New York, NY (April 7, 2025) – Committee of 100, a nonprofit U.S. leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans, today announced its Next Generation Leaders (NGL) Class of 2025, comprised of 16 individuals across the arts, business, technology, and finance. The new class will be formally introduced at Committee of 100’s annual Conference & Gala taking place in Los Angeles on April 25-26.
Launched in 2014, Committee of 100’s NGL 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. With this new class, there will be a total of nearly 225 NGLs across a multitude of sectors who make up a vibrant and diverse community.
“We are excited to welcome these 16 outstanding young leaders to our Next Generation Leaders program,” said Cindy Tsai, Interim President, Committee of 100. “Here at Committee of 100, we are committed to supporting and empowering future change-makers, encouraging them to turn their passion into meaningful impact. We look forward to witnessing their leadership growth and expanding impact as they address the issues affecting Chinese Americans every day.”
Becoming a member of Committee of 100’s NGL program comes with the exclusive opportunity to join a vibrant community of like-minded leaders, motivated to work towards a more diverse and inclusive U.S. society and a more productive U.S.-China relationship. NGLs will engage with Committee of 100 and its Members to develop initiatives and content tailored to the NGL community. NGLs also receive special access to exclusive Committee of 100 programming and events. Additionally, NGLs will work on year-long impact projects as change-makers for positive social impact and community-building.
As part of an open application process, Committee of 100 accepted applications from 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 in the FAQ here.
The 16 new members of the Committee of 100 Next Generation Leaders 2025 class:
Phoebe Haines is a mezzo soprano and researcher based in Beijing. Having studied at the University of Cambridge, the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, the Royal College of Music, and Tsinghua University, Phoebe is now a PhD candidate at Peking University. As a young opera singer, Phoebe was fortunate to make her solo debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2014, and has gone on to sing in over 30 countries, with world-class organizations including the Philadelphia Orchestra. Phoebe is passionate about educational and cross-cultural projects, and enjoys translating and presenting as well as performing and researching. Her written works have been featured in the People’s Daily and the Annual Report on Study of the Arts in China. She is a TEDx speaker and her research interests lie in Chinese Kunqu.
Shirley Hon is a seasoned professional with over 20 years of global experience in diverse industries, including healthcare, oil and gas, sports, and OTT media. Recently, she served as Board Secretary and Chief Marketing Officer at a Nasdaq-listed healthcare company in New York, where she played a crucial role in strategic decision-making and corporate governance. Passionate about advocating for women’s rights in sports, Shirley co-founded the “United Women’s Sports NIL Agency” with two American partners. Their mission focuses on ensuring fair compensation and rights for exceptional female athletes, enhancing the value and impact of women’s sports, and fostering a more equitable and inclusive environment. Through her work, Shirley aims to elevate societal recognition and support for female athletes, making significant strides in the sports industry.
Dr. Angel Hsu is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and the Environment at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is the founder and director of the Data-Driven EnviroLab. Her research explores the intersection of science and policy and the use of data-driven approaches, including AI, to understand environmental sustainability, particularly for climate change and energy, urbanization and air quality. She is a lead author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. She has a Ph.D. in Environmental Policy from Yale University and was formerly an Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies at Yale-NUS College in Singapore.
Laura Huang is a Distinguished Professor of Management and Organizational Dynamics at Northeastern University and the international best-selling author of EDGE: Turning Adversity into Advantage. She has held faculty positions at Harvard Business School and the Wharton School, and is currently on the board of Wharton Alumni Angels and NJECC. Laura’s award-winning research examines interpersonal relationships and implicit bias in entrepreneurship and in the workplace, and has been featured in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Forbes. She was named one of the 40 Best Business School Professors by Poets & Quants, and to the Thinkers 50 Radar list as one of the leading management thinkers in the world. Prior to her academic career, Laura held positions in investment banking, consulting, and management, for organizations such as Standard Chartered Bank, IBM Global Services, and Johnson & Johnson. Laura holds an MS and BSE in electrical engineering, both from Duke University, an MBA from INSEAD, and a PhD from the University of California, Irvine.
Kyle Hutzler serves as JPMorganChase’s Executive Director for APAC Policy and Strategic Competitiveness, helping JPMorganChase and its clients navigate geopolitical risk and policymakers in identifying constructive solutions to advance economic security and competitiveness. He was previously a consultant with McKinsey & Company and has experience at the US International Trade Commission and South China Morning Post. Kyle has authored or co-authored multiple studies, including on supply chain risk and American city diplomacy. His work has been featured in diverse outlets and he is a co-editor of the American Literature in the World anthology. Kyle holds a BA in Economics from Yale; an MA from Tsinghua University, where he was a Schwarzman Scholar; and an MBA from Stanford. He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and an Aspen Strategy Group Rising Leader and is proficient in Chinese and Spanish.
