Committee of 100 Welcomes Nine New Members
Press Releases

Committee of 100 Welcomes Nine New Members

17th April 2023

New York, NY (April 17, 2023) – At Committee of 100’s forthcoming 2023 Conference & Gala, the organization will formally welcome nine new members into 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, civic engagement, philanthropy, arts, and culture. 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 advancing constructive relations between the U.S. and Greater China.

“We are excited and honored to welcome these nine new members to Committee of 100,” said Gary Locke, Committee of 100 Chair, Former U.S. Ambassador to China, and current President of Bellevue College in Washington. “These new members reflect our continued dedication to naming diverse and impactful leaders to advance the critical work of our organization’s dual missions. We warmly welcome these new members to Committee of 100, and look forward to their expertise, energy, and camaraderie in the years to come.”

“These nine extraordinary individuals bring unique perspectives and contributions to our community,” said Zhengyu Huang, President of Committee of 100.  “Their collective wisdom and experience in their respective fields will prove an incomparable asset in our ongoing mission to advocate for the Chinese American community while promoting constructive dialogue between the U.S. and Greater China.”

Committee of 100’s members are American citizens who are equally proud of their contributions to the U.S. and their Chinese heritage. Members of the organization are united by the belief in the fundamental American principles of equality and opportunity for all people, regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender, or creed. Committee of 100 and its members support the full inclusion and advancement of the more than five million Chinese Americans in the U.S. and believe that America is stronger because of its diverse citizenry.

American citizens of Chinese heritage are invited to Committee of 100 membership based on their extraordinary achievements. Members include pioneers in their respective fields across the arts, science, technology, business, and finance. With this new class, Committee of 100 now has over 140 members.

Committee of 100 is honored to introduce the nine new members for 2023:

Christine Chen was the founding executive director of  Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) from 2006-2008 and has since returned to the organization in January 2011 to serve as its current Executive Director. During her tenure, Christine strengthened and expanded APIAVote’s partners into 29 states. APIAVote’s research and polling of Asian American voters and their regional trainings and field programs have strengthened the local grassroots programs in reaching and mobilizing Asian American and Pacific Islander voters. Profiled by Newsweek magazine in 2001 as one of 15 women who will shape America’s new century, Christine served from 2001 to 2005 as national executive director of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), one of the leading AAPI civil rights organizations in the country. Christine has nearly three decades of experience in organizing and advocating on issues such as immigration, hate crimes, affirmative action, census, racial profiling, voting rights, election reform, and various derogatory and racist media incidents.  While serving as Executive Director of OCA National from 2001 to 2006, Chen was also a member of the executive committee of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, founding member of APIA Scholars, and served on numerous boards including the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans and Demos Board of Trustees. She was a Resident Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics during the 2022 spring semester. She currently serves on the Kennedy Center Community Advisory Board and the Center for Asian American Media. In addition, she is a member of the Election Assistance and Policy (EAP) Standing Committee at the American Political Science Association.

Dr. Karen Eng is the President and CEO of CSMI, a leading engineering firm in the FDA & USDA regulated industries. Initially a successful optometrist with a Doctorate from the New England College of Optometry, Dr. Eng surprised her family with her bold decision to switch careers and industries and take over the family business. She quickly proved her commitment to taking the company to the next level and expanding it on a global scale. Her close work with the Food Drug Administration, MBDA, the International Trade Administration, and the Export-Import Bank of the United States has turned CSMI into one of the top engineering consulting services firm in both domestic and foreign markets. Dr. Eng has used her professional success to support, promote, and mentor other girls, women, and minority business owners, particularly those in STEM-related industries. Dr. Eng is a member of several prominent Boards, including: Board of Trustees for the Illinois College of Optometry, Board for National Asian/Pacific Islander American Chamber of Commerce & Entrepreneurship (ACE), and Board of Asian & Pacific Islander American Votes (APIA Votes). The Illinois State Treasurer & Secretary of State have each given her an award for Outstanding Service in Business.

