Miyabi Yamamoto

About Miyabi Yamamoto

I am passionate about achieving outcomes that create measurable value for organizations through aligning values and operations. My professional journey spans multiple sectors—education, translation, cross-cultural consulting, and nonprofit leadership—yet a common thread runs through all of it: Delivering results. Whether helping learners achieve Japanese fluency, ensuring global marketing materials that resonate across cultures and languages, or driving student and community success, I have consistently focused on impact.As Executive Director of the Maine Association for New Americans (MANA), I led the organization’s growth from an all-volunteer initiative with no budget to a staffed nonprofit with a annual budget in just two years. This experience reinforced my ability to identify areas of greatest potential, design strategies for growth, and mobilize people and resources toward shared goals.As the first person of color to lead Portland Adult Education (PAE), an organization that experienced exponential growth in the past 5+ years (with 90 employees and a $5.3 million budget) I created inclusive and transparent systems around hiring, finance, Academic/Workforce curricula, and operations. I also intentionally grew engagement with various stakeholders, including, but not limited to, community members, program alumni, state government, business partners, donors, and the Portland Public School district. I also ensured that the budget remained flat in two years where most organizations and schools were experiencing a COVID \"cliff\"(signficant shortfalls) in their budgets.I bring together academic rigor from doctoral-level research training, professional experience in communication, financial, and organizational growth, and a lifelong commitment to bilingual, cross-cultural fluency. My bilingualism in Japanese and English is maintained through daily engagement with media, professional work, and personal engagement across both cultures.

Experience

1. Principal Consultant

   Mission Mavens

   Mar 2025 — Present · Portland, ME, US

   You have passion and a mission. You have a project and program that is funded. Now you are wondering how to take this to the next level. How do you sustainably grow your organization to keep offering the program? I\'ve been there and would love to support your organization\'s sustainable growth. Get in touch if you are wondering how to grow sustainably.

Education

• Waseda University

  Japanese and Korean literature and culture

  2006 — 2007

• UCLA

  Korean Studies

  2004 — 2005

• Yonsei University

  Korean language

  2003 — 2004

• Columbia University

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Comparative Literature

  1997 — 2001

• University of California, Berkeley

  MA, PhD, Japanese and Korean literature and culture

  2001 — 2011

• Barnard College

  BA, Comparative literature

  1997 — 2001

• Dongguk University

  Korean literature and culture

  2008 — 2008

• Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific

  Bilingual I.B. Diploma, Higher Level--English A1, Philosophy, Mathematics; Subsidary--French Abinitio, Japanese A1, Physics

  1995 — 1997

Skills

• Higher Education
• Japanese
• Creative Writing
• Qualitative Research
• Curriculum Design
• Social Media
• Intercultural Communication
• Literature
• Blogging
• Research
• Conflict Resolution
• University Teaching
• Decision-Making
• Academic Writing
• English
• Proofreading
• Curriculum Development
• Translation
• Cultural Consultation
• Public Speaking
• Editing
• Program Development
• Management
• Teaching
• Diversity Training