2022 and was promoted to her current position in March 2023, where she assists the President and CEO, manages the Washington, DC office, and provides support to the Mansfield Foundation-CIIS Forum on Northeast Asia Cooperation and the Corporate Friends of Mansfield program, among other programs.
Ms. Hecsh holds a BS in Psychology, a BA in Classics, and a Certificate in Criminology and the Criminal Justice System from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and an MA in International Security from George Mason University. While at George Mason, she spent a semester abroad at Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. She speaks conversational Korean, and is continuing her Korean studies.
Job Titles:
- Head of Government Affairs and Policy for Pharmaceuticals for the Asia Pacific
- Head of Government Affairs and Policy for Pharmaceuticals, Asia Pacific / Johnson & Johnson
- Member of the Mansfield Foundation 's Board of Directors
Amy Jackson joined Johnson & Johnson as the Head of Government Affairs and Policy for Pharmaceuticals for the Asia Pacific region in October 2021 and is currently based in Tokyo.
From January 2016-September 2021, Ms. Jackson served as the Japan Representative for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) where she led the activities of PhRMA's Tokyo and advocated for research-based pharmaceutical companies on government, economic and health care policy matters in Japan. For six years before that, Ms. Jackson served as the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (AMCHAM Korea). During her tenure in Korea, she awarded an Industrial Service Medal by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and was inducted as an honorary citizen of Seoul.
Prior to joining AMCHAM Korea, Ms. Jackson was a Director at an international trade and investment consulting firm based in Washington D.C. From 1998-2005, Ms. Jackson worked at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), first serving as the Director of Japanese Affairs and later as the Deputy Assistant USTR for Korea. Prior to that, Ms. Jackson worked in the International Relations Division at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Ms. Jackson served as a Mansfield Fellow from 1995-1997.
In addition to serving as a member of the Mansfield Foundation's Board of Directors, Ms. Jackson also serves as a Vice President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ). Ms. Jackson has a master's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor's degree in government from Pomona College.
Mr. Collier - a longtime scholar and writer on Chinese issues - is currently Managing Director at Orient Capital Research. Prior to founding Orient Capital Mr. Collier was President of the Bank of China International USA, the U.S. investment banking arm of the Bank of China.Mr. Collier's research and writing focuses on China's economy including shadow banking. He also writes on the intersection between local government, the Beijing policy apparatus, and business. His recent work has been published in the Wall Street Journal, the South China Morning Post and other outlets. Mr. Collier began his career in journalism and was economics correspondent for the South China Morning Post based in Beijing 2003-2005. Mr. Collier received his BA from Oberlin College and his MA from Yale University. He studied Chinese at Peking University. Mr. Collier is based in Hong Kong and travels widely in China.
Job Titles:
- Director of Asian Studies at the Catholic University of America
- Member of the Mansfield - Luce Asia Scholars Network
Andrew Yeo is Professor of Politics and Director of Asian Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington DC. In addition to his most recent book, Asia's Regional Architecture: Alliances and Institutions in the Pacific Century (Stanford University Press, 2019), he is the author or co-editor of three other books: North Korean Human Rights: Activists and Networks (Cambridge University Press 2018); Activists, Alliances, and Anti-U.S. Base Protests (Cambridge University Press 2011); and Living in an Age of Mistrust: An Interdisciplinary Study of Declining Trust in Contemporary Society and Politics and How to Get it Back (Routledge Press 2017).
His research and teaching interests include international relations theory, East Asian regionalism, Asia security, narratives and discourse, the formation of beliefs, ideas, and worldviews, civil society and democracy, social and transnational movements, overseas basing strategy, Korean politics, and North Korea.
Dr. Yeo is a member of the Mansfield-Luce Asia Scholars Network and, in 2020, was a Fulbright senior scholar in the Philippines. He received his Ph.D. in Government from Cornell University, and BA in Psychology and International Studies from Northwestern University. Click on his CV and full biography for more information.
Ari Lee is Director of Programs at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. She is responsible for designing and implementing the Bridging the Divide program, Mansfield-Luce Asia Scholars Network, and Maureen Mansfield Women's Empowerment Initiative, as well as most of the Foundation's Korea-related programs. She also shares responsibility for managing the Foundation's Korean Visiting Fellowships.
Her previous professional experience with nonprofits in South Korea focused on international exchange programs, managing volunteer abroad, study abroad, Corporate Social Responsibility, and thematic educational projects. She also started her own nonprofit to connect people and ideas to develop international relationships in South Korea. She has a BA in Polish Literature and Language from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and an MA in Sustainable Development with a concentration in Training Design from SIT Graduate Institute.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager
- Mansfield Foundation As a Program Manager
Ayako Saeki joined the Mansfield Foundation as a program manager in February 2022. In this role, she helps coordinate, manage, and implement Foundation programs, including the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program.