Jerry Guo is the founder, CEO and chairman of the board of Casa Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CASA), a leading provider of 5G wireless technologies and wireline broadband technologies company,  headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts with more than 1000 employees in over 30 countries. Jerry founded Casa Systems in 2003. The company, which went public in 2017, provides software and equipment to more than 400 customers globally including Verizon, AT&T, Charter Communications, Bell Canada, Rogers, America Movil, Vodafone, Liberty Global, NBN Australia, Softbank, JCOM. Prior to founding CASA, Jerry served as the Vice President of Broadband at River Delta Networks, a privately held technology startup in Massachusetts which was acquired by Motorola in 2001. Previously, Jerry was a research scientist at Bell Laboratories’ research division during the AT&T and Lucent Technologies periods. His research area includes semiconductor processing technologies, optical transmission technologies, and broadband access technologies. Jerry holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an M.S. and B.S. in optical instruments from the Department of Precision Instruments at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Jerry came to the U.S from China in 1987 to study for his PH.D, is married to his wife Lucy Xie and has two daughters.

Daphne Kwok is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Asian American & Pacific Audience Strategy at AARP.  Her work empowers Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) to choose how they live as they age.  She brings to AARP her experience as a “leader of leaders” through her community service in promoting and empowering the AAPI community. In 2010, Daphne was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair his Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The Commission served as the “eyes and ears” of the community advising the President and the federal government about the issues impacting the AAPI community.  As Chair, Daphne met with members of AAPI communities throughout the country, connecting them to regional federal agency representatives. Daphne concluded her term as chair in May 2014 but continued as a commissioner until February 2017. Previously, Daphne was Executive Director of Asians & Pacific Islanders with Disabilities of California.  She was also the Executive Director of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation in San Francisco. For 11 years, she was the Executive Director of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA), a national membership-based civil rights organization, where she addressed:  hate crimes, campaign finance, immigration, Census 2000, English-only, and affirmative action.  She was the first elected Chair of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans, a network of national APA organizations.  She also served as Executive Director of the Asia-Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies. A 1984 graduate of Wesleyan University, Daphne is the first Asian American to serve on its Board of Trustees, is a trustee emeritus and chaired the Wesleyan Alumni Association.

Catherine Pan-Giordano is a Partner and Management Committee member of Dorsey & Whitney LLP, an international law firm with over 110 years of history and 21 offices around the world.  She is the Corporate Group Head of the firm’s New York office.  She also chairs the firm’s globally renowned U.S.-China Practice. As one of the most prominent  Chinese-English bilingual business lawyers in New York, Catherine attracts high profile clients who depend on her unique skillset to handle strategic corporate transactions and solve complex legal problems for their businesses. Her client list includes some of the world’s largest corporations, financial institutions and business leaders, and she frequently serves as their chief outside legal counsel. In addition to her corporate and transactional experience, Catherine also oversees risk management, dispute resolution and investigation matters for corporate clients and their officers and directors, as well as universities, research institutions and faculty members. A graduate from Harvard Law School with a full scholarship, Catherine has been consecutively ranked by Chambers Global from 2020-2023 and was recognized as one of the Top Women in Dealmaking 2023 by The Deal. Outside of her legal work, Catherine is a supporter of arts and education and enjoys contributing time and resources to civic causes.  Catherine serves on the Board of Governors of University of St. Thomas Law School in Minneapolis and is a Trustee of the China Institute.

David Sze is a Partner at Greylock Partners, one of the oldest and largest venture capital firms in the U.S. David joined Greylock in 2000 and has consistently been at the forefront of innovation in the consumer landscape. David has led some of Greylock’s most notable investments including Facebook, Roblox, LinkedIn, Nextdoor, and Pandora. Prior to Greylock, David spent more than seven years in product development at consumer internet, media and gaming organizations ranging from startup to publicly traded companies. David was SVP of Product Strategy at one of the first search pioneers, Excite, and later, Excite@Home. Prior to his work at Excite, he enjoyed a robust career in interactive entertainment. This included positions in product marketing at Electronic Arts and development at Crystal Dynamics. He started his career in management consulting for Marakon Associates and The Boston Consulting Group, as well as at HBO. David has been frequently named to the Forbes Midas List which recognizes top VC investors. He is on the Board of Advisors for Northern Lights Venture Capital, Management Leadership for Tomorrow, Questbridge, and McLaren Racing. He is also a Trustee of Yale University and Rockefeller University. He holds a BA from Yale University and an MBA from Stanford University.

