Waka T. Brown was the first American born in her family. She is a Stanford graduate with a master's degree in secondary education. She's currently an instructor at the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), authoring curriculum on several international topics and winning the Association for Asian Studies' national Franklin R. Buchanan Prize. She's also been awarded the United States?Japan Foundation and EngageAsia's national 2019 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award for her groundbreaking endeavors in teaching about US-Japan relations to high school students in Japan and promoting cultural exchange awareness. She lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.