Bios

Richard J. Wood

President

Richard J. Wood initially became well known to Japan Society and its constituents through his work at the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission in Washington, D.C., where he served as Chair from 1994 to 2002. After receiving his PhD in philosophy from Yale University, his own deep involvement with Japan began in 1966, when he joined the faculty of Earlham College. He first lived in Japan in 1968 as a Fulbright Fellow at Waseda University, undertaking an intensive study of Japanese language and philosophy. In 1970 he became Director of Earlham's programs in Japan and in 1973-1974, with a fellowship from The Japan Foundation, spent a year in Tokyo studying Japanese ethics and aesthetics. From 1980 to 1985, Wood was Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty, Whittier College, returning to Earlham College in 1985 to serve as its President until 1996. During his presidential tenure and under his leadership, Earlham conducted its first successful capital campaign in over fifteen years, raising more than $20 million.

In 1996, Wood became Dean of Yale University's Divinity School, one of America's leading theological schools. In the course of his four-year term, he filled key faculty vacancies, rebuilt and substantially increased student enrollment, and raised $15 million towards renovating the Divinity School campus. From 2001 until the beginning of 2006, he served as President of the United Board for Christian Higher Education, a New York-based nonprofit that functions as a combined operating and grant-making foundation. Wood was founding Chair of the U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation and currently serves on its Board; he also serves on the Board of Trustees of Southern Methodist University and on the Board of Trustees of the Japanese-American National Museum.

Kendall Hubert

Senior Vice President & Director of External Relations

Kendall Hubert oversees the organization of the Japan Society Centennial celebration; works on strategic planning, special projects, and board development; and manages development and general operations.

Hubert joined Japan Society in December 2004 after serving as Director of Corporate Development at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York for five and a half years. In this capacity, she was responsible for all corporate support of the institution, managing multi-year, multi-million dollar corporate partnerships, sponsorships and memberships, and securing support for specific exhibitions in the Guggenheim’s five locations, New York, Venice, Bilbao, Berlin and Las Vegas. She was also part of the senior management team responsible for planning and opening the Guggenheim Las Vegas and Guggenheim Hermitage Museum and involved in strategic planning for museum exhibitions and expansion programs on an international level, including relations with the Mexican, French, Italian and Russian governments.

Prior to working at the Guggenheim, Hubert was Director of Business Development at Spero Communications, a leading sponsorship consulting firm in London. She was Director of Promotions at the major Japanese advertising agency Dai-Ichi Kikaku in Tokyo for three years (1993-95), where she was the firm's first foreign hire. Additionally, she was selected to participate in the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) program in 1989-90. Her previous professional experience includes the American Committee on the French Revolution, the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies, and Cable News Network (CNN).

Hubert received her Master's in Arts Administration from Columbia University, writing her thesis on “Cultural Sponsorship and the Japanese.” She speaks fluent Japanese, French and Russian.

Lisa Bermudez

Vice President of Finance & Administration

Bio to come.

Joe Earle

Vice President and Director, Japan Society Gallery

Appointed in September 2007, Joe Earle has worked for more than 30 years in the field of Asian and Japanese arts and cultures. A graduate of Oxford University, where he majored in Chinese language and literature, in 1974 he joined the newly-formed Far Eastern Department of London's Victoria and Albert Museum and began to specialize in Japanese art, curating exhibitions on contemporary lacquer, ceramics and design as well as serving as consultant to the Royal Academy's groundbreaking Great Japan Exhibition (1981-82).

On becoming head of the V&A's Far Eastern Department in 1983, Earle spearheaded the creation of the Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art and then, after three years as the V&A's Head of Public Services, embarked on a freelance career which stretched from 1990 until 2003. During that time he acted as coordinator for the Visions of Japan exhibition, centerpiece of the 1991 UK Japan Festival, and curated numerous shows in Europe, Japan and the United States, as well as writing catalogues for a wide variety of leading collectors, commercial galleries, auction houses and museums. In 2000 he began to work as consultant to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and in 2003 he was appointed first Chair of the MFA's Department of Art of Asia, Oceania and Africa. Earle has authored, translated or edited more than a dozen books and catalogues on Japanese art topics ranging from early medieval garden design through the export crafts of the Meiji era to contemporary art and design.

Robert A. Fish

Director of Education & Lecture Programs

Robert Fish joined Japan Society in May 2006 as Director of Education and Lecture Programs. Fish previously served as an Assistant Professor of East Asian history at Indiana State University, where he worked extensively with pre-service teachers. His research focuses on the history of childhood and education in 20th-century Japan, and includes a book manuscript near completion about the history of “mixed-blood” orphans in postwar Japan as well as publications regarding the history “textbook controversy” in Japan.

Fish earned a BA in History at Yale University, MA in Educational Administration at New York University, and PhD in Japanese History at University of Hawaii at Manoa. Prior to specializing in Japanese studies, he taught social studies at Tenafly High School in New Jersey and English in Wakayama, Japan.

Janet Fu

Director of Program Operations

Janet Fu joined Japan Society in April 2006 as Director of Program Operations Fu directs the planning and management of program events at Japan Society. She previously worked in sales and marketing at the New York Palace Hotel, as well as in banquets at the Radisson Miyako Hotel Tokyo.

Fu received her BA in Biological Basis of Behavior from the University of Pennsylvania and her MMH from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration.

Shannon Jowett

Director of Communications

Appointed Director of Communications in August 2006, Shannon Jowett has specialized in New York City cultural communications since 1999, serving all facets of public relations, marketing and promotions. After briefly working press for Broadway and Off-Broadway theater, Jowett became an original associate at Spin Cycle, a cutting-edge producing and PR boutique where he handled publicity, niche marketing campaigns and special events for a diverse roster of major corporations and artists.

