Wednesday, May 27, 2015

4:00 p.m. - Opening Remarks, Wednesday Plenary

On July 24, 2013, President Barack Obama nominated Caroline Bouvier Kennedy to be the 29th ambassador of the United States of America to Japan. She was confirmed by the Senate on October 16 and assumed duty as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to Japan following the presentation of her credentials to His Imperial Majesty the Emperor on November 19. Ambassador Kennedy is the first female U.S. ambassador to Japan.

Prior to her nomination, Ambassador Kennedy worked as a lawyer, author, and editor. She has authored, coauthored, or edited more than a dozen books, and has had articles published in the New York Times, Newsweek, and Time magazine.

Ambassador Kennedy has committed her life to public service, including in education, serving as vice chair of the board of directors and honorary director of The Fund for Public Schools, and as chief executive of the Office of Strategic Partnerships of the New York City Department of Education. She has also served on the board of numerous nonprofit organizations, boards, and foundations, including as president and director of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, director of the Legal Defense and Educational Fund of the NAACP, and as a member of the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Ambassador Kennedy also served as a member of the Obama for America Vice Presidential Search Committee in 2008.

Ambassador Kennedy holds a BA in fine arts from Harvard University and a juris doctor degree from Columbia University.

Learn more about all of the NAFSA 2015 Annual Conference & Expo plenary speakers.