Patricia Gercik

Patricia Gercik spent the first twenty years of her life in Japan, where her family had been doing business since the 1920s. As a travel guide and television commentator, she began what would become a lifelong career of bridging the cultural gap between Japan and the West. After moving to the United States, she earned a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MA from Tufts University. Gercik has served as managing director of the MIT Japan Program, which prepares students,...See more

Patricia Gercik spent the first twenty years of her life in Japan, where her family had been doing business since the 1920s. As a travel guide and television commentator, she began what would become a lifelong career of bridging the cultural gap between Japan and the West. After moving to the United States, she earned a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MA from Tufts University. Gercik has served as managing director of the MIT Japan Program, which prepares students, faculty, and corporate executives for conducting research and business with Japan. Using her unique bicultural perspective, she has led workshops on Japanese culture and negotiation practice at leading US companies, the US Army Research Laboratory, the US Air Force, and the Pentagon. Gercik was also associate director of MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives (MISTI). Gercik is a best-selling author and has received the Jack Thayer Award from the Boston Japan Society and the MIT Excellence Award for Leadership. See less