Winnie Wai-Yee Lau grew up in NYC’s Chinatowns being raised by her wonderful grandparents. For kindergarten, Winnie moved to New Jersey where she was one of three Asians in her class – she loved sharing her Chinese culture. She proceeded to study finance at NYU Stern’s School of Business and minor in social work at NYU Silver’s School of Social Work. Winnie worked in investment banking at Barclays and then in operations roles at Ollie Pets, Headliner Labs, and Koala Health. She co-founded Calm Canine Academy and a growth marketing agency. She is currently the Chief of Staff, Corporate Development at Novilla Pharmaceuticals. She also co-founded her high school’s alumni association and serves as one of its Co-Chairs. Winnie resides in NYC with her husband and two toy Aussies, Ellie and Emma.
Steven Lei is a business and nonprofit board leader with over 15 years of experience in both the public and private sector. He is currently Vice President for Business Continuity at East West Bank, a full-service commercial bank focused on the U.S. and China markets. Previously, Steven held strategic roles in finance and business operations at the Federal Reserve Bank, the University of California System, and was a global business resilience consultant at Facebook. Steven serves on the Los Angeles County Economy and Efficiency Commission and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (UK). His extensive board service includes Opera Parallèle, the Pony Barnes Foundation, BluPeak Credit Union, and the Chinese Historical Society of America Museum. Steven earned his Bachelor’s degree at the University of California, San Diego, Master’s degree at the London School of Economics, and completed the Accelerated Management Program at the Yale School of Management.
Edward Dershiun Liao is the Director of Investments at Excellent Capital, a multi-strategy family office based in Orange County, California. He oversees the firm’s investment strategy on public equities, venture capital and commercial real estate markets. In addition, Edward leads the firm’s AAPI initiatives, including funding and partnering with Asian founded companies and non-profit organizations. Prior to Excellent Capital, Edward spent eight years investing in innovative companies within the artificial intelligence, enterprise software and consumer internet sectors. Since the beginning of his career, his investments have included US, Chinese and Southeast Asian technology companies ranging from startup to publicly traded companies. Edward began his career in the Investment Banking Division at Lehman Brothers. He holds a BA in Economics – Operations Research from Columbia University.
Lillian Lin is a senior vice president and portfolio manager in PIMCO. She was a member of PIMCO’s Americas portfolio committee for eight years, and she had also been a rotating member of the emerging markets portfolio committee. She currently serves on the PIMCO Women steering committee as well as the PIMCO LEAP (Leading and Engaging as Asian Professionals) engagement committee. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2014, she worked in fixed income portfolio analysis at Harvard Management Company and was a FICC (fixed income, commodities, and currencies) derivatives trader at UBS. She was named a Wall Street rising star in by Business Insider and Role Model of the Year by ASCEND OC both in 2023. In the past, she has also been named a Next Generation Leader by Women in Asset Management. Lillian has 11 years of investment experience and holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Peking University. She ranked top out of more than 100,000 students in Beijing 2007 College Entrance Examination.
Sunnie Liu is an artist, organizer, and narrative strategist propelling social change movements. Sunnie’s nationally exhibited art has been featured by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Asian American Arts Alliance, Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, Chautauqua Institution, and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. Sunnie co-founded Xin Sheng | 心声 Project, an intergenerational organization that combats mis/disinformation for the Chinese diaspora and co-chairs the Asian American Disinformation Table. Sunnie has organized for criminal legal reform across the US, mobilized against the displacement of Manhattan’s Chinatown, and conducted political research honored with an Analyst Institute Expy Award and published by NYU Press. Sunnie holds degrees in History and Studio Art from Yale University.
King Lu is a writer & director who tells character driven, Asian American stories. Through his interests in philosophy, social activism, and human behavior, he tells nuanced stories but with digestible themes. King studied screenwriting and directing at Columbia University’s Film MFA program. He won the HUMANITAS College Drama Fellowship for his feature screenplay “From June to July,” which follows a Chinese American community in Atlanta, GA after a near-death boating accident occurs at a potluck gathering. King participated in the Armed with a Camera Fellowship, and his films have screened at LAAPFF, CAAMFest, San Diego Asian Film Festival, and more. He currently teaches screenwriting as an Assistant Professor at Temple University. He is developing two feature films: “From June to July” and “Diary of an Asian Baller.” His latest short film “Shot Clock” is on the festival circuit.
