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Carol Li Rafferty (Director for China, Office of International Affairs at Yale University)

Carol Li Rafferty

Director for China, Office of International Affairs at Yale University

Carol Li Rafferty has a joint appointment with Yale University’s Office of International Affairs as Director for China and with Yale Center Beijing as Executive Director, where she heads up Yale University’s only university-wide center outside of the United States. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of JD.com (NASDAQ: JD and HKEx: 9618), and previously served on the Board of Directors of JD Logistics (HKEx: 2618). She is also a co-founder of Lean In China, an organization that has grown into a network of over 100,000 women across the country. Carol previously worked for China Investment Corporation (CIC), the country’s sovereign wealth fund, as Senior Vice President, responsible for cross-border strategic and private equity investments.

In 2016, the World Economic Forum (WEF) selected Carol as a Young Global Leader (YGL). She is also a member of the Hong Kong X-Tech Startup Platform Advisory Committee, a China Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and a recipient of Caixin Media’s Outstanding Women Award.

Carol graduated cum laude from Yale University, with dual B.A. degrees in Economics and International Studies. She received her J.D. degree from Stanford Law School.

Oksana Carlson (Associate Dean, Global Collaborations at Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School)

Oksana Carlson

Associate Dean, Global Collaborations at Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School

Dr. Oksana Carlson joined Johns Hopkins Carey Business School in 2009. She provided leadership to the full-time MBA program, managed the portfolio of Master of Science programs, and Executive MBA. Since 2014, she has been leading Johns Hopkins Carey Business School’s global collaboration initiatives including new academic partnerships and international student engagement. Prior to joining the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Dr. Carlson managed the international programs at The George Washington University. Her professional experience includes international project development and project management at Johns Hopkins Medicine International, the Hyundai Business Center, and extensive work in business development with both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Dr. Carlson is often invited as a guest speaker by universities in Asia, such as Chongqing Business and Technology University, Fuzhou University, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, and others. She also delivered talks and lectures on higher education in the U.S. and strategies for applicants to U.S. business schools, at the Education USA offices in Beijing, Shanghai (China), Seoul (Korea), Philippines, and Central Asia. She received a Doctor of Education degree with focus on International Education from the University of Minnesota, an MBA in International Business from the George Washington University, and Bachelor and Master of Arts in Marketing and Journalism from the Far Eastern National University (Russia). She completed the leadership training programs at the Academy of Commerce in Trento, Italy, and at the Japan Productivity Center in Tokyo, Japan.

ZENING GE (Executive Director of University of Chicago Center in Beijing)

ZENING GE

Executive Director of University of Chicago Center in Beijing

Dr. Ge is the executive director of UChicago’s Center in Beijing. At this capacity, he oversees the daily operation of the center, manages UChicago’s relationship with government, local academic and research partners. UChicago Center in Beijing has been a member of AmCham China and one of three regional centers of the university. Prior to this position, he was managing partner and company officer of SSA & Company, a New York-based management consultancy. He was the founder and managing partner of the Processwise Consultants Inc. – a management consultancy in China focusing on continuous improvement and lean Six Sigma deployment. The company then merged with the US-based SSA & Company and Dr. Ge has since served as its CEO of SSA’s Asia operations.
Zening graduated from the Tsinghua University with a master’s degree in management in 1989 and then he studied economics and econometrics with respectively, Professor Robert Lucas, the 1995 Nobel Laureate in Economics, and Arnold Zellner, in the University of Chicago and obtained a Ph.D. in Economics in 1996. His research interests had been ranging from US economic history to very much technical interest theory.
Dr. Ge joined the management consulting arm of EDS, which then merged with Chicago-based consultancy, AT Kearney, in 1995. A year later, he moved on to become a staff member of Gary M Reiner, Senior VP, in General Electric. In that capacity, based in GE’s headquarters in Fairfield, he participated or led many GE’s important strategic initiatives including Globalization and Six Sigma. He was instrumental of GE Capital’s many ventures in Japan, Thailand and China as well as the integration of ebusiness and Six Sigma in Asia. His last role in GE was the Director of Operations of GE Aircraft Engines Asia Pacific. He is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
He moved back to China in 2003 and in addition to managing his own management consulting firm, he has been involved actively in many private investment leads. He masterminded the structure and operation business model for the China Commodity Exchange, or CCE, a credit-based nonemonetary trading system and served in the advisory board of couple of PE/VC firms.
Dr. Ge is an expert in US higher education, business operations and China economic development and global competitiveness. He works out of UChicago’s Beijing office.

Fran Liu (Director of China Office at University of Minnesota)

Fran Liu

Director of China Office at University of Minnesota

Fran Liu joined the University of Minnesota (U of M) China Office in 2019. Her work focuses on advancing the University brand systemwide by sharing U of M information with prospective students and families, engaging the Chinese alumni communities, and developing educational collaborations between the University and its partners in China.

As the University representative office in China, Fran and her team have achieved a 15% annual growth in follower base through social media marketing and signature events each year. Fran has been invited by the EducationUSA Beijing Office as a speaker to co-present the annual counselors' training workshops.

Before joining U of M, Fran worked in marketing, business development, and public affairs from local start-ups to U.S. Fortune 500s. Fran is a dynamic and innovative problem-solver who grew business revenue tremendously in her entrepreneurial experiences. Fran holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and earned her master's degree in business from the University of Washington - Seattle, Foster School of Business.

Jingyu Wang (Executive Director of Beijing Global Gateway at University of Notre Dame)

Jingyu Wang

Executive Director of Beijing Global Gateway at University of Notre Dame

Jingyu Wang serves as the executive director of the Beijing Global Gateway, University of Notre Dame.
Wang previously taught at Princeton University as a Lecturer in New Jersey. She also worked as the Research Associate at University of Notre Dame to coordinate the US Department of Education Title VI project with the theme “Undergraduate International Studies & Foreign Language". Wang was the founding Director of Chengdu American Center for Study Abroad from 2012 to 2018 in collaboration with Chengdu Municipal Government in China.

Wang earned her master’s degree in Applied Linguistics from Beijing Normal University. She used to teach Chinese literature at Daqing No. 4 High School. Additionally, Wang was a co-author of A Kaleidoscope of China through Princeton University Press in 2009.