Drawing upon his lifelong involvement in education, David is a frequent speaker at international track high schools, universities, and other education programs all across China, on the differences between US and Chinese education; what the leading US universities are looking for in applicants from China, and how Chinese students should prepare for this.

He draws upon his experience over many years interviewing applicants from China to Cornell University as a Cornell alumnus; from his work with MIT where he acts as his family’s representative in regard to the Diebold Scholarship Fund for MIT students which his family funds; and his chairmanship of Green Leaders Adventure (GLA), a Chinese education group that gives Chinese high school students the opportunity to work on international community development projects outside of China, building and upgrading primary schools in Cambodia. Most of the GLA students including one recently admitted Early Decision to Harvard, go on to study in the US.

David also co-founded, and chairs, the highly-acclaimed 5-day Pow-Wow programs to introduce Chinese high school students to the project-based student-led approach of US education in various academic tracks, as well as providing an introduction to playing US team sports like baseball and US football.

Dr. Zheng Hong, the principle of Dandelion School, used to be an associate professor at the China University of Geosciences in the 1980s. She moved to the US for study and got involved in NGO work, focusing on women and children. After obtaining her Masters in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School, Dr. Zheng went back to China and found the Dandelion School in 2005.

Meredith Karazin oversees China’s first education innovation accelerator and entrepreneurial community. LearnLab was founded to bring together the best in education and business to impact students and bring profit to entrepreneurs and investors. To accelerate early-stage education enterprises, LearnLab will offer a best-in-class education-focused accelerator programing. Through a fund, entrepreneurs will receive seed-funding, generating returns to investors and providing a philanthropic donation to educational equity.

With a life-long commitment to education, Nicole has extensive professional experience in both the private and public sectors in the U.S. and China. Before joining the nonprofit world, Nicole worked in the strategic consulting, investment, and entrepreneurial sectors. She was a strategy consultant at Boston Consulting Group (China), serving state-owned enterprises, global high-tech companies, and BCG’s non-profit partners in China and the United States. After BCG, Nicole was a founding member of the digital media business team of an international e-commerce company, and co-founded a high-tech medical device start-up focusing on neurological diseases. Nicole currently uses her diverse private sector experiences to establish and grow a more concrete base for education-focused philanthropy in China. Nicole holds a Masters of Public Administration from Tsinghua University’s School of Public Policy and Management and is an MA candidate at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University for International Finance and Development.

Andrew Shirman saw the everyday struggle of his students with poor vision as he served as a Teach For China Fellow in a rural Yunnan school. Believing clear vision was something every student deserves, Andrew worked with friends to find a solution that brought eye exams and eyeglasses directly to the classroom. They have since delivered over 7,000 pairs of glasses to students in need. To help Education In Sight grow, Andrew Shirman has also co-founded one of China’s first social enterprises, an eyeglasses brand based on the innovative “buy one, give one” model.