Alumni Connect

Greetings from Alumni Council Alumni Connect Committee Co-Chairs Deanna Elstrom ’86 and Brian Nelson ’85

It’s our pleasure as Co-Chairs of the Alumni Connect Committee to update the community on how Alumni Connect has grown since the last issue of The Ambassador. Having kicked off in early 2022, the programs within the Alumni Connect umbrella bring together ASIJ alumni from across the world into local and global networks for friendship, networking and fun. In the past year, the Alumni Connect Committee’s main projects have been:

City Network Events:

Currently, we have Alumni Connect groups in Tokyo, Honolulu, New York, Boston, San Francisco and Seoul. Last spring saw a flurry of activity, with meetups in Tokyo (Apr 3), Honolulu (May 1), New York (May 21), and Boston (Jun 25), and the Tokyo group hosted another event in Hibiya Park just as this issue of The Ambassador was going to print. Please find reports and photos of the Honolulu, New York, and Boston events on pages 62–66—the Tokyo event was covered in the Spring 2022 issue of The Ambassador.

We are excited to announce new groups soon; stay on the lookout for groups in your area in 2023!

Online Industry Meetups and In-Person Networking Events:

Alumni panelists come together to discuss their career experiences and insights. With the opportunity to ask questions and small group “break out” discussions with the speakers, these are rich learning and networking events. In the 2021–22 school year, we hosted great sessions on Medical Research (Oct 7), DEI in the Workplace (Dec 10), and Engineering (Feb 11). We also had a very special Fireside Chat session with Merle Okawara ’58 moderated by Deanna Elstrom ’86 (Apr 28). In the current school year, we hosted one online industry meetup on Law (Sep 28) and tried a brand new format with our very first in-person networking event in Boston (Oct 4). Please read on to find write-ups on the fireside chat with Merle, the online session Law on the in-person event in Boston.

We are excited to continue our online industry meetups to provide opportunities for alums around the globe to share knowledge and connect, while also increasing inperson networking opportunities in the future. SpencerPark’89 is an international lawyer with over two decades of experience. He currently serves as Special Council for Milbank LLP after past positions at firms and organizations in Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, and San Francisco. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, then received his JD from University of California, Hastings School of Law in 1997. Based in Seoul, Spencer specializes in cross-border corporate, private equity, finance and real estate investments.

David Leslie ’03 is Counsel at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP in the firm's Complex Commercial Litigation practice, where he litigates in a broad range of practice areas. David began his legal career as a trial attorney for the Colorado State Public Defender, and then worked as a law clerk for Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses for the Southern District of New York. David received his JD from NYU School of Law in 2013, where he served as an editor on the NYU Law Moot Court Board.

Janet Kanzawa ’10 is the primary point of contact for all contracts for Patagonia’s operations in her role as Corporate Counsel, and enjoys the opportunity to work with people in North and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Prior to joining Patagonia’s in-house legal team, Janet worked at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, as an associate in the New York and Los Angeles offices and a summer associate in the Tokyo office. Janet obtained her BA at Vassar College and her JD at Columbia Law School.

Merle Okawara ’58 is renowned as the second woman and first foreign national to list a company on the Japanese stock exchange. After ASIJ, Merle attended Northwestern University and then University of Geneva, and has been a member of the DELSOLE Corp. management team since 1966. She has served as non-executive director on several corporate boards and as senior advisor to Morgan Stanley Japan Securities Co. Her civic activities include serving as past VP of the American Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Advisory Council for the UN Office for Project Services, the Fulbright Commission, Merrill Lynch Diversity and Inclusion Council and is presently an advisor to the WFP.

While we first began our Alumni Connect: Industry Meetup program as a response to the inability to meet in person for the past two years, we soon learned that meeting online has its merits. As the ASIJ alumni community spans dozens of regions and time zones worldwide, we are excited that the ubiquitousness of Zoom brought about in the time since early 2020 means that we are able to provide simultaneous opportunities to connect and network for alums no matter where they live. Even as we begin to resume our in-person events this year, we look forward to continuing to provide opportunities to share professional experience and network virtually.

On April 28, 2022, at the end of the 2021–22 school year, the ASIJ Alumni Office had the privilege of welcoming Merle Okawara ’58 for a fireside chat. In this special Alumni Connect session, Merle, who is renowned in the Japanese business world for her groundbreaking success as a female American entrepreneur, spoke about her experiences getting her ideas off the ground, obtaining funding, and building her business over the years.

Merle has certainly had an impressive career since her time at ASIJ—she has been a member of the management team at her company, DELSOLE Corp., since 1966 after her college graduation, and was the first foreign citizen and second woman to list a company on the Japanese stock exchange. Merle has served on the boards of major corporations across a variety of industries in Japan, and has volunteered her time and expertise to such organizations as the American Chamber of Commerce, the Advisory Council for the UN Office for Project Services, and the Fulbright Commission. She has also published two books, entitled When Women Create Companies and Business Women Leaders in the Japanese Food Industry.

As one of the foremost women in the Japanese business world, Merle not only shared a wealth of knowledge from her experiences in entrepreneurship, but was also incredibly warm and down to earth, relating entertaining and surprising anecdotes from her youth as Japanese-American young woman navigating the perils of the Japanese business world starting in the 1960s. Her stories of overcoming the adversity she faced as a woman in business and bridging the cultural gaps between her American communication style and the expectations of Japanese companies and investors fascinated the audience. “It was interesting to learn about how even Merle, who seems to be above the clouds, had to struggle in the Japanese business culture,” commented Hiro Kobayashi ’71.

