Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation

The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation was established in 1983 to "promote understanding and cooperation among the nations and peoples of Asia and the United States." The Foundation honors Mike Mansfield (1903-2001), congressman from Montana, Senate majority leader and U.S. ambassador to Japan. The Foundation is a registered nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization and works with the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center at The University of Montana.

The Foundation's exchange programs include the Mansfield Fellowship Program, Japan Legislative Exchange, Women in Politics and Public Service, and the Mansfield Congressional Study Tour on Asia. In addition, the Foundation sponsors policy dialogues on such topics as entrepreneurship in Asia, the Rule of Law, the emergence of India and China, global climate change, and the role of NGOs in North Korea.

The Foundation maintains offices in Washington, D.C.; Tokyo, Japan; and Missoula, Montana. The Foundation is not a grant-making organization and does not accept grant proposals.

The Foundation advances understanding and cooperation in U.S.-Asia relations through exchanges, policy dialogues, research and education.

The Foundation's flagship program is the Mike Mansfield Fellowship, a first-of-its-kind exchange program that allows a select group of U.S. government officials the opportunity to build Japan expertise and networks that lead to collaboration and cooperation in U.S.-Japan relations.

The fellowship was established by the U.S. Congress in 1994 to build a corps of U.S. civil servants with in-depth Japan expertise. During the year-long fellowship, participants gain proficiency in Japanese and learn how issues and policies are handled in Japan through postings in their counterpart agencies and ministries.

The fellowship is only open to U.S. federal employees and consists of seven weeks of full-time Japanese language training in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, followed by ten months of placements in Japanese government agencies and private sector organizations or corporations.

The Foundation organizes exchanges for U.S. and Asian policy makers and opinion leaders, allowing them to focus on such issues as security, economics and trade. Examples of these include bringing Japanese Diet members to the United States for week-long visits, discussions and meetings with U.S. elected officials and opinion leaders, as well as organizing exchanges for U.S. and Japanese women in politics and public service to explore the role of women leaders in addressing social policy issues.

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