Symington “Sai” Smith is Vice President and Head of North America at NAAS Technology Inc., the first US-listed energy tech company in China, covering 35% of China’s public EV charging and 60% of its EV users. His award-winning career spans roles at Ogilvy, the UK Cabinet Office, and Baker McKenzie, later advancing to executive positions on Wall Street and becoming the youngest trustee in New York Military Academy history. An elected member of the National Committee on US-China Relations and the American Chamber of Commerce in China, Sai has spoken at Harvard and Tsinghua, been featured in Vogue and Voice of America, and regularly publishes on global affairs in The National Interest. Named a Tatler “Leader of Tomorrow,” Sai is a recipient of numerous awards and honors in the UK and the US. Trilingual, he was educated at Peking, Tsinghua, King’s, and Yale as an Irene Trowell-Harris Scholar.
Lillian Xu is the Vice President of Vox Media’s podcast business, where she helps run the portfolio of shows and leads growth, strategic partnerships, and business operations. Previously, Lillian worked at New York Public Radio / WNYC, overseeing corporate strategy and growth initiatives for top podcasts like Radiolab and The New Yorker Radio Hour. She started her career as a management consultant and product manager in Oliver Wyman’s Digital practice. She currently lives in New York City, where she likes playing pickleball and taking French and Chinese classes when she has time.
Gillian Yang is an Enterprise Account Manager at Bloomberg, working closely with tier-one banks to deliver innovative financial solutions. With a strong background in finance, fashion, and marketing, she brings a unique perspective to her role, blending analytical expertise with creative problem-solving. Before joining Bloomberg, Gillian earned her degree in Communications from the University of Michigan with a minor in Entrepreneurship. Originally from Los Angeles, she has always been drawn to dynamic industries that shape both culture and commerce. Her diverse professional experience allows her to navigate complex client relationships while staying attuned to emerging market trends. Outside of work, Gillian is an avid traveler who enjoys exploring new destinations and immersing herself in different cultures, thriving in fast-paced environments that challenge her to think critically and innovate.
Dr. Emma Xiaolu Zang is an Assistant Professor of Sociology, Biostatistics, and Global Affairs at Yale University. Her research examines how social and policy structures shape inequality and health disparities across the life course, utilizing advanced demographic methods, causal inference, and Bayesian modeling. Her work has been published in top academic journals, including PNAS, Nature Human Behavior, Demography, and JAMA Internal Medicine, and has received widespread media coverage from over 500 outlets, such as CNN, Harvard Business Review, and ThePaper.cn (China). Emma has been recognized with multiple prestigious awards, including honors from the American Sociological Association, the International Sociological Association, and the U.S. National Institute on Aging. Committed to fostering China-U.S. cultural exchange and advocating for the Chinese-American community, she actively engages in mentorship, public discourse, and policy impact.
Dr. Jiakun Jack Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas (KU), Associate Director of the Center for East Asian Studies, and Director of the KU Trade War Lab. He is a Public Intellectuals Program fellow with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. He was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton University in 2018-2019 and a Wilson China Fellow at the Wilson Center in 2021-2022. Jack’s research explores the political economy of trade and conflict in East Asia. His newest projects investigate the determinants of U.S. foreign policy towards China, the politics of the U.S.-China Trade War, and the national security implications of economic interdependence with China.
About Committee of 100’s Conference & Gala
For more than three decades, Committee of 100’s Conference & Gala has drawn hundreds of distinguished academics, policymakers, businesses, and next-generation leaders from across the U.S. for a series of discussions, debates, keynotes and networking sessions under the common goal of advocating for and promoting the full participation of all Chinese Americans in American society.
This year’s must-attend event will take place in Los Angeles on April 25-26 at the Fairmont Century Plaza. In addition to the general sessions, the 2025 Conference will have two concurrent tracks to cover important content on domestic issues faced by Chinese Americans in the U.S. and foreign relations.
The evening of the 25th will be topped off with a black-tie celebratory Gala, where among the announced highlights include Shirley and Walter Wang being honored with the Leadership in Entrepreneurship and Grammy Award Winning Tenor (and Next Generation Leader Class of 2023) Nicholas Phan performing.
Registration for the 2025 Conference & Gala is open. Sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting [email protected]. Accredited media interested in attending can reach out to [email protected].
About Committee of 100
Committee of 100 is a nonprofit U.S. leadership organization of prominent Chinese Americans in business, government, academia, healthcare, and the arts focused on public policy engagement, civic engagement, philanthropy, and arts & culture. For over 35 years, Committee of 100 has served as a 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.
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