Asian University for Women Support Foundation (AUWSF) incorporated as a 501(c)(3) non-for-profit organization based in the United States. The Foundation is responsible for mobilizing organizational, financial, and intellectual resources across the world to help establish the University. The Foundation will also be responsible for raising and maintaining the University's endowment. The AUW Support Foundation is guided in operations by its Board of Directors:
Jack R. Meyer, Senior Managing Partner and CEO, Convexity Capital Management; Former President, Harvard Management Company; Board Chairman
Jack R. Meyer is Senior Managing Partner at Convexity Capital Management L.P. located in Boston. He co-founded the firm with managing partners, Dave Mittelman and Maurice Samuels in July 2005. Before Convexity, Jack was President and CEO of Harvard Management Company, which manages the University's endowment assets, pension funds, charitable trusts and pooled income funds totaling in excess of $31 billion by the end of his term.
Prior to HMC, Jack was Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer of the Rockefeller Foundation where he managed the Foundation's endowment, valued at $2 billion. Before the Foundation, he was Deputy Controller of New York City, where he managed $20 billion in total assets, including the City's pension funds, sinking funds, and treasury funds. He also held various investment management positions with Lionel D. Edie, a New York City investment firm and at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.
Jack currently serves as the Chair of the Asian University for Women Support Foundation, and the Chair of the Boston Ballet. He also is on the Board of Directors of The Boston Foundation. Previously, he served as a Director of the Investment Responsibility Research Council, and on the investment committees of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Massachusetts State Pension Fund, and the Atlantic Foundation.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Denison University. In 2004 Denison awarded him an honorary doctorate degree. He received his Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. He is married, has two children and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Kamal Ahmad, President and CEO, Asian University for Women Support Foundation
Kamal Ahmad is the Founder and Acting Vice Chancellor of the Asian University for Women. Based in Bangladesh the University is dedicated exclusively to the education and leadership development of women from throughout the region (www.asian-university.org). Opened in 2008, the University now has students from 12 countries.
Kamal also serves as the President & CEO of the Asian University for Women Support Foundation based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and in that capacity spearheads a global effort to mobilize resources for the University. Nearly $100 million in cash and in-kind contributions have been contributed to AUW.
Growing up as a teenager in Bangladesh, he founded at age 14 a series of highly successful internationally-funded alternative schools for underprivileged children. As a freshman at Harvard College, he also founded and ran the Overseas Development Network – a national network of 70 campus student groups dedicated to engagement in and promotion of grassroots international development.
He served on the staff of the World Bank, the Rockefeller Foundation and UNICEF prior to entering law school. While practicing law with the New York law firm of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, he also conceived and co-directed the World Bank/UNESCO Task Force on Higher Education & Society (www.tfhe.net). He has also practiced in London with the US law firm of Mayer Brown.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of BRAC USA. He also served as a jury member for the Cartier Award for Women’s Entrepreneurship.
He is a recipient of a number of awards including United Nations Gold Peace Medal & Citation Scroll, given by the Paul G. Hoffman Awards Fund for “outstandingly significant work in national and international development”; Time magazine College Achievement Award which cited him as “one of 20 most outstanding undergraduates in the nation”; Global Leader for Tomorrow Award from the World Economic Forum; and the John Phillips Award from his alma mater the Phillips Exeter Academy.
He holds a B.A. from Harvard College and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School. He is admitted to practice law in the State of New York.
Betty Chen, Commissioner, New York City Planning Commission, City of New York
Betty Y. Chen is an architect in New York City and serves as a New York City Planning Commissioner. As Vice President for Planning, Design and Preservation at the Trust for Governors Island, she oversaw the planning for the redevelopment of Governors Island (172 acres) in New York Harbor. Prior to joining the Trust, Ms. Chen was Vice-President of Planning at the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation where she was responsible for the development of the multi-billion dollar World Trade Center Master Plan and various other large-scale planning projects in Manhattan.
