Washington, D.C. | Missoula, Montana | Tokyo, Japan | Fellows
Washington, D.C.
1156 15th Street, NW
Suite 1105
Washington, DC 20005-2102
Tel: (202) 347-1994
Fax: (202) 347-3941
After Congress created the Mansfield Fellowship Program in honor of Mike Mansfield’s commitment to public service, the D.C. office was established in 1994 to facilitate the program. While the Fellowship program remains a major focus of the foundation, the D.C. office also hosts other Asia-related programs, including other exchanges, policy dialogues, and research projects.
Frank Jannuzi
President and CEO
fjannuzi@mansfieldfdn.org
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.
Mr. Jannuzi holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and Master in Public Policy degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He has traveled throughout Asia and has written extensively on East Asia policy issues, including U.S. relations with Japan, China, and North Korea. He lives in Baltimore with his wife, Dr. Jennifer Martin, and their two daughters Zoe and Camille.
Sara Harriger
Vice President
sharriger@mansfieldfdn.org
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.
Ari Lee
Director of Programs
alee@mansfieldfdn.org
Ari Lee is Director of Programs at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. She is responsible for overseeing the Foundation’s programs, setting the strategic objectives for its work, as well as developing and compiling policies and procedures to improve efficiency across programs. She also manages the Foundation’s Visiting Fellows program and designs and implements the Bridging the Divide program and Maureen Mansfield Women’s Empowerment Initiative.
Her professional experience includes managing programs and projects, with expertise in grant writing, budgeting, training, and developing and delivering international programs in nonprofit settings, collaborating with stakeholders from diverse sectors. Her previous professional experience with nonprofits in South Korea focused on international development work, international exchange programs, managing volunteer abroad, study abroad, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), 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.
Benjamin Hiromura
Associate Director of Programs
bhiromura@mansfieldfdn.org
Leah Klaas
Associate Director of Programs
lklaas@mansfieldfdn.org
Leah Klaas is an Associate Director of Programs at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation where she manages the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future Program. In this role, she works to foster a network of Japan specialists with diverse expertise and perspectives and support them in their journey as rising policy professionals. Her management portfolio also includes the U.S.-Japan Space Forum.
Her professional career has centered on facilitating communication and connection amongst global leaders, particularly in the U.S.-Japan relationship. Prior to joining the Foundation in July 2024, Ms. Klaas worked as a research assistant with the Japan Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies supporting programs connecting academic and policy experts in U.S.-Japan affairs, including the Strategic Japan initiative. She also provided research and analytical support on critical Japanese defense and national security issues. She spent three years in Sapporo as a Coordinator for International Relations on the JET Program. She currently serves on the board of the Portland Sapporo Sister City Association, striving to promote friendship and mutual understanding through cultural exchange.
She holds a BA in Anthropology, Japanese, and International Studies from Pacific University and an MS in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Amelia Hecsh
Program Manager
ahecsh@mansfieldfdn.org
Amelia Hecsh is a Program Manager at the Mansfield Foundation. Ms. Hecsh first joined the Foundation in December 2022 and was promoted to her current position in July 2024, where she 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.
Sang Hyun Back
Program Manager
sback@mansfieldfdn.org
Sang Hyun Back is a Program Manager 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.
Amanda Earls
Program Manager
aearls@mansfieldfdn.org
Amanda Earls is a Program Manager at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, where she manages the Watanabe Democracy Fellowship Program and supports the Mansfield Fellowship Program.
In her previous role as Program Manager at the US-Asia Institute, Ms. Earls organized educational briefings for congressional staff, coordinated internship and youth development programs, and facilitated a variety of other events, receptions, and delegations. During her graduate studies, she worked as Curriculum Developer of the East Asia National Resource Center, Project Assistant for Eurasia Foundation (from Asia) grant activities, and Graduate Teaching Assistant for Politics and Foreign Policy of Japan. She also spent 3 years as a remote English as a Foreign Language tutor for young students in Asia.
Ms. Earls holds an MA in Asian Studies with specializations in Japan and public diplomacy from the George Washington University and a BA in Linguistics from Binghamton University. She speaks conversational Japanese and has also studied Chinese, Korean, and French.
Missoula, Montana
Mansfield Library, 4th Floor
The University of Montana
Missoula, MT 59812
Tel: (406) 243-2215
Fax: (202) 243-2181
Sasha Pilskalns
Acting Director of Finance
sasha.pilskalns@mso.umt.edu
Mrs. Pilskalns joined the Mansfield Foundation as Finance Officer in February 2024.
She 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.
Tokyo, Japan
The International House of Japan, Inc.
5-11-16 Roppongi, Minato-ku
Tokyo 106-0032
Tel: 03-5413-5885
Fax: 03-3478-1773
The Tokyo office was established in 1997 to assist the Foundation with its programs abroad. As a smaller office, it works directly with the Japan-based Board members on Board programs and Foundation activities and is particularly involved with the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program. 日本語はこちらへ
Sumiko Mori
Director, Tokyo Office
mori@mansfieldfdn.org
Sumiko Mori is the Director of the Tokyo Office at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation. She serves as the Foundation’s primary liaison in Japan and oversees the administration of the Mansfield Fellowship Program, a professional exchange initiative established by the U.S. Congress that enables mid-career U.S. government officials to work within Japanese government agencies. She also leads the Foundation’s Tokyo- based initiatives and oversees local operations, including staff and stakeholder management, budgeting, and public outreach.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Mori spent more than 30 years as a journalist at Fuji Television, one of Japan’s major broadcasters with a formal partnership with ABC Television in the United States. As a social affairs reporter, she covered the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office. She then moved to the economic news division, where she reported on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Japan, and Japan’s business community. In the political division, she held key positions including sub-chief correspondent at the Prime Minister’s Office and chief correspondent covering both ruling and opposition parties, reporting firsthand on politicians, parliamentary affairs, and national elections.
She later became the first woman in Japanese media to be appointed as Washington Bureau Chief, where she covered international affairs centered on the White House, the U.S. State Department, the Pentagon, and Capitol Hill. Upon returning to Japan, she served as Chief Producer in the Business Development Department, where she spearheaded international business development. In parallel, she was also responsible for the company’s SDGs initiatives, serving as the lead writer of Fuji Television’s English-language SDGs report and contributing to English-language social media communications.
Ms. Mori holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School and a Master’s in Public Relations and Strategic Communications from Georgetown University. Her international experience includes serving as a communications fellow in the office of U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman and as a research associate in the U.S.- Japan Program at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University. She served for two years as a lecturer at Keio University. She lived in the United States for approximately 14 years and now resides in Tokyo.
Naomi Ando
Associate Director of Administration and Programs
ando@mansfieldfdn.org
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.
Ayako Saeki
Associate Director of Programs
saeki@mansfieldfdn.org
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.
Motoko Tsuchibe
Administrative and Program Assistant
tsuchibe@mansfieldfdn.org
Motoko Tsuchibe joined the Mansfield Foundation as an administrative and program assistant in August, 2023.
Prior to joining the Mansfield Foundation, Ms. Tsuchibe worked as an international program administrative assistant for 10 years at Nagoya University. She also spent 8 years living in the United States in New York and Ohio. She holds a BA in English and American Literature from Keio University.