2018 Spring NEJETAA Elections: It’s time to vote!

Online Voting is now open for the Spring 2018 NEJETAA Executive Officer Elections!

Please read the candidate platforms and instructions below. You can cast your vote on the Google Form here:

https://goo.gl/forms/8sl727zJhUnnig1M2

Voting Rules:

Each NEJETAA member is entitled to cast one ballot only. You have to option to vote for a single candidate or abstain for each position. This poll will be open from its posting, until 11:59PM EDT on Thursday, May 24th.

To be an eligible NEJETAA member (required to vote), you must be an alumnus/alumna of the JET Program and currently reside in the New England region (CT, RI, VT, NH, ME, or MA).

Read the Candidate Platforms Below:

Vice President Josephine C. (Kumamoto, 2015-2017)

Hi everyone! My name is Josephine and I want to be your next VP!  I returned from Japan in 2017 after two awesome years in Kumamoto, and joined the NEJETAA committee as your Webmaster in December. As the Webmaster, I strived to expand our online presence through frequent updates on our Webpage, Facebook page and community emails. If you got something in your inbox or saw a post on Facebook, chances are I was the one behind it. I also collaborated with our current president to ensure our booths at the Japan Festival and Cherry Blossom Festival this year were fully staffed with the perfect number of volunteers so the event could run as smoothly as possible.

In the past 5 months, I have really enjoyed meeting other JET alumni and aspiring JET’s, and it’s a big part of why I’d like to become more involved with NEJETAA. As your VP, I want to expand chapter membership and participation by expanding our social media presence and planning new events. We’ve got a great community and I want to help our president bring us closer together with more local Japanese related events and other community activities. I think it would be great if we could also collaborate our social events and activities with other JET alumni chapters, friends of JET, and other Japanese community associations in New England. Thank you for your consideration!

Vice President

Matt Castle (Yamanashi, 2011-2013)

Hello everyone! I’m Matt Castle and I’m running for re-election as Vice President. I’m currently finishing up my second term as Vice President of NEJETAA and am in my fourth year as a member of the Executive Board, having served as Special Assistant for Project Management as well. In the past I’ve been in charge of planning numerous events for NEJETAA, most notably our Annual Ski Trip to Killington VT and starting last year, our annual trip to Northampton MA. I have represented our organization at many events, including the annual JET Q&A at the Boston Children’s Museum and JET Pre-Departure Orientation, among other events. If elected to a third term, it is my plan to build on the success and growth that the chapter has seen over the past few years. We have seen a significant uptick of activity recently, and I will work with our membership coordinator to use this to increase our presence and engagement with alumni outside of the Boston area. Notably, in the coming year, I want to establish at least one official subchapter outside of the Boston area.  I look forward to continuing to serve the alumni community and to work to make our chapter the best it can be.

Treasurer Jesse Kerstetter (Akita, 2006-2010)

I’ve been the NEJETAA Social Chair for the last year. I would like to be this coming year’s Treasurer and continue my involvement and support of our chapter. I served as an ALT in Odate-shi, Akita-ken from 2006-2010. Since moving to Boston in 2017, I’ve been happy being involved and in the NEJETAA community. With experience supporting and attending events, I believe I’m able to support the financial workings of NEJETAA and ensure we stay in good standing with CLAIR and MOFA. Thank you for your consideration ~ よろしくおねがいします!

Social Chair Agata Rybalkiewicz (Mie, 2015-2017)

Hello JET friends!  I’m Agata Rybalkiewicz, and I’m excited to run for Social Chair with NEJETAA!  I just got back from two years in Mie Prefecture this past August (2015-2017), and I moved up to Boston this past January.  One of the first things I did when I moved up to Boston was try to connect with the NEJETTA community, and I’m looking forward to helping it grow!

During my time on JET, I served as the Director of Affiliate and Community Relations for National AJET, where I maintained Tatami Timeshare and served as the liaison to Special Interest Groups.  I enjoy community building, and as Social Chair for NEJETAA, I would love to support our chapter’s growth over the next year. In addition to supporting established annual events like the Shinnenkai, I would like to tap the community to gage interest in exploring other avenues of engagement like book clubs, networking events, and local community engagement. I’m also interested in finding realistic ways to engage our JET Alumni community beyond the Greater Boston area. Hopefully, together we can help NEJETAA grow into a tighter, stronger, and larger community!

Thank you for your consideration!