Wellesley College & Peking University Conference Speakers

Madame Zhili Pamela Melroy Madame Wu Qidi

Madame Chen Zhili is an eminent academic and Pamela Melroy is a retired U.S. Air Force officer Madame Wu Qidi is a noted scholar and former outstanding Chinese leader. A native of and a former NASA astronaut. president of Tongji University. She is a former province, she graduated from Vice Minister of Education. in 1964 and completed her postgraduate studies NASA selected Melroy as an astronaut candidate at the Institute of Silicate of the in December 1994. She was initially assigned In 1995, Wu became the first university president Chinese Academy of Sciences. Her work in to astronaut support duties for launch and in to be chosen to the position by a physics brought her to Penn State University as landing, and she worked on advanced projects democratic election. During her eight-year a visiting scholar from 1980 to 1982, before she for the Astronaut Office and performed Capsule presidency, she led Tongji University from being returned to the Shanghai Institute. Communicator duties in mission control. She a leading engineering school to becoming a served on the Columbia Reconstruction Team comprehensive, research-intensive, and A leader in her community, she was appointed as the lead for the crew module and as deputy international institution, ranking among the top deputy director of the State Education project manager for the Columbia Crew Survival Chinese universities. Prior to her election to the Commission in 1997. In 1998, she was Investigation Team. In her final position with presidency, Wu had a successful career as a appointed Minister of Education. In 2008, she NASA, she served as Branch Chief for the Orion professor of automatic control, Deputy Dean of was elected President of the All-China Women’s branch of the Astronaut Office. Melroy served as the Department of Electrical Engineering, Federation, and in 2010 she was elected pilot on two flights (STS-92 in 2000 and STS-112 Assistant President, and Vice President. Chairman of the Children’s Foundation of China. in 2002) and was mission commander on STS- 120 in 2007, making her one of only two women A native of Zhejiang province, Wu earned a Zhili served as Vice President of the Beijing to command the space shuttle. She logged bachelor’s degree in radio engineering from the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX more than 38 days in space. Department of Radio and Electronic Engineering Olympiad and Mayor of the Beijing Olympic of Tsinghua University, China, a master’s degree (Paralympic) Village. She was the Vice After NASA, Melroy was a senior technical in automatic control from the Department of Chairman, 11th Standing Committee of the advisor and director of field operations for Precision Instrument, Tsinghua University, China, National People’s Congress. the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of and a Ph.D. in automation from the Department Commercial Space Transportation. She currently of Electrical Engineering of the Federal Institute serves as Deputy Director of the Tactical of Technology, Zurich, Switzerland. She also has Technology Office at the Defense Advanced an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree Research Projects Agency. from Arizona State University, United States, which she received in recognition of her Melroy received a bachelor’s degree in physics significant achievements as a leader in higher and astronomy from Wellesley College in 1983. education and exceptional work in academic She then earned a master’s degree in earth research. and planetary sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1984. Shirley Young Yang Lan Hu Shuli

Shirley Young is president of Shirley Young Yang Lan started her journalism career in 1990 Hu Shuli is internationally recognized for her Associates, LLC, a business advisory firm for with a pioneering current-events TV program in achievements in journalism and is now Editor- companies interested in business development in China, Zheng Da, which became the nation’s in-Chief of Caixin Media Company Ltd., as well the China market. She also serves as senior highest-rated program within the year, with as Dean of the School of Communications and advisor to General Motors-Asia Pacific. 220 million regular viewers. She continued to Design at Sun Yat-sen University. create and host other groundbreaking shows, From 1988 until December 31, 1999, she was such as Yang Lan One on One. The popular Her She is the force behind Caixin Media, which is corporate vice president of General Motors Corp., Village, which now includes an online magazine dedicated to providing financial and business involved in development of the company’s $1.5 and website, brings together China’s largest news and information through periodicals, online billion joint venture in Shanghai. Earlier, she community of professional women (more than content, mobile apps, conferences, books, and served as vice president for consumer market 200 million people a month). TV/video programs. The editorial staff at Caixin development at General Motors’ headquarters, Media is well-known for independent thinking working across the various marketing divisions of With her husband, Wu Zheng (aka Bruno Wu), and professional practices. the company. Prior to that, she spent more than Yang founded Sun Media Investment Holdings 20 years at Grey Advertising, working in a wide Ltd. The company publishes newspapers and In 1998, Hu was the founding editor of Caijing range of industries with many of the world’s magazines, and it owns interests in Chinese magazine, “with two computers and a borrowed leading marketers. language cable and satellite television channels, conference room,” according to the New Yorker advertising agencies, websites, music and magazine, and she guided the magazine for the In addition to her expertise in brand development entertainment companies, and multimedia next 10 years, before creating Caixin Media. and consumer marketing, Young has served on education production companies. Sun Media many corporate boards of directors and as vice Investment Holdings is now one of China’s most In 2009, Foreign Policy magazine named her chairman of the Nominating Committee of the prominent private media groups. among the Top 100 Global Thinkers. She New York Stock Exchange. Young was appointed was listed among Time magazine’s 100 most to the President’s Commission on Executive In 2005, Yang founded the Sun Culture influential people in 2011. Exchange and was a member of the Business Foundation with a mission to promote the Advisory Council for the U.S. State Department advancement of education and the building Agency for International Development. of philanthropic culture, as well as to raise awareness about poverty and to promote cross- She is governor and founding chairman of the cultural communication. Committee of 100, a national Chinese American leadership organization, and serves as chairman The Paley Center for Media (formerly the of the Committee of 100 Cultural Institute, whose Musuem of Television and Radio) objective is to bridge the cultural gap between honored her with the “She-Made-It” award in the United States and China through the arts and 2007 to recognize her achievement as a TV education. journalist, saying, “In her efforts to use media to share culture and enhance communication In China, Young is an honorary professor at between the east and west, she stands out as Tsinghua University, Beijing; Tongji University, a role model for women who want to achieve Shanghai; and Huazhong Technology University, across the industry spectrum in an increasingly Wuhan; and an honorary trustee of Jiao Tong global society.” University in Shanghai. In the United States, she has served as trustee for multiple not-for-profit In 2008 Yang served as an ambassador for the and education organizations. She is a founding Olympic Games in Beijing. member of the Committee of 200, an international organization of leading businesswomen.