Prior to joining the Mansfield Foundation, Ms. Saeki served as an inbound support coordinator at the AFS Intercultural Exchange, Japan, from 2008 to 2020, where she was responsible for assisting inbound program participants studying in Japan, including organizing orientations, maintaining daily correspondences with local volunteers and international partner organizations, and offering counseling services. Between 2003 and 2008, Ms. Saeki worked for another exchange program organization, the Japan Foundation for Intercultural Exchange, where she assisted with coordinating a homestay program and intercultural events for high school exchange students from various countries. Ms. Saeki received an MA in Counseling and Development from Auburn University Montgomery in the United States and a BA in Asian History from Meiji University. Ms. Saeki was born in Illinois and formerly spent 6 years in Jakarta when she was in middle and high school; she has a genuine interest and passion for promoting intercultural learning opportunities and creating a bridge among nations.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance
- Mansfield Foundation 's Director of Finance
Bradley Thompson is the Mansfield Foundation's Director of Finance, having previously served as Finance Officer from 2019 - 2023. He is responsible for accounting and financial administration, overseeing the budgeting process, and financial reporting. He is also responsible for establishing and maintaining policies and procedures to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. Thompson served for over 8 years as a Corporate Financial Controller at a Global Fortune 500 Company. He graduated from the University of Idaho with a BS in Finance and a BA in International Studies with a focus in Development Economics. After graduation, Mr. Thompson served as a United States Peace Corps volunteer from 2008-2009 in Guatemala, where he worked with NGOs and local leaders to build the capacity of rural farming cooperative communities through business assistance, education, and journalism.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chairperson
- Vice Chair / Founder, LM Associates
Christopher J. LaFleur is vice chairperson of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. Ambassador LaFleur founded LM Associates in 2011. He served previously as U.S. ambassador to Malaysia (2004-2007), vice chairman and head of government relations and corporate responsibility at J.P. Morgan Japan (2008-2011), and Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
Prior to his service in Malaysia, Ambassador LaFleur held a wide variety of senior U.S. Foreign Service positions managing diplomacy with Asia, including as director of the State Department's Office of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia (1991-93), deputy director of the American Institute in Taiwan (1993-1997), minister and deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo (1997-2001) and principal deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (2001-2003). In 2003-2004, he headed the State Department team in talks charting the future of the U.S. alliances with Japan and the Republic of Korea and served as the Cyrus Vance Fellow in Diplomatic Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.
Mr. LaFleur currently also serves as Special Advisor to the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, Chairman of the Board of the DTCC Data Repository Japan, as Senior Director at McLarty Associates, as an outside director of Tsuneishi Holdings, and as Vice Chairman of the America-Japan Society of Tokyo. He is also an advisor to the US-Japan Research Institute and to Ashoka, the pioneer in social entrepreneurship.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- Mansfield Foundation As President and Chief Executive Officer
Frank Jannuzi joined the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation as President and Chief Executive Officer in April 2014. He previously served as Deputy Executive Director (Advocacy, Policy and Research) at Amnesty International, USA. There he shaped and promoted legislation and policies to advance universal human rights, protect individuals and communities at risk, and free prisoners of conscience.
From 1997-2012 Mr. Jannuzi was Policy Director, East Asian and Pacific Affairs, for the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he advised Committee Chairmen Joseph Biden and John Kerry on a range of security, political, economic, and human rights issues pertaining to U.S. relations with East Asia. During his tenure with the Foreign Relations Committee, he also was a Hitachi Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations from 2006-2007, serving as a visiting lecturer at Keio University and a visiting scholar at the Institute of International Policy Studies in Tokyo. Early in his career, he served for nine years as an analyst in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
Frank Jannuzi joined the Mansfield Foundation as President and Chief Executive Officer in April 2014. He previously served as Deputy Executive Director (Advocacy, Policy and Research) at Amnesty International, USA. There he shaped and promoted legislation and policies to advance universal human rights, protect individuals and communities at risk, and free prisoners of conscience.
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Chairman of the Foundation 's Board of Directors
- Director of the U.S
- Professor
Gerald L. Curtis became Chair of the Foundation's Board of Directors in 2019. He is also Burgess Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Columbia University, former Director of Columbia's Weatherhead East Asian Institute, and Distinguished Research Fellow at the Tokyo Foundation.
Professor Curtis is the author of numerous books and articles written in both English and Japanese including Seiji to Sanma-Nihon to Kurashite 45 nen (Politics and Saury: 45 Years Living with Japan), The Logic of Japanese Politics, The Japanese Way of Politics, and Election Campaigning Japanese Style. His columns appear frequently in newspapers and journals around the globe. Fluent in Japanese, he is a frequent guest on Japan's Sunday morning news discussion programs.
Professor Curtis has held appointments at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, London; the College de France, Paris; the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore; and in Tokyo at Keio, Tokyo, and Waseda University, the Research Institute for Economy, Trade and Industry, the Graduate Research Institute for Policy Studies, and the International Institute for Economic Studies.
Professor Curtis is the recipient of numerous prizes and honors including the Chunichi Shimbun Special Achievement Award, the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize, the first Marshall Green Award of the Japan-America Society of Washington D.C. and the Eagle on the World Award of the Japan Chamber of Commerce of New York. In 2001 he was awarded the distinguished Japan Foundation Award and in 2004 he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star by the Emperor of Japan, one of the highest honors bestowed by the Japanese government.
Professor Curtis has served as Director of the U.S.-Japan Parliamentary Exchange Program, Special Advisor to the President of Newsweek for Newsweek Japan, member of the Board of Advisors to the Japan Foundation, the U.S.-Japan Foundation, and the American Academy of Political Science, and member of the International Advisory Board of the Asahi Shimbun. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Japan Society and the Japan Center for International Exchange (USA), and a Councilor to the U.S.-Japan Council. Professor Curtis received his PhD from Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Advisory Board
- Director, Genyous BioMed International and CEO, Vitala Therapeutics
Jerry Norskog is currently director of Genyous BioMed International and CEO of Vitala Therapeutics. Previously, he was president of McNeil Consumer Health Care, a division of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals. Earlier in his career, he was president of Johnson & Johnson China Development as well as area manager for professional products in greater China where he oversaw Johnson & Johnson's medical companies in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
A native of Montana and graduate of the University of Montana, Mr. Norskog was awarded "The China Friendship Medal" in 1993 by the Department of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China in recognition of his contribution to China.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow at the Mansfield Foundation
John Fei is a Senior Fellow at the Mansfield Foundation, where he focuses on the political economy of the Asia Pacific. Most recently, Dr. Fei managed international capacity building programs and assessed China's foreign economic policies as Senior Consultant and Program Officer at the nonpartisan International Republican Institute.
