Aloha, USJC community!
USJC has become more than a non-profit organization I belong to as a member and board member. The members have become my role models, mentors, mentees, colleagues, and closest of dear friends. In addition to such depth and connection to my personal life, I see USJC as an important player on the national and global stage. A recent example of this is our TOMODACHI Kibou (“Hope”) for Maui project that exemplifies USJC’s relationships with key stakeholders in Japan and the United States, as well as deep expertise in facilitating people-to-people connections that strengthen ties between the two countries.
The project fosters healing, leadership development, knowledge sharing and resiliency by facilitating delegations of students and a delegation of leaders across sectors from Maui to Japan to meet with those involved with the recovery efforts of the Great East Japan Earthquake in the Tohoku region. All of these key elements would not have been possible without the expertise and engagement of USJC’s members and the generous support of Japan’s government.
I had the honor of accompanying the student delegation and experienced the life-changing impact it made on the students through every smile and moment of laughter I saw and felt during the trip. I also had the privilege of seeing the long-term impact of USJC’s work: an alum of one of our TOMODACHI programs from over a decade ago led the programming for our Maui student delegation. It was an incredible full circle moment representing the power of investing in our next generation of leaders.
From the time we launched, USJC has been committed to developing our next generation of leaders. We now have nearly 10,000 TOMODACHI alumni, with many of them now entering the workforce, creating a much needed pipeline of talent. We also have over 100 alumni from our Emerging Leaders Program, who are now in positions of power and influence with a commitment to our bilateral relationship. I look forward to USJC continuing to increase engagement with these impressive alumni to further strengthen the U.S.-Japan relationship and serve as bright beacons of hope (kibou) for the future.
All photos and text courtesy of Yoh Kawanami (Hawaiian Electric, JALD ’24)