| chapter info
S. McIntire Allen, Chair
chair.wj@jetaa.com
S. (Steven) McIntire Allen, or Mak, short for McIntire, was born in Yangon, Myanmar (then Rangoon, Burma) in 1963. He graduated from school in Western New York. After college, he bought a motorcycle, and drove across country to work at the Alta ski resort in Utah. He toured around the Western United States on his motorcycle, and eventually went to Europe in 1987. He worked as a ski guide at the St. Anton ski resort in Austria, and taught water skiing on the island of Skiathos in Greece. He also worked as a motorcycle courier in London, a factory worker in Sweden, and a migrant laborer in Spain.
After returning to the United States, he worked on an historical vessel, a 1920s Grand Banks Schooner, sailing around the Caribbean. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he had to get a real job. He began studying Japanese, and entered the University of Connecticut School of Law.
After his first year of law school, he took a leave of absence to spend a year in Ishinomaki, Miyagi on the JET Program in 1993-1994. Spring vacation of that year was spent hitchhiking around Southeast Asia, and visiting family friends in Yangon. Unfortunately, if he had spent more than one year away from law school, he would have had to repeat his first year, so he returned for a semester of law school in Connecticut, and then returned to Japan for a semester at Temple University School of Law in Tokyo in 1995. That summer, he worked at a think tank in Akasaka Mituske.
After graduating from law school in 1996, he moved to New York City, and sat for the New York bar exam. He worked as a contract attorney for White & Case, and then moved to Los Angeles in 1998 to work for Square USA (now Square-Enix, creators of Final Fantasy). He sat for the California bar exam, and in 2001 he moved to Tokyo to work for Asahi Law Offices (now Nishimura & Asahi). In 2005, he moved to Osaka to work for Osaka International Law Offices.
Jonathan Rankine, Vice-Chair
for Kyushu
vice-chair.wj@jetaa.com
Jonathan Rankine's professional skills in the areas of organizational training, legal and political affairs, translation, public-private partnerships, and research and analysis are complemented by his in-depth knowledge of Japanese business culture and fluent language skills in English, Japanese and French.
Mr. Rankine focuses on business-related cross-cultural areas such as interpersonal relations, team-building, project-planning and completion, negotiation, and forward thinking among clients of differing professional backgrounds, sectors and cultures. His consulting specialties include ISO-related auditing on behalf of international clients in Japan, ISO auditing and audit & documentation training/preparation on behalf of Japanese clients, translation, legal consultation – notably international law/treaty law, training needs assessment, training program development, and pre-departure and repatriation training. He is also a skilled facilitator and coach to executives and senior managers.
Mr. Rankine has a successful track record of training & consulting relationships with prominent organizations such as the Japanese Ministry of Education and the Asahi Kasei Company.
Mr. Rankine grew up in Toronto, Canada, and holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts Degree [Political & Legal Studies] from the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. He also holds an Honours Master of Arts Degree [International Relations (International Law & Development)] from the University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada, where he taught Canadian Law & Political Studies at the university while on a teaching fellowship. He further holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Local Government [Public-Private Partnerships] from the University of North Florida, Jacksonville, USA, as well as numerous certificates.
Mr. Rankine has lived, studied and worked for extended periods in Canada, the US and Japan. He has also travelled to and done business in over 40 countries around Asia, Europe, North and South America.
An avid sportsman, he holds the rank of Instructor in Scuba Diving, as well as enjoying snowboarding, golf, and martial arts. As a lover of film, books, art and music, his shelves bear the burden of collecting.
Alessandro “Alex” Stanciu, Treasurer
treasurer.wj@jetaa.com
My name is Alessandro “Alex” Stanciu. I am 33 years old and living in Osaka presently operating two Smith’s School of English franchises.
Smith’s School of English - Horie
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/horie.shtml
Smith’s School of English – Fuse
http://www.smithweb.co.jp/school/fuse.shtml
I was originally born in Romania to a Romanian father and an Italian mother during the Communist Era. Our family managed to leave Romania and we relocated to Chicago in the United States when I was about 5 years old.
I graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and joined the JET Program at the suggestion of our department dean. I had personally never heard of the JET Program but was intrigued by the idea of working in Japan as I had previously only traveled throughout Europe.
I was assigned to a very rural junior high school in Tottori Prefecture from 2000-2002 and had an absolutely amazing time!
To this day I still keep in touch with my former co-workers as well as several students, some who have since gone on and graduated from universities around the country as well as overseas!
I still visit that junior high school in Tottori about 3 times a year, usually making a visit on graduation day in the spring to surprise the parents and teachers.
Following the JET Program I returned to Chicago and worked as an account manager at a telecommunications company for a few years before making the decision to once again return to Japan in 2004 and join Smith’s School of English. It felt nice to be back and spending time with old friends in Japan.
Back in the US I have also operated a Christmas tree business for about 13 years now and that is usually where I can be found during the holidays. I started this business back in university in order to make some extra money and it has since grown into one of the largest Christmas tree retail stores in Northern Chicago.
I had a wonderful time while on JET, I often joined various JETAA activities while back in Chicago and I am now looking forward to once again becoming involved with JETAA and making a contribution to the organization here in Japan.
JETAA By-laws
JETAA
Western Japan By-laws
Country
Representative Summary
JETAAWJ is always looking for people interested in participating as Chapter Representatives. Please contact one of the representatives above, or the Japan Country Representative for more information.