Dr. Fei has also worked at Morningstar, and previously managed the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation's Asia Security Initiative-a grantmaking program supporting research that informed policy making pertaining to Asian security and regional relations. Prior to MacArthur, he researched Asia's defense, security, and political economy developments at the RAND Corporation and the University of California, San Diego.
Dr. Fei holds a PhD in Policy Analysis from the Pardee RAND Graduate School, an MA in Regional Studies-East Asia from Harvard University, and a BA, cum laude, from Williams College with honors in chemistry.
John Roos served as United States Ambassador to Japan from 2009-2013. In August 2010, he became the first sitting U.S. Ambassador ever to attend the commemoration ceremony of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.
Ambassador Roos' service in Tokyo coincided with the devastating 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis on March 11, 2011, when he led the American effort on the ground in support of Japan's response to the disaster. In October 2011, citing his tireless and effective leadership during and after the disasters, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton awarded Ambassador Roos the prestigious Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service. In September 2014, Ambassador Roos was awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus citing his "relentless efforts to forge a deeper bilateral security relationship between Japan and the United States," and his "dynamic and steadfast leadership during Operation Tomodachi," the U.S. military's humanitarian response mission.
Ambassador Roos also led the creation of the TOMODACHI Initiative that followed U.S. disaster relief efforts. TOMODACHI is a public-private partnership designed to invest in Japan's next generation of leaders and connect them to the United States. Ambassador Roos is a founding partner of Geodesic Capital, a growth stage venture capital firm, and a Senior Advisor at Centerview Partners, a preeminent mergers and acquisitions advisory firm. In addition to serving on the Mansfield Foundation's Board of Directors, he is a member of the Board of Directors at Salesforce.com and at Sony Corporation and a member of the Global Advisory Board of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Previously, Ambassador Roos served as Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich, & Rosati.
Ambassador Roos is a graduate with honors and distinction from Stanford University and from Stanford Law School, where he was Order of the Coif.
Juliane Doscher is a Program Manager at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. Ms. Doscher manages the the Cybersecurity Working Group and the U.S.-Japan Cooperation in the World series. In addition, she provides programmatic support to the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future and the Maureen Mansfield Women's Empowerment Series, among others.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Doscher was most recently Executive Assistant to the President and CEO at the Atlantic Council. Previously, she worked as Program Coordinator and Executive Assistant to the President and Chairman at Sasakawa USA, where she oversaw and managed Sasakawa USA's Alumni Program. Prior to that, Ms. Doscher worked at the Japan-America Society of Washington D.C., where her roles included Sakura Matsuri Assistant, Program Coordinator, and Administrative Assistant. She graduated from the University of Maryland with a BA in Japanese Studies and served as a Student Delegate to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Kakehashi Friendship Ties Program in January 2016.
Job Titles:
- Lecturer at Law, Harvard Law School
Ko-Yung Tung is an international lawyer and scholar whose fields of expertise are international investment arbitration, law and economic development, foreign investment and international business. He is Lecturer on Law at Harvard Law School, where he teaches courses on Law and Economic Development and on International Investment Arbitration. Previously, he taught at Yale Law School.
Professor Tung served as the Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the World Bank and as Secretary General of the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes. In private practice, he was a senior partner of O'Melveny & Myers and Senior Counsellor at Morrison & Foerster.
Mr. Tung has held a number of high-level appointments, including as a member of the U.S. Presidential Commission on United States Pacific Trade and Investment Policy, Chairman of the Board of Governors of the East-West Center, and The Trilateral Commission. He currently serves as a board member of non-governmental organizations and academic centers, including Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, Human Rights Watch-Asia, Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, U.S.-China Education Fund, and Chinese Business Lawyers Association. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Society of International Law, International Bar Association and the Bar of the City of New York, the Asia Society, and the Japan Society.
Mr. Tung was born in Beijing and raised in Tokyo. He received his education at Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts, Harvard College, Harvard Law School (J.D., 1973), and University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Goldman Sachs in 2021 As a Managing Director
Larik Hall is a managing director within the Personal Financial Management Group (PFMG) of Goldman Sachs. He leads the PFMG Insurance team which provides innovative planning and wealth protection solutions to the firm's clients and the advisers who serve them.
Larik joined Goldman Sachs in 2021 as a managing director. Prior to joining the firm, Larik worked at AIG for 12 years. Most recently, he was chief operating officer of AIG Financial Distributors in the Life & Retirement business. Before that, he spent 11 years in Japan with AIG in a variety of roles, including deputy president and representative director for AIG Japan, K.K. Larik previously served as chairman of AIG Sonpo, AIG's largest operating company in Japan and was a member of the Board of Directors of JI, AIG's joint venture with JTB. Prior to joining AIG, he worked at MassMutual as vice president of agency distribution, responsible for leading and managing the Career Agency system.
Earlier in his career, Larik served as advanced marketing counsel and field development officer for Securian/Minnesota Life from 1995 to 2002. He began his career with Federated Insurance as an advanced marketing attorney.
