2013-14 Fellows

INAMORI FELLOWS

Takuo Gohara
Japan

Takuo Gohara is the director of the Keishin Social Welfare Corporation and President of the Keishin Nursery School. His experiences over the past seven years working for the betterment of his hometown of Kagoshima have inspired him to contribute to society by becoming involved in politics and government. Mr. Gohara holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Osaka University and a Master’s in Agriculture from Kagoshima University.

 

Kentaro Katayama
Japan

Kentaro Katayama is a staff economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C. He is currently responsible for country surveillance in the Middle Eastern oil-producing nations. Prior to joining the IMF, Mr. Katayama served as a professional policy maker in the Japanese Ministry of Finance for ten years. Mr. Katayama received a B.A. and M.A. in Economics from Tokyo University and is completing his dissertation on political economy of fiscal policy at the University of Warwick. He is a Visiting Research Fellow at Policy Research Institute of Ministry of Finance Japan.

 

Toshie Miura
Japan

Toshie Miura is a financial planner, with the mission to help people to identify solutions to their needs and desires important to their lives, and to promote their wealth and well-being.  She has served individuals and organizations using consultative approach in the financial industry for ten years. She has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Leicester University, UK, and a Master’s degree in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma.  She is currently Co-President of Seiwajyuku Chicago, a business owners group focused on learning from Dr. Kazuo Inamori about success in life and business. 

 

Koichi Nosaka
Japan

Koichi Nosaka joined Kyocera Corporation in Japan in 1985. He worked at Kyocera Fine Ceramics GmbH in Germany as a General Manager from 1996 to 2004. He was the General Manager of Kyocera Asia Pacific Limited in Singapore in 2007 to 2010. Mr. Nosaka held the position of the General Manager of Kyocera Industrial Ceramic Corp in the USA since 2010. Currently Mr. Nosaka is the President of Kyocera Precision Tools Incorporated. Mr. Nosaka graduated from Meiji University in Japan in 1985 with a Bachelor’s degree in commerce. 

 

Tetsuya "Ted" Nozaki
Japan

Tetsuya “Ted” Nozaki joined Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) in 2002 to strengthen their aircraft leasing business. In 2004, MC Aircraft Management International Inc. (MCAM) was established in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Mr. Nozaki was assigned as General Manager to lead Mitsubishi Corporation’s aircraft leasing business. In April 2011 Mr. Nozaki was named as Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing at MC Aviation Partners Americas. Mr. Nozaki has been instrumental throughout the years in negotiating many aircraft lease and trading activities worldwide. He is a graduate of University of Tokyo in 1989 with bachelor’s degree in engineering.

 

Eri Oki
Japan

Eri Oki graduated from Hitotsubashi University with a Master of Public Policy.  Ms. Oki began her public sector career in Japan as a project manager for a non-profit organization sponsored by the Ministry of Education of Japan.  After settling down to the Bay Area, she continued to build her career in the public sector by leveraging her private sector experience to aid economic development for the city of Fremont. She is currently involved in business retention and expansions for Fremont by implementing Foreign Trade Zone program and investment community profile. She is an active member of the Bay Area community. Her passion lies within the economic development, community development and private public partnership. Eri Oki is a Project Manager and Japanese Liason for the Cooking for Solutions for Seafood Sustainability Project sponsored by David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

 

Noelle Takahashi
Japan

Noelle Takahashi holds an M.A. in Intercultural Communications Studies from Rikkyo (St. Paul’s) University in Tokyo. She has served to various non-profit organizations in communities. Her passion is social work, particularly in the areas of leadership, NPO management, and the status of women, girls, and disadvantaged youths. She graduated the Strategic Leadership for Women at Simmons School of Business in Boston in 2012. Her goal after the AILA International Fellowship is to advocate for Japanese women’s leadership all over the world by facilitating “Ka-do” (Ikebana in Japanese, traditional Japanese flower arrangement) workshops as she has been doing for more than ten years.