In 2003, Jowett joined The Zeisler Group, a 25-year-old PR firm where he worked with an international roster of high-profile culture clients including Japan Society. He came to the Society full time in September 2005. Over the years, Mr. Jowett has served charitable organizations including God's Love We Deliver, The New York Opportunity Network, Village Care of New York and New York Peer AIDS Education Coalition.

Jane Fenton

Director of Human Resources

Jane Fenton is a human resources professional with considerable experience in all areas of human resources management and development. Prior to joining Japan Society, she served the U.S. Fund for UNICEF for seven years, where she was Deputy Director of Human Resources. In this role, Fenton developed and implemented strategic HR programs, policies and procedures, and led the staffing process. Before that, Fenton worked at Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield for 15 years in a series of progressively challenging positions, including Senior Staffing Advisor, Employee Relations Rep, and EEO Specialist. Her professional background also includes managerial positions at Manhattan Life Insurance Company, and Metro-North Commuter Railroad. Fenton earned a BS in Management and Communications, summa cum laude, at Adelphi University.

Ruri Kawashima

Tokyo Representative

Ruri Kawashima is the liaison between Japan Society's New York headquarters and its contacts in Japan. She develops, implements and raises funds for fellowships and exchange programs, which include policy dialogues on key issues important to the U.S.-Japan relationship, professional fellowships, and outreach programs that take place in cities throughout the U.S. and Japan.

Before joining Japan Society in 1973, Kawashima was an Editorial Assistant at the Tokyo bureau of Newsweek. She is a graduate of the University of the Sacred Heart in Tokyo and Western College for Women in Ohio.

Juan Montes

Vice President, Chief Information Officer

Juan Montes is Japan Society’s Chief Information Officer. He is a technology leader with a particular interest in optimal information flows and decision support. Most recently, Montes was the Director of Enterprise Services and Chief Platform Architect at The New York Times. Under his direction, his group created system blueprints for an enterprise-wide SAP project as well as a road map for moving the entire technology footprint of The New York Times to a new headquarters data center. He also dealt with issues of high-availability and business continuity inherent in a daily production environment.

Previously, Montes worked in various capacities for Columbia University, where he ran an internal technology consulting group at Columbia University Medical Center as well as the operations group at fathom.com, an on-line channel serving a consortium of universities and educational institutions. His pre-Columbia experience includes Rockefeller Group Telecom Network Services, a division of RGT that he helped found. Montes has a BA in philosophy from Harvard College.

Ann Niehoff

Director of Foundation and Government Relations

Ann Niehoff oversees foundation and government fundraising in concert with senior administrative and program staff. She joined Japan Society in November 1986. Niehoff earned a BA with Honors in Art History from Smith College; she received her MA in Art History from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University, where she completed the required course work and examinations for a PhD.

Daniel A. Rosenblum

Vice President & Director of Corporate & Policy Programs

Daniel Rosenblum became the Director of Corporate & Policy Programs in 1999 and Vice President in 2003. Before joining Japan Society, he worked as a financial journalist for 16 years, with assignments in Tokyo, Hong Kong, London and Washington, DC. Most recently he was a producer for Reuters Financial Television in New York.

Rosenblum has traveled extensively throughout Asia. A graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, he holds a BA in Japanese Language and Literature. He spent seven years in Tokyo as a child, where he attended the Nishimachi International School.

Reiko Sassa

Director of Toyota Language Center & C.V. Starr Library

Reiko Sassa joined Japan Society as Assistant Librarian in 1977. Soon after, she began cultivating the organization's modest language class offerings into a flourishing program. In 1982, Sassa was appointed Language Education Coordinator and Head Librarian and was featured in an article in The New York Times about Japanese women succeeding professionally in New York.

Sassa became Director of Toyota Language Center in 1986, when the center became an official Japan Society department. Over the past 24 years, she has maintained the library's exceptional collection of English and Japanese books. She holds a BA in Japanese Literature.

Yoko Shioya

Artistic Director

Yoko Shioya became Artistic Director in 2006, overseeing the Society's Performing Arts and Film Programs. Since joining the Society in 1997 and assuming the position of Director of Performing Arts in 2003, she has expanded collaborative projects with American cultural organizations and universities to introduce Japanese performing artists and also launched new initiatives, including an artists’ residency project and a workshop series.

Known in Japan as a writer/researcher on the public and private arts support systems in the U.S. and Japan, Shioya has been invited to speak at numerous symposia, lectures and TV programs presented by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Japanese government, Keidanren, the Academy of Cultural Economics and the Japan Council of Performers' Organizations, among others. In 1998, her first book, New York: How the City and Its Artists Coexist, was published by Maruzen Publishing Co. She has been a regular contributor to arts columns on performing arts and exhibitions for the Asahi newspaper, and has served as a committee member and selection panelist for numerous programs, including The Bessie Awards, Rolex Mentor and Protege International Program, and the Toyota Choreography Awards. Shioya holds BAs in musicology and dance history from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Karen Sorensen

Director of Individual Giving

Karen Sorensen joined Japan Society in May 2006 as Director of Individual Giving. She is responsible for obtaining and maintaining individual support for the institution's general operations and programs, and overseeing membership growth. Prior to joining Japan Society, Sorensen worked at the Whitney Museum of American Art for five years, where she was Assistant Director of Membership & Annual Fund. In this role, she was responsible for relationship-building initiatives and marketing opportunities aimed at increasing individual giving.

Previously, Sorensen helped to open the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Chicago and expand its membership from 900 to 4,000 members. She received her BA in Theater from UW Madison and a MFA in Performance at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She serves on the Board of Directors of OVO, Inc., a New York-based arts organization.

Yoko Suzuki

Director of Special Events & Special Assistant to the President for Community Relations

Bio to come.