Roberto has been a national member of The Japan Association of Language Teachers for 23 years and has presented at numerous conferences and served on several of his university's committees.  Researching various EFL areas, such as cross-cultural psychology and bi linguistic development, he has published in a number of journals. He has also solo and co-written popular textbooks for independent and large publishers, including the first of its kind by Cengage that focused on alternative media global issues. Additionally, Roberto helped to establish the first EFL podcast in Japan, which maintained a global audience of 17,000 at one point. Another field of research interest to him is that of personal development, which includes under its broad umbrella the subjects of positive psychology, motivation and personal interaction skills with specific emphasis on approaches to developing effective public speakers and presenters. 

Tosh Tachino, Ph.D., is a university lecturer and a language and communication consultant. His research involves the intersection of academic research and public policy, and he examines knowledge mobilization from linguistic and rhetorical perspectives. His specialty in teaching is academic English for research publications, but he has worked with learners of all types and levels, including the highly underprivileged. It is always a pleasure to see these learners progress and achieve their goals. His previous work has appeared in the Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, Text and Talk, Written Communication, Winnipeg Free Press, Inkshed, and in an anthology Genre and the Performance of Publics (Utah State University Press), among others.

Originally from New Zealand, Zane has lived and worked in Japan for over twenty years. He has been involved in the university scene in Japan in several capacities, including as a graduate student, a member of staff, and is currently teaching in the Faculty of Policy Studies at Josai University. Current research areas include: examining non-Japanese resident resilience and welfare following the tsunami of 2011 in the towns of Kessenuma and Ishinomaki, the Christchurch rebuild following the 2010/2011 earthquakes, virtual learning environments and blended learning, content-based instruction at the territory level in Japan, and the use of technology in teaching. Zane is the chairperson this year's conference.

Kazuya is currently a research fellow at PRIME, International Peace Research Institute, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan, and a retired professor of Tokaigakuen University. He has developed teaching materials on topics including: peace, human rights, environment and development issues, promoting participatory methodologies in foreign language education. His current interests are the integratation of peace education into local contexts and international peace trends. As a board member of Bridge for Peace (BFP), he conducts workshops for youth groups, colleges and high schools in Japan, the Philippines, Korea and Thailand. He also belongs to GPPAC, Global Partnership for Preventing Armed Conflicts Peace education reference group and also Global Campaign for Peace Education. His team has translated international documents into Japanese such as Learning to Abolish War (Hague Appeal for Peace), Peace Education in Northeast Asia: A Situational Analysis (APCEIU) and others.

Paul is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Community and Human Services, and a Special Project Researcher at the Center for Foreign Language Education and Research, Rikkyo University. He is also a Co-investigator for a KAKENHI (Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research). He's taught at nine universities in four countries and has received the Isaac Roet Prize for his interdisciplinary research in peacebuilding. He focuses on peace studies (particularly Palestine-Israel), using university-level simulations (online and face-to-face) to teach skills in global and social issues and human rights, integrating Aikido into university-level peace education, global career studies and "future-proofing" education, and academic English. He previously worked as a teacher-trainer for the Cert IV in TESOL (Australian Qualification Framework), professional human rights campaigner, and president of an NGO supporting English language education, international exchange and foreign resident support. Paul's first training in peacebuilding began as a teenager in Aikido. He holds a 3rd-kyu grade in the Riai-ryū, and a teaching certification (Black Belt, First Degree) in the Daitō-ryū Aikibudo, schools of Aikido.