Our Team

Bob Holden

Gov. Bob Holden

Chairman and CEO

Gov. Bob Holden

Bob Holden served as Missouri’s 53rd Governor, 2001-2005. Prior to being elected Governor, Holden served two terms as Missouri State Treasurer and three terms as a Missouri State Representative.

Bob Holden has been in public service his entire adult life. In addition to holding elective office, Holden worked for State Treasurers James I. Spainhower and Mel Carnahan, United States Senator Thomas F. Eagleton, and Congressman Richard A. Gephardt.

During Governor Holden's term in office, he chaired the Midwest Governors Association; opened Missouri’s first trade office in China; created Missouri’s first Hispanic Outreach Committee; moved Missouri from 41st to 5th in terms of women in leadership positions; appointed over 200 African Americans to prominent leadership roles; established the state's first Youth Cabinet; and built the first LEED certified state office building in Missouri.

Bob Holden is currently the Missouri Co-Chair for the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition, and is an Executive Board member of the Missouri State NAACP Chapter. After leaving office in 2005, Holden founded the Holden Public Policy Forum and was a professor at Webster University for ten years. While at Webster University, he helped bring the first Confucius Institute to Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri.

For over 40 years, Bob Holden has been an active participant in the American Legion Missouri Boys and Girls State Program. He led efforts to bring the first delegations of Chinese students to be participants in this historic program. Since that first delegation to Missouri Boys and Girls State, he has lead the efforts to continue these student delegations of Chinese students to Missouri and Missouri students to China with plans to initiate delegations from other states.

Bob Holden believes that long term economic success for the United States and China must be built on mutual respect, clear understandings and honest dialogue. This can be achieved by expanding our cultural ties, creating more educational partnerships, and creating bridges of opportunities for successful business in both countries.

About Gov. Holden
Min_Fan

Min Fan

Executive Director

Min Fan

Min Fan was born in China and studied at Peking University before immigrating to the United States. Continuing her education at the University of North Carolina she earned a B.A. in Art followed by an M.B.A. at the Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Min went on to a successful career in the corporate world culminating in her role as the leader of the Ideation and Innovation Practice at Hewlett Packard (HP) Global Corporate Services. Upon leaving HP she joined the startup ecosystem as an entrepreneur and mentor at two Colorado incubators.

From 2018-2019, Min brought her entrepreneur experience and passion for US and China collaboration to the nonprofit sector as the Executive Director/COO of US China Innovation Alliance (UCIA). Over 100 US companies visited China on sponsored trips as a result of her team’s efforts.

Prior to joining the US Heartland China Association, Min launched US China Now, a not-for-profit endeavor, which partnered with a broad spectrum of organizations to build a bridge of understanding across the cultural divide between US and China.

About Min
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Jason Conley

Program Associate (Chicago, IL)

Jason Conley

Jason Conley is a graduate of the Ohio State University and has pursued his Master's degree in Advanced Chinese Language and Culture, focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative and foreign investment. 

Before working as a a Program Associate for USHCA, Jason spent several years in teaching English as a Second Language and Education.

About Jason
Haolin Li Headshot Web

Haolin Li

Intern (Madison, WI)

Haolin Li

Haolin is an undergraduate student majoring in computer engineering at University of Wisconsin Madison. He is an international student from Xi’an China and very interested in the US-China relationship. He is managing Chinese social networks of USHCA.

About Haolin
Gabriela

Gabriela Perez

Intern (Chicago, IL)

Gabriela Perez

Gabriela is a Mexican-American citizen, a first-generation college graduate of Denison University with a B.A. in Global Commerce and East Asian Studies. During her time at Denison, she researched in France, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. She also interned in Singapore at a public relations agency. 
 
Gabriela began studying Mandarin in high school and continued it throughout college. In 2016, she first traveled to China for her senior year class trip. From that time, she decided to continue her language skills to help create and foster strong relationships between the United States and China, through business, art, and cultural exchange. She is eager to use her Mandarin and Spanish speaking skills to help individuals communicate in an inclusive and culturally sensitive way.
About Gabriela
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Teddy Kwok

Intern (Chicago, IL)

Teddy Kwok

Teddy is an international student studying at the University of Chicago. Currently a sophomore, he intends on majoring in Economics spec. data science and Art History. Born and raised in Hong Kong, he has fostered an interest in Chinese-US relations at a young age and is keen on seeing relations between the two states improve.

About Teddy
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Imani Young

Intern (Delaware, OH)

Imani Young

Imani is currently an undergrad at Ohio Wesleyan University studying Business Administration & Economics.

About Imani
Gabriela

Gabriela Perez

Intern (Chicago, IL)

Gabriela Perez

Gabriela is a Mexican-American citizen, a first-generation college graduate of Denison University with a B.A. in Global Commerce and East Asian Studies. During her time at Denison, she researched in France, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong. She also interned in Singapore at a public relations agency. 
 
Gabriela began studying Mandarin in high school and continued it throughout college. In 2016, she first traveled to China for her senior year class trip. From that time, she decided to continue her language skills to help create and foster strong relationships between the United States and China, through business, art, and cultural exchange. She is eager to use her Mandarin and Spanish speaking skills to help individuals communicate in an inclusive and culturally sensitive way.
About Gabriela
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