Larik earned a BA from the University of Washington in 1989 and a JD cum laude from the University of Minnesota School of Law in 1993.
Job Titles:
- Managing Partner of Chancellors Point Partners LLC
Mark Siegel is the managing partner of Chancellors Point Partners LLC. His 40-year career in finance has spanned banking, investment banking, management consulting, and portfolio management.
Most recently he spent 16 years at Elliott Management, which he joined in 2006, and where he was the founding managing director of Elliott's then-newest office in Tokyo. He relocated to the New York office in 2008 where his investment focus was primarily on developed market interest rates and foreign exchange rates. That followed almost 15 years of managing the emerging markets fixed income teams at MassMutual and Putnam Investments. Prior to that, he was an investment banker in the M&A Group at Salomon Brothers, where he worked in both the New York and London offices, and spent significant time in central and eastern Europe, shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, on advisory and capital raising assignments. Earlier experience included working for the Boston Consulting Group, and at Continental Illinois.
He holds a BA cum laude from Cornell University and received an MBA from Stanford, where he was subsequently a trustee of the Stanford GSB Trust. He currently sits on the board of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. He is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Job Titles:
- Board Chair of the Panasonic Foundation
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation of North America
Megan Myungwon Lee is Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation of North America. In her role, Megan leads the company's growth strategy and is responsible for guiding its ongoing business evolution.
Megan serves as Board Chair of the Panasonic Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides disadvantaged students with the skills and credentials they need to lead fulfilling and successful lives in a global 21st-century economy. She is also a Board Member for the Newark Museum of Art.
Mieko Nakabayashi, who served as a Member of Japan's House of Representatives from 2009 to 2012 (representing the 1st District, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture), is currently a Professor at the School of Social Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo.
Dr. Nakabayashi is the author of President Trump and Congress (2017) and the best-selling book, Simple Habits of Globally Competitive Professional Women (2012). She has also authored or co-authored A Challenge to Obama & America (2009), Citizen Literacy (2005), New Schedule for Administrative and Fiscal Reform (2005), and Fiscal Reform of Japan (2004). In Washington, DC, Nakabayashi served on the Republican professional staff of the Senate Committee on the Budget under Chairman Pete Domenici from 1993 to 2002. Dr. Nakabayashi received her PhD (Doctor of International Public Policy) from Osaka University and an MA in Political Science from Washington State University.
Job Titles:
- Administrative and Program Assistant
Job Titles:
- Administrative and Program Manager
Naomi Ando joined the Mansfield Foundation as Administrative and Program Manager in April 2020. She has been engaged in a variety of professional responsibilities both in the private and public sectors. From 2002-2006, she worked at the Gaza Headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), first as Information Officer of the Public Information Office and later as External Relations & Project Officer of the External Relations Department.
Immediately prior to joining the Mansfield Foundation, she worked for 5 years with the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, where she was in charge of a grassroots program that dispatched Japanese volunteers to introduce Japanese culture to U.S. citizens, in addition to other intellectual grant projects. Ms. Ando holds a BA in Arabic from Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, an MA in journalism from the University of Missouri, and an LLM in International Development Law and Human Rights from the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Programs
Nathan Finch is an Associate Director of Programs at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, where he manages the flagship Mansfield Fellowship Program, a two-year international exchange and professional development opportunity for U.S. federal employees in Japan. His portfolio also includes the Mansfield-PhRMA Research Scholars Program.
Mr. Finch joined the Foundation in October 2022 from DAI, where he was a Project Associate in their Middle East and North Africa programs, and previously worked on the International Visitor Leadership Program and World Learning. He spent five years in Akita Prefecture as an Assistant Language Teacher on the JET Program in Semboku, Japan. Mr. Finch holds a BA in Anthropology from California State University, Sacramento and an MA in international education from the George Washington University.
Job Titles:
- President, Nobuko Forum Japan and Conference Interpreter
Peyton Goodman is a Program Manager at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. Ms. Goodman manages the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission Thomas S. Foley Legislative Exchange. She provides support for the Next Generation of U.S.-Japan Nuclear Policy Experts and Trilateral Youth Empowerment programs, among others.
Ms. Goodman joined the Foundation from the Japan-America Society of Tennessee, where she was an Operations and Program Coordinator. She was an Assistant Language Teacher in Oita, Japan as part of the JET Program and has prior experience at the US-Asia Institute and Japan-America Society of Kentucky. She holds a BA in International Studies from Centre College and an MA in Global Governance, Politics, and Security from American University's School of International Service.
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Advisory Board
- Senior International Counsel at WilmerHale
Robert M. Kimmitt is Senior International Counsel at WilmerHale. Both in government and the private sector, Ambassador Kimmitt has held a wide variety of senior positions at the intersection of international business, finance, law, and policy. From 2005 to 2009, he served as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. Earlier, he was American Ambassador to Germany; Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs; General Counsel to the U.S. Treasury; and Executive Secretary and General Counsel of the National Security Council at the White House. In addition to his government service, Ambassador Kimmitt was Executive Vice President for Global Public Policy at Time Warner, Inc., and Vice Chairman and President of Commerce One, a Silicon Valley software company.
Ambassador Kimmitt graduated with distinction from the United States Military Academy at West Point, served in combat with the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vietnam, and retired as a Major General in the Army Reserve. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, where he was Editor in Chief of Law & Policy in International Business.
