2026 Election

Candidates for JETAA Officers 2026-2027

Polls are open until March 31st, 2026. Cast your vote HERE!

President

Ceres Lovelace (Kishiwada, Osaka 2011 - 2016)

What are your goals for 2026-2027?

My vision for JETAA Portland is a welcoming, connected community where alumni can stay involved with each other and with Japan. After serving as Treasurer this past year, I’ve seen what keeps our chapter running and where we can grow. I want to make it easier for people to reconnect, meet others, and take part in ways that feel meaningful to them.

My goals include:

  • Creating more opportunities to connect—socially, culturally, and professionally—with a special focus on members outside the Portland metropolitan area
  • Supporting member-led ideas so more people feel involved—whether they’ve been active for years or are just getting reconnected
  • Strengthening partnerships with local and national Japan-related organizations, and improving our website to make it easier for members to find updates and resources
  • Fostering a collaborative and transparent board with clear communication and shared responsibility

Most importantly, I want JETAA Portland to feel like a place members can always come back to and reconnect with their JET experience.

What would serving as an officer mean for you?

Being an officer means helping support and grow the community that JETAA Portland has built over the years. To me, it’s about making sure alumni never lose that connection to Japan through their JET experience, no matter how long it’s been. It’s also my way of giving back to the life-changing experience I had through JET.

Serving as Treasurer this past year gave me the opportunity to meet members of this community, share stories, and stay connected. JET alumni share a unique bond through their experiences, and it’s important to create space for that connection to continue.

As President, I see my role as bringing those pieces together—connecting members with each other, with opportunities, and with Japan—so that connection continues to grow over time.

Rob Dulay (Sapporo, Hokkaido, 1997-2000)

What are your goals for 2026-2027?

If I am able to lead again, my continuing goals would be:

    • Continue to find ways to re-engage our Legacy Alums to participate in the Chapter (for example, set up more information booths about the JET Program and JETAA at local festivals or Saturday Markets, more family-friendly events, etc)
    • Re-establish a Board of Advisors entity to get more alums involved and bring in more ideas on events/opportunities
    • Provide more opportunities to join existing international events region wide (for example: participate in events in Central Oregon, Southern Oregon, Willamette Valley, Vancouver WA, and in Southern Idaho)
    • Work more towards possibly renaming our Chapter to better fit the region we represent so that Alums in our region feel more included. Having the Chapter name as “JETAA Portland” has deterred alums from participating because they may not be living in the Portland Metro area. Thus, when we can participate in other locals in our region, it makes more sense of who we represent.
    • Find more ways to help engage new alumni who have just returned from the JET Program or those who have moved into our region. With the help of our leadership team and coordinators, provide a resource for you and your family and friends
    • Create new alliances with other existing international groups or re-establish those connections

What would serving as an officer mean for you?

Being able to continue to serve our Chapter means to me that I can continue to take on a leadership role focused on bringing our alums closer in order to share our experiences with others, guide the next generation of JETs, and help provide a blueprint for the future for the next generation and other young adults. This would continue to allow me to learn from other Chapters and people within the JETAA Organization (CRs – Country Reps & executives) to find options/opportunities to help make our Chapter thrive more and the opportunity to share what I learned during my time on JET and the years afterwards being involved in the community and work experiences that contributes to better international understanding. Also, being able to share my knowledge with others, I hope to give examples on how to look at different situations and provide alternative options on how to deal with people and the issue on-hand. I don’t want to be a person who micro-manages but allows others to learn and if that leads to a mistake or misinterpretation, then that opens an opportunity to discuss and reflect. I look forward to proactively working with other officers and coordinators, who are curious and ask questions to be better informed. With these aspiring goals, I would be honored to represent all of you as your Chapter President for the coming year, again. Thank you.

Vice President

Abbie Horrocks (Isahaya, Nagasaki 2016-2019)

What are your goals for 2026-2027?

  • My goal is to help make the Portland chapter more active by offering more events outside of the Portland area and working to fill our open committee chairs so we are better able to serve the alumni.

What would serving as an officer mean for you?

I served as the VP for our chapter for 2025 and it was such a pleasure to do so. I had so many opportunities to reconnect to the JET program and the alumni association and it filled me with gratitude for the opportunity I had to participate in the JET program. Serving as an officer has meant so much to me as it's a been a way for me to keep my connection to Japan strong and help others to do the same. I would be honored to serve once more in 2026 to continue to help build grassroots connections between the US and Japan.

Michaela Duffey (Sapporo, Hokkaido, 2017-2018)

What are your goals for 2026-2027?

  • This year, my biggest goal is to help build our sense of community by hosting more informal events for alums to hang out, network, and get to know each other better. Similarly, I would also like to focus on connecting with our JET communities outside of the Portland area and support them in building official subchapters around Oregon and Southern Idaho if they wish. Lastly, as the current manager of our website, I would like to revamp our website to make it a rich resource hub for returning JETs, outgoing JETs, and long-time JETs alike. If possible I’d like to start an open blog for alums to write about restaurant recommendations, local Japan-related places/events, their JET stories, etc. and share with fellow alums.

What would serving as an officer mean for you?

I’ve been a part of JETAA since I came back from JET in 2018. Having that community of JETs to talk to when I reintegrated meant so much to me and still does today. I want to make sure that community stays alive and thriving so every JET in Oregon and Southern Idaho has a place where they can talk about and celebrate their JET experiences with people who understand. If elected, I hope to organize many more opportunities for alums to simply hang out and get to know everyone in our local JET community.

Treasurer

Michael Hernandez (Aomori, 2014 - 2016)

What are your goals for 2026-2027?

  • My main goal is to ensure that all payments and financial obligations are handled accurately and on time. I want to make the treasurer role reliable and straightforward for the organization.

What would serving as an officer mean for you?

Serving as an officer would allow me to give back to the community that shaped my Japan experience, using my skills to support meaningful programs and help foster connections among JET alumni.

Paolo Daniele (Nagano, 2002-2004)

What are your goals for 2026-2027?

  • I would like to maintain clear and organized financial records, ensure transparency in how JETAA PDX uses its funds, and support the board in planning events and outreach efforts that benefit our communities across the various areas/states it serves. Additionally, I would like to explore ways to potentially grow our funds by seeking partnerships or sponsorships.

What would serving as an officer mean for you?

My time in the JET Program was incredibly transformative, and serving in JETAA feels like a small, but meaningful way to give back to one of the communities that shaped that experience. I’m also excited about the opportunity to represent members outside the main Portland hub. Living in the Eugene/Springfield area, I’m connected to a sizeable group of alumni who can sometimes feel underrepresented in chapter activities. Eugene is also a strong recruitment area for future JETs and home to vibrant Japanese, Japanese-American and Japanese-Brazilian communities. Serving in JETAA would allow me to help strengthen those connections and ensure that more alumni across the region feel included and supported.

Secretary

Grant Drum (Kobe City, 2021-2024)

What are your goals for 2026-2027?

  • For this year, I would like to be able to continue working on and further improving the newsletter, possibly bringing some new ideas and additions to it after I've been working on it for about a year now already. More than that though I'd like to plan, host, and attend even more events than the year before. I was happy to see that the Shinnenkai went so well and it's further inspired me to try and get some more events going this year, as well as attend more if able.

What would serving as an officer mean for you?

Serving as an officer would mean a great deal to me, as it resembles yet another chance and year of further connecting the JET alumni community of the area together but also with the Japanese culture we know and love so much. If selected I'd promise to try harder than ever before to bring new ideas to the table, make the newsletter even better, and to also continue getting involved with the community and its events. Thank you!