Masako Hashigami, who served on the JICUF Board for nine years, stepped down from her role at the end of March, and two new trustees, Rie Kijima and Kieran Cavanna joined the board. We thank Masako for her years of dedicated service to JICUF, and welcome Rie and Kieran. 

Kieran Cavanna is the Co-Founder and CIO of Old Farm Partners, a hedge fund allocation firm.  Prior to Old Farm, he has worked at Soros Fund Management and Titan Advisors. He began his financial career at KPMG Consulting. Kieran graduated from the University of Richmond with a BA and received an MBA from Vanderbilt University. Read his full bio here.

Message from Kieran:
“I am very excited and humbled to be joining the JICUF board. I will do my best to support and promote the JICUF. I have been an investor in Japan for two decades and have great respect for the culture and traditions. Thank you! “

 

 

Rie Kijima is an Assistant Professor at Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and at

Victoria College at the University of Toronto. She is a co-founder of SKYLabo, an education non-profit organization that offers educational programs using design thinking. After receiving her B.A. from ICU, She earned her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University. Read her full bio here.

Message from Rie:
“Hello! It is such an honor to join the JICUF Board of Trustees. This year is the 25 th anniversary of my graduation from ICU in 2001. Looking back, ICU offered many opportunities that have shaped me into who I am today. I had the opportunity to study with Professor Akihiro Chiba, who introduced me to the field of development and education and encouraged me to apply to graduate programs in the US. I also had the opportunity to study at the University of Toulouse as an exchange student, which improved my French language skills. Having this language skill helped me land a position with JICA in Tunis and subsequently at the World Bank in the Middle East and North Africa region. The opportunities I gained as an undergraduate student at ICU laid the foundation I needed to pursue my dreams. One of my fondest memories from ICU is sitting on baka yama in front of honkan, pondering about life and chatting with friends. It is an honour to be able to advance JICUF’s mission and to support ICU students who will go on to create meaningful and positive change in the world.”