Japanese Women's Leadership Institute
Empowering Japanese women to become leaders and to make postive social change and innovation in Japan.
Tell us your email and we will let you know when applications open again!
Empowering Japanese women to become leaders and to make postive social change and innovation in Japan.
Tell us your email and we will let you know when applications open again!
Develop leadership skills and empower current and future generations of women leaders in Japan.
Foster more active participation and empowerment of women in Japanese civil society
Based in Boston, JWLI was founded in 2006 and offers four weeks of hands-on nonprofit management training with an entrepreneurial aspect
The Japanese Women's Leadership Initiative (JWLI) was founded in 2006 by three visionary women in Boston, Massachussets: Atsuko Toko Fish, Mary Lassen, and Catherine Crone Coburn. JWLI brings emerging women leaders, referred to as the Fellows, from Jpan to Boston to recieve four weeks of hands-on expereince and training with succesful nonprofit organizations in nonprofit management and leadership developers. During their stay in Boston, the Fellows will develop an Action Plan, which will serve as a step-by-step roadmap to make their dreams of social change reality. After returning to Japan, the Fellows are expected to make a difference in their communities based on their Action Plans. The purpose of this program is for the fellows to share the knowledge and expereince they acquired in Boston with other women and socual sector leaders with Japan.
The Fish Family Foundation, operating in conjunction with other Boston-Based nonprofit organizations, is administering JWLI in partnership with Simmons College School of Management's Center for Gender in Orginizations.
In 2010, thanks to the generous funding provided by the U.S- Japan Foundation, JWLI expaned its vision to hold public forums with Japan. Held in 2010, 2012 and 2013, these public forums provided information about the nonprofit sector and the American approach to philanthropy with hopes to inspire women to take leadership roles. The Forum Program reached hundreds of Japanese citizens, advocating for their involvement in addressing the needs of Japanese society
Atsuko Toko Fish - Founder Atsuko Toko Fish retired as a U.S.-Japan cross-cultural consltant, and is currently involved with various social innovative movements as a philantropist. She is also a trustee of the Fish Family Foundation. In the wake of 3.11, Atsuko establsihed the Japanese Disaster Relif Fund - Boston (JDRFB) with The Boston Foundation (TBF) and the Japan Society Boston (JSB) to support immediate and mid-term recovery in the affected regions of Tohoku. Atsuko visted Tohuku several times after the disaster to assses and evaulte the needs of the people and community. In the two yearss the fund was active for, JDRFB raised approximately $1 million and distributed 24 grants to 19 orginzation and projects working directly in Tohuku. It has been reported by the grantees that JDRFB;s $1 million grants were leverged to have $6 million of economic impact.
The Fish Foundation (the Foundation) is a private family foundation in Boston. The Foundation was established in 1999 to formalize the family's tradition of responsibily to improve its community and to share the joy of giving with future generations. The Foundation currently focuses on aiding immigration, at-risk youth, and people struggling with mental health.
In 2007, the second year of JWLI, the Center for Garden in Organizations (CGO) at the Simmons School of Management in Boston became JWLI's institutional and academic partner. CGO was selected because of their unique expertise in the areas pertaining to gender and leadership,, its program located in the first business school in the world desigend specifically for women, and expertise in the area of nonprofit management.