NISEKO GREEN

KEYNOTE DINNER

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Mark Davidson D'82

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For three decades, Mark Davidson has worked in and on the Indo-Pacific region as a senior diplomat, congressional staffer, business executive, and academic. 

 

He currently teaches U.S.-East Asia Relations at Temple University Japan, the oldest and largest U.S. university campus in Japan.  Previously, he taught Global Grand Strategy and U.S.-Japan Relations at the U.S. National Defense University, Washington, DC.  He has lectured widely, published book chapters, articles, and op-eds in three languages, and appeared live in multiple media outlets analyzing U.S. politics and foreign policy, including NHK TV’s prime time news.

As a career U.S. foreign service officer (diplomat), Davidson served four times in Japan, including as Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, Minister-Counselor for Public Affairs, Cultural and Educational Attaché, and Public Affairs Officer at Consulate General Sapporo.  In Washington, DC, he worked on the U.S. State Department Japan and Korea desks, managed Asia issues on the staff of the U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee, and directed global public diplomacy planning, policy, and resources. He also served in Caracas, Madrid, Asuncion, and Islamabad.

At the direction of President Obama, Davidson established and was the first director of the Global Strategic Engagement Center (GSEC), the U.S. government's counter-disinformation operation.  He achieved the senior foreign service rank of Minister-Counselor, equivalent to a two-star general in the military. 

From 2015 to 2024, Davidson was a senior executive at a major U.S. multinational corporation based in Tokyo, overseeing political risk, government and external affairs, communications, and corporate social responsibility. 

Davidson holds an A.B. (Religion), with high distinction) from Dartmouth College, class of 1982, and an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School, Tufts University.  He was an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow at the School of Advanced International Studies, the Johns Hopkins University.  He serves on several philanthropic boards, including Temple University Japan, the U.S.-Japan Bridging Scholarship Foundation, Hands On Tokyo, Japan Craft 21, and the Japan-American Society of Rhode Island.  He is former Chair of the Government Relations Committee, American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.  He and his wife, Kuniko Ohashi, reside in Tokyo and Nagano, Japan and have two daughters.

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