JET Profiles

If you don't believe in destiny, then you should join the JET Program.

Through my years on JET and in my alumni life after, I have heard countless stories of chance meetings, coincidental connections, and life changing opportunities. Perhaps this isn't destiny- perhaps it is community in action.

Before I even sat down to talk to Corey Johnson, I was already itching to ask questions. One look at his LinkedIn page had told me only part of the story, that much I knew. His work history was filled with schools all over Asia. From the Philippines to China to Korea. What could the path of a person who had spent almost all of their professional life overseas be like, I wondered. What stories could someone like that tell?

Not everyone gets to live out a childhood dream. In fact, not many are brave enough to even try. But for Yuri Lowenthal, the passion and love for all things Japan paved the way toward making his dream a reality…

A 15-year-old Carlo Capua wasn’t thrilled when his mother suggested he try a program one summer that was mentioned in a certain pamphlet that arrived at their house. “I said, ‘Mom, that sounds terrible. I wanna go play sports — baseball or soccer.’” Capua, a native of Fort Worth, Texas, stated. “And she said, ‘Just give it a shot. It’s just two weeks over the summer. I think you’ll enjoy it.’”

Cara Lam's journey into the JET Program and Japan was inspired by her multicultural upbringings and her undeniable passion for adventure. She credits the JET Program for transforming her sense of adventure into purpose. Representing the United States at the Dragon Boat World Championships in the summer of 2025 in Germany and reconnecting with her former students in Japan, Cara's adventures are still going strong, even after Japan. 

Celesté Holmes-Tate says she’s always trying to figure out what she wants to do. She’s certainly done a lot. Celesté has, among other things, organized Black History Month events, obtained a Master’s degree in Japan, and served as a college lecturer. And, oh yeah, she was an ALT in the JET Program for six years in Hakui City, Ishikawa Prefecture.

For the majority of JETs, their time in Japan lives on through fond memories: bowing on instinct, deciphering kanji-packed paperwork, and forming friendships over cups of green tea and numerous omiyage snacks. But for Nichole Mayfield, the experience didn’t end with a plane ride home.

“The days and months are travellers of eternity, just like the years that come and go. For those who pass their lives afloat on boats, or face old age leading horses tight by the bridle, their journeying is life, their journeying is home.”

-Matsuo Basho, Oku no Hosomichi, Translated by Tim Chilcott (The Narrow Road to the Deep North, 2004)

If Tuan Do’s parents had their way, he would have become a doctor. Instead, Tuan parlayed a passion for languages into an international career — including a stint on the JET Program and positions in the United Nations that have taken him to Jordan, Switzerland, and Vietnam over the last 24 years. 

This profile of JET alumnus Harry Hill highlights how his early experiences in Japan laid the groundwork for a dynamic career bridging U.S.-Japan relations. From interpreting for local officials to launching successful businesses, Hill turned his time on JET into a lifelong mission. His story highlights the power of building meaningful relationships, embracing challenges, and seeing one's outsider status as a strength.

Anthony Bianchi is the first American-born person to hold public office in Japan. In 2003 he was elected to the Inuyama City Council winning the most votes in history. This unpredictable and surprising event was a culmination of his devotion to community, empathetic nature and his staunch, stubborn sense of justice.

Speaking to Anthony, he isn't what you would expect a politician to be…

Kennedy acknowledged that it took awhile to understand the value of living in two cultural contexts that differed from the context they grew up in. “I think the moment this was most stark is when I moved back to the states and realized that what I expected as natural had changed: I expected people to be on time all the time, to take off their shoes at the door, for trains and buses to work well and be clean…

Congratulations to JET/MEF alum, Leonard Schoppa (Kumamoto, 1984-1985),for being awarded the prestigious imperial decoration, the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, in recognition of his academic contributions and his work to strengthen US-Japan relations.

The early 2000s were simpler times. Social media was non-existent, the internet was in its infancy, and innovations like YouTube, AI, and the iPhone were still years away. My only connection to the world beyond Japan was a small flip phone that could send text messages of about 20 characters….

A certain object — one that many people consider outdated nowadays — planted a seed in Adam Lisbon that ended up shaping his life.  “The thing that really made me want to travel and see the world — and Japan sort of filled that gap of where to go in the world — was, believe it or not, CD-Roms,” Lisbon said.

For many JETs, Japan is a memorable chapter in their lives—one filled with late-night konbini runs, local festivals, and just enough office formalities to make them fluent in the art of the polite nod. But for Andrew Ou, who is currently the U.S. Consul General in Okinawa, it was just the beginning of his career in diplomacy, though he didn’t quite know it at the time.

USJETAA’s Marco Blasco sat down with Eirene Tran Donohue, screenwriter and JET alumni. In this interview, Eirene shares how her JET and experience abroad shaped her life, her writing process, and shares advice to other creatives about keeping an open and perceptive mind.

John Gauntner is the world's first leading non-Japanese sake expert. Not exactly what he envisioned for his future when he arrived in Kanagawa in August of 1988 with the JET Program.

For Aaron Woolfolk (Kochi, 1992-1993), it was one particular teacher who helped get it all started. “My second grade teacher in elementary school — she was Japanese American — and she would introduce elements of Japan into our lessons,” Woolfolk said. “She would tell us, ‘This is where my family is from.’”

From there, Aaron joined the JET Program and went on to become an award-winning writer, director and producer.

We are so proud of our team member, Danielle Reed! Danielle recently received the prestigious John & Hiroko Malott Leadership Award at the Japan America Society of Washington, D.C.'s Capital Gala. Danielle deserves all the accolades and recognition that comes with this award!

Zack Davisson (Nara/Osaka 2001-2006) has always been interested in folktales and all manner of spooky things. Maybe it was due to growing up in the United States’ Pacific Northwest reading about Bigfoot, or the time he spent in Scotland, where he became obsessed with local fairy tales and the Loch Ness Monster. But it was Zack’s time in Japan on the JET Program that solidified his love of Japanese yokai and yurei and set him on the path to become the prolific writer he is today.

In this Senpai Spotlight, Jonathan Lucas (Shizuoka, 2016-2019), MICE Promotions Specialist & IGLTA 2024 Coordinator, Osaka Convention & Tourism Bureau , explains how he got his start in the tourism industry.

In this Senpai Spotlight, Becca Guttentag (Oita, 2014-2018), Localization Producer at Riot Games, explains what it takes to get started the in game localization industry.

This Senpai Spotlight features two JET alums who work in foreign policy in the U.S. Federal Government.

The prestigious ‘George Busbee Award’ was presented to a key advocate of Georgia-Japan relationship, JET alum, Jessica Cork (Hiroshima, 1997 - 2000), Vice President of Community Engagement and Corporate Communication at YKK Corporation of America.⁠

Sonia Narang is a JET alum (Gifu 2003-2004) and a multimedia journalist who covers climate change and the environment, global health, music and culture, and immigration issues.

She has produced and reported stories for PRI’s The World, the BBC, The New York Times, GlobalPost, PBS NewsHour, FRONTLINE/World, Time.com, and NBC News.

Our inaugural article in the Senpai Spotlight series, features Justin Urso, Director of the McMillon Innovation Studio at the University of Arkansas, serial entrepreneur, and owner of Big Box Karaoke a popular eater-tainment concept in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

In the newest episode of the JETAA-sphere Podcast, USJETAA’s Jessyca Livingston talks with JET alumna and Hollywood screenwriter Eirene Tran Donohue (Nagasaki 2002-04) about her recent #1 Netflix movie, A Tourist’s Guide to Love