In 2004, Brian and his wife Jeanee sold their home, gave up their careers, and uprooted their 5 and 8 year-old sons to develop a social enterprise in rural Yunnan. Throughout the preceding twenty years, they had watched their adopted home develop boilerplate tourism models that showed little respect for the tangible and intangible resources of rural communities, all while delivering less than ideal financial returns. They wanted to rebalance development and move away from gimmick architectural designs and the restaging of 'old culture'. Their approach started with the physical preservation of nationally protected heritage sites, something unprecedented in China.

After restoring and repurposing these structures, a process that often took 3-4 years, they focused on the intangible, incorporating the community into their project.  They did this via employment, averaging nearly three local staff per guest room, by extending educational opportunities to the local community via partnerships with domestic and international high schools and universities, and by championing local participation in the development goals of the region.  The Lindens have expanded to six sites in Yunnan, including two national park projects, and their newest compound, a Ming/Qing Garden Mansion in Suzhou.  Their projects are self-funded and financially sustainable.

Brian was born and raised in Chicago and worked as a carpet cleaner and house painter to get through community college and night school.  He was awarded a scholarship to study at Beijing University in 1984 but was immediately recruited by Beijing Film Studio to play the leading role in a movie.  He later transferred to CBS News's Beijing Bureau and met with most of China's leaders from 1984-1987, including the 60 Minutes interview with Deng Xiaoping. 

Brian has graduate degrees from the University of Illinois, Johns Hopkins, and Stanford University where he left his doctoral program to help the Swedish government to establish international schools in the recently opened Eastern Bloc countries in early 1990.  He continued to work in international education investment worldwide, participating in projects in over 80 countries between 1990 - 2004. He still hopes to finish his dissertation.  His first book, published by Zhongxin Publishers, will come out at Chinese New Year in 2021.