KJEC Leadership Team
KJEC is led by dedicated volunteers who believe in the organization’s mission and are passionate about creating international and experiential education opportunities for all youth.
core leadership
Mathew Goldberg
Founder and Executive Director
Mat Goldberg, LSW is a HUD-VASH Social Worker at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at the West Los Angeles VA and is the Executive Director of KJEC Inc. Mat earned his Master of Social Work (MSW) with a specialization in behavioral mental health from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, while an East-West Center Graduate Degree Fellow. Before graduate school, Mat was Fulbright grantee and taught English in South Korea. For fun Mat enjoys hiking, traveling, and playing board games.
Gustavo Endara
Program Director, KJEC Experience
Born in Glendale California, He currently works in Japan at the Fukui Department of Education as an Elementary Assistant Language Teacher and previously worked as a high school English teacher for the JET (Japan Exchange & Teaching) Program from 2015 to 2018. Gustavo first volunteered with KJEC as a teacher in 2017 and was selected to be the Assistant Director in 2018. Gustavo graduated from Colorado State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish.
Over his life Gustavo has been fortunate enough to travel all over Latin America and Asia, he finds travel to be his first love and education to be his second, and is excited at KJEC to merge his passions.
Jordan Ecker
Program Coordinator, KJEC Institute
Jordan Ecker grew up all over the United States, Germany, and Korea as the daughter of a career soldier. She currently works as a World History teacher and volleyball coach at Shattuck-St.Mary’s School, a boarding school known for its college preparatory curriculum and seven Centers of Excellence, including soccer and hockey. She has a Master of Arts in Teaching from Brown University and bachelors degrees in English and Global Studies respectively from the University of Minnesota.
Also noteworthy, Jordan was a Fulbright grantee that taught in Sacheon, South Korea for a year and later moved to Austria to teach through the Austrian-American Educational Commission. For fun, Jordan really enjoys trying new restaurants and traveling. She is an avid runner and skier, and she even has a sailing license.
Annabel Chung
Program Coordinator, KJEC Experience
From her first taste of the unknown at the age of 4, Annabel grew into an avid seeker of diverse experiences. During her university years, she melded her passions into a degree in chemistry, English & comparative literature, and the Japanese language. Her career took a similar cross-discipline–and cross-border–journey as she went from operating laboratory instruments to her current endeavor of teaching English in South Korea.
Having been a scholarship recipient of intercultural exchange programs in both Korea and Japan, she’s eager to take on a more active, leading role and start creating new experiences with KJEC. When not in work mode, Annabel can be found researching skincare ingredients or trying to win the affections of alley cats.
KJEC INTERNS
Sihyeon (Shawn) Kim
2022 Intern
Sihyeon Kim, often called Shawn, is a student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. He was born and raised in Korea and moved to Hawaii for college a few years ago. He currently majors in Economics, but is considering switching to Marketing. He enjoys playing sports and socializing.
Bobby Kincaid
2021 Intern
Bobby Kincaid is a recent graduate with a BA in International Relations from American University in Washington D.C. He grew up north of Chicago and for fun enjoys playing soccer, cooking, watching Netflix, and practicing his Chinese language skills. He traveled to China and Taiwan previously and in the future hopes to work in East Asia.
KJEC INSTITUTE VOLUNTEERS
Teacher Volunteers and Classroom Assistants
Jing ‘Crystal’ Zhong
Jing is a PhD candidate in the Department of Second Language Studies at the University of Hawaii. She was born and raised in Guangdong, China. Her research interests include second and third language acquisition. She has taught academic English at the English Language Institute for a few years, and worked as a tutor at the Writing Center of the University. She now works as a tutor at the Chinese Language Flagship Program. Outside of work, she is passionate about meeting facilitation, hiking, and snorkeling.
