Advisory Board

Bruce Brenn serves as Chairman of the Center for Japanese Studies Advisory Board. Bruce's career in international business spanned nearly 30 years including senior management positions with Citibank, Nike Japan, Continental Bank, and Smith New Court plc, working in Hong Kong, India, Taipei, and Tokyo before finally retiring back in the US. He currently serves as a board member the Japan-America Society of Oregon and the Portland Japanese Garden.  He is a member of the Tokyo Lawn Tennis Club, Tokyo American Club, and Multnomah Athletic Club. He holds a B.A. degree from University of Oregon and M.A. degrees in Japanese Studies and Economics from the University of Michigan.

Yoshio Kurosaki (Kuro) was born in Tokyo, Japan. Kuro emigrated to the United State in the late 1980s and became a naturalized US citizen in 1995. He serves as President of Summit Properties, Inc. a Portland-based firm specializing in industrial real estate development and property management. Kuro is active in many local organizations that focus on US-Japan relations. In addition to the Center for Japanese Studies Advisory Board he is Treasurer and a Board member of Portland-Sapporo Sister City Association and serves in the same capacities for the Japanese Garden Society of Oregon. Kuro is a graduate of Waseda University in Tokyo.

Lynn Moyers is a residential real estate investor, licensed construction contractor, and Macintosh computer consulant. He spent 22 years in a variety of senior management positions in the computer technology industry, focusing on supply chain management and new product development with Asian OEM manufacturers. Lynn also serves as Vice-President and Board of Directors member for the Portland-Sapporo Sister City Association. He holds a BS degree in Business Management from Virginia Tech.

Yoshio Oda is Executive Director of Epson Portland Inc. (EPI) in Hillsboro, Oregon, which makes Epson ink cartridges for North and South America.  Before EPI, he worked in Japan for Seiko Epson Corporation (parent company of EPI) and in Singapore for Singapore Epson Precision Ltd., a manufacturing affiliate of Seiko Epson. He is a board member of the Japanese Business Association (Shokokai) of Portland and the Japan-America Society of Oregon. Yoshio has a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Tokyo Institute of Technology and has worked for 20 years in the mechanical engineering field.

Ed Reingold is a journalist who reported from Latin America, Africa and Pacific Asia for more than four decades. Since 1969 he has specialized in reporting on Japan, where he served as Tokyo and East Asia bureau chief for Time Magazine. He retired from Time in 1992 and directed the University of Southern California's Center for International Journalism for four years. In addition to his reporting forTime he has published four Japan-related books: "Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony," with Akio Morita (E.P. Dutton, 1986), "Chrysanthemums and Thorns," (St. Martin's Press, 1992), and "Toyota: People, Ideas and the Challenge of the New (Pengujin, Ltd, London, 1999). Reingold moved to Portland in 2004 where is continues to write on Japan and Asian affairs.

June Shiigi is currently a board member of Tomodachi-kai, a committee of the Japan-America Society of Oregon. She is also a member of Oregon Nikkei Endowment, Japanese Ancestral Society of Portland, and Portland Nikkei Fujinkai. June has a B.F.A. from the University of Hawaii and has worked as a biologic researcher at University of California at Berkeley, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Reed College and as a scientific illustrator at the Vollum Institute, a division of Oregon Health & Science University. Before retiring she worked as a publications and marketing coordinator at the Oregon College of Art & Craft.

Doug Smith is a founding partner of InSpec International LLC in Lake Oswego, OR. Doug's primary experience is in international project development and strategic management consulting, including site selection, market entry strategy, feasibility analyses and business process reengineering. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Japan-America Society of Oregon. Doug has a degree in international studies from Cornell University and worked with the Oregon Economic Development Department as Manager of International Business Development.

Paul Taylor is a founding partner with BTI International Law Office where he heads the firm's Japanese Practice Group with a focus on providing legal assistance to businesses and individuals involved in international business transactions. Prior to BTI he served as a partner at Davis, Wright, Tremaine and as an attorney at Ater Wynne law firm. Paul is currently an adjunct professor at Portland State University and Portland Community College. He is a Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors of the Japan-America Society of Oregon. Paul graduated from Columbia University School of Law in New York City and holds a BS degree in International Relations from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.

Honorary Board Members

Isao Iwashita, Advisor, SEH America, Inc.

Tim and Martha McGinnis

Ex-Officio Members - PSU

Ken Ruoff,  Director, Professor of History

Larry Kominz, Professor of Japanese

Patricia Wetzel, Professor of Japanese

Hiro Ito,  Professor of Economics

Suwako Watanabe, Professor of Japanese

Masami Nishishiba, Professor of Public Administration

Jon Holt, Professor of Japanese

Emiko Konomi, Professor of Japanese