Melissa Matsubara
Director of Study Abroad & International Exchange Programs
Melissa Matsubara is Director of Study Abroad & International Exchange Programs at Hawaiʻi Pacific University on the island of Oʻahu. She oversees all education abroad operations and program development, including J1 international exchange students, bi-lateral exchange agreements and faculty-directed programs. Melissa is deeply committed to ensuring greater access to education abroad opportunities for a wider range of underrepresented students.
Prior to HPU, Melissa served as Study Abroad Advisor at Brandeis University in Massachusetts under the late J. Scott Van Der Meid, and has worked in the field of education abroad in various capacities through Harvard’s regional office in Chile, Robert College in Turkey, SIT, EIL and YFU.
Melissa holds an M.A. in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University, and a certificate for Teaching English as a Foreign Language from ACLE in Italy. In her free time, Melissa serves on the Board of Directors for Kanu Hawaii, a non-profit, volunteer-based organization focused on community building to create a Hawaiʻi that is more environmentally sustainable and economically resilient.