Dimitri Lorenzon has worked in the life insurance industry for over 27 years in risk management, investment, and strategy roles. He spent 16 years in Tokyo with AIG and MetLife before returning to the New York area in 2022. He now serves as MetLife’s Head of Investment Risk and US Chief Risk Officer and also serves on MetLife Japan’s Board. Dimitri joined CIE-US in 2023 and became President in 2024. He majored in physics at Brandeis University before earning an MS in Mechanical Engineering at Tufts University. He lives in Greenwich, Connecticut with his wife and two daughters, is a long time practitioner of Shotokan karate, and enjoys backcountry snowboarding.

During his 36-year U.S. Navy career, Jamie spent 9 years in Japan (Atsugi and Yokosuka). He held commands of an A-6 Squadron VA-115 (Japan), the USS Sacramento, the aircraft carrier USS Constellation, and the USS Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group in Japan. His final assignment was as Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan. In this capacity he oversaw key U.S.Japan Alliance priorities, among them managing the first forward deployment of a nuclear-powered warship, the USS George Washington, outside the U.S. He was the longest serving CNFJ ever, and was recognized by the Japanese Government with the Emperor's Order of the Rising Sun, gold and platinum stars. He and his wife, Commander Amy Warrick USN (Ret), reside in Port Ludlow on Washington State's Olympic Peninsula with their two four-legged "children" - Doberman's Hayley and Kenji, and are members of the Japan America Society of the State of Washington. Jamie was President of CIE-US from January 2018 through 2023. He and Amy hosted a "Big Sister" from Hiroshima during Seattle's Grassroots Summit in 2018 and did a home-stay in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture during the 2019 Summit, attended the 2022 Summit in Obuse, Nagano Prefecture and Tokyo, and recently in the USA attended the Grassroots Summit Central Ohio in Columbus in 2023. Yes, he loves Japan!

Andrew Wylegala began as President of the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS) in March 2023. He brings a diverse background in Asia and a passion for the U.S.-Japan grassroots relationship. Beginning his Japan immersion as a high school exchange student in Saitama Prefecture and as a member of the Japan-America Student Conference, Andrew went on to a distinguished career as a senior foreign service commercial officer, including serving at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. As a Professor of Practice at the National Defense University, he taught economics and industry analysis to security policy practitioners. Most recently, Andrew served as the President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan, growing that organization through the challenges of the pandemic and Cross-Strait tension. An avid bike rider, “Andy” and his wife are excited to be settling back in Washington D.C. He looks forward to traveling from this home base as he gets to know and collaborate creatively with the nation-wide JAS community.

Mimi has been dedicated to cross-cultural education all her life. She was born and raised in Kobe area in Japan. Her most notable contribution is her 25 year career teaching Japanese at Classical High School in Providence, RI. In addition, she brought the local community together and commemorated the U.S.-Japan bilateral relationship by founding and hosting the Sakura Festival since 2012. As a board member of the Japan America Society of RI since 2013, she has helped to manage the annual Black Ships Festival successfully.
Recently she expanded her horizons to Africa and introduced Japanese culture to children in Tanzania. She also is a video creator and dedicates her time to send valuable messages to the world audience. She is always positive and energetic. She continues to travel and influences the people surrounding her.

Urban Lehner's 50-year career in journalism includes 33 years with The Wall Street Journal, eight as Tokyo Bureau Chief and nine in Hong Kong as Editor and Publisher of The Asian Wall Street Journal. In Tokyo he studied two hours almost every day with his Japanese sensei but wished he'd started learning Nihongo younger. In 2003 he joined DTN, an electronic agricultural media company, as Editor-in-Chief and Vice President Editorial, and during his years in Omaha he served as chair of the Shizuoka Committee of the Omaha Sister Cities Association. Currently retired, he consults and blogs for DTN and serves as chair of the International Crane Foundation, dedicated to saving the world's 15 crane species, and as finance-committee chair of NatureServe, a conservation-science NGO. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Georgetown University's law school.

