events & announcements

in the spotlight

October 29-30, 2007
Rockville, M.D.

speakers

Lt. Governor Anthony Brown
State of Maryland

Lieutenant Governor Anthony G. Brown has a distinguished career in public service to his community, the State of Maryland, and our nation.

Lt. Governor Brown has established a full partnership with Governor Martin O’Malley. He was appointed Chair of the Governor’s BRAC Subcabinet by Governor O’Malley and is playing a leading in the Administration’s efforts on health care and broader higher education and workforce creation.

Prior to his election as Maryland’s 8th lieutenant governor, Anthony was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, where he served as the Majority Whip. Lt. Governor Brown also served on the Board of Trustees at Prince George’s Community College for four years before joining the House of Delegates.

Anthony attended Harvard College and joined the Army ROTC. Upon graduating with honors in 1984, Anthony was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army, serving a tour of duty in Germany as a helicopter pilot with the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division.

In 2005, Lt. Colonel Brown deployed with the 353rd Civil Affairs Command in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. LTC Brown served with distinction in Baghdad, Fallujah, Kirkuk and Basra and continues to serve our country in the United States Army Reserves.

Lt. Governor Brown lives in Prince George’s County with his wife Pat and their children, Rebecca and Jonathan.

Samuel Mok
Chief Financial Officer
U.S. Department of Labor

On January 25, 2002, Samuel Tinsing Mok was confirmed by the Senate to be the Chief Financial Officer of the U.S. Department of Labor. He was the first career Chief Financial Officer and Comptroller of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, appointed by former Treasury Secretary James Baker. While there, he implemented many management control programs to enhance financial reporting and control.

Prior to joining the Labor Department, Mr. Mok served as the Managing Member of Condor Consulting, LLC, a Washington, DC-based international consulting firm. His expertise lies in providing and leveraging business and government contacts for American companies interested in the Asian market. Other aspects of Mr. Mok's practice included assisting American businesses that sought information on prospective business partners in Asia and facilitating meetings for American corporate executives who wished to establish contacts with senior Asian embassy officials in Washington, DC.

Mr. Mok's professional career spans both the American private and public sectors. In the private sector, Mr. Mok began his career as an auditor with Main & Hurdman (now KPMG Peat Marwick) and later served as a Senior Auditor with Parnell Kerr & Forster. In 1971, he was called to active military duty. As a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, he served in Okinawa, Japan as a strategic intelligence officer overseeing reporting and analysis on China, Vietnam, and North Korea. Upon being promoted to the rank of Captain, he was reassigned to Army Readiness Region 1, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

He has served as deputy mayor of Chinatown, Washington, D.C., and in top leadership positions of most major Asian-American community organizations in the greater Washington, D.C. area. Mr. Mok and his wife, Nancy, reside in Maryland. They are the proud parents of two grown children, both lawyers, and three grandchildren who also reside in the Washington, D.C. area.

Isiah Leggett
Montgomery County Executive

Isiah Leggett is the first African American to be elected to this public office. Isiah Leggett was the first African American to be elected to the County Council. He also served as the Council's President three times (1991, 1998, 1999) and as its Vice-President three times (1990, 1997 and 2002). His other political service includes chairing the Maryland Democratic Party from December 2002 – December 2004.

In earlier leadership experience he served as a Captain in the United States Army. His tour of duty in the Vietnam War earned him the Bronze Star Medal, the Vietnam Service, and Vietnam Campaign Medals. As an administrative aide, he specialized in small business concerns for Congressman Parren Mitchell of Maryland's 7th Congressional District. He also worked as a Social Security Administration claims examiner and as a staff attorney for the Department of the Navy.

In 1977 Ike Leggett was selected as a White House Fellow, one of a small number of citizens selected from across the country for their exemplary civic, professional and educational achievement. This program assigns the Fellows as staff members to the President of the United States and Members of the Cabinet. He served as a Professor of Law at the Howard University Law School from 1975 - 2006. He ran the day-to-day operations of the Law School as its Assistant Dean from 1979 – 1986.

He has received more than three dozen honors and awards from some of these and a variety of other organizations, including the Leadership Award from the Maryland State Teachers Association, Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Montgomery County Humane Society, the Distinguished Public Service Award from the American Lung Association, the Good Scout Award from the National Capital Area – Boy Scouts of America, the Advancement of Public Service Responsibility Award from the Maryland Bar Foundation, and the award for Achievement in Environmental & Occupational Health from Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association. Ike Leggett holds four higher education degrees: Bachelor of Arts from Southern University, a Master of Arts degree and a Juris Doctorate degree from Howard University, and a Master of Laws from George Washington University. He lives in Burtonsville with his wife, Catherine, who is Vice President for Human Resources of the International City Management Association.

John A. Emens
Senior Vice President, Small Business
Export-Import Bank of the United States

John Emens currently serves as Ex-Im Bank's senior vice president, small business. Emens is responsible for leading all Ex-Im Bank activities to identify and educate U.S. small business exporters in order to attract them to the Bank's product offerings. He co-chairs Ex-Im Bank's Small Business Committee and manages Ex-Im Bank's network of regional branches and the units engaged in outreach to minority- and woman-owned businesses, partner identification and training, as well as small business product development. He continues to have a special focus on bringing private sector practices and a client service orientation to Ex-Im Bank.

Emens joined Ex-Im Bank in December, 2002, after retiring from Allfirst Bank (now M&T), Baltimore, MD. During his 32-year banking career, Emens rose to the office of executive vice president, managing all commercial business units of Allfirst. Among those responsibilities was the management of the International Division, which included the establishment of Allfirst's Export Finance Division. Earlier in his career, Emens was the general manager of Allfirst's London branch.

