Author: KEC Emi

木村 綾乃 Ayano Kimura

Born in Kyoto, Ayano Kimura began studying ballet at the age of nine. At fifteen, she moved alone to Milan, Italy, where she studied for two years and was named the top graduate of her class. She was also selected to perform in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Turin.

Before studying abroad, she had already won top prizes at international competitions in New York and numerous national competitions in Japan, also receiving the Tokai Television Award. In 2011, she joined The Washington Ballet. At the 2017 Benois de la Danse gala performance—often called the “Academy Awards of ballet”—she partnered with a nominee on the Bolshoi Theatre stage, earning coverage in Russian newspapers. With the company, she has danced mainly principal and soloist roles, including Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Princess Aurora in The Sleeping Beauty, performances at the Kennedy Center that were highly acclaimed. She also appears frequently as a guest artist throughout Japan, the United States, and Europe.

More recently, she has expanded her activities to teaching, training young dancers at The Washington School of Ballet. Her career and experiences have been featured in outlets such as Kyodo News, Yahoo! News, and Livedoor News.

The Washington Ballet
Interview in Kyodo News

山本 未生 Mio Yamamoto

Co-founder and Representative Director of World in Tohoku (WIT). She pursues her life vision of building “Change-making Communities”—ecosystems where people across borders, sectors, and generations can take steps to create positive social impact.

As a university student, she worked at a nonprofit in Malaysia and witnessed how gaps in strategy, networks, and funding kept organizations from achieving their missions. After graduating, she joined Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. in sales and marketing, while also supporting social entrepreneurs with funding and management through SVP Tokyo. In 2011, following the Great East Japan Earthquake, she co-founded WIA (now WIT), which connects business executives from Japan and the U.S., nonprofits, social enterprises, and young business leaders to collaborate through partnerships, mentoring, and board matching.

She has given numerous talks in both English and Japanese. She earned her B.A. in International Relations from the University of Tokyo in 2005 and her MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management in 2013. She currently lives in Boston.

World in Tohoku
WIT Facebook