BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
President
Geoffrey R. Sant
Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Geoffrey Sant is a Partner at the law firm of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, and is an Adjunct Professor at Fordham University School of Law, as well as a Director of the Chinese Business Lawyers Association. Mr. Sant has published in both English and Chinese in such media as The Wall Street Journal and People’s Daily, and has been cited on legal issues at the United States Supreme Court and by the New York Court of Appeals. He was selected as a “Young Sinologist” by China’s Ministry of Culture, and his writing on China was named by The Atlantic as an “Exceptional Work of Journalism.” He has a J.D. from New York University School of Law, an M.A. in East Asian Languages and Cultures from Columbia University, and a B.A. in Romance Languages and in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago.
Vice President
Jackie Quan
Astor Madison Property
A mom and entrepreneur, Jackie manages her own business at Astor Madison Property. Jackie holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies and Economics from Columbia University and a J.D. from Northwestern Law. She enjoys cooking, gardening, tennis, volleyball, and ping-pong. Jackie is on the Board of the Columbia Alumni Association as well as the Asian Women Giving Circle. She lives in NYC with her family. Jackie is on the board of Kundiman, a literary non-profit for writers and poets. Jackie also raises funds for EMC— Every Mother Counts for maternal health as well as for KCTL— the kings county tennis league for kids after school programs for underprivileged kids in Brooklyn.
Secretary
Arnold Chu
FHFA
Arnold is a Principal Examiner for the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator for FNM and FRE and FHLBs. Building on his 20+ years of experience in the private financial institutions, he has been developing new approaches to regulation of banks and housing financing firms. Active in the Asian and arts communities, he is pursuing the ideals of building international trusts through arts.
Treasurer
Helen Hung
MEMBERS
Kristie Blase
CKR Law LLP
Kristie is a partner at CKR Law LLP, where she focuses on complex commercial and securities enforcement litigation and has an active pro bono practice in access to justice and right to counsel issues. Kristie has a BS in engineering from the University of Maryland and a JD from The George Washington University Law School. Kristie lives in Brooklyn with her husband, a Shaolin kung fu martial artist, and two daughters, for whom she loves to make creative bento lunches.
Carol Lee
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Carol is a senior associate in the Litigation Department at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, where she handles a wide array of commercial disputes in federal and state courts in the U.S. She has a B.B.A. in Business Management from Pace University, and a J.D. from Quinnipiac University School of Law. Carol is fluent in written Chinese and in spoken Mandarin and Cantonese.
Tony Lee
Spectrum Enterprise
Tony is a Network Engineer (Commercial Engineering - NYC) building ethernet network solution applications for commercial customers at Charter Communications (Spectrum Enterprise) since 2006. Prior to that, he worked at Goldman Sachs for 10 years as a Network Engineer which handled financial trading platform such as Redi Plus Applications. Tony holds an MBA degree (Innovation and Technology) from New York University and an Electrical Technology (Bachelor of Technology) from CUNY.
James Luk
Department of Sanitation (DSNY)
James is the Director of Materials Management at the New York City Department of Sanitation. He has over 18 years of experience in aircraft maintenance and supply chain management in commercial aviation and aerospace defense. James has also been training in martial arts for over thirty years and teaches at the Shotojuku Dojo in Astoria. James originally joined NYCCC as a student in 1996 and has been part of the organization in various roles prior to joining the Board.
Minyao Wang
Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP
Minyao Wang is of counsel at the litigation boutique Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP. Minyao Wang has nearly a decade of trial and litigation experience, including handling securities class actions, commercial disputes, bankruptcy disputes, real estate disputes, trade secret disputes and white-collar matters. Minyao has litigated in the federal and state courts of New York, New Jersey, Florida, California and Virginia, and he has appeared before multiple international arbitral bodies in Europe and Asia. Minyao has tried cases to verdict. Minyao has represented clients before the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory agencies. He has also led internal corporate investigations. Prior to Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP, Minyao worked as a senior associate at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP launching their China practice as he is fluent in written and spoken Chinese. Minyao has served as a law clerk for Chief Bankruptcy Judge Carla Craig of the Eastern District of New York. Minyao received his undergraduate and law degree with honors from Duke University.
STAFF
Ying Yen, Executive Director
Grant Zhuang, School Director
Janie Wong, Operations Manager
Nico Li, Programs and Engagement Manager
Xuan Sheng, School Manager
CONTACT
info@nychineseculturalcenter.org
(212) 334-3764