Nikolai has spent 4 years representing the City of Yokohama in the Americas ever since its NY office opened in 2019, working to support bilateral business growth and regional economic development between Yokohama and North America. Before working with Yokohama, Nikolai was an Assistant Language Teacher in Japan for 3 years through the JET Program, and he has been studying Japanese for over 12 years. He has a major in East Asian Studies from Wesleyan University.