Dean

Tamaki has worked with Concordia Language Villages since 2009 and has served as our Dean for Japanese programming during the second half of the summer since 2016. He holds a bachelor’s in East Asian Studies and Psychology from The College of William & Mary and a master’s in Japanese Linguistics from the University of Hawaii. During the school year Tamaki works full time as a Japanese language immersion teacher at a public elementary school in his home state of Virginia.

Kaylene Hideko Ruwart is co-dean of Mori no Ike (first half), the Japanese Language Village. Hideko started learning Japanese in the late 90s armed with a dictionary, highlighters and a whole lot of Sailor Moon songs. Through the years, she has been a villager, counselor, credit teacher, credit facilitator and assistant dean, as well as the unofficial Official Graphic Designer for Mori (and creator of mascot Kouta). Outside of the Concordia Language Villages, she works for college readiness programs AVID and TRIO Upward Bound and occasionally does graphic design and illustration work. When not working, she’s usually found reading sci fi-fantasy novels, writing one or drinking tea.

Program Leader

Kenia Akari Hara is the Lead Teacher for Mori no Ike's fall/spring virtual high school credit program. Akari first joined Concordia Language Villages in 2013 as a Credit Teacher and became Lead Teacher in January 2022. As a D.C.-raised global citizen with roots in Cuba and Spain and her heart in Japan, race, identity and hybridity have been a constant point of interest. She has a passion for teaching Japanese to students of all ages as a fun, fascinating and complex language and culture.

Program Leader

Shouya 翔也 (he/they) is currently a student of Japanese and Religion at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn. They spend the few weeks of the year that they aren't in Minnesota in New Jersey with their family and many cats. The welcoming camp culture he experienced as a villager inspired him to grow into a leader striving to translate that same compassion through a virtual setting.

Program Leader

Magda Umi Fuller is a former El Lago del Bosque villager of 10 years and has worked at Mori no Ike since 2020, most recently as the two-week activity facilitator. She's excited to be involved with Concordia Language Villages again after seven years of living and working in Kanazawa, Japan. When she's not at camp, she enjoys visiting offbeat tourist traps, collecting strange GoogleMaps reviews and meeting new dogs.