Emens holds a B.A. in history from McDaniel College (formerly Western Maryland College) and has served on the college's Board of Trustees since 1995. He is a former member of the boards of The Greater Washington Board of Trade and Greater D.C. Cares, both in Washington. He is also the former vice chair of The Salvation Army Board in Baltimore. He is a retired Army captain who served in Vietnam and received both the Silver and Bronze Star. He is married, lives in Georgetown and has two adult children.

Benjamin Wu
U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy

Ben Wu was nominated by President George W. Bush on April 8, 2004 to be the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy and was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 21, 2004. He was previously appointed by President Bush as the Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Technology and was sworn-in to that position on November 6, 2001.

As the Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy, Ben advocates on behalf of technology promotion and U.S. competitiveness, contributing to the advancement of the President's high-technology agenda. He works with Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, and previously in the first term of the Bush Administration with Secretary Don Evans, to support entrepreneurship and innovation, improve technology transfer, strengthen technology collaboration, enhance research and development in our nation's federal laboratory systems, and create greater partnerships between government, industry, and universities.

Ben has also led Administration and Commerce initiatives to eliminate barriers to technology trade, open technology access for the disabled, endorse industry-led standards development internationally, and remove impediments to technology commercialization. He participates in activities with the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), a Cabinet-level council established by the President to coordinate science, space, and technology policy within the Federal research and development enterprise, and was the Executive Secretary for the NSTC Committee on Technology.

As the Deputy Under Secretary for Technology, Ben supervised policy development, direction, and management at the Technology Administration, a bureau of over 3,000 employees that includes the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the nation's oldest federal laboratory. The Technology Administration serves as the principal resource to support the Commerce Secretary in developing policies to maximize science and technology's contribution to America's economic growth. Ben has worked with the Technology Administration, first in Congress and now in the Administration, since its inception in 1989.

Ben received a Bachelor of Arts from New York University in 1985 and a Juris Doctor from the University of Pittsburgh in 1988.

Li Haiyan
Commercial Counselor
Embassy of PR China in U.S.

J. SCOTT MATHEWS
Senior Policy Advisor
Office of Technology and Electronic Commerce
Department of Commerce

Scott Mathews is a Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Technology and Electronic Commerce (OTEC) at the Department of Commerce, where he directs the China team and oversees the U.S.–China Joint Committee on Commerce and Trade Commerce Information Industry Working Group. In addition, Scott is the lead for Chinese innovation policy, e-commerce in China, and cyber-security issues. In previous assignments at the Department of Commerce, Scott represented the Department during investment negotiations with Singapore, Australia, the European Union, the South Africa Customs Union, Uruguay, Thailand, Korea, and Pakistan. Scott also represented Commerce on the OECD Investment Committee, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding Special Session.

Scott Mathews has spent more than twenty years living, working and studying outside the United States. While lecturing at Thunderbird, he provided executive education to numerous clients in the U.S., Asia, and Europe. His clients included Mazda, Honeywell, General Motors, Intel, Motorola, American Express, Lincoln Trust, Medtronics, MicroAge, Aventis and a host of other companies conducting business in Asia. Scott has authored articles covering topics that range from foreign investment in Manchuria, investment in the People’s Republic of China, Internet resources in China, and obstacles in international education services, to developing international air travel gateways to China and issues in identity management.

Zhan Ruichao
CCPIT Representative

Currently serving as CCPIT Representative in the USA, Mr. Zhan Ruichao has seven years of increasingly responsible professional experience with CCPIT, which includes international trade promotion from CCPIT headquarters in China and an assignment to CCPIT’s Canada Office from October 2004 to April 2006.

CCPIT, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, is the largest non-profit economic and trade organization in China, with a fifty-five year existence since 1952. CCPIT US Office was established in 1988.

Luis E. Fiallo
Managing Director,
China Telecom USA

Luis E. Fiallo is responsible for daily business operations and corporate development at China Telecom USA. Mr. Fiallo has over 18 years experience working in the information technology and telecommunication industries. Mr. Fiallo was recently an advisor to President George W. Bush as a member of the President’s Information Technology Council (PITAC).

Previously, Mr. Fiallo was founder and President of Fiallo & Associates, a business development and management consultancy working for Fortune 1000 companies. Prior, Mr. Fiallo was the vice president of eBusiness Solutions for BCE Teleglobe where he built one of the largest integrated global computing and communication services. Prior to Teleglobe, Mr. Fiallo worked as vice president of Data Services and Web hosting for AppliedTheory Corporation, a national ISP. Furthermore, he held senior management roles at IBM, Sprint and Cable & Wireless where he focused on advanced data networking and computing solutions.

Mr. Fiallo received a bachelor's degree in business administration in international business from George Washington University, and a master's degree in information systems from The American University.

CLAY E. HICKSON
Director, TowsonGlobal

Clay E. Hickson is Director of TowsonGlobal, the Business Globalization Center, Towson University’s first international incubator for early-stage companies. Previously, Mr. Hickson was managing Director of Rhôton Hill Group, a management consulting firm providing international marketing, corporate communications, strategic planning and cross-cultural communications services. He also had served as Director International Business Services for International Technology and Trade Associates, Director of International Programs for the World Trade Center Boston and Account Director with Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Taiwan). Mr. Hickson is Chairman and President of the Maryland-China Business Council and sits on the board of directors of the Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Hickson has developed and taught training programs, seminars and college courses that have prepared executives for doing business in international environments. He currently teaches graduate and undergraduate economics courses for the University of Phoenix Online. Mr. Hickson received his MA in International Relations from the School of Advanced International Studies at The Johns Hopkins University, received his BA in International Relations from The George Washington University, and studied Chinese language at Columbia University.

