Past TOMODACHI Regional Representatives

2023 Regional Representatives

• De’Jia Long-Hillie

De’Jia Long-Hillie is the 2022-2023 TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Representative of the Kansai-Chugoku-Shikoku Region, and is an alumna of the 2019-2020 Toshizo Watanabe Scholarship Program that made it possible for her to study abroad for one semester during her senior year at the Center for Japanese Studies at Nanzan University in Aichi Prefecture. De’Jia graduated from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County with a Bachelor’s of Arts in Global Studies with a concentration in International Affairs. She is now living out her seven-year goal of serving as a U.S. cultural ambassador and English teacher on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. De’Jia has been engaged with Japanese cultural exchange events in many capacities throughout her life. During high school, she served as the president of the Japanese culture club and participated in National Japanese language and culture competitions. In college, she volunteered as a committee chair for the Annual Sakura Matsuri held in Washington D.C. De’Jia is eager to continue promoting mutual exchange between the United States and Japan as an Alumni Regional Representative.

 

• Kellie Tokunaga 

Kellie Tokunaga is the 2023-2024 TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Representative of the Kyushu Region. She is an alumna of the 2014 TOMODACHI KAKEHASHI Inouye Scholars program and the 2018 TOMODACHI Daiwa House Student Leadership Conference in Los Angeles. Kellie is a 5th generation Japanese American born and raised in Hawai‘i and graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa with a degree in Public Health. These experiences inspired her to learn more about Japan and her great-great-grandfather’s immigration roots in Fukuoka. She then pursued and conducted graduate studies at Kyushu University as a researcher on a Prefectural Student Scholarship through the Hawai‘i Shima Fukuoka Kenjinkai and Fukuoka International Exchange Foundation from 2017-2018. She is currently the Prefectural Advisor for the Fukuoka Board of Education Senior High School Division with the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme.

 

• Haruna Aka

Haruna Aka is the 2022-2023 TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Representative of the Okinawa Region,  and is an alumna of the 2018-2019 TOMODACHI MetLife Women’s Leadership Program. She serves as Manager of the sales support operations division of an IT company, collaborating on projects with people from various countries including the United States. She is also learning and practicing coaching to improve organizations and further personal and professional development of her staff. She realizes the need to accept change, understand one’s strengths, and see the importance of building a network that goes beyond boundaries. Haruna hopes to have the opportunity to accomplish her mission and enjoy interacting with many people as the Alumni Regional Representative.

 

• Kekoa Erber

Kekoa Erber is the 2022 TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Representative of Washington, D.C. Vicinity Region. As an alumnus of the TOMODACHI Daiwa House program in Chicago in 2017, he attended the 2018 U.S.-Japan Council Annual Conference in Tokyoand is now also an Associate Member of the U.S.-Japan Council. Currently, Kekoa works as the Government Relations Associate at the Association for Psychological Science (APS) in Washington, D.C. where he advocates for support for psychological and behavioral science. He is pursuing a Master of Arts in Security Policy Studies with a concentration in Transnational Security from George Washington University. His research interests include the security of East Asia and environmental security. Kekoa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from DePaul University in Political Science and Psychology. While in undergrad he completed two short term study abroad trips to China and to Okinawa, Japan.

 

• Juan Hernandez

Juan Hernandez is the 2022 TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Representative of the California Vicinity Region. His initial involvement with TOMODACHI started in 2013 as part of the second cohort of the TOMODACHI MUFG International Exchange Program. More recently, he took part in the TOMODACHI Daiwa House Student Leadership Conference in Los Angeles in 2018, and was selected as a panel speaker at the 2018 U.S.-Japan Council Annual Conference held in Tokyo. Since then he has built a life-long relationship with his host family from his initial program and believes that the next generation of leaders between the U.S. and Japan are fostered by such experiences and is committed to this initiative. With a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he hopes that technology can serve as a bridge to better diplomatic relationships. He is currently working for Honeywell, a diversified manufacturing and technology company, as a system engineer. He is responsible for accessing systems, determining problems and brainstorming possible solutions or improvements that could be made.

 

 

2022 Regional Representatives

• Ryota Konno

Ryota Konno is the 2022-2023 TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Representative of the Tohoku-Hokkaido Region and is an alumnus of the TOMODACHI Summer 2012 Coca-Cola Educational Homestay Program. Since his first participation as a high school student, he has participated in numerous TOMODACHI alumni programs. Even now, as a member of society, he is actively involved in TOMODACHI’s activities in order to give back to the community with Tohoku and his hometown he cultivated through TOMODACHI. Originally from Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture, he was able to move back after the government deemed the area safe to live again, and is currently working at Namie Town Hall. He is a graduate of Waseda University Graduate School of Sport Sciences.

 

• Yumiko Kurii

Yumiko Kurii is the 2022−2023 TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Representative of the Kansai-Chugoku-Shikoku Region and is an alumna of the 2018-2019 TOMODACHI MetLife Women’s Leadership Program. After 13 years of her career in journalism, she changed her job and jumped into a totally new industry, a chemical and paint manufacturing company. Yumiko now collaborates with global partner companies to brush up their sustainability management. Throughout this experience, she has been learning that diversity often causes conflicts but gives resilience to business. She recently got into baking, running, sewing and table setting. With the results of her hobbies, she is a midnight instagrammer.

 

• David Palacios

David Palacios is the 2022-2023 TOMODACHI Alumni Regional Representative of the Kyushu Region. After graduating from community college in his hometown of Sacramento, CA, David transferred to Tokyo International University and was part of the first cohort of the Watanabe Toshizo Scholarship Program in 2018. After two years of attending university in Japan, David feels comfortable communicating in Japanese, in addition to English and Spanish. David has worked in the U.S. nonprofit and government sectors, but he now works in Saga Prefecture as the city’s Coordinator for International Relations. As an International Relations major, he aims to use his skills and experience to not only bring people together through cultural exchange but to also use those connections to address global issues related to social inequality, poverty, education and human rights