Jim Gannon is Chief Executive Officer (Acting) for Peace Winds America, a humanitarian assistance and disaster response organization that works in close partnership with its sister organization in Japan to aid refugees, disaster survivors, and other vulnerable people around the world. He also is a senior fellow at the Japan Center for International Exchange (JCIE/USA), a foreign policy institute that he headed for nearly 20 years and which builds US-Japan cooperation on regional and global challenges. Previously, he served as executive director of the US JET Program Alumni Association (USJETAA), and he taught in rural Japanese schools as part of the JET Program. An expert on US-Japan exchange and the nonprofit sector, he is co-editor of Looking for Leadership: The Dilemma of Political Leadership in Japan (2015) and A Growing Force: Civil Society’s Role in Asian Regional Security (2013) and has authored more than 50 articles, opeds, book chapters, and reports on development, global health, and US-Asia relations.

Louisa Rubinfien has lived, studied, and worked in Japan for many years, first when growing up there in the 1960s and '70s and most recently from 2010-2015. She has a PhD in Japanese history from Harvard University and has been teaching the subject at the University of Maryland. She also chairs the academic committee on the National Japan Bowl, an annual tournament for US high school students studying Japanese language and culture. During the 1980s and 90s, she worked for Japanese Minister of Parliament Ichiro Ozawa, the founding president of the Manjiro Society and the Grassroots Summit.

Chika Aoki has spent her life overseas, with more than 20 years in Minnesota, Oregon, Hawaii, Taipei and Beijing. She graduated from high school as an exchange student in Minnesota. At college in Japan she majored in Chinese Studies and at the University of Oregon in International Studies. A career as a graphic and marketing designer followed. She entered CIE in 2017 as a program manager and successfully coordinated the Seattle Grassroots Summit. Her first homestay experiences in high school are the foundation of her activities now. Since high school, those families who hosted her around the world and visited her family in Japan have been connecting and seeing each other occasionally and the relationships are continuing with their children. She has also been volunteering in various international exchange programs, including Lions Club in Japan.

Steve Aveson was born and grew up in San Francisco right next to Japantown. His grandfather was best friends with Lefty O’foul considered to be the godfather of baseball in Japan. He has traveled the world as a professional journalist, including time in Nagano, Japan, for the 1998 Olympics. In New England, he was a news anchor in Boston and Providence. For the last twenty years, he has supported the good work of the Japan America Society of Rhode Island and was designated Emeritus vice president in 2023. He was appointed honorary Consul General for Rhode Island by Tokyo in 2024 and is proud to serve and support the goal of friendship and bilateral relations.

Webster Coates joined Dai-Ichi Life Holdings as Executive Officer and Chief Compliance Officer in June 2023. In this role, he oversees compliance, legal, and regulatory affairs across the group. Before this, Coates was Senior Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Prudential Holdings of Japan, where he managed compliance for Prudential’s insurance operations and served as a non-executive director of its Japanese life insurance subsidiaries. Prior to Prudential, Coates held leadership positions at MetLife Japan, including Executive Vice President, Deputy Chief Governance Officer, and interim Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer. He also spent over five years as Chief Strategy Officer. Earlier in his career, Coates held various roles at Citigroup in Japan, most notably as Managing Director, Head of Retail Banking Products. He began his career at Morgan Stanley Japan in M&A. A University of Pennsylvania graduate, Coates is a naturalized Japanese citizen, fluent in Japanese, and enjoys cooking, sailing, and growing citrus trees.

Yoshi Domoto has served as the Executive Director of The Japan-America Society of Georgia (JASG) and Festival Secretary of JapanFest Atlanta since 2008. Under his leadership, the JASG received a Commendation Award from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan in 2010 for promoting business, culture, education, and social exchange between the people of Japan and the United States. Yoshi was instrumental in making the 2016 CIE Grassroots Summit in Greater Atlanta a big success, and more recently, he helped lead the construction efforts of the Peace Bell Tower at The Carter Center in Atlanta in 2022. In addition to CIE US Board, he also serves on the Advisory Board of Who’s Who in Asian-American Communities (WWAC), the Advisory Council for the Symposium on ASIA-USA Partnership Opportunities (SAUPO), and he has also served on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS). Yoshi was selected as the Georgian Asian Times Top 25 Most Influential Asian-American in Georgia in 2016 and recently received the Commendation Award from the Consul General of Japan in 2023. Before joining the JASG, Yoshi was an assistant language teacher in Osaka with the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program. He has a BA from Oglethorpe University and did graduate work at Georgia State University in applied linguistics. Yoshi lives in Atlanta, Georgia with his family.