As a former Project Architect with Tod Williams and Billie Tsien Architects, she has extensive experience in design, project management, and construction administration of institutional, residential, and cultural facilities. Prior to moving to New York City, she worked in the Facilities Planning Department of Yale University on campus planning and infrastructure projects.
In 1993 she won the competition to design the San Jose Veterans’ Memorial along with her partners in Manhattan Projects. The memorial was built in a public park in downtown San Jose and dedicated in 1997. From 2000 – 2005, Ms. Chen served on the Public Art Network Council advising on issues in the field of Public Art. She has taught in the art history and architecture departments at Yale University and served on numerous design juries.
Ms. Chen has served on the Harvard University New York City Schools and Scholarships Committee for over 12 years. She is co-chair of the NYC American Institute of Architects Design Awards Committee. She was appointed to the New York City Charter Revision Commission in 2010 by Mayor Bloomberg.
Ms. Chen holds a Masters degree in Architecture from Yale University, a Bachelors degree from Harvard University, and a Commercial Horticulture Certificate from the New York Botanical Garden. She is a registered architect in the State of New York.
Bernardine Dias, Associate Professor at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University
M.Bernardine Dias is an Associate Research Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. She works with both the Pittsburgh and Doha campuses and her primary affiliations are with the Field Robotics Center at the Robotics Institute in the USA and with the Computer Science Program in Qatar. Dr. Dias leads several research projects and teaches at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Originally from Sri Lanka, Dr. Dias earned her B.A. from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York with a dual concentration in Physics and Computer Science and a minor in Women’s Studies (1998), followed by a M.S. (2000) and Ph.D. (2004) in Robotics from Carnegie Mellon University. Her research experience spans technology for underserved communities, autonomous human-robot team coordination, and technology education. She also has teaching experience in computing and the liberal arts.
Dr. Dias’ principal research objective is to create culturally appropriate computing technology accessible to underserved communities. To this end she founded and directs the TechBridgeWorld research group that innovates and field tests technology solutions that address the needs of underserved communities around the world. Dr. Dias is also a recognized leader in autonomous team coordination research. Her doctoral dissertation developed the “TraderBots” market-based framework for multi-robot coordination in dynamic environments; now a licensed product used by several research groups. She continues to advance the state-of-the-art in autonomous team coordination and planning through the rCommerce research group which she co-created and co-directs. Dr. Dias also extends her research efforts to Carnegie Mellon’s Qatar campus through the Qri8 robotics lab which she co-founded and co-directs.
Encouraging women in computing is one of Dr. Dias’ passions. At Carnegie Mellon University, she is a founding member of Women@SCS, a campus organization dedicated to creating and supporting women’s professional and social opportunities in computing. She currently serves as faculty advisor to the graduate Women@SCS and organizes related events for undergraduate women in computing at Carnegie Mellon’s Qatar campus.
Dr. Dias has authored many articles for leading academic journals and conferences, given numerous presentations at a variety of forums, and has received several honors and awards including the Hamilton College Alumni Achievement Medal for outstanding accomplishments in Physics and Computer Science. She has also lead several research projects as principal investigator with funding from a variety of sponsors including the Qatar National Research Fund, the Boeing Company, Yahoo, and Google.
As a new mother, Dr. Dias mostly spends her time with her infant son, Brandon; together they enjoy many educational and fun activities. In her non-existent leisure time Dr. Dias enjoys dancing, singing, and cooking. She formally studied Sri Lankan Kandyan dance, and has performed as a dancer and singer with several groups with occasional solo performances.
Zheng Yu Huang, Chairman and Co-Founder, Business Connect China
Zheng Yu Huang is the Chairman and co-Founder of Business Connect China, a provider of expert consultation, market intelligence, advisory services, and investments for the China market. Prior to co-founding Business Connect China, Zheng was the Managing Director of Intel Corporation’s Telecommunications office in China. There he established a wireless technology standards co-development platform with leading Chinese telecom vendors including China Mobile, Huawei, ZTE, Datang Mobile, and the Chinese Academy of Telecommunications Research, with formal support from the Ministry of Information Industry. Before this position, Zhang worked at Intel as a Product Manager and a Rotation Engineer.
