JETAANY is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization overseen by a Board of Directors.  To learn more about the role and responsibilities of the Board, please refer to our Bylaws (PDF Download).  Learn more about Board members by clicking on their names below.

Tony McCormac, Chairman of the Board
Sara Beinert
Joshua Safier
Evan Hyman
Shannan Spisak
Jennifer Olayon
Katrina Barnas
Megan Miller

Tony McCormac, Chairman of the Board
Tony McCormac lived in Mizunami City in Gifu-ken on the JET Program between 1998 and 1999.  Upon his return, he served as Treasurer for JETAA NY in the 2005 and 2006 fiscal years.  During his tenure as Treasurer, he assisted co-members of the program to earn 501(c)(3) status for the organization.  Tony and his co-board members created JETAA NY’s first board of directors in 2007.  Tony works for Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions as Director for International Business Development.  He is a graduate of Fordham University and lives in New York.

Sara Beinert
Sara Beinert is proud to be the only non-JET alum to serve on the JETAANY Board. Sara is a professional fundraiser, working as Major Gifts Officer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, a social justice and civil rights legal organization. Prior to joining CCR in August 2007, she was Manager of Individual Gifts at the Brennan Center for Justice. She began her career organizing special events at the Ms. Foundation for Women, rising to the position of Special Events Manager.

Sara holds a BA in Psychology and Sociology from the State University of New York at Geneseo (1998), and a Certificate in Fundraising from New York University. She serves on the Boards of WIMN: Women In Media and News, a media analysis and advocacy group working to increase women’s power in the public debate.

Joshua Safier

Joshua Safier is the Executive Director of Columbia Business School’s Jerome A. Chazen Institute of International Business and Columbia University’s Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER).  With fifteen years experience in the field of higher education, specifically leadership in international educational development, learning and exchange, Joshua collaborates with students, faculty, administrators and external organizations to further internationalize the Business School and University by developing educational programs that innovate and advance research, curriculum, extra-curricular and outreach activities. Prior to joining the Chazen Institute, Joshua was Senior Associate Director of the Center on Japanese Economy and Business at Columbia Business School.  In this role, he developed the Center’s research and program agenda to enhance understanding of the Japanese and Asia-Pacific economies, focusing on their business, financial, and managerial systems through research, teaching, public discourse, and policy analysis. From 1992 to 1996, Joshua was Program Manager at the Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) where he managed study abroad programs in Asia and Australia. Joshua holds an M.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures from the University of Kansas, and a B.A. in East Asian Studies from Oberlin College.  He is pursuing an Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration at Teachers College, focusing on “Leadership for International Learning and Exchange.”

Evan Hyman

Evan Hyman was a High School ALT in Osaka-Fu from 1995 to 1996 and a former JETAANY Officer (Secretary) in 1997-1998.  Evan has a unique marketing and business background, having worked with both U.S. and Japan-based companies primarily in the food industry.  Currently, Evan works for Mitsui Foods International, the main food subsidiary in the U.S. for Mitsui & Co., as General Manager, Marketing and Business Planning.  Prior to Mitsui Foods, Evan held brand management, marketing and business development positions of increasing responsibility at Pepperidge Farm (Campbell Soup Company), Schick-Wilkinson Sword (Energizer), Daymon Worldwide, McNeil Nutritionals (Johnson & Johnson) and Mitsubishi International Corporation.  Evan has a BA from Union College in East Asian Studies/Political Science and an MBA in marketing and strategy from the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester.  Evan lives in New Jersey with his wife and two small daughters.

Shannan Spisak

Shannan currently works as a Program Officer at the Institute of International Education, continuing her passion for international exchange, which began with her participation in the JET Programme as a “One Shot” ALT at multiple Kawasaki-city JHSs in Kanagawa-ken from 1996-98.

