ALUMNI
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. —Deanna Elstrom ’86 and Brian Nelson ’85 Alumni Connect Committee Co-Chairs 60
THE AMERICAN SCHOOL IN JAPAN
Spencer Park ’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.