I am passionate about languages and the importance of being bilingual in today's world. I am the Co-Founder and CEO of Avant Assessment, which in 2002 delivered the world’s first online, adaptive language proficiency test - STAMP. Avant currently delivers online tests in 150 languages, all of which are recommended for college credit by the American Council on Education. Previously I established and led the Tokyo office of Kroll Associates, the world's leading investigative and security consulting firm; founded Earl, a technology startup that developed patented technology to enable the blind to access and listen to thousands of newspapers, magazines, and books in an iPhone app; and was a founder of Step.com, a Silicon Valley startup that developed a digital platform to deliver information in Japanese on listed US companies to individual investors in Japan. I have a Working Fluency Global Seal in Japanese and live happily in Eugene, Oregon with my family, garden, and bees.