Zheng holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering and Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics, as well as a Master of Science degree in Computer Science, all from Stanford University. He also holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School, where he graduated with Distinct Honors.
At Stanford, Zheng was the President and Founder of the Stanford Society of Asian American Engineers from 1997 to 2000, during which period the Society’s membership grew from 2 to over 1,000. In 2009 Zheng was selected as a White House Fellow, where he served from 2009 to 2010 as special assistant to the Administrator at the US Agency for International Development.
Zheng currently lives in San Jose, California.
Dipak Jain, Dean, INSEAD; Former Dean, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Dipak C. Jain was named DEAN of INSEAD, the international business school with campuses in Fontainebleau, France, Singapore and Abu Dhabi, in September 2010, succeeding Dean J. Frank Brown.
Prior to his INSEAD appointment, Dean Jain had an enduring and illustrious career spanning nearly three decades both as an educator and as a business school administrator. He was Dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management from 2001-2009, and has been a member of the faculty since 1986, serving as the Sandy and Morton Goldman Professor in Entrepreneurial Studies and a Professor of Marketing.
Prior to his appointment as Dean of Northwestern Universities’ Kellogg School of Management, he served as the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs from 1996-2001 and worked closely with former Kellogg School Dean, Donald P. Jacobs, to set the agenda for the school’s curriculum, faculty and research activities.
At Kellogg, Dean Jain taught courses on marketing research, new products and services, and statistical models in marketing. Dean Jain’s areas of research include the marketing of high-technology products; market segmentation and competitive market structure analysis; cross-cultural issues and global product diffusion. He has published three books as well as more than 60 articles in leading academic journals.
His long career in education began as a student in Tezpur (Assam), India. He went on to earn his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and statistics in 1976 and his master’s degree in mathematical statistics in 1978 from Gauhati University in India. He taught at Gauhati for the next five years before going to the USA to pursue his PHD at the University of Texas in Dallas. In addition to his positions at the Kellogg School, Dean Jain has been a visiting professor of marketing since 1989 at the Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
In 2003, he was appointed as a foreign affairs adviser to the Prime Minister of Thailand. He has served as a consultant to Microsoft, Novartis, American Express, Sony, Nissan, Motorola, Eli Lilly, Phillips and Hyatt International. He also serves as a member of the board of directors of Deere & Company (USA), Northern Trust Corporation (USA) and Reliance Industries (India). He is also a former director as United Airlines (USA), Peoples Energy (USA) and Hartmarx Corporation (USA).
Dean Jain has received numerous honors from the Kellogg School for teaching and research. In addition, he was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award from the State of Assam in India in 1982; the Gold Medal for the Best Post-Graduate of the Year from Gauhati University in India in 1978; the Gold Medal for the Best Graduate of the Year from Darrang College in Assam in India in 1976; and the Jawaharlal Nehru Merit Award, Government of India in 1976.
Dean Jain has served as the departmental editor for the journal of Management Science, the area editor for Marketing Science and associate editor for the Journal of Business and Economics Statistics. He is also a former member of the editorial board of the Journal of Marketing Research.
Currently, Dean Jain is also the INSEAD Chaired Professor of Marketing.
Young Joon Kim, Partner of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, currently resident in its Hong Kong office, and Regional Director-Asia for Harvard Alumni Association
Young Joon (“YJ”) Kim is a partner at the international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, currently resident in its Hong Kong office, having served in the firm’s New York and Tokyo offices. Mr. Kim’s experience includes a variety of international corporate and financing transactions, including project finance, cross-border M&A and acquisition finance transactions. Mr. Kim received his B.A from Yale University and J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the New York State Bar and has been a regular speaker at conferences sponsored by Euromoney, Asia Law Journal, Asia Business Forum, and others, on topics including energy, project finance and M&A. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Harvard Alumni Association and the Executive Committee of Harvard Law School Association.