 

INTERNATIONAL FELLOWS

Jeff Jenaro
United States of America

Jeff Janaro has served as a Coast Guard Officer for ten years. He currently serves as the Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer for Connecticut and Long Island, New York.  Previously, he served aboard four Coast Guard cutters, commanding two, in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean conductng maritime law enforcement, living marine resource protection, and counter-narcotic missions. Mr. Janaro also serves on the board of directors for two non-profit organizations, the Damascus Road Foundation and Fort Nathan Hale Restoration Projects, Inc. He is a 2004 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Strayer University.

 

Greg W. Levenson
United States of America

Greg Levenson received his Bachelors of Science Degree in Communication Studies from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Arts Degree in National Security Studies from the American Military University, a Master of Business Administration Degree from Georgetown University, and a Master of Business Administration from Ramon Llull University - ESADE School Business in Barcelona, Spain. Mr. Levenson joined Southwest Capital Bank as a Vice President and Loan Officer in 2000 and has remained with the Bank since that time. He was named President of the Bank in late 2001.  In 2008 he took on the additional role of Chief Executive Officer and in 2012 he was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors.

 

Claude A. Lambert
United States of America

Major Claude Lambert entered the U.S. Army in 2002 as a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a BS in History and Biology.  He is a Strategic Plans and Policy Officer with service in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Claude has served in numerous command and staff assignments in Light, Air Assault, and Airborne Infantry units.  His most recent assignment was with the 82nd Airborne Division Headquarters serving as the Strategic Plans Officer.  Claude was selected for the Army Civil Schooling (ACS) program and is currently attending the George Mason University School of Public Policy to obtain a MS in Peace Operations.  Claude is married to Dawn Lambert and is blessed with two children.

 

Aiko Shimizu
Japan

Aiko Shimizu is a Sasakawa Peace Foundation (SPF) Fellow at the Pacific Forum CSIS, where her research focuses on energy security in US-Japan relations. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies from the University of Chicago. She also has graduate degrees from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Ms. Shimizu’s professional experiences include working at the United Nations, Permanent Mission of Japan to the UN, and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Hamburg, Germany.

 

Idorenyin Akpan
Nigeria

Currently an Associate Professor of Communications in the Communications and Multimedia Design program of The American University of Nigeria, Dr Akpan is committed  to  teaching, supervising, leading, and practicing  communication, in the specialized fields of advertising, public relations, marketing communications and rhetoric. Dr Akpan has served in many administrative positions within the academia, and has published extensively in reputable journals and books, aside many quality paper presentations on topical extant concerns at core and adjunct professional fora. 

 

Benedicte Borel
France

Bénédicte Borel currently works as a Capacity Building Officer in the Policy and Programs Section of the NATO Political Affairs and Security Policy Division. Ms. Borel is responsible for developing and implementing programs to promote good governance, integrity, accountability and transparency in the defense and security sector in Afghanistan, in the Middle East and in North Africa. Ms. Borel is also acting as an adviser to the Assistant Secretary General for NATO Political Affairs and Security Policy and to the Defense and Interior ministries on how to reduce the risk of corruption in defense establishments. Ms. Borel has spent almost nine years working in international political-military settings and complex multilateral environments with different chains of command and various partners, including diplomats, administrators, journalists, armed forces and academics

 

Jed Ipsen
United States of America

Jed Ipsen is the Associate Director of the Caux Round Table and the first Mondale Research Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.  Between 2006 and 2010, he lived and worked in Washington, D.C. and held positions with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, on Capitol Hill, at the U.S. State Department, Council for Emerging National Security Affairs and the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

 

Ghadeer Odeh
Jordan

Ghadeer Odeh is an international business professional with nearly a decade of experience in working on business development projects. She served as a Business Development Consultant with BDO Qatar, where she prepared strategic business plans and managed activities for the policy analysis team. She previously served as a Business Analyst with Barwa International, and as an Investment Consultant with Qatar International Trading. Ms. Odeh obtained her MBA with distinction in International Business Management from Virginia International University.

 

Executive Education