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Advisory Board
- Retired Diplomat, U.S. State Department
Ambassador Rust M. Deming retired from the Department of State in 2004, following a thirty-eight year career. In 2010, he was asked to return to the State Department as Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. From March to September 2011, he served as Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs, in which capacity he helped coordinate the U.S. Government response to the 3/11 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster in Japan. Mr. Deming served as American Ambassador to Tunisia from January 2001 until September 2003. Prior to that, he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (June 1998 to August 2000). Ambassador Deming spent much of his career dealing with Japanese affairs, having served in Japan as Charge d'Affaires, ad interim, from December 1996 to September 1997 and as Deputy Chief of Mission under Ambassador Walter Mondale from October 1993 to December 1996. From September 1991 to August 1993, he was Director of the Office of Japanese Affairs in Washington. Previously, Ambassador Deming served as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the American Embassy in Tokyo from August 1987 to July 1991.
Ambassador Deming completed his BA in 1964 at Rollins College and received his MA in East Asian Studies from Stanford University in 1981. He is also a 1986 graduate of the National War College. His foreign languages are Japanese and French. Throughout his career, Ambassador Deming has received numerous Senior Performance Awards and Superior Honor Awards. In 1997, he received the Department of Defense's Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service. In 2014, he received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays and Neck Ribbon from the government of Japan. He is chairman emeritus of the Japan America Society of Washington, DC and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Foreign Service Association, and the Stanford University Alumni Association.
Sang Hyun Back is a Program Assistant at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. Mr. Back provides support to the Mansfield-Luce Asia Scholars Network, Bridging the Divide, and Visiting Fellows programs.
Mr. Back joined the Foundation in Spring 2023 and has previously worked at the U.S. Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce and interned at the Korea Economic Institute in Washington, DC. He has taught English in Korea and Japan, and speaks fluent Korean and conversational Japanese. He holds an MA in Asian Studies from George Washington University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Named Vice President of the Mansfield Foundation
Sara Harriger joined the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation as Vice President in March 2024. She serves on the Foundation's senior leadership team, providing strategic advice and assisting President and CEO Frank Jannuzi in the Foundation's program development and fundraising efforts.
Ms. Harriger has more than 15 years of professional experience, including five years as the Executive Director of the Morris Thompson Cultural and Visitors Center in her home state of Alaska. Previously, she served for over a decade as a U.S. diplomat, including assignments in Saudi Arabia, India, Japan, Iraq, and France. During her assignment at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, Ms. Harriger led implementation of the Department of State's flagship exchange programs, including the International Visitor Leadership Program and the Fulbright exchange, and spearheaded development of policies and strategies to increase bilateral student exchange between Japan and the United States. She has developed award-winning models for youth engagement, implemented in Japan and Iraq.
Ms. Harriger earned a BA in Anthropology and Foreign Languages at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, and a Master's in Public Administration from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government.
Job Titles:
- Finance Officer
- Mansfield Foundation As Finance Officer
Mrs. Pilskalns joined the Mansfield Foundation as Finance Officer in February 2024. Mrs. Pilskalns has more than 15 years of finance experience, previously working for two companies based in Missoula, Montana: Geomonkey Inc. and Skyfish, LLC. She holds a BS in business administration from the University of Montana.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of Programs
Sayuri Romei is the Associate Director of Programs at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, where she is responsible for the Mansfield Next Generation of U.S.-Japan Nuclear Policy Experts Program and the Mansfield Foundation - CIIS Forum on Northeast Asian Cooperation on energy and climate change, among other programs.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Romei was a Stanton Nuclear Security Fellow at the RAND Corporation, where she researched Japan's evolving perceptions on U.S. extended nuclear deterrence and ways to strengthen U.S.-Japan relations. Prior to that, she was a Public Policy Fellow at the Wilson Center, the Fellow for Security and Foreign Affairs at Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA, and a MacArthur Nuclear Security Fellow at Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation. Dr. Romei also carried out research and writing on U.S.-Japan defense cooperation and Japan's nuclear hedging posture. Dr. Romei is part of the 2020 class of CSIS' Project on Nuclear Issues (PONI) Mid-Career Cadre Program.
Her work has been featured in the Washington Post, Kyodo News, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and The Air Force Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs, among others, and she appeared on BBC World News, PBS NewsHour, NK News, and the National Journal to comment on foreign policy and security issues in East Asia. She holds a BA in English Literature from Sorbonne University, a BA in International Relations from the University of Roma La Sapienza, an MA in International Relations, and a PhD in Political Science from Roma Tre University. In addition to English and Japanese, Dr. Romei speaks Italian and French.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow at the Mansfield Foundation
Sean Connell is a senior fellow at the Mansfield Foundation. His research and writing focuses on economic and innovation policy in Japan and Korea, and U.S.-Japan and U.S.-Korea economic relations, including at the sub-national level.
Mr. Connell previously served as Vice President, Government and Public Relations, for LAVLE USA Inc., a Washington State-based supplier and developer of advanced energy storage systems making use of advanced battery cell technologies from the Japanese company 3DOM Inc. Prior to that, he served in leadership roles in economic development and international trade in Washington State.
From 2003 through 2011, Mr. Connell served as director for Japan and Korea at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and concurrently as executive director of the U.S.-Korea Business Council. In these positions, he spearheaded the U.S. Chamber's policy initiatives on Japan and Korea, and played key coordinating roles in the U.S. business community's efforts to secure the successful negotiation and approval by the U.S. Congress of the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement.
