Juan "Jay" Avecilla has been the Consul for Management and Consular Affairs at the U.S. Consulate in Fukuoka, Japan since August 2009.

Prior to his Japan assignment, Mr. Avecilla served as Consul & Second Secretary in the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mr. Avecilla was also posted to the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, Vietnam where he served as Economic/Science & Technology Officer and as Assistant General Services Officer. Mr. Avecilla is a fluent Spanish speaker and studied Japanese and Vietnamese at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute.

Prior to joining the Foreign Service in 2003, he worked for the City of Los Angeles where he held senior management, budgeting and contract compliance positions. He also worked for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Avecilla has an undergraduate degree from University of California, Riverside and a graduate degree in International Political Economy from The American University in Washington, D.C. Mr. Avecilla is a beginner golfer and enjoys traveling, wine and discovering off the beaten places with his wife Eri. His hometown is Los Angeles, California.