Patricia Wakida -- writer, editor, book producer and former JET teacher -- was back in Japan last October doing what she does best: networking.
Under the auspices of the Japan-U.S. Community Education and Exchange, Wakida was one of seven fellows selected from the United States last year to develop collaborative projects between nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Japan. An NPO established with the financial support of the U.S. government and bodies like the Nippon Foundation and Japan Foundation, JUCEE aims to encourage community-level bilateral exchange between the two countries.
Wakida took a sabbatical from her regular job as development and projects director of Calif.-based publishers Heyday Books. She spent six weeks in Japan, providing her consultancy services to the editors of Kyoto Journal, a nonprofit, award-winning English-language magazine.