​VOTE TODAY in Harvard 2020 Election from Japan!

Dear Harvard alumni in Japan,

Please vote! The Harvard Board of Overseers and Harvard Alumni Association Directors election is underway through August 18th.  These contests can be decided by fewer than ten votes, so your vote makes a difference.

Please vote with your Unique ID in the email you received July 1 from Harvard 2020 Elections , titled "Vote today in Harvard's elections." You can also use the paper ballots that you received via physical mail.  (If you cannot find either, please contact harvard@electionservicescorp.com to retrieve your voter ID)

We would like to highlight Miki Uchida Tsusaka (’88 HBS, ’84 Harvard College) as our only international candidate for Overseer (after being nominated from 300 candidates) and our first ever candidate running from Japan.

Post her Harvard College degree, Miki started her career in 1984 in Tokyo with the Boston Consulting Group, a management consulting firm. After HBS and 20 years with her firm in NY, Miki returned to BCG Japan in 2008 to support local and international clients.  She has been an active voice in communicating the great things our Japan and Harvard grads have done in various circles including the World Economic Forum in Davos for 10 years as a delegate.

Miki has also promoted Harvard in Japan to student candidates, mentored graduates, and supported the creation of the HBS Japan Fellowship Fund which is helping financially needy students from Japan.

Please see her video statement here on LinkedIn addressing her classmates.

More international candidates:
In addition to Miki, please consider the internationally engaged candidates for the Harvard Alumni Association and welcome your support. The candidates are:

Overseer:
Susan Novick NY, engaged globally with alumni as HAA President 2018-19
David Eun, NY and Seoul, South Korea

Elected Director:
Sajida Shroff Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Santiago Creuheras Mexico City, Mexico
Kelsey Trey Leonard Ontario, Canada

Please also see the HBS Club of Japan's announcement below:

HBS日本同窓会の皆様、(English follows after Japanese)

昨日より、ハーバード大学監督理事会の選挙が始まりました。是非皆様に、津坂美樹さん（HBS　88年卒、ハーバード大学84年卒 Miki Uchida Tsusaka  に一票を投じていただきたく、このメールを差し上げております。昨日メールにより送られてきたリンクに加え、後日郵便で送られる書類でも8月18日まで投票が可能です。

今年300人から選考された8人の最終候補者のうち、アメリカ以外の国に在住する候補者は津坂さんだけです。もし津坂さんが当選すれば、ハーバード大学監督理事会に、初めて日本からの理事が参加することになります。

グローバル化は確実に社会を変えています。特にコロナ感染危機で、いかに相互依存性の高い世界で我々が生きているかということを再確認することになりました。ハーバード大学の監督理事会においても、より多様な声が反映される体制を構築する必要があります。日本にはアメリカ以外で世界で3番目に多くのハーバード卒業生が在住しています。そのうち約半分がHBSの卒業生です。卒業生の投票率は10%と低いため、皆様の一票が大きく結果を左右することになります。実際、入落選は一桁の票数の違いで決まることがほとんどです。

今年の選挙は特にアメリカ人以外の候補者にとっては苦戦が予想されています。The Harvard Forwardというグループが更に5人の候補者を推薦しており、アメリカ中心的なアプローチを擁護しようとしています。ハーバード卒業生の20％がアメリカ以外の国に在住しているのにも関わらず、今年の選挙結果によっては、アメリカ人以外の理事が選出されない可能性も否定できません。

国際コミュニティの声をハーバード大学に反映させなければならないと私は強く確信しています。ビジネス、政治、アカデミア、文化など多くの分野に深く関わる国際コミュニティはハーバードに多くの貢献をすることができるはずです。ハーバード同窓会組織の中でも、アメリカ以外の国の同窓会は　’One Harvard" として団結しています。例えば、我々が提唱した　‘Innovative public service initiatives”は　アメリカ国内の同窓会組織にも導入されました。

自国中心主義の台頭に加え、感染による物理的な国境封鎖が続く今日こそ、私達はハーバードがグローバールコミュニティに貢献できる大学にしていかなければなりません。そのために、津坂さんに投票しましょう。あなたの一票がこれからのハーバードを変えることになります。

