As the Weapons System Management and Support Specialist and Lead Defense Industry Liaison for Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), I specialize in synchronizing communication within the interagency on Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and defense article acquisitions; and providecritical programmatic and case execution support for expedited security assistance to Allied countries in conflict. Within DSCA our mission is to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests by building the capacity of foreign security forces to respond to shared challenges.

The U.S.–Japan alliance is a cornerstone of maintaining peace and security within the Indo–Pacific region. As Japan continues their reinforcement of domestic defense capabilities, sustainment of an increased defense budget, and their pursuit of counterstrike capabilities, now is an integral moment to maintain and enhance close coordination between the United States and Japan.

Prior to working for the U.S. Government, through support of the Boren Fellowship I completed my Undergraduate education at Japan Women’s University and continued to work for two Japanese corporations in the fields of intercultural communication and international procurement and supply chain management.

During my time with the Mansfield Fellowship, I am eager to return to Japan and readily contribute to the mission utilizing my native–level Japanese to the continued enhancement of Alliance deterrence and response capabilities in the region. 

I am an Officer in the U.S. Space Force, the newest branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, which was officially established in 2019. With the increasing importance ofspace to both defense and economic security, this is a pivotal time to deepen the U.S.–Japan partnership to ensure resilience in space. In my role, I focus on enhancing space security by addressing emerging threats within this strategic landscape. Coming from a family tradition of military service, I bring a deep–rooted commitment to national security and a passionfor international collaboration.

Prior to my role in the Space Force, I served as an Air Force Officer for fiveyears, during which I deployed and witnessed firsthand how space is used to support the Joint Force. This experience solidified my focus on evaluating and mitigating technical threats centrally to our national security priorities. Over the past eight years, I have contributed to advancing the Air and Space Force’s understanding of these challenges, working to ensure our strategic alignment with the evolving global security environment.

The current geopolitical climate has underscored the importance of resilient and cooperative frameworks in space. As nations increasingly leverage space capabilities for both civil and defense purposes, the need for robust partnerships has never been more critical. My goal as a Mansfield Fellow is to learn about Japan’s space enterprise and help guide recommendations that will strengthen U.S.–Japan space security partnerships.

I am honored to represent the U.S. Space Force as a Mansfield Fellow. I am especially grateful for the meaningful opportunity to reconnect with Japan, a place that has deeply influenced my life. I look forward to engaging with my Japanese counterparts to deepen my understanding of Japan’s approach to space security and strengthen our bilateral cooperation.

I first arrived in Okinawa, Japan as an active–duty service member in2007, specializing in air traffic control and contingency operations management. During this time, I directly experienced not only the importance and strength of the U.S.–Japan defense alliance in maintaining stability within the Asia Pacific region, but also the continuous need to assess and improve upon that steadfast relationship in the face of rising geo–political challenges and increasing crises and disasters.

I completed my military service in a final deployment to Southeast Asia, where our mission was abruptly recalled for immediate response to the devastating Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

It was in those months of coordinating, problem–solving, and operational execution where partnerships with our Japan civil and defense counterparts became much closer through immediate necessity, and where I realized sustainment of our collaborative efforts and successes were critical to future engagements.13 years have passed since, and I am happy to be back in Okinawa, now as a civil servant supporting bilateral air traffic operations, airspace programs, and modernization initiatives. I am immensely grateful and excited to embark upon my role as a Mansfield Fellow and am ready to take full advantage of and learn from the rare access granted directly to Japanese government agencies.

While defense aviation serves military readiness and air power projection, functions such as global air mobility, humanitarian aid/disaster relief operational support, and aerospace research and development are also critical aspects of our mission set. I seek to better understand how Japan defense aviation is postured to meet future challenges as a joint and multilateral force, and how the Japan Civil–Defense relationship is aligned to achieve necessary integration, access, efficiency, and safety in the skies. This includes intra–governmental agency cooperation, as well as industry partnerships towards necessary technological and system modernization.

As a practitioner of sustainability, I seek to understand how Japan government collaborates with industry, formulates funding policies and regulatory frameworks that drive research, development, and adoption. This will be essential to creating lasting bilateral solutions fostering stability in the Indo–Pacific region,and to address growing challenges in aviation capacity and safety.

I became a Foreign Area Officer in the United States Air Force because I am deeply passionate about fostering international cooperation. I believe in the importance of strengthening alliances and partnerships as the foundation for global peace and security.

As a Security Cooperation Officer at the US Embassy in Seoul, I am responsible for developing the military capabilities of the Republic of Korea through Foreign Military Sales, collaborative research and development, and multilateral training and exercises. I also advance bilateral and trilateral regional capacity–building projects.

