About

I have experience working on projects in over 25 countries worldwide with social enterprises, NGOs and multinational corporations, focusing on social innovation, disaster response, and climate action.

I am currently heading Social Innovation Japan – an incubator for social change – and am working as a consultant on social impact projects for both private and third sector organisations.

I spent 5+ years as International Coordinator for Peace Boat, a Tokyo-based social enterprise with Special Consultative Status with the United Nations, leading disaster response operations, training programs to build disaster resilience, and UN-related projects in countries including Haiti, Nepal, Vanuatu and Mozambique.

I then spent 2+ years in the green technology sector working as the Business Development & Strategic Partnerships Manager for the Ecoship Project; the ambitious initiative to build the world’s most environmentally sustainable cruise ship and flagship for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) featured on CNN and World Economic Forum.

Since 2015, I have been selected as a Japan Foundation Fellow, an Asia-Europe Foundation Young Leader, a One Young World Ambassador (Bangkok), and UNLEASH Innovation Lab SDG Talent (Copenhagen).

In 2017, I started a humanitarian storytelling project – Explore Tohoku – walking 600+km along Japan’s tsunami-affected coastline to document the region’s recovery in the wake of the 2011 tsunami and subsequent Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Media, Interviews & Articles

Featured by CNN – “Japan’s Tohoku Region, Seven Years After The Quake” (Link)
Interviewed by Tokyo Weekender Magazine – “Walking Tohoku: A 614km Journey on the Michinoku Shiokaze Trail” (Link)
Interviewed by Metropolis Magazine – “On The Trail To Rebuilding” (Link)
Interviewed by GoGo Tohoku! – “Explore Tohoku: Michinoku Coastal Trail” (Link)
Interviewed by CNN – “Life after the East Japan Earthquake” (Link)
Interviewed by Student Times – “Hiking from Hadrian’s Wall to Holborn” (Link)
Interviewed by ThinkTech Hawaii TV – “Do Not Panic! Be Prepared” (Link)
Article on The Next Challenge – “Walking Japan’s Tsunami-affected Coastline”(Link)
Article in Outdoor Japan Magazine – “My Tohoku Journey” (Link)
Article on One Young World – “World Leaders Adopt the Paris Agreement on Climate Change: What Next?” (Link)
Article on Japan for Sustainability (transcription of speech) – “Tohoku and the World: 5 Years since the Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami” (Link)
Article in Ambassador Magazine – “Out of the Ruins” (Link)
Article on World Cares Center – “Japan, Catfish, and the Need for Disaster Preparedness” (Link)
One Young World Summit Bangkok Speech – “Call on COP (Climate Change)” (Link)
Pecha Kucha Speech – “Mountains of Support For Nepal” (Link)
National Geographic Article about project in Africa – “Nothing For Us, Without Us” (Link)
United Nations Article about project in Africa – “African youth commit to reduce disaster risks” (Link)
Booklet (Translated & Edited) – “The Citizen’s Guide to The Sendai Framework” (Link)

Speaking

As a trainer and facilitator, I have delivered workshops in places such as Hong Kong, Mexico, and Paris (COP 21) and am also a professional disaster preparedness trainer providing workshops for groups such as the Dutch Embassy in Tokyo.

I speak regularly at schools, universities, and conferences (e.g. University of Tokyo, Sonora Climate Change Summit in Mexico, and USJC Annual Conference in San Francisco), and have served as a mentor and advisor for social innovation programs around the world.