JETAA USA National Conference (NatCon)
JETAA USA organized this year's NatCon with JETAA Chapter JETAA Washington, DC (JETAADC). Please see below for a recap of this year's conference and photos.
Recap
The 2025 JETAA USA National Conference (NatCon) was a resounding success! From Thursday, October 2 to Sunday, October 5, JETAA delegates from 19 U.S. Chapters and 3 International Chapters (Canada, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago), along with ecosystem partners from across the United States, gathered in Washington, DC. This year’s NatCon was hosted by the JET Alumni Association of Washington, DC (JETAADC) and the Embassy of Japan in the USA. The conference theme was “Empowering Your Network: Planting the Seeds for the Next Generation of U.S.-Japan Voices.”
Japanese Ambassador to the United States Shigeo Yamada provided opening remarks to kick off NatCon, followed by CLAIR NY Executive Counsellor Kakeru Hada and JETAADC Co-Presidents Okung Obang and Alex Melillo. Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA (Sasakawa USA) and USJETAA (U.S. Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme Alumni Association) sponsored the Keynote Fireside Chat, moderated by Shanti Shoji with Keynote speakers Paige Cottingham-Streater and David Boling. This year’s Keynote’s theme was “From People to Policy: How Grassroots Ties Strengthen the U.S.-Japan Alliance.”
Delegates connected and discussed ways to increase engagement in their respective Chapters and Sub-Chapters in addition to exploring collaboration with other U.S.-Japan organizations like the National Association for Japan America Societies (NAJAS). Other session topics included linking the JET experience with promoting regional Japan tourism; solving challenging Chapter dilemmas; strengthening relations between JETAA Chapters and their local consulate, JET Program office, and Japan-America Society; and providing insights for tying Japan to personal and professional activities post-JET. Other breakout sessions included recruitment and training of new JETAA Chapter officers, creating and running Japanese language exchanges, and extinguishing burnout among Chapter leadership.
This year also brought back individual JETAA Chapter report presentations from all 19 U.S. Chapters, Canada, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago. A Lunch & Learn session led by the U.S. JET Alumni Association of the United States (USJETAA) followed presentations from CLAIR and JETAA-International. The JETAA USA Chapter Council Session included highlights of JETAA USA activities and initiatives presented by Country Representatives Valerie Stewart, Vivian Chen, and Jennifer Sherman. The Matthew Gillam Award for Dedicated Service was presented to JETAANC leader Arisa Takahashi for her many dedicated years of service and hard work supporting JETAANC and building up its capacity as a nonprofit JETAA Chapter.
JETAA USA would like to give our utmost thanks to Host Chapter JETAADC executive leadership Eric Lord, Meghan Howe, and other board members and volunteers for organizing a spectacular conference experience. JETAA USA would also like to express our deepest gratitude to our sponsors the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan (MOFA), the Embassy of Japan in the USA, CLAIR, Sasakawa USA, and USJETAA for their generous contributions and unending support toward this year’s NatCon. From the Embassy of Japan, JETAA USA would like to especially thank diplomats Public Affairs Minister Masatsugu Odaira, Education Counsellor Hiroshi Ando, and Public Affairs Second Secretary Takako Shimano, in addition to JET Program Office Coordinators Grace Roberts, Sabrina Greene, and Devon Altman, for all of their endless support and coordination.
Lastly, we’d like to give a shout-out to all of our wonderful session speakers and facilitators: Matthew Gillam, Erik Peterson, Misha Clive, Ryan Okada, Cori Hallock, Adrian Vele, Kelsey Uehira, Jessica Ogasawara, Katie Huff, Jessyca Livingston, Julia Thang, Tai Lam, Ryan Hata, Satomi Abe, Collin Zeigler, Alexis Palmer, David LaCharite, Blair Agata, Shuaib Syed, and Camille Marks Kelly, and Kim Bernard. They contributed extra time and energy to ensure this year’s conference was filled with productive and valuable content for our delegates.
大変お疲れ様でした！また来年よろしくお願いします。
Photos courtesy of Marley Taylor, Embassy of Japan in the USA.
