I was awarded as a Dianna Davis Spencer Fellow of 2018 (from the Global Good Fund), and will be working on job creation for people over 50 years old in the Northeastern region in the USA through this fellowship program. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to grow our effort to have positive impacts on the elders.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitudes to all the elders in the world. I truly believe that elders have been giving me these wonderful opportunities to learn and grow to pursue my passion and serve others. With my modest upbringing as a woman in a rural part of Japan, I have never imagined to be able to obtain advanced degrees in the US, starting up a non profit organization, experiencing fellowships in Harvard University, Rockefeller, and UCSF, been surrounded by socially conscious colleagues and friends, and most importantly to be engaged with what I love to do. None of these could have been possible without the elders whom I have (and have not) encountered in my life.

I had a chance to reflect my life and been reminded the three things that my grandmother has taught me. I will always keep these principles in my mind as we move forward our work through Ibasho.
1. Finding my own passion and take concrete action to make it happen
2. Always choose the right things to do
3. Diligently work to serve others

My grandmother was a wise women, and I hope that her spirit still lives through my life…

Emi Kiyota