February 14, 2019
*Amended April 29, 2019
(Washington, D.C.) The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation is pleased to announce nine Mansfield Fellows for 2019-2020. This is the twenty-fourth group of Fellows to have been selected for the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program, which was established by Congress in 1994 to build a corps of U.S. government officials with substantial Japan expertise. This group will join a total of 159 previous Fellows, representing twenty-eight federal agencies, commissions, and the U.S. Congress. Members of the twenty-fourth group of Mansfield Fellows include:
– Michel Call, Engineer, Office of Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
– Lindsey Constantino, International Transportation Specialist, Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Department of Transportation
– Anna Krueger, Economist, Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, Environmental Protection Agency
– Ho-Joon Lim, International Program Manager, Aviation Safety/Aircraft Certification Service, Federal Aviation Administration
– John McLaughlin, Education Program Specialist/Federal Program Coordinator, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of Education
– Captain Branden Turnbough, Logistics Officer, U.S. Air Force
– Alec Weltzien, Citizen Services Specialist, Consular Affairs, Department of State
– Leopold Wetula, Project Development Lead, Build America Bureau, Office of the Under Secretary for Policy, Department of Transportation
– Gunnery Sergeant Courtney Yountz, Strategic Electromagnetic Spectrum Manager, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, United States Marine Corps
– Ann Zachariah, Attorney-Advisor, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security
During the year-long Fellowship Program, Mansfield Fellows participate in a seven-week intensive Japanese language program in Ishikawa Prefecture and ten months of placements, primarily in Japanese government agencies in Tokyo. By working side-by-side with their counterparts in Japan’s ministries and agencies, National Diet, and non-governmental organizations, the Fellows will deepen their understanding of Japan’s government and policymaking process. This experience — and the contacts the Fellows make in the Japanese government and in the business, professional, and academic communities — will contribute to their work on Japan and Asia-related programs and policies when they return to federal government service.
“I am sure Ambassador Mansfield would be proud of the 24th class of fellows who will sustain his effort to nurture the U.S.-Japan Alliance. The new Mansfield Fellows are experts in areas ranging from environmental economics and nuclear engineering to education and aviation safety,” said Frank Jannuzi, President and CEO of the Mansfield Foundation. “The experience the Fellows will gain will further their own understanding of U.S. government policies in a global context, and contribute to the institutional knowledge of their home agencies.”
“These nine federal employees are excited to work with and learn from their counterpart agencies in Japan,” added Benjamin Self, Vice President of the Mansfield Foundation and Director of the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Program. “Ambassador Mansfield saw our two countries as possessing ‘the most important bilateral relationship in the world – bar none.’ The Fellows will strengthen the deep, working-level understanding between the governments of the United States and Japan. As their careers progress, each will facilitate closer cooperation on issues critical to both of our countries.”
The Mike Mansfield Program is administered by the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation with funding from the U.S. Department of State.