Mr. S. Tien Wong
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Opus8, Inc.,

Tien Wong is a CEO of Opus8, Inc., a Chevy Chase, Maryland-based private investment firm specializing in middle market buyouts, private equity and venture capital investment. The firm seeks to acquire North American call center, CRM, and outsourced marketing services and technology companies. Opus8 also makes venture capital investments in emerging outsourcing companies in China with a special focus on tech and services companies in the following sectors: ITO (IT outsourcing), CRM, BPO (business process outsourcing), and outsourced marketing and information management.

Mr. Wong was the recipient of the 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Greater Washington. Mr. Wong is Chairman of the Executive Leadership Committee for the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship's Greater Washington region. He is CEO of The Tien and Beverly Wong Foundation, which supports youth, education, and social services charities. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College where he majored in Government.

JUDITH RIVERA
Director, Women & Minority Outreach and Broker Liaison
EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE U.S.

Judith Rivera is responsible for promoting Ex-Im Bank programs to women-owned and minority-owned businesses. Judith also is Ex-Im Bank’s liaison to more than 140 active Ex-Im Bank registered insurance brokers nationwide.

Ms. Rivera has been with the Ex-Im Bank since 1992. Her career includes more than 25 years of working in the public and private sector.

Before her current position, she worked in the Export Finance Group as a Loan Officer. For the next ten (10) years she worked in the Small Business Insurance Group with her last position as a Risk Manager.

She is fluent in Spanish and completed various Banking certifications in International lending and managerial courses both in New York City and in Washington, D.C. She completed a two year program in Business Administration in Mexico City where she got her first taste for International Studies. She also completed the International Studies Program for Women executives at Marymount University in New York City. Judith is a native New Yorker and now resides in Maryland with her husband Mike.

My Luu
Market Development Executive, IBM

As Market Development Executive on IBM’s Small and Medium Business (SMB) team, My Luu leads the strategy and execution for developing the market for women-owned businesses in Asia and South Africa. Her position also includes working closely with IBM’s Corporate Citizenship and Corporate Affairs team to help with the strategy, content and rollout of a Small and Medium Enterprise Toolkit that IBM is developing with the World Bank to provide the latest information, resources, and tools to help entrepreneurs in underserved and emerging markets launch and/or grow their business. Ms. Luu also leads the strategy and marketing for IBM’s Base of the Pyramid initiative, which is identifying ways to leverage technological innovations to address the needs of the 4 billion people who make up two-thirds of the world population but individually earn less than $5 a day.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Luu led media relations and launched advocacy programs for various IBM business units. Before IBM, Ms. Luu was a diplomat covering foreign affairs, economic development, and ethnic conflict at the U.S. Embassy in Uzbekistan, and before that, a PR Manager at Motorola.

In the broader community, Ms. Luu is a member of the Corporate Responsibility Committee of the US Council for International Business. She is also Vice President of the Yale Alumni Association of Metropolitan New York. Ms. Luu is also on the Advisory Council of New York Resettlement for the International Rescue Committee, which helps refugees from war-torn countries rebuild their lives in safe havens. She is also the Outreach and Professional Development Chairperson of the New York Professionals Chapter of Net Impact, a nonprofit that supports and encourages the use of business skills to make a positive net social, environmental, and economic impact.

When not working or volunteering with community organizations, Ms. Luu enjoys practicing photojournalism and training for marathons (she's finished three – one each in Alaska, Australia, and Tanzania). She holds an M.B.A. from Cornell University and a B.A. from Yale College with a double major in Political Science as well as Russian and East European Studies.

A Chinese-American born in Vietnam, Ms. Luu lived for 13 months at a refugee camp in Malaysia before immigrating to the U.S. in 1980. She has lived, worked, and/or traveled in more than 30 countries and speaks Chinese (Cantonese), Russian and Spanish.

Stephen J. Anderson
Commercial Officer
U.S. Department of Commerce

Stephen Anderson is a tenured Foreign Service Officer in the U.S. Commercial Service and currently on assignment at the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Baltimore, Maryland. He is responsible for promoting Maryland exports and protecting the State’s business interests abroad.

In the Commercial Service, Stephen Anderson has helped U.S. exporters enter foreign markets with services and assistance in three main areas: Business Counseling, Trade Promotion and Policy-Related Advocacy. Anderson counsels business visitors, offers programs to identify appropriate partners and arranges business appointments for American firms. His experience also includes managing trade shows, large conferences and seminars, "matchmaker" events, American trade missions, and buying missions to the United States.

Qualified in Mandarin Chinese and Japanese at the Foreign Service Institute, he joined the Commercial Service in 1998, served at the U.S. Embassy, Beijing, and the U.S. Consulate, Nagoya. His onward assignment at the U.S. Export Assistance Center in Baltimore, Maryland, began in fall 2006.

From 1994-97, Dr. Anderson worked previously in Tokyo as a consultant and research professor at the International University of Japan. He also taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison after earning his bachelors from Oberlin College, and his masters and doctorate in 1987 from M.I.T. He has published research on public policy, commercial affairs and international relations in Japan, China and the Asia-Pacific region, and won the Masayoshi Ohira book prize in 1994 for his book on welfare policy published in both English and Japanese.

Ken Hansen
CEO Zhongguo Ventures

Mr. Hansen is a co-founder of China Springboard, a Beijing-based online advertising company, and the CEO of the e-commerce company Zhongguo Ventures LLC, which provides an e-commerce and business platform which enables Chinese companies to enter the U.S. market.

Mr. Hansen has 18+ years of telecommunications, Internet, and e-commerce experience. Ken held a senior level position at NeuStar (NYSE: NSR) which operates the .BIZ and .US Internet domain name registries, and the .CN Registry Gateway. While at NeuStar, Ken was responsible for global business development including strategic initiatives in Greater China. . In 2005, NeuStar went public on the NYSE at a $2B market cap. Mr, Hansen has also held sales, marketing, technical consulting, and businesses development positions at Cable and Wireless, MCI, NET2000, and Cibernet Inc., which was acquired in 2007.