Conference Speakers Mona Locke Gary Locke H. Kim Bottomly

Mona Lee Locke is a former national television Gary Locke is the 10th Ambassador of the H. Kim Bottomly, Wellesley’s 13th president, is journalist and dedicated advocate in the fight United States to the People’s Republic of China. the first scientist to lead the College and, taking against breast cancer, serving as the National He was nominated to the post in March 2011 by the helm in 2007, the first president inaugurated Operations Director of the Susan G. Komen for President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in the 21st century. the Cure foundation. in July 2011, and he was sworn in and assumed his duties in August 2011. A respected educator, Bottomly served on the She is known as a dynamic champion of issues Yale University faculty for 27 years. In her role as related to children and families, with a special Previously, Locke served as the Secretary of deputy provost for science, technology, and emphasis on early learning. Locke founded and Commerce, helping to implement President faculty development at Yale, she oversaw served as board chair of the Foundation for Early Obama’s ambitious agenda to turn around the academic, administrative, and budgetary Learning, which provides capacity building economy and put people back to work. activities for a range of departments and grants, technical assistance, and early learning divisions. She initiated efforts to enhance faculty information to help ensure children are ready for Before his appointment to the President’s career development and spearheaded Yale’s school. She also served on the board of Cabinet, Locke served two terms as governor efforts to recruit and retain women in the directors of Thrive by Five and Seattle Children’s of Washington, the nation’s most trade- sciences and underrepresented minorities in all Hospital. dependent state. fields. An advocate for women in science, Bottomly has chaired the Committee on Status As both governor and Commerce Secretary, She became Washington’s 20th First Lady on of Women of the American Association of Locke’s innovations in government efficiency, January 15, 1997, when her husband, U.S. Immunologists and the Women’s Committee of customer focus, and priority-based budgeting, Ambassador to China Gary Locke, was the Federation of American Societies of as well as successful and under-budget inaugurated as governor of that state. Experimental Biologists. She served on the management of high-risk initiatives, have won steering committee for Yale’s Women Faculty him acclaim by nationally recognized authors Locke coproduced and narrated an award- Forum. winning PBS documentary on early childhood and organizations, including Harvard’s Kennedy education in China based on a cultural exchange School of Government. A lifelong scientist and educator, Bottomly’s trip she led to that country. Her delegation research has focused on the molecular and Locke is the first Chinese-American to serve as included 50 teachers, childcare providers, and cellular factors that influence the initiation of Ambassador to China, as Secretary of parent educators from five Pacific Northwest immune responses. She pioneered studies Commerce, and as governor. states. defining cellular changes associated with allergic and asthmatic responses. Her research She continues to put her journalism background investigated how people respond to allergens to good use, hosting an online talk show for the and why inhaled allergens lead to lung injury. U.S. State Department. Locke told a Portland, She has published more than 170 peer-reviewed Ore., news show that its aim is “to help explain articles and has lectured widely at universities in what our culture’s all about,” adding, “I think the United States and around the world. when we understand each other, we will build better and stronger relationships.”

Conference Speakers