SPICE is a program of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
616 Jane Stanford Way
Encina Hall, E005
Stanford, CA 94305-6060
Waka Brown is a Curriculum Specialist for the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). She has also served as the Coordinator and Instructor of the Reischauer Scholars Program from 2003 to 2005. Prior to joining SPICE in 2000, she was a Japanese language teacher at Silver Creek High School in San Jose, CA, and a Coordinator for International Relations for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.
Waka’s academic interests lie in curriculum and instruction. She received a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University as well as teaching credentials and M.Ed. through the Stanford Teacher Education Program.
In addition to curricular publications for SPICE, Waka has also produced teacher guides for films such as A Whisper to a Roar, a film about democracy activists in Egypt, Malaysia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Zimbabwe, and Can’t Go Native?, a film that chronicles Professor Emeritus Keith Brown’s relationship with the community in Mizusawa, an area in Japan largely bypassed by world media.
She has presented teacher seminars nationally for the National Council for the Social Studies in Seattle; the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia in both Denver and Los Angeles; the National Council for the Social Studies, Phoenix; Symposium on Asia in the Curriculum, Lexington; Japan Information Center, Embassy of Japan, Washington. D.C., and the Hawaii International Conference on the Humanities. She has also presented teacher seminars internationally for the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools in Tokyo, Japan, and for the European Council of International Schools in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
In 2004 and 2008, Waka received the Franklin Buchanan Prize, which is awarded annually to honor an outstanding curriculum publication on Asia at any educational level, elementary through university. In 2019, Waka received the U.S.-Japan Foundation and EngageAsia’s national Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award, Humanities category.
616 Jane Stanford Way
Encina Hall, E005
Stanford, CA 94305-6060
Sabrina Ishimatsu is the Event Coordinator and Distance Learning Instructor for the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). Prior to joining SPICE in 2012, she assisted Professor Gi-Wook Shin and Ambassador Michael Armacost at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center (APARC). She has experience working in the private and international public sectors including the Consulate General of Japan in San Francisco, the Little Tokyo Service Center Community Development Corporation, and Compuware Corporation. Sabrina is also a former teacher on the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program.
As the Event Coordinator, she organizes SPICE events including the Hana-Stanford Conference on Korea for Secondary School Teachers, award ceremonies, and various visits by high school and college students from Japan. As a Distance Learning Instructor, she is leading the SPICE/Stanford e-Course on Global Health for Takatsuki High School.
Sabrina received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business and Public Administration at the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington.
Sabrina is a former board member of the following organizations: JET Alumni Association of Northern California, JET Alumni Association of Southern California, and Gemini Crickets Parents of Multiples Club of Silicon Valley.
TeachAIDS and SPICE have collaborated to provide pedagogically-grounded interactive health materials that promote a powerful and dynamic approach to HIV/AIDS education. Built by an interdisciplinary team of experts at Stanford University, these high-quality materials have been rigorously tested and are used in dozens of countries around the world. Given the tremendous need for these materials, TeachAIDS and SPICE are offering this unit for free download.
616 Jane Stanford Way
Encina Hall, E005
Stanford, CA 94305-6060
Greg Francis is a Curriculum Consultant for the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). Previously, he was Director of Impact Programs for Net Impact. In that role, he led a team of eight to design and execute experiential learning programs for college students. Before that, Greg was a director for The Broad Superintendents Academy, where he oversaw the program portion of the Academy, an executive training program for leaders of urban school districts.
With SPICE, Greg has authored or co-authored 10 curriculum units, including Along the Silk Road; Security, Civil Liberties, and Terrorism; International Environmental Politics; and China’s Cultural Revolution. In 2007, Greg received the Franklin Buchanan Prize, which is awarded annually by the Association for Asian Studies to honor an outstanding curriculum publication on Asia at any educational level, elementary through university.
Greg holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Stanford University, a master’s degree in Latin American studies from the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in Ecuador. He also completed graduate-level coursework in educational technology at the University of Hawaii.
It is important for teachers and students to develop a broad understanding of Japanese education. Americans who are knowledgeable of teaching and learning in Japan gain insights about a different culture and are better able to clearly think about their own educational system. This Digest is an introductory overview of 1) Japanese educational achievements, 2) Japanese K-12 education, 3) Japanese higher education, 4) contemporary educational issues, and 5) significant U.S.-Japan comparative education topics.
616 Jane Stanford Way
Encina Hall, C332
Stanford, CA 94305-6060
616 Jane Stanford Way
Encina Hall, E007
Stanford, CA 94305-6060
Naomi Funahashi is the Manager of the Reischauer Scholars Program (RSP) and Teacher Professional Development for the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE). In addition to her work as the instructor of the RSP, she also develops curricula at SPICE. Prior to joining SPICE in 2005, she was a project coordinator at the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California and worked in technology publishing in San Francisco.
Naomi's academic interests lie in global education, online education pedagogy, teacher professional development, and curriculum design. She attended high school at the American School in Japan, received her Bachelor of Arts in international relations from Brown University, her teaching credential in social science from San Francisco State University, and her Ed.M. in Global Studies in Education at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
She has authored or co-authored the following curriculum units for SPICE: Storytelling of Indigenous Peoples in the United States, Immigration to the United States, Along the Silk Road, Central Asia: Between Peril and Promise, and Sadako's Paper Cranes and Lessons of Peace.
Naomi has presented teacher seminars nationally at Teachers College, Columbia University, the annual Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning Conference, the National Council for Social Studies and California Council for Social Studies annual conferences, and other venues. She has also presented teacher seminars internationally for the East Asia Regional Council of Overseas Schools in Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysia, and for the European Council of International Schools in France, Portugal, and the Netherlands.
In 2008, the Asia Society in New York awarded the 2007 Goldman Sachs Foundation Media and Technology Prize to the Reischauer Scholars Program. In 2017, the United States–Japan Foundation presented Naomi with the Elgin Heinz Teacher Award, an honor that recognizes pre-college teachers who have made significant contributions to promoting mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese. Naomi has taught over 300 students in the RSP from 35 U.S. states.