Veronica Lee Thomas, Women's education and development advocate
Originally from New York, Ms. Thomas has lived in Asia for more than 15 years, the last 10 of which have been in Hong Kong. She is a committed supporter of education, particularly for women, and of deepening cultural ties and understanding between countries. She is actively involved in several cultural/ educational organizations, including Asia Art Archive and the Asia Society of Hong Kong. She has also served as an elected member of the Klassenpflegschafts- an advisory body of the German Swiss International School.
Ms. Thomas has spent the majority of her professional career in the finance and investment field. After starting her career in investment banking, she later moved to venture capital, and subsequently to asset management. Along the way, she helped launched one of the earliest infrastructure funds in Asia and in Central Europe. Ms. Thomas received a B.A. from Hamilton College and a Master of Management Science/MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.
Kathy M. Matsui, Managing Director and Chief Japan Strategist; Co-Director of Pan Asian Investment Research, Goldman Sachs (Japan) Ltd.
Kathy is head of Economics, Commodities and Strategy (ECS) Research in Asia, chief Japan equity strategist and co-head of Asia Investment Research. She serves on the Asia Management Committee and the Firmwide Diversity Committee. Kathy joined Goldman Sachs in 1994 and was named managing director in 1998 and partner in 2000.
Kathy was ranked No. 1 in Japan Equity Strategy by Institutional Investor magazine in 2000, 2001 and 2006 and No. 2 by the Nikkei Analyst Ranking in 2000. In 2007, she was chosen by the Wall Street Journal newspaper as one of the “10 Women to Watch in Asia” for her work on the ”Womenomics” theme.
Prior to joining the firm, Kathy worked as the chief Japan strategist for Barclays de Zoete Wedd Securities for four years, and she worked as the Export-Import Bank of Japan’s Washington, DC office for two years. She served as a committee member for the Finance Agency’s Tax Research Committee as well as the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry’s Industrial Structure Committee.
Kathy is a board of the Asian University for Women (AUW) Support Foundation, a trustee for the American School in Japan, and a member of Keizai Doyukai, a leading Japanese business organization. She also serves on the advisory council for the Japan Society Fund Against Breast Cancer.
Kathy earned a BA, magna cum laude, in Social Studies from Harvard University and an MA from Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies. She has conducted research on Japanese foreign policy at Kobe University Graduate School on a Rotary Scholarship.
Catherine Watters Sasanuma, cross cultural community advocate and fundraiser for non-profits, focused on women, children and the arts’ based in Tokyo
Catherine Watters Sasanuma grew up in Seattle, WA. After receiving a BA in History from Seattle Pacific University, Catherine worked at a statewide non-profit organization focusing on Kindergarten-12 grade education. At Citizens Education Center Northwest she worked with the migrant community and inner city schools, advocated for better funding for schools with the state legislature, coordinated statewide projects with organizations allied to improve kindergarten through grade 12 educations. She also assisted in fundraising for the organization.
In 1988 Catherine attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and received her Master’s in Public Administration. After returning to Seattle, she joined the Washington State Department Health. She worked on parent-child health, directing grants and planning for statewide services for children and families.
In 1993 Catherine married her Kennedy School classmate Taisuke Sasanuma and moved to Japan. She received a Certificate for Intensive Japanese Language program from the Franciscan Language School in 1995. In Japan Catherine worked for the think tank, GSEC at Keio University in 1980-2.
Taisuke and Catherine have two sets of twins, ages 14 and 11. Three of the four children attend Japanese schools.
Catherine now co-chairs Japan AUW Committee with Kathy Matsui and Saniya Bloomer. She joined the AUW Support Foundation Board in 2009. In 2011 she joined the Board of Trustees for the American School in Japan. She is a member of the College Women’s Association in Japan. She was formerly a board member of the Foreign Executive Women in Japan.
Last updated on 15 April 2012
