Leadership Team
Andrew Silberman
Andrew Silberman is a co-founder of the Japan America Society of San Diego and brings more than three decades of cross-cultural leadership development experience to the organization. In 1992, he co-founded AMT Group in Tokyo, where he leads a team of multinational facilitators whose mission is "Developing Global Thinkers." His clients include managers and executives from leading multinational firms across Asia and the United States. A recognized authority on what he calls Global Readiness®, Andrew is the author of the Get a G.R.I.P.® book series — beginning with Andrew's Ax Guide to Global Readiness® (2012; second edition, Enlightening Press, 2017), followed by Get a G.R.I.P. on Presentations (2019) and Get a G.R.I.P. on Remote Work (2020) — and co-hosts the podcast Remote Work Companion, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, and other major platforms.
Born in Chicago and raised in Saratoga, California, Andrew has lived in Mexico, Spain, Hawai'i, Monterey, and San Diego, before relocating to Tokyo in 1992 — a personal trajectory that mirrors the bilingual, bicultural bridge JASSD seeks to build between San Diego and Japan. He holds an MBA in International Management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies (1988, with distinction) and an A.B. in Political Economy of Industrial Societies (PEIS) from the University of California, Berkeley (1984).
PRESIDENT
D’juan Mercado
D'Juan Mercado is a co-founder of the Japan America Society of San Diego, where he brings hands-on experience from one of the most established Japan America Societies in the country together with a public policy and federal acquisition background. He currently serves as a Contract Specialist with the Naval Acquisition Development Program (NADP) at the Naval Acquisition Career Center in the San Diego Metropolitan Area, the federal civilian career-development pipeline for the Department of the Navy's contracting workforce, a role that places him at the intersection of San Diego's defense ecosystem and the U.S. Navy's mission in the Pacific. Prior to relocating to San Diego, D'Juan served as Program Coordinator at the Japan Society of Northern California, where he developed direct working knowledge of how a thriving Japan America Society organizes programming, member engagement, and public outreach.
D'Juan's professional path reflects a sustained commitment to public service and global affairs. He has served as a Government Affairs Intern with the Partnership for Public Service and as Staff Assistance to the Congressional Relations Team at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, both in Washington, D.C., giving him direct exposure to federal policymaking, public-sector leadership development, and U.S. international engagement. He holds a Master's degree in Public Policy Analysis from George Mason University, where he also earned his Bachelor of Arts in International and Global Studies.
VICE PRESIDENT
Yasue Watanabe
Yasue Watanabe brings to the Japan America Society of San Diego a deep expertise in cross-cultural leadership development and executive coaching, animated by a personal mission to "help struggling yet passionate professionals reach break-through performance, especially in global settings." A learning facilitator and coach with a particular focus on communication impact in professional settings, Yasue spent seven formative years at AMC Entertainment International, Inc. before transitioning to her current work. She joined AMC as an assistant to two executive vice presidents dispatched from headquarters to establish and run the company's Japanese branch and theatres, and went on to serve under two successive presidents of AMC Entertainment's Japanese subsidiary, rising to become the first female director of the Fortune 1000 subsidiary.
A native Japanese speaker who also facilitates in English, Yasue holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Sanno University. Her coaching credentials include certifications in DiSC®, Everything DiSC®, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, along with completion of the 116-hour CTI Co-Active coaching course and the Organization & Relationship Systems Coaching (ORSC) program in California. Her bicultural fluency and her track record of breaking through in a multinational corporate environment make her a natural contributor to JASSD's mission of bridging the San Diego–Japan business community.
Treasurer
Jeff Shimamoto
Jeff Shimamoto is a co-founder of the Japan America Society of San Diego and a bilingual (English/Japanese) attorney and business leader with more than twenty-five years bridging legal strategy, international business, and corporate communications across the United States and Japan. He currently serves as General Counsel & Chief Communications Officer at Day-Lee Foods, the North American subsidiary of NH Foods Ltd. (Nippon Ham Group), where he leads legal affairs, strategic communications, and corporate governance.
Jeff is admitted to practice law in California and New York and holds the SHRM-SCP certification in human resources leadership. His service to the U.S.–Japan business and cultural community spans more than two decades and includes the Board of Governors of the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ACCJ), the Board of Directors of the Japan America Society of Southern California (JASSC), and his current role as a co-founder of the Japan America Society of San Diego. That trajectory, built across Tokyo, Los Angeles, and now San Diego, and across legal, corporate, and civic institutions on both sides of the Pacific, places him squarely in the bilingual, bicultural tradition JASSD exists to advance.
Secretary