Upon her return from Japan, Shannan served as President of the JET Alumni Association NY Chapter (US 2) from 2002-2005 and then in the position of JETAA USA Country Representative from 2006-08.  Her involvement in JETAA includes organization of the Eastern Regional Conference (2001), participation in National Conferences in Seattle (2003), and DC (2004), as well as participation at the International Conference in Vancouver (2002), and host chapter of the International Conference in NYC (2004).  As a Country Representative, she organized and facilitated the 2007 National Conference in Atlanta, GA and the 2008 National Conference in Seattle, WA in addition to participating in the JETAA International Meetings in Sydney, Australia (2006) and Toronto, Canada (2007).

In her role as Country Representative, Shannan coordinated communication between 19 US Chapters and has strengthened the support network for smaller chapters / sub-chapters while also reviving the Kintetsu Annual Essay Contest (themed to represent the 20th Anniversary of the JET Programme), which resulted in a special publication for promotion of the JET Programme.
She was invited as the U.S. representative to speak at the Returning JETs Conference in Yokohama in March 2005, and as guest speaker at the 2008 JETAA Canada National Conference.  She is a member of the original team of JETAA NY officers to establish 501c3 status for the organization and has served as the Database Manager since 2005.

Shannan earned an M.A. in International Educational Development from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a B.F.A. in dance performance from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.  She currently lives in Harlem with her long-time Significant Other, Todd, and their rescued cat, Percy.

Jennifer Olayon

Jennifer Olayon is a senior program officer at Columbia Business School’s Center on Japanese Economy and Business, where she is responsible for the planning and implementation of business, finance, and policy-oriented programs. From April 2005-March 2007, she served as elected president of the JETAA New York Chapter, which was recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2007. She was an ALT in Nagasaki prefecture from 1999 to 2000 before heading north to Kyoto to lend her marketing and PR skills to her host mother’s New England baking school and café business, Cafe Matsunosuke. Jennifer started her post-JET career as a regional director for PAX-Program of Academic Exchange, a youth exchange program, and as an outreach coordinator for Asian Diversity, Inc., where she was responsible for organizing and implementing two job fairs and one conference attended by thousands of job seekers, 150 conference participants, and over 80 corporations. Jennifer earned her BA from the University of Connecticut in 1999.

Katrina Barnas
Katrina Barnas is a senior program manager at the Jerome A. Chazen Institute of International Business at Columbia Business School where she manages international study tours for MBA students as well the editorial content and development of the Chazen Web Journal of International Business. She works closely with administration, faculty and students to expand international programming at the School. Katrina was an ALT in Choshi-shi, Chiba-ken from 2001-2002. Following her time on the JET Programme, she remained in Japan as a writer and editor for Toyota Motor Corporation in their Overseas Marketing Division until 2003. Upon her return to NY, Katrina served as Vice President of the NY chapter of the JET Alumni Association from 2005-2007. She is also an active volunteer for two New York City based non-profits, Big Apple Greeter and Open House New York.

Katrina has a BSJ from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University with a joint major in History and an MPA from Columbia ’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Megan Miller

Originally from Philadelphia, Megan graduated from Lehigh University in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and a Minor in Writing. Upon graduation she participated in the JET Program as an ALT for two years in the suburbs of Kobe. During that time she created Volunteer Special Interest Group (VSIG) for AJET and also served in various roles for the Hyogo AJET group. After returning to the US, Megan took an Engineering position at a property insurance company in Washington, DC. From there she has continued in the commercial insurance industry, moving from Engineering to Construction Underwriting and from DC to New York City.

Megan has been involved with the Philadelphia, DC, and New York Chapters of JETAA since her return from Japan. She has been serving as an executive officer in New York for the past two years. Outside of work and JETAA activities, Megan also started her own small non-profit corporation, Charity Chic, which raises money for impoverished children in Africa. Her most recent campaign helped raise $27,000 for a community center in Zambia that will be built this summer.

Megan is currently employed at Swiss Re, a global reinsurance company, and is also pursuing her MBA at NYU. She lives with her fiancé, Il Sun Yoo, in Long Island City.