HBS日本同窓会　会長
安渕聖司

追伸
津坂さんに関する情報を加えます。ご質問のある方は上記のメールアドレスにて津坂さんご自身にご連絡なさっても結構です。

•ハーバード大学卒業後、1984年に東京にてBCG入社。その後HBSを経てニューヨークで20年間勤務した後、2008年に再びBCG東京に転勤となる。
•この10年はダボスの世界経済フォーラムにBCG代表団として参加。日本におけるHBS卒業生の活躍などを世界に向けて発信している。
•HBSの様々な活動に積極的に参加している。HBS日本人学生向け奨学金基金の設立にも貢献。
•コロナ後の世界でハーバードが直面する問題の解決にはビジネスリーダーの視点も必要。学生、スタッフ、教授等にとって最良の環境、健全な財政や投資戦略、多様性と包括性の推進、最先端のイノベーションの推進、などが特に重要なイシューであると考える。

追伸２
監督理事会の他にHarvard Alumni AssociationのElected Directors の選挙も同時に行われます。以下の二人がアメリカ人以外の候補者です。こちらの候補者へのサポートもお願いします。The candidates for HAA Elected Directors are Sajida Shroff EdM ’95, Dubai, and Santiago Creuheras ALM’00, ALM’01, Mexico City

Dear HBS Alumni in Japan,

I write today to ask for your support of Miki Uchida Tsusaka (’88 HBS, ’84 Harvard College) and her candidacy for the Harvard Board of Overseers and hope you vote with this link you have all received on July 1st; a paper ballot, too are coming your way and both are due August 18th.

Among the overseer candidates this year, Miki is the only candidate (and on the recommended slate by the board of 8, after screening 300 candidates), based outside of the United States. If elected, she will be the first ever Japan-based candidate to join the Harvard Board of Overseers.

Globalization is an undeniable reality and COVID-19 has been a reminder that we live in a closely inter-connected world.  It is time for Harvard to reflect more diverse voices in its governance.  We as HBS grads based in Japan, have the third largest number of Harvard graduates outside of the US; additionally, we, the HBS Japan alumni, comprise close to 50% of the Japan alumni. Further, every election, only 10% of alumni vote…. so, we are thus in a great position to make a real difference. These elections can often be decided by fewer than ten votes, so your vote will count!

This year is an especially challenging year for International candidates. The Harvard Forward coalition has nominated five additional US based candidates for the Overseers election and the Diverse Harvard coalition appears to have taken a US centric approach to candidate endorsement. There is a real risk that NO INTERNATIONAL CANDIDATES will be elected, even though 20 percent of Harvard Alumni live outside the US.

I strongly believe our international community needs to have a voice with Harvard. We bring to a diverse voice from the communities in which we live in across business, academia, culture, and politics. Within the Harvard Alumni Association, our international clubs are the models for “One Harvard” Clubs, including alumni from all schools, and our innovative public service initiatives are, in fact, adopted by US based clubs.

At a time when countries and states have closed their borders, let’s support Harvard as it continues to serve the global community. Please vote – you have about six weeks to　make a difference!

Sincerely yours,

Seiji Yasubuchi ,
President, HBS Club of Japan

PS:  If you’d like to learn more about Miki Tsusaka, here are a few more bullet points; her email is listed above and happy to connect directly with any of you.

•After graduating from Harvard University, Miki started her career in 1984 in Japan with BCG. After HBS and a 20 year career in New York, Miki returned to BCG Japan in 2008.
•Miki has been BCG’s delegate for the World Economic Forum in Davos for 10 years, where she has been an active voice in communicating the great things our Japan and HBS grads have done.
•Miki has actively promoted HBS in Japan to potential student candidates, and actively supported the creation of the HBS Japan Fellowship Fund which is helping financially needy students from Japan attend the school.
•She believes the issues Harvard is struggling with post COVID are ripe for business leaders too.  Such issues include: ensuring an extraordinary experience for Harvard’s students/faculty/administration; making sound financial decisions, investment choices; accelerating diversity and inclusion; and remaining at the leading edge of innovation.

PPS: In addition to Miki, I would also like to draw your attention to the international candidates for the Harvard Alumni Association and welcome your support. The candidates for HAA Elected Directors are Sajida Shroff EdM ’95, Dubai, and Santiago Creuheras ALM’00, ALM’01, Mexico City

HBS Club of Japan  

Minami Azabu, Minatoku, Tokyo