From 2011 to 2012, Mr. Connell was a Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow in Japan and visiting scholar at the Research Institute of Economy, Trade, and Industry in Tokyo. In 2013 he was a POSCO Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center, and Japan Studies Visiting Fellow at the East-West Center in Washington. Mr. Connell has also worked for the Washington State House of Representatives and Mie Prefectural Government in Japan.
Mr. Connell holds a BA with high honors from Wesleyan University and an MA from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University, and he has studied at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. He is a board member of the Washington State China Relations Council, and a member of the national advisory committees for the Japan-America Student Conference and Korea-America Student Conference.
Job Titles:
- President for the University of Montana
Seth Bodnar currently serves as the 19th President for the University of Montana where he is working to ensure students from all walks of life and backgrounds have access to a quality education that prepares them for successful careers and lives as engaged, service-minded citizens.
Before coming to the University of Montana, President Bodnar was a senior executive at the General Electric Company. Prior to GE, President Bodnar served on faculty at West Point where he taught economics. President Bodnar graduated first in his class from West Point, received both the Rhodes and Truman scholarships, and earned two master's degrees from the University of Oxford. President Bodnar had a distinguished military career, serving in the 101st Airborne Division and the U.S. Army's First Special Forces Group.
Job Titles:
- Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, Toyota Motor Corporation
Shigeru Hayakawa was born on September 15, 1953. He graduated from the University of Tokyo with a bachelor's degree in economics in March 1977, and joined Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) in April of the same year. Mr. Hayakawa was appointed department general manager of the International Communications Department, Public Affairs Division in January 2002. In June 2005, he became division general manager of the Public Affairs Division. Mr. Hayakawa was then made managing officer in June 2007, and was appointed president of Toyota Motor North America, Inc. (formerly TMNA) in September of the same year. In April 2011, he became the chief officer of the Public Affairs Division and in June, deputy chief officer of the External Affairs Group. Mr. Hayakawa then became a senior managing officer at TMC in April 2012. In April 2013, he became the chief officer of the External Affairs & Public Affairs Group. In June 2015, Mr. Hayakawa was named a member of the board of directors, and became chief communications officer in July.
In September 2015, he was appointed chief officer of the BR Olympic & Paralympic Department, and then of the Olympic & Paralympic Division in November 2015. In April 2017, Mr. Hayakawa was named vice chairman of the board of directors of Toyota Motor Corporation.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Evaluation Sub - Committee
- Professor of Department of Political Science and International Relations
- Professor of Department of Political Science and International Relations, Korea University & Ambassador of International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights, Republic of Korea
Ambassador Shin-wha Lee is Professor of Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University & Ambassador of International Cooperation on North Korean Human Rights. She is also Chair of the Evaluation Sub-Committee of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Starting her career at the World Bank, she has held visiting positions at SIPRI, Princeton, Columbia, and MIT and was a member of the Republic of Korea's Committee on Public Diplomacy, Republic of Korea. She is an international advisory member of the Asia-Pacific Center for Responsibility to Protect, and a member of the Trilateral Commission, and the Seoul Forum for International affairs.
Her publications, including South Korean Strategic Thought toward Asia (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) and The United Nations, Indo-Pacfic and Korean Peninsula (Routledge, 2023), cover East Asian multilateral security and foreign policies, U.S. multilateral policies, UN security roles, global peacekeeping, and human security. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.
Job Titles:
- Senior Fellow at the Mansfield Foundation
Takanori "Tak" Sonoda is a senior fellow at the Mansfield Foundation. He previously was a vice president of government relations for Honda North America based in the company's Washington, D.C., office. Mr. Sonoda joined Honda Motor Co., Ltd. in 1977. In 1985, he transferred to the company's North American Sales Division before accepting his first assignment in Washington, D.C., in the government relations office of American Honda Motor Co., Inc. In 1990, Mr. Sonoda returned to the Honda Motor Co. North American Sales Division in Japan, where he helped coordinate planning and support activities for Honda's growing sales and production operations in the U.S. and Canada.
In 1994, Mr. Sonoda returned to the U.S. to lead the public relations office of Honda North America, Inc. in Detroit, Michigan, where he coordinated both media and industry relations activities for Honda in Detroit. In 1998, Mr. Sonoda returned to Washington, D.C., to help manage the company's government relations office while also coordinating industry relations and communication with Washington-based think tanks and other policymaking organizations.
Mr. Sonoda graduated from Tsukuba University in Tokyo, Japan in 1977 with a Master of International Studies. In 1990, he received a Master of Common Law from Georgetown University Law Center.
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Consultant to the Mansfield Foundation
Ms. Nichols is a consultant to the Mansfield Foundation, having previously served as Director of Finance from 2018-2024.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Nichols was the CFO at Western Montana Mental Health Center for more than 20 years. She is a licensed CPA in the state of Montana, and is also a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). Ms. Nichols holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Accounting and Finance emphases and a Master of Accountancy, both from the University of Montana. She is a native Montanan and lives in Missoula with her husband Jim.
Job Titles:
- Director, International Affairs Bureau, Keidanren
Ms. WADA Teruko is responsible for international affairs at Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), including trade and investment policy, economic relationship with the United States, Europe, and other developed economies, and economic security issues. She also interacts with other business associations at various policy fora including the B7, B20, and Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, among others.
She has engaged in public policy advocacy throughout her career, including business legislation (competition policy, corporate governance, consumer protection, taxation, etc.) since joining the Keidanren secretariat in 1995.
She holds degrees from Waseda University (BA in Law), University of Tokyo (LLM), and Georgetown University (LLM with distinction/Fulbright scholarship).
