Asian Speakers

Sheryl WuDunn

As a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and professional speaker, Sheryl WuDunn offers a unique perspective on current economic, political and social issues such as women's rights. As co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Half the Sky, WuDunn calls attention to the trials and triumphs of women ...

Tess Gerritsen

Internationally best-selling author Tess Gerritsen took an unusual route to a writing career. A graduate of Stanford University, Gerritsen went on to attend medical school and become a physician. While on maternity leave, she began to write fiction. Eight suspense novels later, she has never looked back.

Carmen Wong Ulrich

Carmen Wong Ulrich is a uniquely talented debt management specialist known for her realistic and valuable credit crisis advice. With a diverse background in personal finance, she has established herself as one of today's leading authorities and commentators on the subject, appearing hourly on MSNBC's It's the Economy ...

Michio Kaku

Dr. Michio Kaku is an internationally recognized authority in Einstein's unified theory field; innovation; and "the future of the future"—exploring and predicting the science of tomorrow, from computing power and artificial intelligence to communication and genetics.

Kahi Lee

Kahi Lee has been called a "renaissance chick, interior design goddess and a leader of the new school." She has appeared on numerous television programs including Design on a Dime, Merge Renovate My Family, Ultimate Gamer, FreeStyle, and My Celebrity Home, numbering nearly 200 episodes in all.

Juju Chang

A former news anchor for ABC's Good Morning America, Chang is an Emmy Award-winning correspondent for 20/20 and Nightline. She also hosts Moms Get Real, a digital show for ABC News NOW aimed at cracking the façade of perfect mommyhood.

Somaly Mam

Sold into sexual slavery as young girl, Mam has dedicated her life to finding a way to stop this horrific practice. Her past has fueled her passion and all her efforts to help young children and women who have become victims of sex slavery and human trafficking. Her incredible life experiences, stalwart dedication, and ...

Lisa See

The New York Times best-selling author of the extraordinary Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Peony in Love, See crafts highly praised works resplendent with fluid language, engrossing portrayals, and rich universal themes. Her newest book is Shanghai Girls, an unforgettable journey of two ...

Jagdish N. Bhagwati

Bhagwati, Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science at Columbia University, has made contributions to development theory and policy, public finance, immigration and to the new theory of political economy. His books are acknowledged to have provided the intellectual case for the economic reforms now ...

Angela E. Oh

Angela E. Oh serves as the Executive Director of the Western Justice Center Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advances peaceful resolution of conflict. She has worked as an attorney, public lecturer, and teacher of Zen meditation. In addition to her job with the WJC, she remains Of Counsel to the Century City law ...

Eric Liu

Former White House speechwriter and advisor, Liu is the author of such acclaimed works as Guiding Lights, The Accidental Asian, and his latest, Imagination First. As an influential young leader, his work has given voice to a new generation of Asian Americans, and his experience bridges politics, ...

Gish Jen

Refusing to follow tradition, Jen blazes her own trail. Named one of the premier novelists of the 21st century by John Updike, she writes on the experiences of diverse cultures and their joys and struggles adapting to America. She is the best-selling author of Typical American, The Love Wife, and her latest, ...

Leroy Chiao

Having flown in three space missions, once as the Commander of the International Space Station, he shares his personal experiences from the unique perspective of space. He explains his humble beginnings of his dream to be an astronaut and how he achieved that dream. Selecting poignant stories from his life as launching ...

Lela Lee

Lela Lee created the cult online cartoon "Angry Little Asian Girl" and website for people, like her, who grew up thinking girls shouldn't get upset. She has guest starred on Curb Your Enthusiasm, Will & Grace, Friends, and Felicity, among others.

Maxine Hong Kingston

Maxine Hong Kingston is a highly acclaimed writer of both fiction and nonfiction and one of the first Asian Americans to make it to the top of the literary world in America. Her first book, a memoir published in 1976 called The Women Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts, won the National Book Critic's Circle ...

Ayesha Khanna

Ayesha Khanna is Partner of Hybrid Realities, a research and consulting firm headquartered in New York, and Director of the Hybrid Reality Institute, a think tank which explores human-technology co-evolution in the "hybrid age" and its implications for society, business, and politics. She is a strategy advisor with over ...

Phoebe Eng

For over 20 years, Phoebe Eng has helped leading companies and organizations tap into the power of globalism and diversity to spur innovation. In her international lecture series, Fluency: The Art of Crossing Borders, Eng has helped several industries – from media and telecommunications, to healthcare and wellness, to ...

Harry Wu

A former Chinese political prisoner, Wu was incarcerated for 19 years in China's Laogai Camps. He has since dedicated himself to documenting – and bringing to the public’s attention – such human rights violations in China as prison labor and the harvesting and selling of human body parts. Wu’s account of his ...

Beau Sia

An Asian American poet, Sia has fueled his life with his slam-winning writing and performances in Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry, Slamnation, and Slam. Author of A Night Without Armor II: The Revenge, as well as the man behind the spoken word albums Attack! Attack! Go! and Dope ...

David Mura

David Mura's creative work in the field of diversity and multiculturalism reflects depth and meaning. A third generation Japanese American, Mura authored Turning Japanese: Memoirs of a Sansei, which won a 1991 Josephine Miles Book Award and was listed as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.