New York, New York (May 3, 2022) – Committee of 100, a non-profit U.S. leadership organization of Chinese Americans, today announced its Next Generation Leaders (NextGen) Class of 2022, comprised of 18 individuals across the arts, business, technology, and finance.
Launched in 2014, Committee of 100’s NextGen program convenes an exceptional group of change-makers and rising leaders from diverse sectors, leveraging a collective sense of service and purpose to elevate the impact of each individual. Currently, there are over 150 NextGen alumni across a multitude of sectors who make up a vibrant and diverse community.
The Committee of 100 NextGen Class will be officially introduced at Committee of 100’s Conference & Gala, which will take place from May 5-7, 2022 in Washington, D.C. Convening under the theme, Chinese Americans in the New Millennium: Heralding Today’s Achievements, Shouldering Yesteryear’s Burdens, the Conference & Gala will host distinguished academics, policymakers, and thought leaders from across the country to gather in a series of discussions, debates, keynotes, and networking sessions on the future of U.S.-China diplomacy, economic interdependence, and the rise of anti-Asian hate. Ticket and sponsorship information can be found here.
“At a time when our world faces such extraordinary challenges – public health, climate change, food security, racial violence, and much more – more than ever, we need young leaders who are engaged, creative, and passionate about making a difference,” said Zhengyu Huang, President of Committee of 100. “We are excited and inspired by this new class of 18 remarkable young leaders who are already paving the way for their peers and future generations.”
Becoming a member of Committee of 100’s NextGen program comes with the exclusive opportunity to join a vibrant community of like-minded NextGen leaders, motivated to work towards a more diverse and inclusive U.S. society and a more productive U.S.-China relationship. NextGen leaders will engage with Committee of 100 and our Members to develop initiatives and content tailored to the NextGen community. NextGen leaders also receive special access to exclusive Committee of 100 programming and events. Additionally, NextGen leaders will work on impactful service projects with both Committee of 100 and partner organizations, as change-makers for positive social impact and community-building.
As part of an open application process, Committee of 100 accepted applications from hundreds of exceptional young professionals and rising leaders from all sectors who are passionate about the organization’s dual missions to promote the inclusion of Chinese Americans in all aspects of American life and to advance constructive dialogue and relations between the U.S. and Greater China. Individuals who demonstrated a remarkable history of professional and personal excellence and aged forty years and younger were encouraged to apply. The full list of criteria can be reviewed here.
The 18 new members of the Committee of 100 Next Generation Leaders 2022 class are:
Jesse Appell is an intercultural comedian who performs in both Mandarin and English. A Fulbright Scholar, Mr. Appell apprenticed to Xiangsheng master Ding Guangquan to learn traditional Chinese comedy. He has appeared on Chinese versions of Last Comic Standing and SNL, using humor to bridge East and West for his 2 million online followers.
Celia Au is an actress and producer working in Hollywood. Ms. Au can be seen in shows on Netflix, AMC, NBC, and her latest film In A New York Minute will be available on VOD May 3rd. Currently, Ms. Au is working with the Hearst Media Production Group and NBC to develop a show where they are using food as a cultural bridge to showcase PoC’s stories in America.
Allen Chen is a Partner at the Boston Consulting Group, specifically in BCG GAMMA, where he focuses on leveraging machine learning and AI to solve some of his clients’ most difficult problems. Prior to BCG, Mr. Chen co-founded two exited B2B SaaS startups.
Jenn Q. Chen is the President and CRO at Connatix, a high-growth video technology company. An alumni of the University of Pennsylvania, Ms. Chen started her career at Lehman Brothers and has built and led commercial teams at AppNexus (acq. Microsoft) and Sizmek (acq. Amazon). Ms. Chen also co-founded an education non-profit, Givology.org, and is a mom of 3.
Elaine Cheung is Chief of Operations for the Manhattan Borough President. With over a decade of experience in New York City government and politics, she most notably served as Chief of Staff for a Council Member whose district included the largest number of AAPI New Yorkers, and where she shepherded the passage of 17 local laws. Ms. Cheung graduated magna cum laude from Mount Holyoke College, studied at Beijing Language and Culture University, and is a CUNY Kriegel Fellowship alum.
Alexa Khan (Dulguun Batjargal) is an award-winning producer, creative director and actress. She is a Co-Founder of Three Flames Pictures film production company and 3 Sparks Digital, a marketing and media company. Ms. Khan is a member of the Board of Directors at Chinese Chamber of Commerce in LA. Ms. Khan studied finance real estate and law and worked at UBS Financial Services and Merrill Lynch.
