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Caroline Kennedy – renowned diplomat, author, and attorney – has rejoined the United States-Japan Foundation Board of Trustees.
Kennedy served as U.S. Ambassador to Japan from 2013 to 2017. In that position, she played a critical role in the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, culminating in the historic visits of President Barack Obama to Hiroshima and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Pearl Harbor.
She also advanced realignment of the U.S. forces in Okinawa, promoted women's empowerment, and increased student exchange. In November 2021, she was awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.
Following her posting in Tokyo, Kennedy joined the USJF board in 2017, leaving in 2022 to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Australia, a position she held until December 2024.
"We're thrilled to have Caroline back with us," said USJF Board Chair Lawrence K. Fish. "She was an extraordinary Trustee during her first term with the Foundation, and we're eager to tap into her unique knowledge and experience with both diplomacy and public service as we redefine our mission and expand our social impact."
"I am honored to rejoin the board of the U.S.-Japan Foundation," said Kennedy. "Few organizations have done so much to strengthen ties between the people of our two great democracies. I am excited about the chance to expand that work and engage new generations in solving our common challenges. A highlight of my past service was joining a group of the Foundation's U.S.-Japan Leadership Program Fellows on the cycling Shimanami Kaido along the Seto Inland Sea, so I am excited to see more of what we can do together."
As U.S. Ambassador to Australia, Kennedy advanced the causes of deepening American alliances in the Asia-Pacific. She focused on advancing the AUKUS partnership (between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and initiated the Quad Cancer Moonshot in which the U.S., Australia, Japan, and India will join forces to reduce cervical cancer across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Kennedy is Honorary President of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation. In that capacity, she presented the JFK Profile in Courage Award in 2023 to then-Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and then-South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in recognition of their historic rapprochement and bolstering of the trilateral alliance with the U.S.
Kennedy has served on numerous non-profit boards and spearheaded public-private partnerships. She was the Vice Chair of the NYC Fund for Public Schools from 2002-2013, where she worked to increase private sector support for New York City public schools with a focus on arts education, libraries and leadership training.
Her long-standing interest in education led her to establish the International Poetry Exchange program in 2014 bringing together students from Tokyo, Gotemba, Okinawa and New York in a spoken word program and competition. The program now also includes students from Korea, the Philippines and Australia, with Hiroshima Global Academy expected to join next year.
She has also served on the boards of the Asia Society, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Harvard Institute of Politics, and the Carnegie Corporation.
Kennedy is the author of 11 New York Times best-selling books on law, civics, and poetry.
The United States-Japan Foundation was established in 1980 with a mission of improving relations between the two countries. It has since given out more than $100 million in grants and oversees the U.S.-Japan Leadership Program with a network of 500 fellows from the two countries.
Kennedy joins on the USJF board: Chair Fish, Vice Chair Kohei Itoh, Wendy Cutler, Richard E. Dyck, Stan Kasten, Lin Kobayashi, James M. Kondo, Santa Ono, Kazuyo Sejima, Donna Tanoue, Keiko Tashiro, and Jeffrey W. Yabuki.
For questions, please contact: info@us-jf.org