Retired from over forty-five years in the active practice of law, Honorable Fraiche is the Honorary Consul of Japan at New Orleans for Louisiana over a decade and received the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Government of Japan: Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon conferred by the Government of Japan in recognition outstanding contributions to Japan and U.S. relations. She is the Treasurer of the Louisiana Consular Corps and on the Board of the Japan Society New Orleans and a former Chair of the Board of Loyola University. She has helped invigorate the 30 year sister city relationship between New Orleans and Matsue in Shimane Prefecture. She is on the board of two Nasdaq listed Companies and another private company, including as a lead independent director and chair of the Compensation Committee and Nominating and Governance Committee. She formerly served as President of a Chapter of the International Women’s Forum and a past president of chair of a number of not for profit organizations. She founded a consulting group, Fraiche Strategies LLC to assist businesses in their development improvement efforts. Donna is also co-owner and co-manager of a number of family small and real estate holding businesses. Married to a physician leader, she is the proud mother of two doctors married to doctors and grandmother of grandchildren.

Cori Hallock has worked with Japan-related non-profits for nearly 20 years. Currently, she is Interim Executive Director of the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth (JASDFW), President of the Florida Japan Exchange & Teaching (JET) Program Alumni Association, and a founding director of the Japan-America Society of Miami/South Florida. Before moving to Miami, she worked with JASDFW and the Fort Worth Japanese Society (FWJS). She served on the FWJS board of directors from 2014 until 2022, where she served as chair of the Membership and Development Committee and chair of the Japanese American Oral History Project. During her time on the board, she helped FWJS obtain its first grants from the Japan Foundation and the North Texas Community Foundation’s Fund to Advance Racial Equality. She was a performing member of FWJS Dondoko Taiko for 10 years. From 2014-2017, she served as Program Manager at JASDFW, and returned in 2023 to serve as Interim Executive Director. As a student, she was an intern with the Japan-America Society in her native state of Indiana (JASI). She taught English in Hokkaido, Japan through the JET Program. Cori is licensed to practice law in Texas (inactive) and received her J.D. from Notre Dame Law School. She graduated from Seton Hall University with a B.A. in Spanish, a B.A. in Asian Area Studies (Japanese), and a minor in Business Administration. She also attended Sophia University’s Summer Intensive Program. In her free time, she is an author and illustrator of children’s books and enjoys traveling with her family.

Mari Noda is a retired Japanese language specialist, having taught it at the Ohio State University (1990 to 2023), Portland State University (1987 to 1990), and at Cornell University (1972 to 1981). She has a Ph.D in linguistics from Cornell University and continues to teach privately and give lectures on East Asian language pedagogy. She has trained a number of teachers of Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, especially in the ALLEX Foundation’s Teacher-Training Institute since 2007 and with its predecessor program of Exchange: Japan from 1988. She has served on the Board of Directors of Japan American Society of Central Ohio since early 1990s. A native of Tokyo Japan, she grew up in Takarazuka, Hyogo Prefecture, and in the state of New York. She has lived in Kyoto when directing the language program of Kyoto Consortium for Japan Studies (Columbia University). Her work experience also includes being a reporter for the Associated Press Tokyo Bureau and Language Program Director for Tokyu Corporation.

Dr. Matthew C. Perry's twin passions are wildlife biology and the history of his namesake ancestor, Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who negotiated a treaty of peace and amity between Japan and the United States in 1854. After graduating from college in 1963, he served in the U.S. Navy aboard a ship in the western Pacific Ocean and was involved with the first two amphibious landings in Vietnam. His ship made two memorable rest-and-relaxation trips to Japan. Matt's career in wildlife management and research included 40 years at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland. He retired in 2011 but continues as an emeritus scientist writing and editing scientific publications. Matt has participated in 13 CIE-US cultural exchange programs in Japan and the U.S. He writes numerous articles about his ancestors and his trips to Japan for CIE-US newsletters and his blog (http://perry-blackship.blog.jp/). He is on the Board of the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society (Fairhaven, MA) and is a member of the Japan Society of Boston.

