Project Manager English

Edana Mai Almanza

I am bicultural (Japan / North America) and use my bilingual abilities for localization of various projects. I have created curriculum, built a school and founded multicultural initiatives.Through my experiences, I have found importance in communication. I volunteer my skills for my community often, I believe in the betterment of education and see myself as a global citizen. I put efficiency and quality as standard practice when working independently or as a team. Experience

SPEAK ENGLISH ACADEMY, YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN JAN 2015~ PRESENT Director My business as a bilingual and bicultural consultant eventually grew to become my own English school. Classes are taught using curriculum that I developed over the years focussing on pronunciation, phonics, sight words, and reading. Unlike other schools which focus on a set of basic phrases, we provide a bilingual learning environment, bridging the language they know with the language they are learning. Our goal is to guide students to become globally minded and confident in their communication skills. As the director, I supervise hiring and teacher training as well as content creation.

PARK AVE. YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN MAY 2014~PRESENT

Project Manager As one of the three founders of Family Foundations Ltd., my role was head project manager. I took the lead on the Park Ave. project. - a multicultural community outreach startup offering a creative space for people to share and exchange ideas, a new concept for rural Japan. My bicultural background and bilingual ability helped localize the various elements the team wanted to bring into Yamaguchi city. I took my experience as International Liaison and cultivated connections between the founders and local businesses, governments, and universities. As the project grew, I handed over the day to day operations to the department leads. My current role is as a consultant to the project, which is now become a recognized center for multicultural events and the standard for international exchange.

HATANO ENGLISH HOUSE, YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN SEP 2010 ~ OCT 2014 International Liaison This title is only for those who are completely bilingual and bicultural at a native level. I placed second best for their training program (PLS) and still hold the rank. My duties at this school were to translate in-house documents, accompany the owner to various meetings where interpretation was needed, teach English, create curriculum, keep records on student progress and materials needed for instruction, grade classwork and write daily reports to corporate. I was put in charge to coordinate the Japanese staff and the foreign teachers to work cooperatively as a team. My language skills put me as the lead competitive speech instructor, recording example tracts as the standard for the students to follow. Even after my time at HEH, I have been called in to train new teachers in PLS (international ESL teaching method) and HEH school standards. BILINGUAL BICULTURAL CONSULTANT, JAPAN 1997 ~ PRESENT Instructor, Translator, Interpreter. I began freelance work at 17. I had some earlier bookings for interpretation and tutoring, which turned into new opportunities. My class sizes increased and I was in higher demand for localization work which included translation of apps and websites, articles and religious documents. I also did some government work. which included a document detailing international cooperation between Japan, China, and South Korea during the SARS epidemic. In 2008 I expanded my reach to clients of all levels. The prefectural government of Yamaguchi hired me to train newly recruited ESL teachers in local customs and teaching styles, I was contracted to teach Japanese Air Force Pilots, and I did voice work notably for a prefecture-wide English emergency response system and community updates for a weekly live bilingual radio program on FMWassyoi. I also published a paper on Language Instruction with the Yamaguchi University press. For four years I was exclusively hired to teach at a prestigious English school called Hatano English House. In 2014 I took my training and years of experience and launched my own English school and multicultural community outreach projects. THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, DISNEYLAND, ANAHEIM CA FEB 2000 ~ NOV 2000 Cast Member, Store Operations Keeping the stores organized, the guests happy, and being part of the Magic. I am most proud of the work I did at Disney. I was well trained, received awards for guest service called guest compliments, and I was able to use my bilingual and bicultural ability to help visiting guests, especially from Japan, to communicate and have a good Disney experience. I was offered a Lead position when Disneyland expanded to Disneyland Resorts, however I had to decline because I had already accepted a job in Japan. 28606 Pacific Hwy S. Federal Way 98003, WA ******@*****.*** Education

ɾ9 years in Japan (Japanese Elementary and International Jr. High) ɾ4 years in Canada (Maxwell International Baha’i School) ɾ5 years in America (Cerritos College, Excelsior College, American Career College) ɾCollege Major:BS English Lit Minor: Psychology and Japanese

ɾCertification : Massage Therapy (CMT)

Skills & Training

ɾBilingual English / Japanese ɾBicultural North America / Japan ɾTranslation / Interpretation / Localization of products ɾBasic Mac / PC ɾDisney Training (Disney’s Approach to Quality Service) ɾCMT with CPR/ AED / First aid Qualifications

ɾOver 20 years professional interpretation, translation, localization experience ɾOver 30 years bicultural education and experience

ɾOver 5 years of voice work, Radio News and Speech Direction ɾ4 years of Project Management

Employment

ɾThe Walt Disney Company, Disneyland : Feb 2000~ Nov 2000 Cast Member Store Operations ɾBilingual Bicultural Consultant 1997~ Freelance Interpretation,Translation, Instructor (Eng / Jpn) ɾFamily Foundations Ltd : 2014 May ~ Present International Liaison and Project Manager

ɾSpeak English Academy: 2015 Jan ~ Present Director References

ɾFelicia Quesada -The Walt Disney Company and Disneyland Resorts Lead Store Operations Former Co-worker. *****************@********.***

ɾDr. Michael Higgins - Professor at Yamaguchi University (Retired) Co-published the ESL Sound based teaching report, and co-instructor for ELT training course. *******.*********@*****.*** ɾMr. Hatano - Owner of Hatano English House ****@******-***.*** ɾDJ Matt Medix - Radio Personality at FM Wassyoi ****@****************.*** 28606 Pacific Hwy S. Federal Way 98003, WA ******@*****.***