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Skyler Smela
Skyler is a graduate assistant at the National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLRC) and Managing Editor of the academic journal Language Learning & Technology. They are currently an MA student in the Department of Education with a focus on Japanese Language Education. Skyler previously received a BA in Japanese and International Relations from Beloit College (WI, USA). They spent 5 years in Japan as an Assistant Language Teacher on the JET Program and IT Manager in Tokyo. Skyler is interested in researching the intersection of second language pedagogy and technology with a focus on gamified learning, corpus studies, VR for education, and diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) in the language classroom.
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2d Lt Christopher Mark Mante Meno
Christopher is currently a Master’s student, in the Asian Studies Department, pursuing a degree in Asian International Affairs. He is a Graduate Degree Fellow of the East West Center. With Dr. Tarcissius Kabutaulaka of the Center for Pacific Island Studies, Lt Meno studies the engagement of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in Oceania. In the East West Center, Mark is a planning intern for the East West Center Community Building Institute. Upon completing his degree this coming fall semester, Lt Meno will attend pilot training in presumably Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas. Lt Meno was born from a Filipino mother and a Chamorro father, who is a retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel. He is a local from here, Oahu, Hawaii, and a proud graduate of Moanalua High School, Class of 2017; and of the United States Air Force Academy, Class of 2021 (BS). He enjoys surfing, reading, and enjoying ono grindz before he has to go back to the mainland.
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Alex Coulston
Alex is from Los Angeles, California and is currently finishing up his Masters Degree in Second Language Studies. In the past, he has worked for many years in cultural exchange and international cooperation between the U.S. and Asia. In his free time, Alex loves learning languages, swimming, food, traveling, and DJing. He has also lived in Singapore and China in addition to Hawaii. Alex is very excited to be a part of the KJEC Program this summer and is looking forward to meeting all of the participants!
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Carolyn Siegman
Carolyn is currently a graduate student at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa where she is pursuing a PhD in Linguistics. Her academic interests include Korean, bilingualism, language learning, and sound patterns in language. Carolyn lived and worked in South Korea for one year as an English teacher and thoroughly enjoyed her time there, so she’s excited to now help students practice English on an exchange trip. Though she’s originally from the state of Wisconsin, she has enjoyed living in Hawaii since August of 2020. In her free time, she enjoys reading and drawing, as well as outdoor activities like hiking and kayaking.
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Leslie Pyo
Leslie is a writer and artist. In college, she studied visual art and was the Lead Teaching Assistant for a research writing class. She’s worked as the Editor of community publications in North Carolina and the Communications Manager for Aloha Harvest, a social impact nonprofit here on O’ahu. She is the illustrator of two picture books published by Shout Mouse Press, a nonprofit that platforms underrepresented voices. Her father immigrated to the U.S. after growing up in Gwangju, South Korea, but she grew up speaking only English and is currently learning Korean! She loves nature, animals, and creative expression.
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Krissa Mae Guevarra
Krissa is in her last year of her M.A in Second Language Studies. Teaching and tutoring languages has always been her passion, and she looks forward to volunteering in this program.
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KJEC EXPERIENCE
VOLUNTEER TEACHERS
To view the schools participating in the Korea Japan English Camp please click here or if interested in getting more involved please contact us
2019
- Anna Yamauro
- Hana Yi
- JongHee “Bell” Lee
- Lu-ise Hattingh
- Margaret Lewellen,
- Shibata Chika,
- YeoJin Jang
- Yumiko Maekawa
2018
- Akira Kazarimura
- Ayumi Tanaka
- Ji Hye Choi
- Jordan Ecker
- Noriko Hayashi
- Simone Hutchings
- Yongki Kwon
2017
- Hannah Shannon
- Akira Kazarimura
- Gustavo Endara
- Mi Song Kim
- Narae Lee
- Noriko Hayashi
- Shannon Coombs
- Takami Yamaguchi
Email us at
KJECprograms@gmail.com
About us
KJEC is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to providing Korean and Japanese students with limited resources experiential and international education learning opportunities to help foster future global leaders.