Growing up in a small town in North Carolina, I was the first in my family to graduate high school. My modest upbringing instilled in me  a strong work ethic and a desire to broaden my horizons. Like a frog who has ventured beyond the well, my military career has taken me far beyond what I once knew. Now,nearly 20 years later, I have spent more than half of my life in the Indo–Pacific region.

Prior to my current posting, I have worked alongside both the Japan Air Self Defense Force(JASDF) and the Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF). My previous assignments include Misawa Airbase and Yokota Airbase in Japan, and Osan Airbase and Yongsan Garrison in Korea. I have also spent time at the US Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand. These experiences have deepened my understanding of regional dynamics and the importance of security cooperation.

Ambassador Mansfield’s assertion that cooperation and understanding can strengthen ties offriendship is something that resonates profoundly with me. I am steadfast in my belief that international bonds founded on shared values and mutual trust are paramount for building a resilient web of stability and collective prosperity. Together, our strength surpasses more than wecould ever achieve alone.

Through the Mansfield Fellowship, I hope to gain insight into the mechanics of security cooperation policy formulation within the Japanese Government. I aim to better understand new and emerging capacity building frameworks such as Official Security Assistance (OSA) and Official Development Assistance (ODA) designed to foster economic and social development among like–minded countries in the region. These insights will be invaluable in expanding future bilateral, trilateral, and multilateral regional security cooperation initiatives.

By integrating the knowledge gained from the fellowship, I plan to contribute to the US Government’s efforts in strengthening international partnerships. I am committed to applying these insights to develop innovative strategies that promote peace, security, and prosperity throughout the region and the globe.

For the last 15 years, I have served as a Biomedical Engineer in the Office of Cardiovascular Devices in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Our office is responsible for regulatory oversight of all cardiovascular devices in the U.S. throughout the total product lifecycle, from early–stage device development to investigational use, marketing submissions, and post market surveillance. These include such as stents, heart valves, pacemakers and other important devices.The goal of my Center is to ensure timely acces sto safe, effective,and high–quality medical devices. This mission relies, inpart, on engagement with international regulatory agencies to promote alignment on standards and regulations, which is an important part of reducing barriers to medical devices with high public health impact.

During my career, I have taken a keen interest and growing passion for pediatric cardiovascular medical devices, an area in which device development has traditionally lagged behind technologies for adults. For the last 8 years I have served as the Co–Chair of the U.S.–Japan regulatory collaboration for children under the Harmonization by Doing program. The collaboration aims to promote timely access to innovative technologies on a global level. During my time as a Mansfield Fellow, my overall goal is to gain exposure to all aspects of themedical device ecosystem in Japan, from early–stage development to post–market commercialization, in order to further our existing U.S.–Japan partnerships. I also look forward to sharing with my Japanese colleagues the approach to these various aspects of the ecosystem in the United States.

Upon return to my home Agency, I plan to use the knowledge gained to identify further areas of synergy and collaboration. This is particularly important for pediatric device development, where there is a dearth of available medical devices for this youngest and most vulnerable sectorof society. I am thankful for the unique opportunity to participate in the Mansfield Fellowship. My family and I are excited to embark on this adventure together and look forward to building lasting relationships abroad.

As an international affairs advisor, I lead a team responsible for strengthening the U.S. Coast Guard’s global partnerships. We provide foreign affairs advice to the operational commander, the staff, and our deployed units operating around the world. Our area of responsibility spans from the Arctic to the Antarctic, and from the Eastern Pacific to South Asia. Specifically, my team and I oversaw over thirty key leader engagements, personnel exchanges, and foreign port visits with our Japanese allies.I also represent the United States at the Secretariat Working Group of the North Pacific Coast Guard Forum,which Japan superbly chaired in 2024.

I joined the U.S.Coast Guard thanks to the Presidential Management Fellowship(PMF), where I first advised on Africa topics at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. Since then, I have managed foreign affairs at both Coast Guard operational commands: Atlantic Area and Pacific Area. I have been fortunate to advise on maritime security topics in every geographic area of the world, at both the strategic and operational levels.

Before the Coast Guard, I served in the Political Section of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York. There, I supported the U.S. program of work in the Security Council during the 70th and 71st Sessions of the UN General Assembly. As part of the PMF, I also served on the Department of State’s Executive Secretariat and in its Bureau of African Affairs, Office of Regional Peace and Security.

Academics–wise, I earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Columbia University, studying Political Science and Economic and Political Development, respectfully.

