Jonathan Yaffe Principal

Jonathan Yaffe was raised in California, where his interests bridged both literature and science. He is a graduate of one of the top universities in the U.S., the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied Cognitive Neuroscience and Cognitive Education. Mr. Yaffe is also a published poet, founded the UC Berkeley Poetry Slam, and has competed in many international poetry competitions. Prior to his role of principal at KAIS International School, he taught poetry at UC Berkeley in California and UPTC University in Colombia, and was most recently the Academic Coordinator at Kikokushijo Academy. Jonathan speaks four languages and has been to over sixty countries.

Charles Knudsen Headmaster

Charles Knudsen has been living and teaching in Japan for over ten years. He served as the Head of Curriculum Development of the returnee program at Shibuya Junior and Senior High School (Shibu Shibu) until April, 2005. He is a classical pianist and the author of an English language text, Stranger than Fiction, published by Naundo. Mr. Knudsen is the father of two boys, Leo and Andy, and resides in Tokyo. In his spare time, Mr. Knudsen enjoys playing the piano and reading. Mr. Knudsen is also the principal at Kikokushijo Academy.

Thomas House Assistant Academic Coordinator

Thomas House was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He studied at Southern Illinois University, where he majored in Secondary English Education. Mr. House taught at a local high school in rural southern Illinois before moving to Tokyo three years ago. He enjoys designing multidisciplinary curriculum and is an avid baseball player.

Bryan Sanders History Specialist

Bryan Sanders has been a history teacher in high schools in both Japan as well as his native Los Angeles, California. He holds degrees in education and social studies from California State University Northridge and has coached a champion high school volleyball team. He has been working with young people for over 9 years as a counselor, a lifeguard, and a teacher. Bryan is an avid guitar player and composer and plays in a band.

Anahita Riazi Foundations Program

Anahita Riazi was born in Iran and immigrated to the US at the age of 5. She was raised in Southern California before heading to Montreal, Canada for her university studies. She is a graduate of linguistics from McGill, one of Canada's top universities. From there, she went on to work as a speech aide to children with language difficulties and as a rehabilitation assistant to adults who suffered from post-stroke aphasia. Anahita loves traveling, immersing herself in different cultures and exploring cities. She has also lived in New York and loves her new life as a teacher in Japan.

David Zikovitz Music and English Teacher

Karryn Miller Yoga Teacher

Karryn Miller is originally from New Zealand and first came to yoga through her passion for gymnastics--a sport she started teaching to children when she was only 13 years old. She attained her Hatha yoga teaching certification in Tokyo in 2007 and since then has been teaching yoga to all ages throughout the city. She teaches regular classes at Sun & Moon Yoga in Meguro, jointly runs Alive Yoga studio in Yoyogi-Uehara, and developed the KAIS Yoga Program.

Joe-Joe Moran-Douglas Grammar Coordinator

Joe-Joe Moran-Douglas was born and raised in England. Having acquired a high level of ability in French and Spanish, he matriculated into the University of Oxford and graduated with a degree in Japanese Studies and Classical East Asian Literature. During this time, Joe-Joe spent one year at Tokyo's Sophia University as a Japanese Government Scholar where he focused on language study. In addition, Joe-Joe has had articles published in the UK's top selling newspaper, 'The Sun'. In his free time, Joe-Joe enjoys reading and making music.

Alison Bell Teacher

Alison is originally from Canterbury, in the South-East of England. She is a graduate of the University of Oxford, one of the world's top-three universities, where she read Japanology and Japanese literature. Whilst at Oxford, Alison spent one year studying at Kanazawa University, and since she is well versed in Japanese, she likes to spend her free time reading classical Japanese literature. Her other hobbies include shopping, watching films, and visiting art galleries. Although she has a great fondness for Japanese culture, like most English people, she is highly knowledgeable when it comes to the subject of tea. Aside from teaching, Alison has previously worked with children as a volunteer-assistant for local youth-theatre productions.

Thomas Lee Teacher/Literature Programs

Thomas Lee was born and raised in Canada. He attended McMaster University where he studied child development, memory, and learning. Thomas has worked for the John Lee Learning Center in Canada teaching children of all ages. Mr. Lee also has five years of experience teaching and tutoring children in Japan. Mr. Lee speaks several languages, including French and Korean. He is in training to become a World Chess Champion.

Joshua Barry SAT Advisor

Joshua Barry was born and raised in Seattle, Washington where he studied literature at Western Washington University. Mr. Barry has more than seven years of experience teaching returnees at various language learning centers in Japan. Mr. Barry has taught at numerous schools throughout Japan, including Tokyo University of Agriculture and Shoyo High school. In his spare time, Mr. Barry enjoys reading and traveling around Japan. Mr. Barry is also the Vice-Principal at Kikokushijo Academy.