Mr. Hansen studied Telecommunications at New York Institute of Technology, and is currently studying International Business at Strayer University.

Richard W. O'Brien
Director of International Programs and Intergovernmental Affairs
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

At the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Mr. O’Brien oversees the regulatory agency’s international activities. He also coordinates efforts with other U.S. government agencies on import product safety issues.

Mr. O’Brien is a retired career U.S. Foreign Service Officer. Before joining the Foreign Service, he worked in trade promotion at the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration and earlier, at the Agriculture Department’s Foreign Agricultural Service as a Press and Public Information Specialist. Before entering federal service, Mr. O’Brien held a variety of positions in the public relations and marketing field, including agency account executive, consultant, and staff public relations director for The Salvation Army.

Mr. O’Brien was born Dayton, Ohio, USA. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Affairs from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communications from Towson State University. A veteran of both the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve, he has lived and worked in the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, and Switzerland. Mr. O’Brien serves on the Public Safety Committee of the City of Bowie, Maryland, where he and his family reside.

Jim Mathews
Senior International Trade Specialist, China Business Information Center
Department of Commerce

Jim Mathews is a Senior International Trade Specialist with the U.S. Commercial Service in Washington D.C. A member of the China Business Information Center since January 2005, Jim counsels U.S. companies on a daily basis on how to sell their products and services in China. Before joining the Commercial Service, Jim spent two and a half years with the Department of Commerce's Import Administration where he worked primarily on antidumping duty proceedings covering products imported from China. Prior to joining the Department of Commerce, Jim spent a year teaching International Business Transactions at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology in Shanghai, China. Jim is a 1998 graduate of Syracuse University’s College of Law and Maxwell School of Citizenship. He is also a member of the New York State Bar.

Jerry Solomon
Vice President, International Trade Finance Group
M&T Bank

Jerry Solomon has been in international banking since 1974. He joined M&T Bank as a Vice President, International Trade Finance Group, in May 2002 with responsibility for the pre-export working capital financing programs of the Export-Import Bank and SBA. His goal is to help U.S. exporters access short-term financing through these programs as well as through short-term export credit insurance. Mr. Solomon’s marketing area is the entire M&T Bank footprint. For the Greater Washington D.C. area, Mr. Solomon also markets M&T Bank’s trade services products.

Mr. Solomon’s international career began with the Export-Import Bank. Over the years, he held many positions there. In the last one, he was responsible for Ex-Im Bank’s marketing activities such as trade shows and conducting training seminars. His specialty was marketing the Bank’s Working Capital Guarantee Program to banks and asset-based lenders. He also conducted and designed the delegated authority training for that program.

Previously, Mr. Solomon was the Manager of Training, Outreach and Publications in Business Development Group. He created and designed many of the Bank's publications including the User's Guide, Map of Programs, country fact sheets, and policy/program fact sheets.

Mr. Solomon has a BBA from the University of Massachusetts and an MBA from New York University. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

John A. Korpela
Manager, Montgomery County's Business Incubator Network

John Korpela is the Manager of Montgomery County’s Business Incubator Network, a program of the County’s Department of Economic Development. He oversees the operations and management of four existing incubator facilities (115,000sq.ft.), 100+ tenant companies and a fifth facility under development. Graduate companies plus current tenants account for approximately 1,500 jobs in the local advanced technology markets.

The next facility to open will be the Germantown Innovation Center. Located on the edge of the Montgomery College Campus, this facility will support an additional 30-45 technology based companies. The facility is scheduled to open in the first quarter of 2008 and will cater to the unique needs of both domestic companies and international companies bringing new technology to the U.S. market. The facility will offer 12 wet labs that average 500 sf each, two class 10,000 clean rooms, 24 offices and two conference rooms.

Located just northwest of Washington, D.C., Montgomery County is home to the National Institutes of Health, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, Department of Defense, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland.

Mr. Korpela is a seasoned business executive with extensive experience in the engineering, manufacturing and plastics industries. He successfully built and then sold Kreative Plastics, Inc. a plastics company specializing in premium product packaging.

His contributions include participation in local and state chambers of commerce, economic development organizations and several advisory boards. Mr. Korpela has lectured on numerous college campuses, testified on Capitol Hill and participated in the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business Legislative Issues. He is also the 1991 recipient of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s “Business Person of the Year Award” for the State of Maryland.

River Duan
President
The Center for US-China Technology, Innovation and Development

River Duan is the President of US business consulting UCTID, Inc.. He has 17-years comprehensive technology management experience comprised of government, high-tech industry, and non-profit think-tank in both USA and China. Mr. Duan served for 4 years in the top Chinese R&D governments----the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Science and Technology---as project officers. He is the first International Fellow (Science & Technology ) of US think-tank SRI International (the former Stanford Research Institute) since China economy reform in 1980s. He has been working for USA telecommunication industry since 1998 as an expert of Internet technology and business(Mobile IP, IPsec, LDAP, Radius,WiFi, VoIP, IPTV). Mr. Duan knows very well about the structure and operation of high tech industrial zones, software parks, technology industrial associations, SMB policies, as well as technology related decision making process in both US and China. In recent years, Mr. Duan focuses on industrial research and consulting service of IT outsourcing and BPO, innovation management, and venture investment for clients of both countries. Mr. Duan will speak on "China business development zone and high-tech industrial zone: the opportunity of outsourcing."

