My second informational interview was with Olivia Kent, the Communications Director of the Japan-America Society of Washington DC, who is currently living in Tokyo as a Japan-Representative of the organization. It was an incredible opportunity to speak with her, and was made possible by a friend of mine, Moi Nee (’24), who interns as part of her team in the communications department.

Being the head of communications for JASWDC, Ms.Kent’s role includes, but is not limited to; managing the organization’s three websites, overseeing all graphic design and brand building, creating and managing JASWDC’s social media content, writing press releases, copy editing, and managing AV for events like the Japan Bowl®. If this sounds like a lot — it’s because it is! If anyone is interested in checking out her work, I am providing a link down below to the JASWDC instagram page where you can view a recent project of Ms.Kent’s! It is a collaboration between the JASWDC and HypeFoodies to spotlight local sushi restaurants in DC. The project encourages the organization’s main audience (who are DC based) to connect with Japanese culture in a way that positively effects their lives and brings a bit of Japan to them.

Moreover, Ms.Kent is determined to balance these important, short-term tasks with her larger, long-term goals within the role. Her long-term goals center upon making Japanese language and culture more accessible and less daunting to average Americans, telling the story of JASWDC clearly and persuasively, and expanding the impact of the society’s events such as the Sakura Matsuri and Japan Bowl® to a wider audience outside of just participants.

When I asked Ms.Kent how she found herself in this role at JASWDC, which she started in 2019, she described a wide variety of factors that led her to where she is now. Originally from Australia, Ms.Kent studied Japanese through university and hoped to go into either translation or diplomacy. However, after moving to Japan and exploring those fields a bit more, she realized that while neither of those paths were for her, her appreciation for Japanese culture had become a real passion. And after moving to America, she happened to learn about an open communications position at JASWDC — which ultimately became her current job.

According to Ms.Kent, who has always loved being creative, this communications position has proved to be a good fit for her. And although the scope of her work is quite large, she is able to freely lead the process of her work in a way that she would like, and gets to use her own personal experiences in Japan to guide her in the role.

It was a pleasure to discuss the work Ms.Kent is doing with the Japan-America Society of Washington DC, and to be able to better understand the intricacies of the organization’s international bridge building. I would like to extend my gratitude to her for sparing me some of her time, and encourage anyone in DC to check out JASWDC’s events!

JASWDC Instagram page link: https://instagram.com/jaswdc?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=