Ja-Ga Futures Forum: Celebrating 50 Years of Partnership & Creating the Next Era

James Hoadley brings extensive personal experience to the Georgia Tech CIBER. He lived in Japan for nearly eight years, where he worked for Seiko Epson Corporation. He also worked as Human Resources manager for a Japanese-owned auto parts supplier in South Carolina before coming to Georgia Tech. He has an MBA from Georgia Tech and a graduate diploma in foreign language teaching and B.A. in international studies from the University of South Carolina. He is fluent in Japanese.

Mr. Mio Maeda received a law degree in 1990 from the University of Tokyo and furthered his studies at
the University of Oxford. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA Japan) soon after, and has
held various positions throughout his three-decade career.
In 2002, he was appointed Deputy Director, Research and Programming Division (Economic
Cooperation Bureau) and later became Deputy Director of the Second Southeast Asia Division (Asian
and Oceanian Affairs Bureau).
His international appointments began in 2004 with a post as Counselor at the Embassy of Japan in Italy.
Two years later, he served as Counselor at Embassy of Japan in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam
(2006).
After returning to Japan in 2009, Mr. Maeda led as Counselor for the National Policy Unit (Cabinet
Secretariat) and in 2011 was Senior Coordinator of the Global Issues Cooperation Division (International
Cooperation Bureau).
In 2013, Mr. Maeda worked as Minister-Counselor and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of
Japan in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and in 2014 returned to Japan to serve as Director of the
Southwest Asia Division (Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department, MOFA, Japan).
He served in the Imperial Household Agency in 2015 and was appointed Chamberlain to HIH the Crown
Prince of Japan, and later as Chamberlain to HM the Emperor of Japan, until 2019. Mr. Maeda then
became Minister, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Japan in Switzerland.
He now joins the Consulate General of Japan in Atlanta as Consul General where he serves as the Head
of Mission in the Southeast United States. Mr. Maeda is married and has one daughter. He resides in
Atlanta with his wife.

Tomohiko Satake is an associate professor at the
School of International Politics, Economics and
Communication (SIPEC) at Aoyama Gakuin
University. Previously he was a senior research
fellow at the National Institute for Defense Studies
(NIDS) located in Tokyo. He specializes in
international relations, Asia-Pacific security, and
Japanese and Australian security policies.
Between 2013 and 2014, he worked for the
International Policy Division of the Defense Policy
Bureau of the Japan Ministry of Defense as a deputy director for international
security. He earned B.A. and M.A. from Keio University, and PhD in international
relations from the Australian National University.
His recent publication includes: “’Kyori no Sensei’ wo Koete: Reisengo no
Nichigo Anzenhosyo Kyoryoku” [Beyond ‘Tyranny of Distance’: Japan-Australia
Security Cooperation after the Cold War] (Keiso Publishers, 2022).

Lisa Curtis is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at CNAS. She is a foreign policy and national security expert with over 20 years of service in the U.S. government, including at the National Security Council (NSC), CIA, State Department, and Capitol Hill. Her work has centered on U.S. policy toward the Indo-Pacific and South Asia, with a particular focus on U.S.-India strategic relations; Quad (United States, Australia, India, and Japan) cooperation; counterterrorism strategy in South and Central Asia; and China’s role in the region.

Curtis served as deputy assistant to the president and NSC senior director for South and Central Asia from 2017 to 2021 under three successive national security advisors. During her tenure at the NSC, she coordinated U.S. policy development and implementation of the South Asia Strategy approved by the president in 2017 and was a key contributor to the Indo-Pacific Strategic Framework, which included expanding Quad security cooperation. She coordinated policies designed to strengthen the U.S.-India defense, diplomatic, and trade partnership, resulting in a widely recognized elevation of the relationship. Curtis also coordinated development of the U.S. strategy toward Central Asia, to include facilitating new partnerships with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Curtis received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service in December 2020 in recognition of her work at the NSC.

From 2006 to 2017, Curtis was senior fellow on South Asia at the Heritage Foundation, where her responsibilities included research, writing, regular media appearances, and frequent Congressional testimony. She also served as a professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, handling the South Asia portfolio for former chairman of the committee, Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN), from 2003 to 2006. Before that, she worked as a senior advisor in the South Asia Bureau at the State Department, where she developed and coordinated U.S. policy on India-Pakistan relations. In the late 1990s, she worked as a senior analyst on South Asia at the CIA, and from 1994 to 1998 served at the U.S. embassies in Pakistan and India.

Curtis has published commentary in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, The National Interest, CNN.com, NPR.org, and other media outlets. She has made multiple appearances on CNN, Fox News, BBC, PBS, MSNBC, and C-SPAN.

Curtis is a member of the Board of Directors of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. She received a bachelor of arts degree in economics from Indiana University in December 1990.

Nozomi leads a team of experts in developing global leaders. Her team helps organizations develop Co-created Culture which she believes is the foundation for individuals and organizations to fulfill their purpose in this world.  Her diverse international background — having lived in Asia, Europe and North America — gives her a wealth of experience and knowledge as a strategic partner to leaders. Born and raised in Japan, she values integrity, professionalism, and respect, all of which are core tenets of her deeply ingrained heritage.

For more than 15 years, Nozomi garnered expertise as a corporate marketer, working for top companies such as Delta Air Lines, Johnson & Johnson, BBDO, and working with industry-leading clients in the automotive, consumer package goods, fashion, finance, entertainment, IT, lifestyle, and airline sectors. Nozomi currently lives in the Greater Atlanta Area and frequently travels to Tokyo to serve her clients. She enjoys giving back to the community by serving on boards such as Japan-America Society of Georgia, National Association of Asian American Professionals. She is also passionate in empowering women to find their own voice and help them become leaders in their life, work and society.

Mellissa Takeuchi is a Project Manager at the Georgia Department of Economic Development specializing in Japanese investment. She is tasked with bringing more Japanese companies to Georgia. In addition, she travels the state to better understand the local communities, including all of their unique characteristics and strengths and to assist them in attracting more Japanese businesses. She took over this role in February of 2021. Ms. Takeuchi is fluent in Japanese and has more than 18 years of experience working with Japanese companies and public entities. She earned her B.A. in International Affairs and Economics from George Washington University. Prior to joining the Georgia Department of Economic Development, she held various roles at the Consulate-General of Japan in Atlanta for 8 years. Previously she worked as a Bilingual Executive Assistant at Toppan Interamerica in McDonough, Georgia, as well as serving 5 years as an Assistant Language Teacher on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program. She lived and worked just outside of Kobe, Japan for 6 years and has remained connected to Japan and the local Japanese community in Atlanta ever since. Ms. Takeuchi is a member of the Japan-America Society of Georgia, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, and the Georgia Economic Developers Association. Ms. Takeuchi is a native of Conyers, Georgia. She now lives in Marietta with her husband and their two pugs and three cats. In her free time she likes to travel and (attempting) to cook Japanese food.