officers
JETAA Officers
S. McIntire Allen, Chair
chair@jetaa.jp
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. In 2010 he started his own online law practice, Origin Law Offices, P.C. (Japanese)
Mak's home page in Japanese and English
Mak's blog
Niko Despopoulos
vicechair@jetaa.jp
Nicholas (Niko) Despopoulos hails from the Pacific North West of the USA and called Seattle home until he moved to Osaka in 2006. He graduated from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington with a BA in History in 2000 and almost immediately joined the JET Program.
Niko was a JET in Hamada-shi, Shimane-ken working at Hamada High School from 2000 to 2002.
Upon returning to The States, Niko joined a wine company. He left the wine company a year later to open his first business; a small coffee shop. He did some financial advising as an independent contractor and closed the coffee shop to join a small publishing firm as a junior partner.
By 2005 the travel bug bit again and Niko started to prepare for a return to Japan. He come back to Osaka working with an infamous language school and slowly worked on establishing his own business.
Now he runs a small real estate and financial services firm, O2 Group, where he specializes in helping ex patriots of all walks of life with their accommodation, property and financial needs.
He was elected to the vice chair of the Western Japan Chapter of JETAA in 2010 and is excited to help his peers in all their endeavours.
Joshua Flannery, Secretary
secretary@jetaa.jp
Joshua's first connection with Japan began in 1997 with his role in the first "Sushi Train" in Sydney, Australia where he acted as the only native English speaker in the company amongst a staff of Japanese nationals for a period of 3 years. During the same time he earned a BA Communications, including 3 months work experience with the Creative Director of the creative advertising agency Batey Kazoo Communications Pty Ltd and upon graduation moved to Maebashi City in the Gunma Prefecture to participate in the Japanese Government run JET Programme as a teacher of English.
He went on to work for a private Japanese company in 2001, training teachers, creating learning materials and acting as a liaison between Japanese and foreign staff. In this role he developed a knowledge and understanding for marketing Japan based education related companies.
In 2004 Joshua returned to Australia, completing post graduate studies in Commerce at the University of New South Wales, and was selected for a competitive cadetship with major Australian media companies Fairfax and Austereo. Joshua soon began his work with a leading provider of online marketing services and online application and management services for universities and colleges . During his 5 years with this company, Joshua has worked in the areas of sales, marketing, strategic business simulation competitions, project management and in 2005 established the companies Japan office in Osaka where he held position of Director - North Asia. It was during the following years he worked with universities, colleges and Japanese language schools all over Japan in the areas of consultation, marketing and related services.
Joshua is a member of JAFSA, is a Certified Practicing Marketer and has a depth of knowledge in the areas of IT in Business, Project Management and E-Business Strategy and Management via his Masters studies in Business & Technology from the University of New South Wales. Joshua enjoys his role as editor and secretary for the JET Alumni Association of Western Japan.
Alessandro "Alex" Stanciu, Treasurer
treasurer@jetaa.jp
Alessandro "Alex" Stanciu was born in Romania, moved to Italy at the age of three, and soon after immigrated with his family to Chicago. He received a B.S. in Political Science from Illinois State University, backpacked across Europe, and later came to Japan on the JET Program where he worked as a junior high school English teacher in Tottori Prefecture from 2000 to 2002.
Following the JET program, Alex returned to Chicago where he worked as an account manager for one of the leading electrical/telecommunication contractors in the Midwest.
In 2004 Alex returned to Osaka Japan, where he established his first Smith's School of English franchise. He was pleasantly surprised to find several former JET participants among the ranks of franchise owners. Within three years, Alex was running three independent franchises in Osaka. In January of 2010 Alex decided to boost his credentials as a teacher and enrolled in a graduate program at Temple University Japan. He graduated with a Master of Education (M.S.Ed.) degree in TESOL in June of 2011.
Presently, Alex continues to actively challenge young minds and old alike through various educational endeavors in the Kansai area, while also continuing to run a Smith's School of English franchise in Nara City, Nara Prefecture. (スミス 英会話 奈良 西大寺)
Elected to treasurer in 2008, Alex enjoys contributing to the operations of JET Alumni Association of Western Japan, and looks forward to any opportunities to interact with fellow members.
Alessandro "Alex" Stanciu
アレッサンドロ "アレックス" スタンシュー
- JET Program – ALT in Tottori Prefecture 2000 – 2002
- Smith's School of English Nara - Saidaiji - Franchise Owner/English Teacher 2004 - Present スミス 英会話 奈良 西大寺
- JETAA Western Japan (JETAAWJ) – Treasurer 2008 – Present