She has been an avid volunteer for Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting, serving as World Board member for the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) from 2011 to 2017. She is also currently serving her 3rd term as the National Commissioner and the Chair of the Board for Girl Scouts of Japan (2009-11, 2019-present).
Job Titles:
- Director for the Mansfield Foundation
- Director, Tokyo Office
Teruyo Kuramoto is the Director for the Mansfield Foundation in Tokyo. Ms. Kuramoto serves as the main point of contact for the Foundation's programs in Japan and manages the administration of the Mansfield Fellowship Program, a professional exchange program established by Congress for mid-level U.S. government employees. She also leads efforts on Tokyo-based activities including Corporate Friends of Mansfield and guest speaker events among all other Foundation activities in Japan. She has been with the Foundation since January 1997.
Ms. Kuramoto previously worked as a Program Specialist for the Fulbright Program in Japan from 1988 to 1996, where she was responsible for the full spectrum of duties related to the Program. She has also been employed as a Research Assistant in the Rating Division of the Japan Credit Rating Agency, from 1985 to 1988, where she researched and analyzed foreign financial markets, industry trends, and political and economic situations.
Ms. Kuramoto has a Bachelor's degree in English and American Literature from Rikkyo University. She also holds a Master's degree in International Education from the American University, Washington, D.C.
Thomas Countryman was chosen in October 2017 to serve as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Arms Control Association. He retired from the Senior Foreign Service in January 2017 after thirty-five years of service. At that time, he served simultaneously as acting Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security and as Assistant Secretary for International Security and Nonproliferation, a position he held since September 2011. Previously he served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs (2009-10) and as Deputy Assistant Secretary for European Affairs (2010-11), with responsibility for the Balkans region.
Mr. Countryman served at the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade (1983-85), and in Washington as the desk officer for Yugoslavia (1986) and for Bulgaria/Albania (1987-88). After an assignment to Cairo, he was responsible for advising Ambassador Albright on Middle East affairs at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations (1994-97), and served as liaison with the UN Special Commission investigating Iraq's weapons programs. Mr. Countryman served as Director for Near East affairs on the National Security Council staff (1997-98) and was the White House representative on Ambassador Dennis Ross' peace process team. He was Director of the Office of South Central European Affairs (1999-2001) and Minister-Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Rome (2001-05). He served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Athens (2005-08), including five months Chargé d´Affaires in 2007. In 2008-2009, he was Foreign Policy Advisor to the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, General James Conway. He received several Superior Honor Awards for his work and in 2007 received the Presidential Meritorious Service award.
Mr. Countryman graduated from Washington University in St. Louis (summa cum laude) with a degree in economics and political science, and studied at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. His foreign languages are Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, German, Italian and Greek.
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
Tim White is the Director of Communications at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. Mr. White works with the Mansfield Foundation's offices in Washington, Tokyo, and Montana to edit and produce messaging for the Foundation, including its newsletter, social media, website content, and reports. He also oversees the Mansfield Foundation's public relations and manages the design, production, and distribution of the Foundation's publications.
Mr. White joined the Mansfield Foundation in 2018. He was previously a Project Associate in congressional and media outreach at the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR), coordinating NBR's social media, briefings on Capitol Hill, and media interviews. As a Communications Specialist at the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC), he provided communications and technical support for the TOMODACHI Initiative, a public-private partnership between USJC and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. Mr. White studied at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and at Sophia University in Tokyo and holds a BA in Global Studies from Loyola University Maryland and an MA in International Relations with a concentration in Japan Studies from the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Advisory Board
- International Advisory Board Founding Chair
At the time of his death in 2021, Walter F. Mondale served as chairman of the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation's International Advisory Board. He was also senior counsel at Dorsey & Whitney, LLP, in the firm's Asia practice group.
A native of Minnesota, he served as Minnesota state attorney general from 1960-1964, and represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1964-1976. In 1976, as Jimmy Carter's running mate, Mr. Mondale was elected vice president of the United States. Mr. Mondale was the Democratic nominee for President in 1984. He also served as chairman of the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, an organization that conducts international programs to maintain and strengthen democratic institutions. From 1993-1996, Mr. Mondale served as United States ambassador to Japan in the Clinton Administration.
He joined the Mansfield Foundation's Board of Directors in 2004, and was chairman from 2008-2014, at which point he became the inaugural chair of the International Advisory Board. In addition to service on the board of the Mansfield Foundation, he served on the boards of the Guthrie Theatre Foundation, Mayo Foundation and University of Minnesota Foundation. He also sat on several corporate boards of directors.
Mr. Mondale earned his BA in political science from the University of Minnesota. After completing service as a corporal in the U.S. Army, Mr. Mondale received his LLB (cum laude) from the University of Minnesota Law School, having served on the Law Review and as law clerk at the Minnesota Supreme Court. In November 2008, the government of Japan conferred upon Mr. Mondale the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers, one of Japan's highest honors.
Weston S. Konishi is a senior fellow at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. From 2018 to 2020, he was the Director of Partnerships and Development at the U.S.-Japan Council. Prior to that, he was the inaugural William Reinsch Visiting Lectureship of East Asian Studies at the Johns Hopkins University. Previously, he served as the chief operating officer of Peace Winds America. From 2010 to 2013, he was director of Asia-Pacific studies at the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA), where he specialized in Japan and Asia policy issues.
