Staff

Ai Vander Meulen

Ai lives in Japan with her American husband. She was born and raised in Japan and has not lived overseas, but even growing up in a small town in Ibaraki, some of her closest childhood friends were from Taiwan and Germany.

From an early age, watching friends navigate cultural differences made the challenges of living in Japan feel close and real. Later, through her work with hi-b.a., she spent time with missionary kids and TCK youth—seeing firsthand what it can be like to live with your identity pulled between cultures.

Now, in daily life with a spouse from a different cultural background, she is often invited to revisit what she once assumed was “normal” and ask, “Why?” She’s grateful that each question has broadened her perspective and opened up new ways of seeing.

Rather than deciding which side is “right,” she keeps returning to what truly matters and how she wants to live. Through these experiences, she felt called to walk alongside young people growing up between cultures—and that desire is what led her to begin this work.