Ms. Place has lived in Japan, employed by the Japanese Ministry of Education. She has also worked for the start-up team of a large Japanese manufacturing firm in the automotive industry, managing relations between the firm and its American customers as well as acting as an intercultural communication facilitator. During her years at the company, Ms. Place gained first-hand experience with the inner workings of a Japanese company, and was involved with all aspects of the business, from boardroom meetings to manufacturing quality circles.

Ms. Place has conducted intercultural business training programs in the U.S., Japan, and Southeast Asia for hundreds of Americans, Japanese, and other Asians. Ms. Place has trained executives from Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi, Quantum, LSI Logic, Nomura Securities, Pillsbury, Chevron, Quark, Bridgestone, StorageTek, Fujitsu, and many other firms. She also currently co-instructs a 2-day executive course on Japanese Business four times a year at the California Institute of Technology Industrial Relations Center. In addition, Ms. Place occasionally works as a professional interpreter for Japanese manufacturing consultants in the United States.

Ms. Place holds a B.A. in Economics from Cornell University. She has traveled extensively throughout Asia and around the globe, and speaks Japanese.