Bradley Gillenwater
Investment & Trade Executive—China & Taiwan
Maryland Department of Business & Economic Development

Bradley Gillenwater is Investment and Trade Executive with the International Operations Group of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. He is responsible for the Department’s relationship with three of its eleven foreign business development offices—those in East Asia: Shanghai, Beijing and Taipei. In this capacity Mr. Gillenwater leads the State’s efforts in developing exports to and attracting foreign direct investment from China and Taiwan, and other East Asian markets. Other positions he has held in the Department’s international business office include international business analyst. Immediately prior to Mr. Gillenwater’s current role he was living in Taipei, where he had been studying Mandarin Chinese and working for Taiwan’s largest private language training company. Mr. Gillenwater too has held an internship with The Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center and a clerkship with the Office of the United States Attorney, as well as earned a Master’s degree in International Political Economy at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky and a Bachelor’s degree in Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs at Miami University of Ohio. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Dan Loague
Executive Director
Capital Formation Institute

Dan Loague is the Executive Director of the Capital Formation Institute, Inc (CFI), a 501(c)(3) non-profit spin-off of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds (NASVF), the nation’s largest network of seed and early stage investment professionals. CFI works with the nation’s most distinguished researchers in capital formation and enterprise creation, and leading seed and early stage investing professionals. CFI provides comprehensive Web-accessible publications and on-demand in-depth audio interviews with key investment and enterprise development experts on state-of-the-art best practices. More than 12,000 unique visitors to CFI’s Website have generated more than 1 million hits, with up to 25% of visitors spending 30 minutes or more at the site. CFI also provides leadership-level symposia and interactive train-the-trainer workshops on seed and early stage investing.

As past Executive Director of NASVF, Mr. Loague helped create and nurture seed investing and enterprise development networks in communities and regions across the U.S., and has managed more than 100 national and regional events focused on seed-stage investing.

Gordon Tian
Chief Technology Officer & Co-founder
DecisionStreet, Inc.

Gordon Tian, currently CTO and Co-Founder of DecisionStreet, Inc., a successful serial entrepreneur in Silicon
Valley, is a uniquely, versatile technologist with an enviable track record for creating innovative new products,
and rapidly bringing them to market in alignment with business goals.

During his 15+ years in software engineering roles, he has won numerous awards while working for the likes of IBM, Northwest Airlines, Mayo Clinic, Roundtree Lab,Inc., Assia, Inc., NewScale, Inc. He has gained major application experience in financials, enterprise service (IT) management, search engine algorithms, enterprise profit management, Broadband Performance Management for IPTV, web content management, EFP/CRM/eBusiness, decision analysis, e-business, imaging and video processing algorithms. He is an expert in LAMP, Java, .Net., Ruby, Python, Laszlo and designing and implementing highly scalable web site applications.

Gordon received a Master's degree in Computer Imaging from Mayo Graduate School (Mayo Clinic) in Rochester, MN.

Longyue Zhao, Ph.D.
Consultant, The World Bank
Adjunct Professor, Edmund A Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Dr. Zhao is an experienced international economist with an extensive knowledge of the WTO, regional trade agreements and US-China economic relations. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University and teaches courses on the WTO Agreements and US-China economic relations. At the same time, he participates in the World Bank’s research works on various international trade and development issues.

Over the last decade, he worked in the Chinese central government with various senior positions in the State Planning Commission, Policy Research Office of the State Council, and the Ministry of Agriculture. He has participated in research and formulation of China's national economic and social development policies, and experienced the most important time for China’s system transition from a planed economy into a market economy.

Dr. Zhao is an expert on US-China trade policy and the WTO related issues. He has prepared proposals for WTO bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations, and contributed to official negotiations on China’s WTO accession with other countries. In Washington, DC, he further concentrated in studies on the WTO agreements, multilateral negotiations and dispute settlement, US public administration and foreign economic policies. He has received a “World Trade Organization Certificate” from Georgetown University Law Center.

Dr. Zhao holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Renmin University of China in Beijing, and an MPA in Public Policy from Georgetown University Public. Dr. Zhao has authored many articles and books on China's economic policy, public administration, the WTO and US-China economic relations.

Randall Reade
President, Zipzone Ltd.

Randall Reade is the President of Zipzone Ltd., which helps technology companies find distribution markets of their products throughout Asia and Europe. Additionally, Zipzone helps technology companies find outsourcing to lower costs in China, Canada, The Philippines, India and Russia. Mr. Reade is also the Chair of the International Committee of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, which helps US technology companies learn that global trade benefits everyone. Mr. Reade is an attorney and is a Director of UCTID.

Michele Joseph
President
Klick Consultants LLC

Michele Joseph is the president of klick consultants LLC, a Silver Spring Maryland based marketing consultancy which builds and sustains customer loyalty among businesses experiencing transition. Ms. Joseph has nearly two decades of experience in marketing and brand management for Fortune 1000 companies.

As a consultant, Ms. Joseph facilitated the National Customer Positioning Planning Sessions for the Army Contracting Agency (ACA). During the sessions, she assessed ACA procedures and policies, and evaluated customer service through the ACA Contracting Life Cycle Analysis. In addition, Ms. Joseph partnered with the corporate brand management group of former Bell Atlantic and GTE to implement the Verizon Communications brand over an 18 month horizon. She has also worked as the strategic marketing representative for the Government Systems division of Silicon Graphics, Inc. where she developed successful target marketing initiatives for DIA, DISA, NSA and Lockheed Martin. While at Microsoft, she functioned as the advertising consultant for the launch of version 3.0 of Sidewalk.com online directory. Lastly, as part of her seven-year tenure in New York City, she coordinated the "Let Yourself Go" promotional campaign for the Bermuda Tourist Board sponsored by Food and Wine Magazine, a subsidiary of American Express.