Danielle Reed, PMP, is a certified project management professional with over 15 years of experience in U.S.-Japan relations across various sectors. Known for her collaborative approach, Danielle ensures projects meet goals on time and within budget while aligning with her clients' values. She is passionate about fostering person-to-person intercultural exchanges to promote mutual understanding and develops skills development programs for university students and professionals, particularly in social entrepreneurship. Before founding her consulting practice, PinPath, LLC, in November 2019, Danielle served as Senior Program Director at S&R Foundation. In this role, she led strategic planning, managed grants, and developed programs such as the Kingfisher Global Leadership Program and high-level dialogue series on topics like robotics policy and U.S.-Japan emergency management strategy. A graduate of Gettysburg College with a double major in Japanese Studies and International Affairs, Danielle has worked at the Embassy of Japan in Washington, DC, and on the JET Program in Sendai.

Andrew Silberman, President & Chief Enthusiast of Advanced Management Training Group (AMT), joined our board in 2024. He co-founded AMT in Tokyo in 1992, specializing in leadership development, team building, and communication. A recognized leader in Japan, he held committee chair positions and served on the Board of Governors at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ) and has been an adjunct professor at TUJ and Keio Universities, and a guest lecturer at Hitotsubashi, and is joining Waseda's new Executive MBA Essence program as a professional presentations coach. He recently relocated to San Diego and launched AMT's North American operations, while continuing to travel regularly to Tokyo.

Seattle native Dale L. Watanabe 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 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. As executive director of the Japan-America Society of the State of Washington he has found it exciting "to be a part of such a well-respected, long standing organization whose mission it is to foster friendship, cultural exchange, and trade with the land of my ancestors.” Dale played a key role in the success of the 2018 CIE Grassroots Summit in Seattle and he and his family took part in the 2019 Grassroots Summit in Hyogo Prefecture. He has a BA in Economics from California State University, Long Beach, and an MBA from Seattle University.

In recent years John Wheeler has been a senior advisor and consultant on Japan and Asia to corporations and non-profit cultural and educational organizations. He spent more than two decades at Japan Society in New York, serving as Executive Vice President and helping to guide the Society through a significant period of growth. Before joining Japan Society, Mr. Wheeler worked for Time-Life Books on assignments in New York, Tokyo and Singapore. An authority on Japan and U.S.-Japan relations, he is the author of numerous articles and co-author of a book, Takamiyama, The World of Sumo. He has appeared as a commentator on Japanese and U.S. television. Mr. Wheeler is a graduate of Williams College and Harvard University, and has studied and taught in Japan and India. He served as a Trustee of the Harvard-Yenching Institute and is a member of various international organizations including the Council on Foreign Relations and the International House of Japan.

Gregory Boyko has been an independent Director of Nomura Americas Re LTD and Nomura Americas US Re LTD in Hamilton, Bermuda since 2012. He is also an Independent Director of Aspida Re Ltd., a Bermuda based reinsurer, its UK based holding company and Aspida Life Insurance Company, a Michigan domiciled company since 2000.
He was a Senior Advisor to Evolution Benefits, one of the leading providers of health care savings account administration, from October,2009 to June 2011.
In 2009, he retired from The Hartford Financial Services Group where he held a variety of positions including Chairman and CEO of Hartford Life International, LTD, the company’s international arm. Mr. Boyko drove The Hartford’s successful entry into the Japanese, Brazilian, and European Union markets. He served as President and CEO of HLIKK, the Japanese subsidiary of The Hartford and while in Japan authored a monthly article in the Nikkei newspaper and was an active member of the ACCJ and the US-Japan Business Council.
He traveled to Japan more than 125 times starting in the mid-1990s. He lived in Japan in 2006 and 2007 and has extensive business and professional relationships throughout the country.

Prior to his international roles, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Hartford Life Insurance Company and led the company’s successful IPO on the NYSE.
He began his career with Ernst & Young and has over 30 years of financial services experience.

Mr. Boyko is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and the University of Connecticut School of Law. He also holds a number of professional degrees, including the Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Life Underwriter, and Chartered Financial Consultant designations. He is also a licensed real estate salesperson in Connecticut, and Justice of the Peace in the Town of Canton.

He is an Honorary Consul General for Japan supporting the Boston Consulate. He is a Director and Past President of the Manjiro-Whitfield Center for International Exchange, former Director and member of the Executive Committee of the Japan Society of New York, former Chairman of the International Committee of the American Council of Life Insurers, a director and Co-President of the World Affairs Council of Connecticut, and former President of the Mark Twain House and Museum Board of Trustees
He has been a frequent speaker and appeared on CNBC Squawk Box and Bloomberg TV.

In April of 2020 he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbons by the Empire of Japan, its highest honor to a non-Japanese citizen.

