Be A Global Citizen!

Fumihiko Tominaga is an environmental and social safeguards specialist working at the intersection of climate finance and policy, sustainable development, and ESG. His professional experience spans multilateral climate funds, the United Nations system, and Japanese foreign missions, with a focus on ensuring that climate and infrastructure investments deliver meaningful environmental and social out...

Casey Lartigue is the co-founder and co-president of Freedom Speakers International (FSI) in Seoul, Korea. He is co-author of Songmi Han’s memoir "Greenlight to Freedom,” and he is a columnist with the Korea Times newspaper. Casey shares about his formative experiences living abroad in Taiwan and South Korea. From his work teaching English abroad to his work at the Cato Institute, he drew fro...

Felipe Iwahashi is a multilingual professional with a strong background in linguistics, cultural exchange, and educational research. He has extensive experience teaching English and Japanese. Currently, he works at the International School of Sciences and Arts in Costa Mesa as a language instructor and Project Based Learning teacher. Felipe is passionate in fostering cross-cultural communication,...

Michelle Hobby-Mears is the Associate Dean of Students and Director of Student Activities at Soka University of America (SUA). She speaks about her journey to support the early years of building out SUA’s residential programs. Her strongly aligned values and calling to support students from all around the world informed her decision to work at SUA for over 26 years. She speaks about the importance...

Frank Arce is the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard University Graduate School of Education. He is a mission-driven leader who believes education is both a public good and a powerful vehicle for social mobility. His work centers on expanding access, affordability, and student success—especially for traditionally underserved populations. Check out Frank’s journey as a first...

Christine Hwang is an online learning designer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She is interested in civics and literacy learning design for multilingual learners as well as the role of EdTech/AI in 21st-century education. She grew up traveling between the US and China. Her experiences navigating change in different social and cultural contexts challenged her to understand her identity...

Simon Chow is PhD candidate at the UCLA School of Education and Information Studies. He is a first gen student who immigrated to the US from China with his family. His journey from Bowdoin college for undergraduates studies to Harvard for graduate studies is marked by seeking a deeper sense of belonging with his own Chinese heritage and LA upbringing. Simon shares some of the practical ways in whi...

Alejandra Valencia is an elementary school vice principal with over three decades of teaching experience. Her story starts with the struggles of moving to the US with her family from Mexico as undocumented migrants. Despite growing up with the stress of possibly seeing her parents get deported, she was intent on focusing her efforts on education. With the support and encouragement from her parents...

Yukari Hirano is the Vice Principal at the International School for Sciences and Culture in Costa Mesa. She is passionate about creating an inclusive and supportive community of learners where each student feels seen and loved. Her experiences as a student in Soka schools in Brazil, Japan, and the US were foundational in her own development as a global citizen. Yukari also shares about her own per...

Julian Velarde is the Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator at the Orange County Fire Authority. He is passionate about fostering an inclusive environment through strategic DE&I planning and community engagement. Prior to his work in the Fire Authority, his decades-long career in higher education cemented his ability to create safe and engaging spaces for students to feel a deeper sense of belon...

Dr. Paul Sherman is recently retired Chair, Community Social Services program at the University of Guelph-Humber, Toronto, Canada.  He is the founding and current director of the Soka Education Research Centre on Global Citizenship where he mentors undergraduate students in conducting research on topics related to the theory and practice of Soka education and global citizenship.  Paul has develope...

Naomi Otsuka is an actor, writer, and singer. She is interested in philosophy and the aesthetics of beauty across different cultures. Her curiosity about how people convey their emotions and articulate their values led her down the path to acting. By channeling her own lived experiences and engaging in method acting, she views the process of bringing a character to life as an act of bridging diffe...

David Jackson is the founding Head of School at the South Bay Classical Academy. Previously, he was Head of School at Canterbury School, a PK-12 independent day school in Indiana. David has over two decades of teaching experience and his subjects included Latin, AP World History, AP European History, and AP Government & Politics. David shares his passion for classical education and how he had...

Toko Itaya is a doctoral student in curriculum studies at DePaul University. She is a Japanese teacher who has taught high school and undergraduate students in Japan, Brazil, and the United States. She shares her humanistic approach to teaching as a way to open up new possibilities through language acquisition. From her own experiences of learning languages, she speaks about the difficulty of lear...

Alexis Redding is a faculty member at Harvard Graduate School of Education. Her research interests include college access, mental health, and human development. After college, she moved to Switzerland and started a tutoring company. Her approach was grounded in a deep commitment to the success of each student and their unique strengths and learning differences. From a decade of tutoring and colleg...

Gonzalo Obelleiro is Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies at DePaul University. His research interests include curriculum theory, philosophy of education, ethics, and cosmopolitanism. He shares his thoughts about global citizenship through his own lived experiences being from Argentina and moving abroad to the United States and Japan. Many of the anecdotes he shares help to explain global cit...

Emma Sherbine is an educator, social media influencer, UN youth representative, and world traveler. She is engaged in digital outreach in Liberia where she carried out her Peace Corp mission. From South Korea to the USA to Uganda to Liberia, her passion to learn from different cultures and peoples has broadened her perspective on what it means to be a global citizen. She speaks about the digital d...

Check out what Nitesh Sil has to say about being a global citizen! For the full conversation, you can search for episode 18. Enjoy!

Check out what Lynn Harper has to say about being a global citizen! For the full conversation, you can search for episode 13. Enjoy!

Ryan Hayashi is a math teacher in Arizona with over 13 years of teaching experience. He began his teaching career through Teach for America and was placed in Ciudad Juarez along the US-Mexico border. At the time, New Mexico was ranked 50 out of 50 in terms of its national ranking and the city where his school was located was considered the most dangerous city in the world according to homicide rat...

Lisa McMillan Delehoy is a dedicated educator with a passion for designing and delivering curricula that empower and educate young people while fostering intellectual and social-emotional growth. She worked in Japan as a kindergarten teacher and later as a high school teacher. In our conversation, Lisa emphasizes the importance of building trust with young people. She believes that being a global...

Barbara Best is a community organizer, youth advocate, and system change leader with 25 years of experience in nurturing the power of communities to build a more just and compassionate world for all. Her guiding compass is towards healthy interconnectedness. She serves as Executive Director of Convu, a vibrant community that builds capacity for deep listening and peer coaching in schools, workplac...

Happy 5 year anniversary to Be A Global Citizen! Check out this reflection where I share the origins of the podcast, the evolution of the podcast and myself as a podcaster, and the future of it! I wish to express my deep appreciation to all my listeners and supporters. 

Charli Kemp is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit Change The Tune. She is a curator of transformative learning experiences that empower individuals to build capacity within themselves and create positive systemic change. She utilizes education as a vehicle for activism and is driven by ending inequitable systems to create opportunities and access for underserved communities. Charl...

Sabrina Sheikh is the senior program manager at the Institute for Educational Leadership. She is committed to building inclusive systems where all young people are seen, heard, and supported to lead and thrive as they transition into adulthood. From her own upbringing as an immigrant from Somalia, Sabrina understands and has taken action to takedown the many barriers facing immigrant populations i...