Dr. Misumi Sadler is an associate professor of Japanese Linguistics and Pedagogy and coordinates the Japanese Language Program at the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research areas are grammar-pragmatics interface, interactional linguistics, language change, pedagogical grammar, and teaching Japanese as a foreign language. She received her doctorate from University of Arizona in 2002. Her works includes: Grammar in use across time and space: Deconstructing the Japanese “dative subject” construction (John Benjamins, 2007); “Co-constructing intercultural views and identities in a teaching methods class” (Proceedings of the fourth International Conference on the Development and Assessment of Intercultural Competence, 2014) and many others.
Contact Information: sadlerm@illinois.edu
Yuchia Chang joined CEAPS as our Associate Director in May 2016. She works with our Director and staff to plan and manage various aspects of CEAPS programs and collaborative initiatives. Yuchia is an arts management professional with over 15 years of experience as an administrator, curator, and project manager in the non-profit and higher-education settings. She has taught arts entrepreneurship at Columbia College Chicago, and has served on several arts review panels for the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois.
Contact Information: yuchia@illinois.edu
Mike is a multicultural professional with extensive experience in education, business, and international affairs. Before joining CEAPS, he served as an international adviser at the United Nations in New York, and director of student and academic affairs at private and public schools in Japan and Taiwan. Mike received his MS in Global Affairs from New York University, and PhD in Global Studies in Education at the University of Illinois. Mike also holds an MBA degree and has studied abroad at the University of Helsinki in Finland.
Contact Information: ycshen2@illinois.edu
Jason Finkelman has been engaged with CEAPS programming since joining the Asian Educational Media Service in 2007. He formed a partnership with Spurlock Museum in 2008 to launch AsiaLENS, an ongoing screening and discussion series featuring documentary and independent films on issues reflecting contemporary life in Asia. As curator of the Association for Asian Studies Film Expo, Finkelman has been representing CEAPS at the annual North American conference for Asian Scholars since 2012. CEAPS is one of several cultural institutions and partner programs at the University of Illinois for which Finkelman curates on the behalf of as director of Global Arts Performance Initiatives, established at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts in 2012. For Robert E. Brown Center for World Music, Finkelman programs concerts, lectures and educational engagements, organizes Balinese gamelan performances and residencies and maintains an online community events calendar. His established programming portfolio includes the Sudden Sound Concert Series, Global Transfer Afterglow Concerts and Improvisers Exchange classes and workshops. As an artist, his concerns focus on improvised music, cross-cultural collaborative projects, and composition for dance.
Contact Information: finkelma@illinois.edu
Saori Kataoka joined Illinois Global Institute as an Office Support Specialist for CEAPS and Center for Global Studies in January 2023. She assists the center with coordinating events, travels, and business operation.
She is a recent graduate of UIUC, holding two Master of Music degrees in Trumpet Performance and Literature (2019) and Jazz Performance (2022), and two Graduate Minors in Global Studies and Dance. She earned Bachelor of Arts degree (2016) from Campbellsville University, KY. Previously she has served as an Instructional Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Illinois State University, and currently performs regularly with Terre Haute Symphony, Danville Symphony, and Heartland Festival Orchestras. As a trumpet player, she has performed at iconic venues in Poland, Ukraine, Germany, Scotland, and the United States.
Born in Tokushima, Japan, she grew up with the dance and music of Awa Odori. Her research interest includes globalization of music, dance, cultural heritage, and language.
Contact Information: kataoka2@illinois.edu
Office Phone: 217-333-4749
Yangyang Liu - GA, EALC - yl92@illinois.edu
Yangyang is an MA student at the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her major area of interest is Chinese children's literature. As a Graduate Assistant, she helps to design posters and organize storytime.
Kyoko Sawada - GA, EALC - klpalma2@illinois.edu
They/Them Pronouns
Kyoko is a 2nd year MA Student in the department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Their major area of interest is Japanese pedagogy, with general research interests in Japanese linguistics and Japanese aesthetics. As a Graduate Assistant, their role is to manage the CEAPS calendar, E-Newsletter, website, and technology, as well as Japanese Storytelling at local libraries.