Boyko has a number of interests including bee keeping, fly fishing, hunting, squash and baseball. He is a Certified Firearms Instructor and Range Safety Officer. He and his wife, Harriet, live in Connecticut. He a member of the Anglers’ Club of New York, Hartford Golf Club, and the Hollenbeck Club.

Fred Katayama heads development as Executive Vice President of the U.S.-Japan Council. He was a founding board member of the Council and is an alumnus of its Japanese American Leadership Delegation program. Prior to joining USJC in 2022, he was a career journalist. He anchored and produced shows on the financial markets and global news at Reuters. Previously, he reported on domestic business news topics on CNN’s “The Moneyline Newshour with Lou Dobbs” while anchoring CNN International’s “Business Asia” and a daily Asian business news segment at CNNfn. In 1995, he covered the Kobe Earthquake as a reporter for Seattle’s CBS affiliate, KIRO-TV. At Time Inc, he served as Tokyo correspondent for Fortune magazine and later penned its “Products to Watch” column in New York. He also worked briefly as a general assignment reporter at the Associated Press’ Tokyo bureau. Katayama majored in East Asian Languages and Cultures at Columbia College and earned his M.S. as an East Asia Fellow at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Based in New York, Katayama serves as senior advisor at Japan Society. He’s a Sansei from Los Angeles and loves wagashi, K-pop and carrot cake.

Matt Krebs has worked to establish friendships between Japanese and Americans throughout his life as an anthropologist and non-profit leader. Matt began supporting CIE-US in 2008 when he organized the Summit in Kentucky. In addition to his three years (2016-2019) as executive director of the Japan Society of Boston he served four years (2007-2011) as executive director of the Japan Society in Kentucky. Under his leadership, these organizations dramatically grew their impact through increased programming and membership support. Matt’s anthropology research in Japan engaged the “maker” community of manufacturing enthusiasts promoting citizen-led, open-source initiatives. He has taught Japanese language, global culture and archeology. Matt earned his Ph.D. (Anthropology, 2019) and M.A. (International Diplomacy, 2005) from the University of Kentucky, and his B.A. (International Studies, 2004) from Brigham Young University.

Dr. William R. Farrell’s connections with Japan began in 1968 as a student at the Department of Defense Foreign Language Institute. During the next 50 years he resided in and traveled regularly to Japan. As a career military officer, professor at the Naval War College, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Tokyo, Chairman of a consulting company focused on Asia and Chairman of the National Association of Japan American Societies for a decade, Bill has seen Japan from many perspectives. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the University of Michigan and has spoken and written extensively about Japan in two books and numerous articles and opinion pieces. In 2012, he was awarded the Imperial decoration, Order of the Rising Sun with Gold Rays by the Japanese government for his promotion of strong bilateral relations. He was appointed the five years term of Honorary Consul for Japan, Rhode Island, from 2018 to 2022.

Peter Grilli is a well-known specialist in Japanese culture and history. Raised in Japan for most of his childhood, he received BA and MA degrees in East Asian Studies from Harvard University and studied at Waseda University and Tokyo University. He devoted his career to U.S.-Japan cultural exchanges as a non-profit executive at the Japan Society of New York, PBS, the Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture at Columbia University, and the Japan Society of Boston. He has been active as a writer and filmmaker, contributing many articles on Japan to leading American magazines and newspapers, directing or producing five full-length documentary films on Japan, and consulting on numerous short news pieces for American television. Following the 2011 earthquakes, tsunami, and nuclear disasters in northeastern Japan, he was a co-founder of the Boston Japanese Disaster Relief Fund, and he continues to support several relief initiatives and cultural organizations in the area.

Peter Kelley served as President of the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS) from 2009 to 2023. He came to NAJAS with long experience with Japan in both the private and not-for-profit sectors. From 1985-2003, he worked for Teradyne, Inc., a Boston-based supplier of semiconductor test equipment, spending five years each in Japan and Europe and establishing the company’s Connection Systems Division in Japan. From 2004-2009, he was Executive Director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute in Cambridge, Mass., an independent foundation dedicated to the promotion of the humanities in higher education in Asia. He is a graduate of Harvard College, with a major in East Asian Studies, and the University of Maine School of Law. In 2016, he was awarded a Foreign Minister’s Commendation and in 2023 was recognized with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays and Rosette by the Government of Japan.