SARAH THOMPSON: As Executive Director of ISC since May 2010, Ms. Thompson brings several years of professional experience and personal interest in the cultures of Japan and Korea. In 1995, Sarah received a full scholarship from the Japan-U.S. Senate Program to study in Matsue, Japan and has published a series of articles based on that experience. In 1997, she returned to Japan on concert tour with a symphony orchestra from Bonn, Germany. Since 2001, Sarah has supported international and cultural exchange programs in Washington, DC, including the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program, administered by Meridian International Center. Sarah also served as Executive Director of Meridian’s affiliate organization, THIS for Diplomats, which offers information assistance and cultural programming to the foreign diplomatic community. At the Brookings Institution, Sarah organized international conferences and a visiting fellows program as manager of the Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies, which focuses on policy developments in China, Hong Kong, Japan, the Koreas, Russia, and Taiwan. Recently, Sarah served as managing editor of Review of Policy Research and assisted in planning the World Conference on Higher Education at the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Sarah earned a B.A. from the University of Minnesota and a M.A. with Distinction from Georgetown University.

FRANKLIN ODO: Dr. Odo joined ISC as Senior Advisor in May 2010. He retired as Founding Director of the Smithsonian Institution's Asian Pacific American (APA) Program in January 2010, having served in that capacity since its inception in 1997. Previously, he was Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawai’i and Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Hunter College, and Princeton and Columbia Universities in the 1990s. He edited the Columbia Documentary History of the Asian American Experience, published by Columbia University Press in 2002. No Sword to Bury: Japanese Americans in Hawai’i during WWII was published by Temple University Press in 2004. Dr. Odo was guest editor of a special issue on APA cultural institutions in AAPI Nexus in 2008, in a series published by the UCLA Asian American Studies Center. Dr. Odo retired to complete a book on Japanese immigrant folk songs from Hawaii’s sugar plantations. He frequently lectures to various groups and consults on several projects, including one involving the National Japanese American Memorial Foundation. Dr. Odo received his M.A. in East Asia Regional Studies from Harvard and his Ph.D. in Japanese History from Princeton.

JU-YOUNG KIM: Ms. Kim joined ISC in March 2008. Prior to her work at ISC as the Korea-America Student Conference Program Manager, Ju-young worked as a staff writer on the culture desk for The Korea Times, English daily in Seoul and as a volunteer for the Korea Society in New York. Ju-young also worked for a law firm in New York for a year as a translator and a legal assistant, mainly assisting Korean-speaking clients. She is a freelance translator for a small press where they publish books and DVDs about Asian martial arts. Ms. Kim received her B.A. in Professional Communications from RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia and her M.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

MICHELLE L. JONES: Ms. Jones joined ISC as Japan Program Manager in June 2009. As an alumna of the Japan-America Student Conference and former Member of the student American Executive Committee, Michelle brings her knowledge and enthusiasm to the program. Michelle previously received a U.S. Department of State Fulbright Grant to Korea. She was then selected to serve as an Orientation Coordinator for Fulbright’s intensive 6-week training program, and provided cultural and professional training for 75 American grantees new to Korea. Michelle later taught English at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea. Most recently, she established an alumni organization for the Chicago Debate League and planned events, researched and edited grants, and participated in fundraising campaigns for the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues. Michelle earned a B.A. in History from the University of Chicago. Her research emphasized Asian-American and Japanese studies.

JOYLYN HOPKINS: Ms. Hopkins joined ISC in November 2009 as an Administrative and Development Assistant. Joy has over 10 years experience in the development field and we are excited to have her on board to help raise awareness and support for ISC programs.

Please contact us if you have questions or comments about ISC, its programs, or the website itself. We will do our best to respond promptly within business hours.

Address:
International Student Conferences, Inc.
1150 18th Street, NW, Suite LL2
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone: (202) 289-9088
Fax: (202) 789-8265