The session was moderated by Alumni Council Alumni Connect Committee Co-Chair Deanna Elstrom ’86, whose convivial conversation style and personal experience as a foreign woman who founded a business in Japan made her a natural fit. Faculty member Jason Cancella, who teaches the college-level Intro to Entrepreneurship class through the Syracuse University Project Advance program at ASIJ, joined the discussion to moderate the webinar Q&A.

The session was a great success, providing an engaging window into life as an American in Japan in the 50s and 60s, as well as insightful advice about entrepreneurship and navigating the business world. “It was a real pleasure to hear Merle address a wide range of topics with such eloquence and expertise,” commented Peter Grilli ’59. “When she speaks one can only sit up and pay attention: her comments carry enormous credibility born of hard work and genuine experience.”

Our first online Industry Meetup of the 2022–23 school year took place on September 28 and focused on the topic of law, and featured panelists Spencer Park ’89, David Leslie ’03, and Janet Kanzawa ’10. With a wide range of experience including litigation, corporate council, and international law, these alums in the field provided a lively discussion about the various paths a career in law can take, the ins and outs of the industry, and how a career in law can be particularly attractive for those looking to have a career in both the US and Asia. “It was interesting to hear the variety of experiences of the three panelists,” one participant shared after the event.

After the main panel, guided by alumni moderator Robert Sharp ’87, participants and panelists divided into small groups in breakout rooms. This allowed more specific, intimate discussion and the chance to network with both the panelists, and other participants—while many of the attendees were current college or law school students, there were also several seasoned professionals present. “The casual, intimate atmosphere had its merits,” shared Fung Yeung ’89. “It was very comfortable to listen and learn.” We are also always thrilled to hear feedback later that these conversations led to deeper connections between alumni—we have already heard from one of the panelists that they have been contacted by younger alums who attended the event, or who heard about them from friends or relatives who attended the event.

Between these online Industry Meetups, our first inperson networking event in Boston, and the more casual City Network groups in cities around the world, we look forward to providing more opportunities to connect within the alumni community than ever in the 2022–23 school year!

For those that missed Merle’s session, the recorded webinar is available at the QR code to the left.

Photography by Jake Belcher

Alumni Connect: Boston

After two years of successful virtual Industry Meetups in our Alumni Connect series, we were thrilled to host our very first in-person networking evening on Tuesday, October 4 at the Harvard Faculty Club in Cambridge, MA. This special event consisted of a panel discussion segment followed by a networking reception afterwards with drinks, hor d’oeuvres, and plenty of ASIJ swag.

Despite the rainy weather, dozens of community members from the classes of ’76 to ’21 gathered for a wonderful evening of socializing and making new connections. Clive Watkins, Director of Advancement, and Miranda Liu, Alumni Coordinator, were delighted to host a large cohort of current college students and recent grads along with mid-career alums, seasoned professionals, and even retirees. We were also thrilled to have former faculty member and current Professor of Linguistics at MIT Shigeru Miyagawa (FF ’75–77) in attendance.

The evening began with an enlightening panel discussion with Nicole Thomas ’06, a finance professional currently overseeing strategic finance and growth at Chief, a private network designed for women in executive leadership to strengthen their leadership, magnify their influence, and pave the way to bring others with them. Joining her on the panel was Alex Busam ’10, a pre-sales engineer with a career background serving clients in the high-tech, professional service, and manufacturing industries currently serving as a Principal Solution Engineer at Salesforce. The discussion was moderated by ASIJ’s Deputy Head of School for Learning, Scott Wilcox, and provided both insightful career advice and entertaining ASIJ anecdotes.

After the panel discussion, Bob Noddin, Chair of the Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees, shared briefly about current and future initiatives at ASIJ before commencing an enjoyable evening of networking. Amy Zuber Meehan,

High School Principal, was also in attendance to share her unique insights with alumni of all generations. We were also excited to have Briney Dillon Burley ’93, who is a member of the Alumni Council’s Alumni Connect Committee, join us at the event.

We are so grateful for all the community members who came out despite the inclement weather, especially our current college student alums, many of whom were in the midst of midterm exams! We look forward to hosting our next Alumni Connect: Industry Meetup online in early 2023 and hope to announce another inperson event in the near future, as well. We look forward to seeing you there!

For more alumni events in Boston, join our Alumni Connect: Boston LinkedIn group!

https://www.linkedin.com/ groups/14050778/

Deputy Head of School for Learning Scott Wilcox joined Alex Busam ’10 and Nicole Thomas ’06 for a panel discussion

High School Principal Amy Zuber Meehan met with alumni such as Hannah Semaya ’20

Amberley Yang ’21, Rei Yatsuhashi ’21, Kenta Burpee ’21, Emily Harada ’21

Kaito Ran ’18, Jocelyn Meyer ’17, Sarah Nakanishi ’17, Teresa Haberstroh ’17, Erika Zhang ’18, Billy Fujii ’17

Shigeru Miyagawa (FF ’75–77), Michael Thornton ’06 Liz Horwitz ’76, Kay Richardson ’76, Linda Ohkagawa (AP ’79–82), Kim McIntyre ’85

Victor Helton ’12, Jena Bloomer ’12, Hanan Bloomer ’14 Chris Blizzard ’03 and former Board Chair Thierry Porté (AP ’95–10)