Please join us for a very special evening to commemorate 20 years as an action-oriented U.S. non-profit. In its first decade, The 1990 Institute focused on assisting China with its economic reforms and modernization through independent and rigorous policy-oriented studies conducted by American and Chinese research luminaries. Over the last 10 years, the Institute’s work turned to poverty alleviation and environmental sustainability through programs in microfinance, rural girls' education, research and children and the arts.

The evening promises to provide stimulating insights as to how China’s phenomenal growth over the past 20 years will shape the 20 years to come. What has been the role of non-profit U.S. China organizations during this period, and what impact can and should volunteer organizations hope to achieve in the coming decade? 

Reception - 6:00 p.m.
China Microfinance Reception - 6:00-6:30 p.m.
Dinner - 7:00 p.m.
Program - 8:00 p.m.

We are pleased to welcome as speakers San Francisco Consul General Gao Zhansheng of the People’s Republic of China, Ambassador Linda Tsao Yang (Clinton-appointed U.S. Director to the Asian Development Bank) and Norton Wheeler (US and Asian history professor and author of Invited Influence: American Private Associations in the Modernization of China, 1985-2005.) 

About the Speakers

Ambassador Gao Zhansheng became Consul General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco in 2008. His career in China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has spanned over 30 years. He was stationed at the Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands, and has served in the Department of West European affairs as well as the Department of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan Affairs.

Ambassador Linda Tsao Yang chairs The Asian Corporate Governance Association and is an independent, non-executive director on the board of The Bank of China (Hong Kong), a listed company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

From 1993 to 1999, she was the U.S. Ambassador and Executive director to the Board of Directors of The Asian Development Bank in Manila. Ambassador Yang was the first woman Executive Director appointed by the United States Government to the board of a multilateral financial institution and the first Executive Director appointed by President Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The first woman and the first minority appointed to serve as California's Savings and Loan Commissioner, she was responsible for the regulation and supervision of all state-chartered savings and loan institutions from April 1980 to December 1982 during a period of national recession and great turmoil in California's financial sector.

Ambassador Yang is a Trustee of The Asia Foundation, a director on the boards of The Committee of 100 and The Center on Asia Pacific Policy, RAND Corporation. A member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Ambassador Yang is a graduate of St. John's University in Shanghai and earned her Master of Philosophy in Economics degree from Columbia University of New York.

Norton Wheeler is an assistant professor at Missouri Southern State University, where he teaches US and Asian history. Previously, he was a business executive, with experience that included a three-year residency in China. His master's thesis was a history of The 1990 Institute, and his doctoral dissertation ("Invited Influence: American Private Associations in the Modernization of China, 1985-2005") prominently featured the Institute. He is the author of several journal articles and a book chapter on US-China relations.

Reservations can also be made by contacting Jean Crehan at the Institute. Please make your reservations by April 20, 2010.

Make Checks Payable to "The 1990 Institute"

The 1990 Institute
P.O. Box 1681
Burlingame, CA 94011

Jean Crehan
(T) 650 558-9939
(F) 650 558-9499
e-mail: jcrehan@1990institute.org

 The 1990 Institute is a 501(c)3 organization.  Our website is http://1990institute.org