Dr. Fanta Aw
Executive Director and CEO
NAFSA

Fanta Aw, PhD, currently serves as the executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators, having previously held its presidency from 2013 to 2016. Dr. Aw is dedicated to addressing pivotal issues. She often serves as a keynote speaker, sharing her expertise on various topics, including internationalization; international educational exchange; diversity, equity, and inclusion; student success; women in leadership; global trends; geopolitics; public policy; and immigration. Dr. Aw is also a champion for innovation and transformation in the realm of higher education. She speaks to the importance of humanity coexisting with artificial intelligence and the social responsibility of educators in preparing and nurturing the next generation of empathetic leaders. During her extensive tenure at AU, Dr. Aw held several leadership positions, including serving as the vice president of undergraduate enrollment, campus life, and inclusive excellence. She has been recognized as an award-winning lecturer while holding the title of Hurst Senior Professorial Lecturer at AU’s School of International Service. In 2023, her significant contributions to AU were honored with the Neil Kerwin Alumni Achievement Award.

Dr. Steven Chu
William R. Kenan Jr. Professor, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology and of Energy Science and Engineering
Stanford University

Steven Chu is the William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics, of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and of Energy Science and Engineering at Stanford University.

From January 2009 to April, 2013, Dr. Chu served as U.S. Secretary of Energy under President Barack Obama. During his tenure, he began several initiatives, including ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy), the Energy Innovation Hubs, and the Clean Energy Ministerial meetings. As the first scientist Cabinet member, Dr. Chu recruited dozens outstanding scientists and engineers to the Department of Energy, and was personally tasked by President Obama to help stop the BP Oil leak.

His current research is in biophysics, molecular and cellular physiology, medical imaging, nanoparticle synthesis, and battery research. He has received many awards, including the 1997 Nobel Prize for laser cooling and optical trapping of atoms.

Margaret K. Lewis
Professor of Law
Seton Hall

Maggie Lewis is a professor at Seton Hall Law where she previously also served as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Institutional Operations. A scholar of legal issues in the U.S.-China relationship, her research focuses on China and Taiwan with an emphasis on criminal justice and human rights.

She has been a Fulbright Senior Scholar at National Taiwan University, a visiting researcher at Melbourne Law School’s Asian Law Centre, a visiting professor at Academia Sinica, and a delegate to the U.S.-Japan Foundation’s U.S.-Japan Leadership Program. Professor Lewis is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and serves on the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations Board of Directors as well as on the Advisory Board for the National Science Foundation’s SECURE (Safeguarding the Entire Community of the U.S. Research Ecosystem) Center at the University of Washington.