My goal during the Mansfield Fellowship is to understand how Japan forms foreign policy priorities and, subsequently, how Japanese government agencies execute projects to achieve Japan’soverall global objectives. Particularly, I hope to learn about Japan’s efforts to bolster maritime security abroad: in Southeast Asia, Oceania, South Asia, and Africa. These regions are importan tto the United States, as well. A better understanding of Japan’s security cooperation activities and foreign policy decision–making process will enable me to better advise on greater cooperation between our two countries.

Apart from work, I enjoy playing volleyball,listening to Japanese music, and travelling. I also love commercial aviation. (In college, I worked as an airline customer service agent at JFK!) I am truly honored and excited to join the 29th Class of Mansfield Fellows. I am eager to strengthen the closebonds between our nations, and I look forward to working with you in the future.

As the Deputy Director of the State Department’s Office of Academic Exchange Programs, I help lead a number ofU.S. government–sponsored international educational exchange programs, including the Fulbright Program, the U.S.–government’s flagship academic exchange program,which supports over 10,000 students and scholars annually from the U.S. and over 160 countries. As a student, study abroad experiences in France and the UK were transformational for me, and my career has been focused on creating opportunities for more Americans to learn foreign languages, gain international experience, and build mutual understanding. Prior to joining the government, I worked at American University in Washington, DC, and at several international education non–profit organizations where I ran exchange programs for students, scholars, teachers, and professionals.

Through my Mansfield placements in Japan, I hope to build knowledge and expertise on the Japanese higher education sector and its internationalization priorities, with a specific focus on U.S.–Japan cooperation in education, research, science, and technology. Strengthening the links between our higher education sectors, particularly in STEM fields, can directly support our joint economic and national security interests. Japan and the U.S. have taken steps in recent years to deepen our academic ties. Notably, in 2023, we signed a new bilateral Memorandum of Cooperation in Education to expand student, faculty, and research exchanges, and to encourage partnerships between Japanese and U.S. universities. During the fellowship, I hope to build relationships that can help make this ambitious goal a reality and to find ways to grow and strengthen U.S.–Japan exchanges, collaboration, and policy dialogue in education and research.

In my spare time I am a runner, an avid Washington Nationals baseball fan, and I volunteer to foster dogs through a local Pit Bull rescue organization. I am excited to be a part of the 29th class of Mansfield Fellows and to continue the program’s legacy of building deeper cooperation between the U.S. and Japan.

I’m a U.S. Air Force aviator who serves as the Chief of Wing Plans & Programs, 15th Wing, Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Hawaii. For over adecade, I’ve flown the C–17A and schoolhouse T–6A aircraft as an Instructor Pilot, so aviation and teaching the next generation of Air Force pilots have been the focus of my duties. Concurrently, I’ve been an active member of the Air Force’s Language Enabled Airman Program (LEAP) where my Japanese language skills improved drastically. Recently, my work has pivoted towards a new direction where I would like to focus on the U.S.–Japan efforts, specifically, defense, disaster cooperation, and post–disaster relief.

My initial interests with Japan are due to my upbringing, growing up as a military child stationed at Atsugi Naval Air Station, Japan. Personally, my desire is to provide my children a similar upbringing filled with cultural and language immersion in Japan. Professionally, I want to become a U.S.–Japan expert who specializes in bilateral defensive readiness, international cooperation, and post–disaster relief efforts. During this Fellowship, I hope to use this program’s lessons and professional network to enhance military efforts. This Fellowship will help uncover comparable defensive readiness concerns that would beinvaluable to U.S. island chains like Hawaii and Guam.

It is with great excitement that I introduce myself as a member of the 29th class of Mansfield Fellows. Currently, I serve as a Foreign Affairs Specialist at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), managing various countries in the Asia Pacific region. Previously, I was the FAA Program Manager for the Mitsubishi Regional Jet. This role allowed me to work closely with Japanese counterparts and gain valuable insights into the aviation industry. Additionally, I have worked as a certification engineer in software, flight test, and environmental systems technical areas. Before my career in aviation, I worked as a mechanical/industrial engineer at Tyco Electronics, Keurig Green Mountain, and Simpson Paper.

As a Mansfield Fellow, my primary objective is to deepen my understanding of Japanese culture and people. Immersing myself in Japan’s daily life and customs will enrich my personal and professional life and enhance my ability to foster stronger bilateral relations between the United States and Japan.

I am particularly interested in understanding Japan’s regulatory environment. By gaining insights into Japan’s aviation regulations and policies, I aim to strengthen and expand the existing aviation relations between our two nations. Building strong relationships with Japanese aviation professionals and policymakers will be crucial in developing collaborative initiatives that promote safety, innovation, and efficiency in the aviation sector.

I am excited about the opportunities this fellowship presents and look forward to the experiences and knowledge I will gain. Thank you for this incredible opportunity to grow and contribute to the shared goals of the U.S. and Japan.