Ms. Joseph attained her MBA from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University, and her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Catholic University of America. Between her undergraduate and graduate degrees, she modeled with Wilhelmina Modeling Management in New York. She established and sustained her profitable fashion and runway model business through relationship marketing with twenty-two clients. She grew her sole proprietorship to seven states and three European countries by negotiating rates and contracts with clients such as Liz Claiborne, Nordstrom's, Claude Montana, and Chanel. While in New York, Joseph partnered with a fellow model and launched a jewelry and scarf accessory business, Bernie of New York. Over the past fifteen years, the company has grown its revenues 200 % and the accessories are sold nationally in stores such as Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue, and Neiman Marcus.

In 2002, Ms. Joseph was elected as a board member for the Women Business Owners of Montgomery County Maryland (WBO-MC). During three of her five year commitment with WBO-MC, she accepted the role as the Partnership Ambassador and the Programs Speaker Coordinator. She was instrumental in attracting and retaining speakers such as Lillian Vernon and Maryland’s former First Lady Kendall Ehrlich to the WBO-MC Annual Gala. On behalf of the WBO-MC, she also facilitated partnerships with the National Lung Association of Maryland and with the National Women Chamber of Commerce.

In 2003, Michele instructed graduate and undergraduate classes in marketing, strategy, and public relations at the University of Phoenix. Moreover, she was the guest lecturer at the Georgetown University Center for Professional Development Leadership Series and the George Washington University School of Business on the topics of Developing Your Personal Brand and Implementing a Global Brand, respectively. Ms. Joseph currently is an adjunct faculty member for the Center for Professional Development at Georgetown University.

Zhihua Liu
Vice Chair and CEO
Yihe International (Chengdu) Real Estate Industry Co. Ltd.
Guangdong Huaji Guiling Hydropower Plant
Hong Kong Junfeng Industrial Co. Ltd

30 years in playing a leading distributor in southwest of China, Zhihua established a team of running business efficient. She led her team stayed in top one place of distributing cosmetic products for over ten years. She was honored by central government in Beijing as “Outstanding Businesswoman”, “Role Model of Businesswomen”, as well as “Distinctive Entrepreneur” in past ten years.

In the late 1980s, Zhihua collaborated with several world-class cooperations to launch their product lines into Chinese market and penetrated several series well-known brands to customers all over southwest of China...P &G and Johnson & Johnson were two Zhihua's loyal clients for 20 years. Zhihua had honed her management, communication and leadership skills in collaborating with American companies.

After years of experience working with foreign investors and full exposure and involvement with sophisticated decision-making processes, Zhihau reached a conclusion of “how to be well prepared before launching your business in China”. She won high recognition by sharing her perspective with foreign investors.

From 1961 to 1991, Liu worked her way up from a sales representative to Vice President at Chengdu Department Stores Group. She started her own business after she retired from Chengdu Department Stores Group in 1991. She serves as Vice Chairperson of the Board and CEO of her company Yihe International (Chengdu) Real Estate Industry Co. Ltd.. At the same time, she also started Hong Kong Junfeng Industrial Co. Ltd and Guangdong Huaji Guiling Hydropower Plant, serving as Vice Chairperson of the Board and CEO.

Rachel Clay
Mid Atlantic SMS&P
Information Worker Solution Specialist
Microsoft Corporation

Parthiv Shah
President, Elaunchers.Com.

Parthiv Shah is President and Founder of Elaunchers.Com and a serial entrepreneur. He started a dot com company in 1999, a technology enabled marketing company in 2002 that got bought out in 2005 and in 2007 he started Elaunchers.Com that is a growing, successful small business.

Parthiv has a passion for small business with a soft corner in his heart for start ups and not yet started start ups. He helps small businesses develop their value proposition and identify market segments most suitable to their strengths. He enjoys community work and loves helping fellow entrepreneurs.

Parthiv also teaches marketing and e-business to MBA students at University of Phoenix, Graduate school of Business.

He is originally from India, migrated to US in 1990 and lived with my family in Randolph, Massachusetts a little south of Boston. He started a company, listlaunchers.com that got bought out in 2005 and that acquisition brought him to Washington DC.

Parthiv started elaunchers.com of Rockville, MD earlier this year. Elaunchers.Com is a turnkey sales lead generation and marketing company that helps small and not so small businesses & organizations compete against rivals who have deep pockets and large marketing budgets. Elaunchers.Com team has developed a data driven direct marketing process that integrates e-mail, direct mail & web.

He has a passion for business. He does a lot of pro bono marketing consulting work for fellow entrepreneurs and I have also started five small businesses including one internet start up. In addition, because of the nature of my business, he works on hundreds of different business models every year and experiment with/contribute to their revenue model. For over eighteen years, he has worked in direct marketing industry and "lived through" thousands of case studies. Throughout his career, I have mailed over a billion pieces of "junk mail" and brought in over fifteen million dollars in business to my company.

He has a bachelors in Sociology from India and an MBA in marketing from Bentley College. I am looking forward to working with you all.

HON. BRUCE H. SEGAL
Judge (Retired)

Judge Segal retired from the federal government in 2002 after serving eleven years as an Administrative Law Judge deciding disability cases in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia.  He currently is involved in communications, media services and public relations in the Metropolitan Baltimore, MD-Washington, DC area.

Previously as an attorney, he handled government contracts and transportation finance and licensing regulatory matters in Washington, DC and was engaged in the general practice of law in Boston, MA.  He also served on the Motor Carrier Board at the Interstate Commerce Commission in Washington, DC.  He was a speaker at the 1991 Department of Commerce Procurement Conference in Washington, DC and at the 2004 Association of Trial Lawyers of America Conference in Boston, MA.

Judge Segal held elected public office as a member of the municipal legislature in Brookline, MA.  He has served on the advisory board and the board of directors of various civic and non-profit organizations in the Washington, DC and Boston, MA areas and was a principal in a major fund-raising effort in Bethesda, MD.

