Speaker Bios for Global Eyes 2014-15
Susan Barclay is a socio-cultural anthropologist who has specialized in peace and conflict studies, violence prevention, humanization, and social change. Susan spent over ten years living abroad in Guinea, Reunion Island, France, Israel/Palestine, and Lebanon doing fieldwork and working with local communities in theater, film, photography, exhibitions, and music. She completed her graduate work in Beirut studying social change and the arts as tools for healing in the context of civil conflict.
Ernest B. Johnson II (Dr. J.) is currently a professor of critical multicultural studies in the Equity and Social Justice program at Shoreline Community College, and adjunct faculty in American Ethnic Studies at the University of Washington. Dr. J. earned his Ph.D. from the University of Washington Department of Linguistics, M.A. from the University of Khartoum (Institute of African and Asian Studies), and B.A. in psychology from the University of Hawaii. He has lectured in one or more of the following fields of African American history, multiculturalism, linguistics, religious studies, and ethnic studies at several community colleges and universities. He is currently advisor of the Moslem Student Association, Assistant Dean for the Social Science Division, chair of the Campus Diversity Action Committee, chair of the Strategic Action Plan sub-committee and chair of the Division Planning Committee.
Masahiro Omura, prior to assuming the post of Consul General of Japan in Seattle, served as Deputy Director General of the National Institute of Public Administration, National Personnel Authority. Previous assignments include a Senior Fellow at the Research Institute of the Cabinet Office, Minister at the Japanese Mission to International Organizations in Vienna, and Director of the Second Africa Division of MOFA. He also served at embassies in Washington, DC, Jakarta, and Kenya. He is a graduate of Yale University Graduate School (MA in International Relations) and University of Tokyo (BA in Public Law).
Tim Payne is an educator and an economist with interests in sustainable development and the power of local organizations in improving lives of individuals and communities. As a teacher, he has devoted 3 decades in the classroom at Shoreline Community College, Western Washington University, and Washington State University, teaching principles of Economics and International Studies to thousands of students from a multitude of countries and backgrounds. In the community, he has consulted local and regional governments, including King County Council and Puget Sound Regional Council, and served as one of the founding members of the Seattle Climate Partnership. Tim worked his way through school doing agricultural research while earning a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Masters of Arts in Economics at Washington State University. Some of his early economic research in sustainable agriculture and energy in the Pacific Northwest inspired him to explore principles and practices of sustainability in other parts of the world, including SE Asia, Central America, and recently in Cuba. His interests include tradition and modernity in a globalizing world, and how indigenous knowledge and cultural practices can interplay with science and modern methods of resource management. Tim believes in the mutual benefits of cultural exchanges and information sharing, and is a proponent of transformative educational exchange. He advocates economic development that brings knowledge to communities while simultaneously stitching communities together, so that the messages and the mechanisms are mutually reinforcing. He considers education and the empowerment of locally-based institutions to be vital in securing sustainable improvements in the lives of people, communities, and the environment. Tim joined CPI as a Senior Advisor in February 2014.
Samuel M. Shepherd is currently Senior Advisor with the Associates in Cultural Exchange based in Seattle, Washington. Concurrently, he manages his own consulting firm, Shepherd & Associates. Past positions include President, National Association of Japan-America Societies, Washington, DC. (‘04 – ‘09), Executive Director/CEO, Fulbright Japan (‘94-‘04), Tokyo, and Executive Vice President of Associates in Cultural Exchange (‘77-‘94) in Seattle. While serving as CEO of Fulbright-Japan, Shepherd was appointed to the Central Council for Education by the Japanese Minister of Education (’95 - ‘98), and served on the standing committee for external evaluations of National universities, Japanese National Institute for Academic Degrees & University Evaluations (‘00-‘04). While an East-West Center grantee, Shepherd earned an M.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Hawaii. He spent two years teaching in Korea as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and was a Fulbright Teacher Trainer to Japan (’73-’74). Shepherd has spoken and written widely on issues related to international educational exchange, language education, cross-cultural communication, globalization and reform in higher education. In November 2010, the Japanese Government announced that His Majesty the Emperor of Japan had decorated Shepherd with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Leaf with Rosette in recognition of his “contribution to strengthening of the relations between Japan and the United States through educational exchanges and internationalization of education in Japan.”