Dr. Yamatani has recently retired as professor emeritus of the School of Social Work University of Pittsburgh. His records of teaching and administrative responsibilities include former social work research professor and adjunct professor of MBA program, the coordinator of MSW/MBA Joint Degree Program, associate dean for research, the chair of promotion and tenure committee, director of strategic planning, and director of quality assurance. He has also headed university wide Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Policy and Evaluation (fellowship training of doctoral students from the Schools of Education, Public Health, Psychology, and Social Work), and an advisory committee member of the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). His research specialization includes human service/program evaluation, organizational development, and optimization of servcie impact with an extensive record of conducting evaluation research with non-profit organizations, including Allegheny County Department of Human Services (DHS), Children Youth and Family (CYF), Jail Collaborative, United Way, Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, Housing Authority of City of Pittsburgh plus Chicago, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Salvation Army, YWCA, etc.
His recognition awards for distinction in organizational evaluation includes "Hide's Court" – a playground dedicated to children of addicted young mothers in his name (by Hill District Community Collaborative); and along with members of the Heinz Endowment, Highmark Health, and University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), Dr. Yamatani has been presented with the “Community Builders’ Award” for his distinguished community-based research (by Community Empowerment Association). He organized and founded Excellence Research, Inc. and conducted numerous research projects as the president and principal investigator for 37 years until his retirement.
This memoir focuses on the impact of the life lessons my grandfather taught me in post WWII Japan. After my father wrote an editorial against Japan's federal land reform policy, my parents were forced to divorce. Believing that, as a Catholic and divorced mother in Japan, she had no future, she married a GI from Pittsburgh and left Japan without us- me (age 3) and my younger brother (age 2). My grandfather raised us to find serenity using his self-written guide, Words of Understanding.
As we reached teen years, our mother finally sent for us to live with her in the US- after 10 years of separation, which seemed like a lifetime to me and my younger brother. We knew no English and virtually nothing about American culture. We learned to live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh with our estranged mother and a stepfather we didn't know.
Due to the historical accounts of the US-Japan relationships and how fellow US citizens and their public leaders treated Japanese Americans, my grandfather was deeply concerned about the cultural and social difficulties we could face in the US. He suffered a serious stroke just 3-days prior to our departure to the US.
In contrast to my grandfather's worries, however, most people I met were overwhelmingly caring, supportive, and dignified from my earliest days in the US. If my grandfather had witnessed their goodness and kind hearts, I believe he would have described my all-white Eastwood friends and teachers, as a collection of walking saints and angels.
The reason why so many people treated me with goodwill resulted from my practicing my grandfather's Words of Understanding. In essence, its nurturing spirit was being reflected back to me. Therefore, I am immensely grateful to my grandfather for guiding me through his words and deeds onto the right pathways throughout my life. The honorable, dignified, and virtuous blessings he bestowed upon us were his keynote to Heaven.
Título : Working Toward Harmony: A Memoir - My Japanese Grandfather’s Words of Understanding for Finding My Way in the USA
EAN : 9798201189587
Editorial : Hide Yamatani
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