Liam Smith

While earning a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Georgia, I spent a few years working with
print media before setting my sights on returning to Japan where I’d been a foreign exchange student in high school.  I ended
up spending nearly two decades in Japan, teaching, coaching other teachers, working in publishing to source authors, becoming
a manager and a leader, as well as making (and loosing) dear friends and loves.  The move back to where I grew up in a  segregated,
homophobic and poverty stricken area challenged truths I thought I’d discovered throughout adulthood.

I’ve had to learn to recover from the feeling of not being seen and to take ownership of my own vision.  I’ve found strength in
approaching life from my trademark stance of Love, Light, Peace and Soul!  This stance makes it possible for me to be of assistance
to people in various stations who want to outline, focus on and achieve their goals.  As an interpreter and cultural liaison, I’ve been
integral to expatriate managers who lead culturally diverse teams and attain internally recognized certification and accreditations.
As a manager, I have led an HR/Recruiting department that sourced foreign language teachers for local schools in Yokohama, Japan
and provided coaching to assist those teachers in reaching their full potential.

Life has taught me the importance of feeling good every day and the impact feeling good has on everything that comes. I’ve
made the simple choice to feel good my most important personal goal.  In my professional life, my aim is expansion to share
my love for organizing, creating pathways for continual improvement and cooperative spirits. I have a deep love and appreciation
for Japanese language and culture as well as African djembe and Japanese drum, among other hobbies. 

Love, Light, Peace and Soul!