Judge Segal received his BA degree from Boston University, JD degree from Boston College Law Center, and MLT (Tax) degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

Alexander W. Koff, J.D.
Whiteford Taylor Preston LLP Partner

As Chair of the Global Practice, Mr. Koff provides innovative solutions and strategies to companies, governments, industry associations, and NGOs that enhance competitive strengths and protect against risks. Mr. Koff holds a J.D. and B.A. from University of Michigan and Master's degree from Cambridge University.

Noteworthy Experience
* $1 billion Section 337 IP investigation ("Augmentin")
* $970 million NAFTA investor-state arbitration ("Methanex")
* $300 million aircraft dispute at WTO
* Resided one year in Vietnam as Legal Advisor to a USAID grant helping the government implement economic reforms
* Served twice as an International Trade Expert for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) (based on a competitive selection process)
* Government and international service includes: Member of U.S. delegation to the WTO with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in Geneva; the legal offices of the United Nations in New York, the U.S. Agency for International Development in Washington, D.C., and the National Security Council in Washington, D.C.; the Office of Political-Military Affairs of the U.S. Department of State

R. Shawn McBride, J.D.
Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP

Mr. McBride practices in the firm Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner's Business and Finance Department, with an emphasis on public companies, including '33 Act and '34 Act filings, merger and acquisition, and international trade.

His representative transactions include, among others, reverse mergers, private placements, filing of registration statements, filing of periodic SEC reports, advising boards of directors, and merger and acquisition transactions. His practice has a special emphasis on the representation of Chinese companies, including assisting Chinese companies in becoming U.S. public companies, U.S. regulation of international activities, international trade issues, and corporate governance.

Mr. McBride also have extensive experience in business entity formation, governance, merger, conversion, financing, debt and equity issuance, dissolution, and reorganization. He has been involved in a wide variety of transactions including structured finance, asset-backed securitizations, trust preferred transactions, investment funds, debt and equity offerings, and mergers and acquisitions. He represented China Agritech, Inc. (CAGC.OB) in a PIPE transaction and filing of the related resale registration statement.

Mr. McBride's clients operate in a variety of industries, including healthcare, real estate, agriculture, food processing, financial services, private equity, and heavy industry. Mr. McBride holds a J.D. from University of Maryland School of Law and B.S., summa cum laude from Towson University.

Esther H. Lim
Partner, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP

Esther H. Lim is a partner in the firm’s Electrical and Computer Technology Practice Group. She specializes in district court and appellate patent litigation in all technologies, including computers, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals. Ms. Lim represents domestic and international clients, and assists with a wide range of patent issues, including due diligence investigations, pre-litigation counseling, opinions, and portfolio management. Ms. Lim counsels clients on patent procurement, including reexamination and reissue applications, and has successfully argued before the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. Ms. Lim is the Editor-in-Chief of the firm’s monthly newsletter, Last Month at the Federal Circuit.

Ms. Lim has lectured widely both nationally and internationally on issues relating to procurement and enforcement of U.S. intellectual property rights. She teaches Advanced Patent Law and Public Policy Seminar as an Adjunct Professor at Howard University School of Law. Since 2004, she has served as a Co-Chair of the Conference of the Institute of Intellectual Property and Social Justice at Howard University School of Law.

Ms. Lim served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Randall R. Rader of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Prior to beginning her legal career, she gained experience as a Computer Programmer at the U.S. Naval Air Test Center.

Ms. Lim is actively involved with various bar associations, including serving on the Board of Governors of the D.C. Bar with a membership of over 80,000. She is the Past President of the D.C. Computer Law Forum and Past President of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of the Greater Washington D.C. Area. Ms. Lim served on the Board of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), which represents the interests of over 40,000 attorneys.

In 2005, she received NAPABA’s “Best Lawyers Under 40” award. Ms. Lim is a 2007 recipient of the Burton Award for Legal Achievement, a national award for legal writing, for her article, “IP Rights and DRM: The Copyright Holder’s Guide to Navigating DRM Technology through Hostile Territory.”

Lawrence J. Sherman, Esq
Labor, Employment and Litigation Attorney

Larry Sherman provides experienced and highly professional representation in the areas of labor and employment law as well as commercial, construction and pension plan litigation. Mr. Sherman has represented labor unions, pension plans, non-profit organizations and employees before a wide variety of trial and appellate courts, labor arbitrators, and labor relations and fair employment agencies. Mr. Sherman is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh and the University of Michigan Law School and is admitted to the bars of the District of Columbia and Maryland.

Before entering private practice, Mr. Sherman served as an appellate attorney for the National Labor Relations Board and was the founding director of the Migrant Legal Action Program, Inc. (MLAP). As lead attorney on behalf of MLAP, Mr. Sherman was responsible for securing comprehensive relief to end a pattern of abuse by the U.S. Department of Labor in the delivery of employment services to migrant and seasonal farm workers, as well as protecting the civil rights of social and legal service workers providing services to farm workers in labor camps.

Since entering private practice, Mr. Sherman has won a series of labor cases broadening the rights of federal labor unions to bargain over work practices and pay, along with numerous arbitration awards and court opinions upholding the rights of unions in civil rights and employment cases in the private and public sectors. Mr. Sherman has also taught courses on labor arbitration, equal employment opportunity, federal and private sector labor relations, and labor negotiations at the George Meany Center for Labor Studies (now National Labor College) in Silver Spring, Maryland. Additionally, he has made presentations on a wide variety of legal practice issues at conferences and meeting held by the Metropolitan Washington Employment Lawyers Association and Maryland Employment Lawyers Association.

