Young Sustainability Professionals Career Development Event
This event is co-hosted by the U.S.-Japan Council and the JCLP Youth Task Force, and is made possible by support from Amazon.
The goal of this two-part event is to accelerate climate action by stimulating interest in sustainability careers among young professionals and providing concrete actions/tips on how to contribute to climate action. Through this event, we aim to raise awareness of the attractiveness of sustainability careers, discuss and deepen understanding of the gap between Japan and the US career opportunities, and help clarify the role that young talent can play in advancing climate action.
This event is held in two parts: a hybrid fireside chat session and an in-person roundtable discussion.
Session 1: Hybrid Session
Date: Friday, January 17, 2025
Time: 10:00am – 10:55am (JT)
Language: English only
Event Style: Fireside chat
Registration: If you would like to attend, please register here.
Session 1 Speakers:
Michael Kobori
Independent Director, Bunge Global, SA, Former Chief Sustainability Officer, Starbucks
Michael Kobori serves as an independent Board Director of Bunge Global, SA. He is also the former Chief Sustainability Officer at Starbucks.
Michael currently serves on the Advisory Committee for Voluntary Foreign Assistance, the President’s Leadership Council of The Asia Foundation, and the U.S.-Japan Council.
Previously, Michael served as Vice-President of Sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co. He also spent nearly a decade at The Asia Foundation, where he supported human rights and economic development in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Vietnam. Michael has taught corporate sustainability at the Haas Business School, University of California at Berkeley.
Michael has served on the U.S. Cotton Board, Better Cotton Initiative, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, ILO Better Work Programme, and Levi Strauss Foundation Board.
Michael received his Masters’ Degree in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley, where he also received his undergraduate education. He spent a year at International Christian University in Tokyo and studied sustainable finance at Oxford University.
Melanie Nakagawa
Chief Sustainability Officer at Microsoft
As Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer, Melanie Nakagawa leads the company’s targets to become carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste by 2030. She brings nearly two decades of experience at the nexus of policy, business, and technology, most recently serving as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate and Energy on the National Security Council at the White House. Prior to the White House, Melanie helped launch Princeville Capital’s inaugural global growth equity climate technology fund, investing in companies delivering transformative solutions to climate change. She also served as a strategic advisor to Secretary of State John Kerry on climate change and environmental issues and held roles in the U.S. Senate and with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Melanie has a JD and MA from American University and an AB from Brown University.
Moderator: Yasuo Tanabe
Senior Advisor, U.S.-Japan Council
Yasuo Tanabe serves as a Senior Advisor at the U.S.-Japan Council. He has worked for Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, mostly focusing on international trade and energy policy. Also, he has served as a senior executive at Hitachi on government relations.
Currently, he is Managing Director of the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation, as well as advisor at the U.S.-Japan Council, Northeast Asia Economic Forum, University of Hawaii, College of Social Science and AESC which is a global battery company.
He has BA of Law from University of Tokyo and MA of Political Science of Stanford University.
Session 2: In-Person Session
Date: Friday, January 17, 2025
Time: 11:00am – 12:00pm (JT)
Language: Japanese
Location: Amazon Japan office
Capacity: 10
Event Style: Small roundtable discussion
Registration: Click here to register
Session 2 Guest Mentors:
Ayako Kameda
Executive Officer, Obayashi Corporation
Born in Hiroshima, and raised in South Africa, Singapore, and the US, after obtaining her PhD from Stanford University, spent 20+ years in the global energy industry, and returned to Japan 3 years ago to pursue her passion for sustainability. She was the GM for Shell Energy Japan and Representative Director of Nagaoka Power Generation. She serves on the Board for USJC-Japan, and is currently an Executive Officer for Obayashi Corp, with focus on global green energy initiatives. She is committed to transforming Japan through sustainability while preserving the beauty and tradition of the culture.
Yoh Kawanami
Director, Hawaii Electric Power Industries
Yoh Kawanami is a Director at Hawaiian Electric Company where he is responsible for the operations of customer-sited energy resources to support the integration of renewable energy. For his research with water heaters as an electric grid resource, Mr. Kawanami received the prestigious EPRI Technology Transfer Award that recognizes industry innovators who transform research into applicable utility solutions. He serves on the boards of the U.S.-Japan Council and Pacific International Center of High-Technology Research (PICHTR), among others. Mr. Kawanami also volunteers for organizations ranging from education to U.S.-Japan relations to local community development. He is an alumnus of both the TOMODACHI Mitsui Leadership Program and a member of the Pacific Century Fellows Class of 2018. Mr. Kawanami holds a Doctorate in Engineering Management from George Washington University where his thesis was on customer-sited renewable energy strategy in Japan. He also holds a Master’s in Engineering Management from Duke University and a B.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering from University of Washington.