Susan Shirk is research professor and chair of the 21st Century China Center at the School. She is one of the most influential experts working on U.S.-China relations and Chinese politics.
Shirk’s book “China: Fragile Superpower” helped frame the policy debate on China in the U.S. and other countries. Her articles have appeared in leading academic publications in the fields of political science, international relations and China studies, and her views on a range of issues relating to modern Chinese politics are highly sought.
She previously served as deputy assistant secretary of state (1997-2000), responsible for U.S. policy toward China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Mongolia and she founded and continues to lead the Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue, an unofficial forum for discussions of security issues.
Director emeritus and advisory board chair of the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, Shirk served as a member of the U.S. Defense Policy board, the board of governors for the East-West Center (Hawaii), the board of trustees of the U.S.-Japan Foundation and the board of directors of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.
She was awarded the 2015 Roger Revelle Medal.

Alan Beebe was appointed President of the American Chamber of Commerce in China on Mar. 14, 2016.

Alan was an Executive Director based in Beijing, leading EY China’s Cleantech and Supply Chain and Operations (SC&O) practices. His clients include major global corporations, primarily diversified industrials and high-technology companies operating in China.

Prior to joining EY, Alan held Executive positions with the China Greentech Initiative (CGTI), IBM, and management consulting firms AT Kearney and PRTM. He has twenty years of management consulting experience in the US, China and other Asian countries helping clients develop and implement sound business, operations and technology strategies. At EY China, he helps global clients transform their business models to drive new revenue opportunities and preserve profitability in China’s changing economic climate.

From 2010 to 2013, Alan was a Managing Director with CGTI, a collaboration platform serving over 50 international energy and environmental companies. At CGTI, he led advisory services and strategic research across all major areas of energy and cleantech. In 2014, CGTI merged with the Paulson Institute, founded by Hank Paulson.

Alan holds a Master’s degree from Yale University in International Relations and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Computer Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the United States. He is a Board of Advisor of the Yale Club of Beijing and in that capacity promotes academic and cultural exchanges between the United States and China. Alan has lived in China since 2002 and speaks Chinese fluently.