Brown, Waka T.: - nWaka T. Brown was the first American born in her family. She is a Stanford graduate with a Masters degree in secondary education. Shes currently an instructor at the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural Education (SPICE), authoring curriculum on several international topics, and winning the Association for Asian Studies national Franklin Buchanan Prize. Shes also been awarded the US-Japan Foundation and EngageAsias national 2019 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher award for her groundbreaking endeavors in teaching about US-Japan relations to high school students in Japan and promoting cultural exchange awareness. While I Was Away is her debut book. She lives with her family in Portland, Oregon.n