In 2009, he served as an analyst in Asian affairs at the Congressional Research Service (CRS), authoring Japan's Historic 2009 Elections: Implications for U.S. Interests, the first report to Congress focusing on the Democratic Party of Japan. He was also principal author of the CRS report South Korea: Its Domestic Politics and Foreign Policy Outlook. From 2007 to 2008, Weston was a Council on Foreign Relations/Hitachi International Affairs fellow in Japan, conducting research on Japanese foreign and defense policies at the Tokyo-based Institute for International Policy Studies (IIPS) and the National Institute for Defense Studies (NIDS). From 2004 to 2007, Weston served as director of programs at the Mansfield Foundation, where he oversaw the Foundation's exchanges, policy dialogues, research projects, and development activities. He co-authored, with Steve Clemons, the Japan chapter in Powers and Principles: International Leadership in a Shrinking World (Lexington Books) and is a contributing author in the edited volume, Strategic Yet Strained: U.S. Force Realignment in Japan and Its Effects on Okinawa (Stimson Center, 2008). From 2000 to 2008, Weston was a monthly contributing columnist on regional affairs for The Daily Yomiuri.
He is a member of the United States Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (USCSCAP), the U.S.-Japan Council (USJC) and a participant in numerous leadership forums, including the Aspen Institute's Socrates Society and the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future. Weston received his BA and MA from the International Christian University in Mitaka, Tokyo, where he was awarded a Monbusho (Ministry of Education) Scholarship.
Job Titles:
- Retired Senior Foreign Service Officer
William T. Breer, a retired senior foreign service officer, is a specialist in U.S.-Japan relations. He served as deputy chief of mission (DCM) in Tokyo with Ambassadors Michael Armacost and Walter Mondale, as well as political minister under Ambassador Mike Mansfield. He also served as director for Japan in the Department of State. He was a senior advisor to the Policy Planning Staff of the Department of State prior to joining the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) as the holder of the Japan Chair in 1996. Mr. Breer retired from CSIS in 2005.
Mr. Breer is past president and chairman of the Japan-America Society of Washington D.C. and is a member of the Board of the John Sloan Dickey Center at Dartmouth College and of the Japan-U.S. Student conference. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and attended the East Asian Institute at Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the International Advisory Board
Yasuo Fukuda is a former Prime Minister of Japan. After graduating from Waseda University in 1959, he joined a petroleum company and worked there until 1976 when he became a secretary to the Prime Minister and concurrently a trustee of a foundation. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1990 and served as a Diet member until 2012. During this period, he served as the LDP Chairman of the Finance Committee. From 2000-2004 he was the Chief Cabinet Secretary to Prime Ministers Yoshiro Mori and Junichiro Koizumi.
Mr. Fukuda became Japan's 58th Prime Minister in September 2007. Aiming to build a sustainable society and to transform politics and governance to place more emphasis on the concerns of the people, he promoted a shift to a new policy approach that included launching the Consumer Affairs Agency and designating Environmental Model Cities. In the diplomatic sphere, he led efforts to raise global public awareness of environmental issues at the G-8 Summit and projected a direction for the new Japan-China relationship in the 21st century by signing the "Fourth Political Document" between the two countries.
Since leaving official public life, Mr. Fukuda has been working for friendly and cooperative relations between Japan and other countries. His most notable effort in this area is serving as president of the Board of Directors of the Boao Forum for Asia. He also plays an important role in the Northeast Asia Trilateral Forum (NATF), serves as the Chairman of the Asian Population and Development Association, and leads many other bilateral friendship associations.
Job Titles:
- Founder and President of the Genron NPO
Yasushi Kudo is the founder and president of The Genron NPO, a Tokyo-based independent think tank established in 2001. Under Mr. Kudo's leadership, The Genron NPO has conducted policy research programs with a mission of strengthen democracy in Japan, including evaluations of administration policy performances and political parties' campaign pledges. More than 500 opinion leaders and experts in Japan participate in its discussions and initiatives addressing the pressing issues Japan faces today and policy issues in Asia and in the world. The Genron NPO conducts a wide-range of public dissemination of the fruit of its discussions and frequently makes recommendations to the Japanese government and to the international community.
Mr. Kudo also initiated several Track 1.5 diplomacy and international conferences with The Genron NPO. In 2005, he established a high-level Track 1.5 dialogue between Japan and China, the "Tokyo-Beijing Forum." He also initiated "Japan-Korea Future Dialogue" between Japan and South Korea in 2013. These annual fora have become one of the most influential non-governmental-organization-led discussion platforms in Northeast Asia. They are sustained even at the times when diplomacy appeared to be at a standstill. Drawing on these foundations and other Track II dialogues with the experts from the United States, The Genron NPO is establishing a new multinational platform involving Japan, the United States, China, and South Korea to develop a peaceful order in the often unstable region of Northeast Asia.
In 2016, Mr. Kudo started the "Asia Opinion Leaders' Dialogue" as a venue for addressing the issues East Asian Countries and democracy face with the network of Asian democracies including Indonesia, India, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines.
Mr. Kudo is also an active participant in the field international order and global governance. Since 2012, he has served as a member of the Council of Councils from Japan, an international initiative of the Council on Foreign Relations, dedicated to the debate of global governance and formed by the world's top foreign policy think tanks. In 2016, Mr. Kudo established the "Tokyo Conference" with the heads of 10 of the world's leading think tanks. The Tokyo Conference engages with the challenges faced with the rule-based liberal international order, multilateralism and democracy, and forwards recommendations to the chair of the G7 each year ahead of the G7 summit.
Prior to the establishment of The Genron NPO, Mr. Kudo was an editor in chief of Financial Business, a monthly financial magazine and Debate: Oriental Economist, Japan's leading issue-oriented magazine.