Mr. Sherman has earned from his professional colleagues an A-V rating, which is the highest rating that a practicing lawyer can receive from Martindale Hubble, the pre-eminent law firm rating service in the United States. Mr. Sherman has also been independently recognized for his professional contributions as a labor lawyer in Marquis' Who's Who in American Lawyers, including in the Millennium Edition of Marquis' Who's Who in America. His biography is also listed in Marquis' Who's Who in America.

Steve Dorfman
Founder & CEO
Driven To Excel, Inc.

Steve Dorfman is the CEO and Founder of Driven To Excel, best known for his ability to help organizations and individuals build powerful relationships. His work focuses on coaching successful leaders in sales organizations through sales training, team building and inspirational speaking. He brings over a decade of professional experience to his work with executives across the country in companies such as Acura, TGI Friday’s, Sonic Promos, Browning Pools, Compassion Music, ARA Training, Greystone Grill and Mazda.

Steve Dorfman is an expert on relationship-selling, personal marketing/branding and cultivating client lists. He has been recognized nationally for his outstanding volume of sales and unmatched coupling of client satisfaction and loyalty, having attained a remarkable 70% repeat and referral business. He believes that as human beings, we all share a common interest -- a desire to make a difference for another human being.

Mr. Dorfman is passionate about providing an opportunity for his audience to unleash their own personal power, thereby distinguishing themselves in their field. Throughout his career, Steve’s approach has been characterized by his understanding of the relationship between a successful business and the human element. Steve is the author of the forthcoming book “…:Selling With Integrity,” due to publish in Spring 2008.

Barrie Zucal, MS
President and CEO
Global Coaches Network

Barrie Zucal has spent thirty years helping leaders to develop their human potential as their therapist or as their coach. As the leader of GCN, a globally positioned network of 60 global leadership coaches with expertise in 75 countries and cultures coaching in 20 languages, she selects and trains coaches to be culturally competent, and to become experts on global leadership competencies and coaching. These coaches use assessment and feedback, and a global system’s orientation to coaching leaders in their client organizations to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

In addition to leading the coaching network, Barrie coaches global entrepreneurs like herself and global leaders on the psychological aspects of business success. Because Barrie has lived and/or worked in the United States, the Middle East, and in Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Taiwan with leaders from twenty-five countries, she knows what it really takes to build a long term partnership between those from different countries and cultures. She also knows how to minimize the impact of experiences such as culture shock and relocation stress into opportunities for leaders to expand their personal capacity for leadership, learn essential global leadership competencies, and become culturally competent. Her clients say that she provides exactly what is needed at exactly the time they need it. Her colleagues say she is a visionary leader. Her client list includes General Electric, IBM, Merrill Lynch, the U.S. State Department, and the U.S. Navy, Training Management Corporation.

Martin Lewin
Chief Operating Officer
General Counsel of Carhart Global Market Services
Partner, law firm, Kalik Lewin.

Martin Lewin specializes in helping small and medium-size companies to business in China. Mr. Lewin has over twenty years experience in international trade and international commercial matters. Mr. Lewin has been active in China since 1990, both as a business consultant and sales representative for U.S. products and as an attorney representing Chinese and U.S. companies on trade and commercial matters. Mr. Lewin has worked with his clients in China in products ranging from industrial and environmental equipment, to apparel, chemicals, agricultural products and fabricated metal products.

Kalik Lewin is a dynamic entrepreneurial law firm assisting U.S. and foreign clients both domestically and abroad in commercial and technology matters, including finance, with a particular emphasis on international business development. Kalik Lewin also represents U.S. and foreign companies in international trade regulation, customs, and other regulatory matters

Previously, Mr. Lewin was a partner in the Washington office of Mudge Rose Guthrie Alexander and Ferdon, and a partner in the Washington office of Aitken Irvin Lewin Berlin Vrooman & Cohn. He also served as an advisor to Paula Stern, former Chair of the U.S. International Trade Commission, and as a staff member of the Subcommittee on International Organizations of the House of Representatives International Relations Committee.

Mr. Lewin received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, majoring in accounting, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is the author of numerous articles on international trade and transportation matters. With his varied experience as a U.S. Government official, an attorney in private practice, a business consultant and sales representative, Mr. Lewin provides his clients a unique perspective for evaluating the opportunities and risks of doing business in China and for addressing the issues that arise in implementing a China marketing strategy.

Elizabeth A. Vazquez
President, Co-Founder
TradeBuilders, Inc.

Elizabeth A. Vazquez is the President and Co-Founder of TradeBuilders, Inc., a company that helps clients use information and communication technologies to facilitate international trade and professional networking, improve organizational development, build global alliances, and share best practices in areas such as eCommerce and eGovernment. Ms. Vazquez has worked with government leaders and senior corporate executives on organizing business and trade events in countries such as Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Cyprus, India, Israel, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, South Korea, Turkey, the UK and the US. She is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Subbu Sonti
Senior System Analyst
Pragmatics Inc.

Subbu Sonti is a member of IMC DC chapter and has participated in seminars on International Trade and Development at World Bank India Club and the Rockefeller Foundation's Asia society. Subbu is certified in IBM database DB2 and has more than 25 years of experience in computer industry, specializing in computer Languages and databases.

He spent last 15 years with ERP - Enterprise Resource Planner software. In early nineties, he worked with an ERP called IEF - Information Engineering Facility. IEF was developed at Texas instruments in collaboration with James Martin associates. He also worked as an an IEF ERP consultant at Inter American Development Bank, SAIC and NYMEX.

He presently works at Pragmatics Inc. as a Senior Systems Analyst and working with another ERP Financial Accounting Package SAP - Systems Applications and Products in data processing, specializing in Financial Accounting and Materials management.

Sonti graduated from prestigious Engineering college in India, B.I.T.S. pilani, and has done masters in Science and Technology Development.

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