我们的团队

Bob Holden

Gov. Bob Holden

Chairman and President

Gov. Bob Holden

鲍勃·霍顿于2001至2005年间担任密苏里州第53任州长。在当选州长之前，霍顿曾担任过两任密苏里州财政部长和三任密苏里州众议员。

鲍勃·霍顿的一生都在为公众服务。除了担任公职，霍顿也曾为州财政部长James I. Spainhower和Mel Carnahan、美国参议员Thomas F. Eagleton和国会议员Richard A. Gephardt效力过。

霍顿州长在任期间，他曾担任中西部州长协会主席;开设了密苏里州在中国的第一个贸易办事处;成立了密苏里州第一个拉美裔外展委员会;将密苏里州在女性领导职位的排名从第41位拉升至第5位;任命了200多名非裔美国人担任重要领导职务;建立了该州第一个青年内阁;并在密苏里州建造了第一座获得LEED认证的州办公大楼。

鲍勃·霍顿目前是美国全球领导联盟（U.S. Global Leadership Coalition）的密苏里州联合主席，同时也是全国有色人种协会（NAACP）密苏里州分会的执行董事会成员。自2005年卸任公职后，霍顿创立了霍顿公共政策论坛，并在韦伯斯特大学担任了10年的教授。在韦伯斯特大学期间，他帮助建立了在密苏里州圣路易斯韦伯斯特大学的第一个孔子学院。

40多年来，鲍勃·霍顿一直是美国退伍军人协会密苏里州孩童项目的积极参与者。在他的领导下，第一批中国学生代表团成为这一历史性项目的参与者。自那第一批代表团的参与，他一直在努力推动中国学生前往密苏里州以及密苏里学生前往中国的学生代表团，并计划发起来自其他州的代表团。

鲍勃·霍顿认为，美中两国的长期经济成就必须建立在相互尊重、明确理解和坦诚对话的基础上。这点可以通过扩大我们的文化联系，创造更多的教育伙伴关系，以及为两国成功的企业铸造机会的桥梁来实现。

Gov. Holden was recently inducted to the Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame. Watch his honoree video here.

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
jason_conley-300-200

Jason Conley

Program Associate

Jason Conley

Originally from the Heartland, Jason Conley is a graduate of the Ohio State University and has a Master's degree in Advanced Chinese Language and Culture, specializing in the Belt and Road Initiative and foreign investment. 

His research background focused on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the ROI of Chinese-backed infrastructure development in western Pakistan.

Before his time at USHCA, Jason spent several years teaching English as a Second Language and Education. He now spends his time working to continue education and engagement of local Heartland communities.

About Jason
Screen Shot 2021-05-30 at 3.53.04 PM

Katherine Newton

Program Associate

Katherine Newton

Born and raised in a small Texas farming and ranching town, Katherine Newton is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in International Political Economies and Chinese Culture and Language. She is currently a student at American University pursuing her MS in International Business. She has published research works analyzing international political and economic organization across East and Southeast Asia. Katherine has worked with a number of nonprofits focused on U.S.-China relations, and is very excited to now be focusing on the Heartland region.

About Katherine
ellen wright

Ellen Wright

Program Associate

Ellen Wright

Brought up in the Midwest and descended from Iowan farmers, Ellen Wright is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College with a degree in Sociology and minors in International Studies and Chinese, and has earned a Master’s degree in China Studies from Zhejiang University. During her graduate program, her thesis work concentrated on China’s national innovation system. Ellen has previous experience working for international nonprofits based out of Beijing and D.C., and is eager to return to her roots and help cultivate the Sino-American relationship in the Heartland region.

About Ellen
DSC_2590

Sophia Sun

Special Projects Advisor

Sophia

Born in China, Sophia Sun came to the United States to pursue her master’s degree in Public Relations at the University of Georgia. She also earned an M.B.A. degree from the University of North Carolina. 