Yao King is the founder and CIO of YK Asset Management, a multi-strategy hedge fund in NY on the Millennium platform. Mr. King currently leads the #GoldOpen movement on the East Coast for the non-profit Gold House to improve how AAPIs are represented on screen, practices sustainable regenerative methods on his small farm, and invests in and advises within the finance, startup, and entertainment space.
Jay Kuo is CEO of The Social Edge, a digital publishing and social media company. He is a two-time Tony winning producer and composer on Broadway and an appellate litigator admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Kuo serves on the national board of the Human Rights Campaign.
John Lian is a medical investigator at Harvard University, with extensive background and experience in infectious disease research and vaccine development. During the recent pandemic, Dr. Lian was an outspoken advocate of improving science communication and education to combat COVID myths and Asian discrimination. He also coordinated the Boston Asian Community Emergency Relief Fund, which raised over $500,000 in aid distribution for hundreds of working-class immigrant families seeking support. Dr. Lian is a graduate of Amherst College and Harvard Medical School.
Annie Liang-Zhou is the Co-Founder of Liang Capital Partners, a family office dedicated to wealth succession and social/environmental impact. She also engages in cross-border advisory for sustainable businesses and manages an environmental non-profit. Ms. Liang-Zhou has traveled to 70 countries and serves on the advisory boards of non-profit organizations dedicated to heritage preservation, education equality, and US-China relations.
Dustin Ling is a senior banker at Citi responsible for Public Sector and Supranational clients with more than 15 years of experience in banking, finance and ESG. Mr. Ling is a strong advocate for diversity and inclusion especially for Asian representation and being a strong voice against AAPI Hate as a Citi leader and a Board Member of Ascend New York. Mr. Ling also co-authored “Ling Legacy,” which documents the diaspora of Chinese families to the Caribbean.
Chris Shen is the co-founder of Revere, a VC-backed fintech company empowering investors with the tools to build custom venture capital portfolios. He was previously a family office investor and corporate finance lawyer based in Greater China from 2006 to 2019. Mr. Shen is an avid follower of and guest speaker on all things US-China and serves on the board of the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA).
Lei Wang is the first Asian woman to complete the Explorer’s Grand Slam and a sought-after international motivational speaker and executive coach. Ms. Wang helps business leaders accelerate their careers to exciting new heights with ease and grace, lead their organizations to make a bigger impact, and connect deeper with the community they serve.
Ben Wei is the Founder & Executive Director of Asians Fighting Injustice, a grassroots non-profit focused on battling Anti-Asian Hate in NYC. He was one of the main organizers of two of NYC’s largest Stop Asian Hate Rallies, including a 10,000+ person rally that featured Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Congresswoman Grace Meng, Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang & NYS Senator John Liu.
Xiang Xu is an international choreographer, dancer and dance instructor based in New York City. Mr. Xu holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and has served as adjunct faculty and guest artist at Towson University and Santa Monica College.
Douglas Yoon is a US Army officer and commander’s speechwriter for the four-star level Army headquarters in Hawaii. His previous assignment was the Indo-Pacific regional desk officer for the Army head strategy directorate in the Pentagon. Mr. Yoon holds a MPA degree from Harvard Kennedy School, and a US History degree from West Point.
Gerald Zhou operates and invests in the health-tech industry. After running Corporate Development for Clover and helping Agilon stand up their first network, Mr. Zhou decided to follow a girl (now his wife) to Asia to build a One Medical for Indonesia. When he could not enter Indonesia due to Covid, he repurposed those doctors and now runs a medical chart analysis machine learning startup in the US. Mr. Zhou studied engineering at Carnegie Mellon and epidemiology at Harvard, but no amount of schooling can prepare anyone for the complexities of US healthcare.
Marrian Zhou is a Chinese American journalist. Born and raised between Beijing and Los Angeles, she is passionate about U.S.-China relations and Asian American issues. Ms. Zhou is an alumnus of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is currently covering China at Nikkei Asia.
About Committee of 100
Committee of 100 is a non-profit U.S. leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, healthcare, and the arts focused on public policy engagement, civic engagement, and philanthropy. For over 30 years, Committee of 100 has served as the preeminent organization committed to the dual missions of promoting the full participation of Chinese Americans in all aspects of American life and constructive relations between the United States and Greater China. Visit https://www.committee100.org/ or follow Committee of 100 on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram for more information.
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Contact
Charles Zinkowski
Sr. Director, Communications/Events
Committee of 100
czinkowski@committee100.org