Alan K. Tse is the Global Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc (NYSE: JLL), the Fortune 200 Real Estate Services Company with 100,000+ employees worldwide. Alan leads a team of more than 200 lawyers worldwide. In addition to legal and compliance, he also leads the Risk, Internal Audit and Business Continuity functions and serves as a member of the global leadership team. Prior to JLL, Alan was the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Petco, the pet specialty retailer with over 1500 stores in the United States and Mexico where he led all legal, compliance and regulatory affairs matters for the Company. Alan has also previously held the positions of Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Churchill Downs, Inc. and Vice President and General Counsel of LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A., Inc. Alan is the co-founder and serves on the Board of the Asian American Legal Foundation.  The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association named Alan one of its Best Lawyers Under 40 in 2005 and recently awarded Alan with its Diversity in Action award in 2022. Alan was named as a Legend of the Law by the ABA/Burton Foundation in 2020 and the Financial Times named Alan one of its Top 20 In-House Legal Leaders in 2022.  Alan will be honored later this year by the National Association of Women Lawyers with their Lead by Example Award.  Alan holds a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley where he earned Phi Beta Kappa honors and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School.

Nora Wu currently serves as a trustee member for the University of San Francisco, she chairs for the advisory board of USF Center for Business Studies and Innovation in Asia Pacific “CBSI”; she is also on the advisory board for the USF Women Leadership and Philanthropy program. Nora serves as an independent director for JD Logistics, Meditrina, and Invincikids, a Silicon Valley nonprofit organization that focuses on the use of immersive technologies for pain management in children. Nora additionally serves as a senior advisor to PricewaterhouseCoopers Hong Kong and China firm. Prior to her retirement in 2016, Nora was the former Vice Chairwoman and Global Human Capital Leader for PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd. As the first woman from Asia to hold this global leadership role in the company’s 165-year history, Nora was responsible for driving and leading the human capital vision and strategy for the firm’s global network of 230,00 people in 157 countries. Nora is a strong advocate for women’s leadership and issues of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, serving on the PwC Global Diversity Leadership Committee. She initiated the annual PwC Women in Business Leadership Roundtable in Shanghai, and was a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai’s Women’s Executive Network. In 2016, she was named onto the Financial Times UPstanding Leader’s List of the Top 100 Ethnic-Minority Executives in the U.S. and U.K. Nora graduated from the University of San Francisco with an accounting degree in 1988. In 2018, she completed a Fellow program at the Stanford Distinguished Careers Institute.

Charles Zhang is the founder of Zion Enterprises and a celebrated entrepreneur and success story. With only $20 dollars in his pocket, but a strong determination to succeed, Charles arrived in California in 1980 and began supporting himself as a restaurant dishwasher and as gas station attendant. In a few years, he saved enough money to fund his own modest restaurant. It didn’t take Charles long to develop a strong understanding of the restaurant business. Pairing his strong work ethic with sharp business acumen, he founded Pick Up Stix, a popular Chinese fast food chain, which eventually expanded to more than 100 restaurants, and was later sold to TGI Fridays in 2001. He also founded Aseptic Solutions USA, the top beverage manufacturer and Zion Enterprises, a real estate development firm, focused on revitalizing communities and increasing investor value. Charles has been awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young and the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor, bestowed on those who have made a significant contribution to the United States. Charles received an honorary Doctoral Degree from Concordia University and is Executive in Resident at Cal State Fullerton Business School.

About Committee of 100’s Conference & Gala

Committee of 100’s new members will be in attendance at Committee of 100’s Conference & Gala, which will take place from May 5-6, 2023 in Silicon Valley, where their membership will officially commence at the annual members meeting. Convening under the theme “Seeking Common Ground in Turbulent Times,” the Conference & Gala will convene distinguished academics, policymakers, businesses, and next-generation leaders from across the U.S. for a series of discussions, debates, keynotes, and networking sessions. Participants share a common goal of advocating for and promoting the full participation of all Chinese Americans in American society. The event will take place at the Signia by Hilton San Jose May 5-6. Content will focus on diplomacy, economic interdependence, education, technology, anti-Asian hate, and more. Registration information can be found here.

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 more than 30 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/ or follow Committee of 100 on LinkedInTwitter, and Facebook for more information.

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Contact:

Charles Zinkowski

Sr. Director of Marketing & Communications

Committee of 100

czinkowski@committee100.org

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