The annual election of the Officers of Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter was held during the Saturday, May 16th, 2020 annual board meeting. The meeting was held by Zoom with Board Members from throughout Southern California attending. The 2019-2020 slate of officers were re-elected for the 2020-2021 year, with Anthony Al-Jamie as President, Jeff Jarow as Vice-President, Charles Riggs as Treasurer and David Bracey as Secretary. This is the 5th term for Anthony Al-Jamie and David Bracey, 4th term for Charles Riggs, and 3rd term for Jeff Jarow in their respective positions. Elena Galvez from Santa Clarita Sister Cities and Carla Boykin from the Pasadena Sister Cities Committee were appointed to the Board of Directors . The role of the officers is to help Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter achieve its mission of promoting peace through people-to-people diplomacy.

The concept for sister cities and people-to-people diplomacy was developed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956. The Southern California Chapter of Sister Cities International is the largest chapter in the United States, connecting approximately 170 cities in 50 countries with 40 cities in Southern California. The primary activities of sister cities programs are focused on arts & culture, youth & education, business & trade, and community development.

Anthony Al-Jamie
President – SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors

• Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation
• San Bernardino Sister Cities Council Committee Chair

Anthony Al-Jamie is an interculturally-minded journalist, publisher and educational entrepreneur, who lived and worked in Japan for some 20 years. His Japanese language skills and in-depth understanding of the Japanese culture, combined with his passion for intercultural relations and education paved the way for his success in Asia. During his two decades in Japan, he successfully established a chain of English language schools, with schools located throughout Saitama and Tokyo prefectures. Through these schools, he ran an English language program for members of the Advanced and Basic Officers Courses at the Japan Self Defense Force Training Grounds in Asaka, Saitama for over a decade. Anthony served as an International Advisory Council Member to the Governor of Saitama, Japan and was the only non-Japanese Member of the Wako-shi Rotary Club. During the mid-1990s, he played an instrumental part in pioneering online education through his role in the development of Anaheim University, an accredited online institution of higher learning with students residing in 35 countries around the world. In addition to his work in higher education, he is the Executive Editor and Publisher of the Tokyo Journal, Japan’s leading English lifestyles and culture magazine. A Certified Nonprofit Professional (CNP) with vast experience in the management of nonprofit organizations, he is President of Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter, member/former Vice-Chair of the Los Angeles-Nagoya Sister Cities Affiliation, Chair of the San Bernardino Sister Cities Council, and former Commissioner and Chair of the Anaheim Sister City Commission. He is an active member of both the Japanese-American and Chinese-American communities. He is a member of the Japan America Society of Southern California and serves on the Board of Advisors for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Los Angeles.

Click here to read the President’s Message.

Jeffrey Jarow
Vice-President — Sister Cities Board of Directors

presidentsmsca@gmail.com

• Santa Monica Sister Cities Association

Jeffrey has lived in Santa Monica since 1977 and has served the community as a real estate agent and community leader for over 35 years. Prior to joining PAR Commercial, he worked with Great Western Bank (REO department). He represented the Resolution Trust Corp (RTC) disposing of bank properties when they failed, and represented the City of Los Angeles, consummating a sale for their Planning and Building and Safety Departments in West Los Angeles. Jeff has a successful history working with office, industrial, and retail listings in both leasing and sales. He is currently the Vice Chair of the Executive Board of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, and Chairs the ‘Alliance’ Growth and Development Committee working directly with the City of Santa Monica’s Planning and Building and Safety Departments. He was appointed by the Santa Monica City Council to an eight-year term of the Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Board and had served as its Chair for his last two years on that board. Jeff is also the President of the Santa Monica Sister City Association and is currently on the Boards of the Santa Monica Family YMCA, Santa Monica Symphony, Santa Monica Viking Baseball, Santa Monica Viking Band, Main St Business Improvement District (MSBID) and PTA Legislative Chair for Santa Monica High School (SAMOHI). Jeff is the co-founder and organizer of the Santa Monica 4th of July Parade on Main St.

 Charles Riggs
Treasurer – SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors

• Palm Desert Sister Cities Foundation

Charles Riggs’ junior year was in a branch of Wagner College in Bregenz, Austria. He finished his B. A. Degree in German and Chemistry at Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas and returned after graduation on a Rotary Exchange Scholarship to Berlin. He then completed a professional degree, a Master of Divinity, at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary and did parish work as a pastor on campus, in a pastoral staff, and in solo pastorates. Charles retired after 39 years in ministry. In 2008, he joined Rotary International and through partnership projects became involved with the Palm Desert Sister Cities Foundation in 2010, attending Sister City International conventions in Jacksonville and Washington, D.C. Charles served as Vice President of the Palm Desert Sister Cities Foundation until his recent election to president for the 2016-2018 term. Palm Desert partners with Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico and Gisborne, New Zealand.

David Bracey
Secretary – SOCAL Sister Cities Board of Directors 

admin@anaheim.edu

• Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation

A former resident of Tokyo and Saitama, Japan for nearly two decades, David Bracey works as an administrator for Anaheim University in Anaheim, California. Prior to moving to Southern California, David directed the Career Management Center at the Anaheim University Akio Morita Learning Center in Tokyo, Japan. A member of the Los Angeles Nagoya Sister City Affiliation, David Bracey brings his knowledge and experience in Japan and other Asian countries to the Sister Cities International Southern California Chapter. David has worked and traveled throughout Japan, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam over the past 20 years.