Sophia spent over 15 years as a sales and marketing professional in the financial, high tech, and CPG industries, specializing in digital marketing, market research, and PR/event management. She led HSBC North America key growth initiatives for customer engagement by building award winning websites and first-class online customer services.  She drove record volume of new customer acquisition with breakout technology and innovative campaigns. At Discover Card Services, she developed enterprise level adtech capabilities to grow incremental sales while orchestrating relevant cardmember experiences across digital touch points.

In recent years, Sophia has been devoting her time to community and volunteering activities including culture exchange, child and youth education, and international affairs. 

About Sophia
Yuehan Picture

Yuehan Yin

Intern (Irvine, CA)

Yuehan Yin

Yuehan Yin is an undergraduate computer science student at the University of California, Irvine. He has a strong passion for Web Development and UI/UX design. Yuehan had an opportunity to take a road trip through the American Heartland stopping in Tennessee, Kentucky, and many other states along the way. That experience made him become aware of the need for more connections between the Heartland States and China. He will use his computer science skills to help enhance the performance and design of USHCA’s website.

About Yuehan
yiliu cao

Yiliu Cao

Volunteer, WeChat Support (Evanston, IL)

Yiliu Cao

Born and raised in China, Yiliu Cao graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, with a degree in Movement Science. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Doctor of Physical Therapy and Public Health at Northwestern University.

During her undergraduate years, Yiliu had previous experience serving in a leadership role in a student organization focusing on intercultural communication. Thus, she realized the importance of promoting understanding between China and the United States in the globally competitive future. Yiliu is very much looking forward to investigating the Sino-U.S. relationship in the Heartland Region under the scope of healthcare and technology.

About Yiliu
Victoria Sheung

Victoria Sheung

Intern, Third Space Program (New York, NY)

Victoria Sheung

Victoria Sheung is a junior from New York, NY, studying Comparative Literature and Chinese Studies, with a minor in Global Studies. Since she was three, she was homeschooled by her mother in learning the Chinese language, while attending Canadian and American grade school. These ongoing lessons, now replaced by university coursework, have exposed her to the wondrous universe of Chinese thought, philosophy, religion, and literature, showing the endless possibility of human wisdom and creation. Through exploration of Chinese culture, especially Confucianism, Buddhism, and classical poetry, Victoria has unearthed the endless joy in learning and sharing across both cultural and lingual borders, in addition to the ways such practices can bridge human understanding and deeply personalized cross-cultural appreciation. Victoria hopes to further her humanities exploration through Third Space and bring more eye-opening experiences for curious students like herself.

About Victoria
Picture1

Chang Liu

Volunteer (Guangzhou, CN)

Chang Liu

Chang Liu is a recent graduate with a master's degree in sports management from the University of Michigan. She holds a bachelor’s degree in public affairs management from Sun Yat-sen University. Chang Liu had been a student-athlete in synchronized swimming and swimming for 10+ years, through which she realized the power of sports in empowering and connecting people from all around the world. During her study at the University of Michigan, Chang Liu has become enthusiastic about bridging the cultural gaps between the United States and China and fostering mutual understanding from the perspective of civil diplomacy.

About Chang
IMG_1517

Nadya Al-Shawi

Intern, Third Space Program (Mishawaka, IN)

Nadya Al-Shawi

Nadya Al-Shawi is a first-generation Russian-Iraqi American based in Northern Indiana. She is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in International Economics and Politics, as well as Chinese and Japanese Studies at Valparaiso University. Growing up in a culturally diverse environment, Nadya developed an incredible desire to learn more about her own identity, discover unknown cultures, and master foreign languages. She began studying both Mandarin and Japanese in high school, further cultivating her passion for cross-cultural communication and international relations. With much enthusiasm for research, education, and scholarship, she plans to attain a Master's and PhD in the near future as she continues down a path of economic and political diplomacy.
About Nadya
zh_CN简体中文
en_USEnglish zh_CN简体中文
Scroll to Top