David Janes
David Janes
Position:
Fellow

David Janes is Senior Advisor for Institutional Development in the Office of the President at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University.

In this role he leads OIST’s development efforts in the United States and assists OIST in connecting to the U.S.-Japan world. Aiming to be the world’s best science and technology university and one of the most innovative educational institutions, OIST is poised to help with the sustainable development of Okinawa, with scientific research in Japan, and contribute to science and technology knowledge globally.

Previously, David was Director of Foundation Grants and Assistant to the President at the United States-Japan Foundation, where he led the Foundation’s multi-million dollar grant-making program and served as the public face of the Foundation to potential and current grantees in the U.S. and Japan. He served at the Foundation for nearly 18 years and managed over 100 active grantees annually and had key responsibility for fiscal and programmatic oversight of these organizations’ grant-related programs. David’s work emphasizes educational exchange in the U.S. and Japan, and he has worked extensively with teachers and students. He founded the Foundation’s Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Awards, conceived of Stanford University’s Reischauer Scholars Program, which brings together top scholars of Japanese culture with high school students in the U.S., and has assisted numerous organizations to integrate service-learning into their projects. David is Treasurer and a Trustee of the Japan ICU (International Christian University) Foundation; Treasurer and Trustee of the American Friends of the International House of Japan; Chair of the Board of EngageAsia; a member of the Board of Directors of the AmerAsian School in Okinawa; a Director of LEX America; a Scott M. Johnson Fellow of the United States-Japan Leadership Program; a Fellow of the British-American Project; and is a Fellow of the U.S.-Japan Network for the Future directed by the Mansfield Foundation.

After graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, David Janes earned a Master of Arts degree in Religion from the University of Hawaii, focusing on Japanese religious traditions. He then studied in the Department of Theology at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan, as a Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholar. David is also a graduate of the Japan Center for Michigan Universities in Hikone, Japan, where he obtained a certificate in Japanese language and culture. In 2005, David received a Master of Arts in International Affairs from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and he holds a Certificate in the Advanced Study of Nonviolent Conflict from the same institution. David also holds an M.Phil. in Sociology from the New School for Social Research where he is a Ph.D. Candidate. His dissertation focuses on the symbolic and discursive diffusion of Japanese war memory. Married with one son, David often competes in endurance events to raise funds for cancer care and research.