Judging Committee
Review & Judging criteria
The judges selected by Yuan Foundation will review and evaluate all submissions based on the following criteria:
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Quality and effectiveness of the Business Plan.
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Effective use and impact to the community.
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The probability of a successful launch.
Ting Tang
CEO of Yuan Foundation
Ting Tang has worked in the media industry for over three decades. He has particular expertise in enterprise reporting and op-ed writing. Throughout his career, Tang has held various senior positions, including editor-in-chief, chief correspondent, and producer. With his exceptional journalistic insight and skills, Tang excels at pinpointing key issues and exploring complex social topics in depth.
Over the past decade, Tang has focused on raising civic awareness among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. With a deep understanding of the unique concerns within the AAPI community, Tang is actively supporting grassroots efforts to strengthen the community. Through various outreach and broadcasting initiatives, Tang has helped enhance the AAPI community’s civic engagement and self-identification.Tang is key role of the team behind “DC, the Core,” a bilingual news analysis on U.S. politics. With innovative broadcasting methods and deep political insights, Tang has significantly advanced the AAPI community’s civic engagement and empowerment.
Tang also has extensive experience in marketing, brand building, and multimedia operations. He excels at integrating traditional media with emerging technologies and has achieved remarkable success in applying AI to brand promotion. His work has not only boosted brand visibility but also established deep connections with target audiences, driving long-term growth.
Bing Lu
Registered Investment Advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
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Over 25 years of experience in the equity markets, specializing in real estate finance (REITs) and ETF investments
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He is the CEO of Vesta Investment Advisors and manages Vesta Strategic RE Fund, Vii ETF Growth Fund and other private equity funds.
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Previously worked at Millennium Management, Fidelity Investments, Fannie Mae and other financial institutions.
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Graduated from Fudan University in mathematical mechanics and Courant Institute of Mathematics, New York University.
Yu Sun
Professor of Lady of the Lake University
Dr. Yu Sun is a distinguished scholar with dual PhDs and serves as a tenured professor of Educational Leadership, as well as a doctoral advisor. She earned her Ph.D. in Management Science from Donghua University, Shanghai, in 2010, and later obtained both an M.A. in Mathematical Statistics and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Wayne State University, Detroit, in 2012. She began her academic career as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Quantitative Business Analysis at Siena College in New York in 2012 before joining Our Lady of the Lake University in 2013, where she currently serves as a tenured Full Professor and Graduate Program Director of Leadership Studies at the Houston campus.
Throughout her career, Dr. Sun has chaired over 40 doctoral dissertations and served on more than 70 dissertation committees. Her research interests encompass leadership studies, emotional intelligence, corporate management, leadership assessment, decision-making, business statistics, operations management, and business analysis. Dr. Sun has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, authored book chapters, and presented her research at over 50 international conferences. She has been actively involved in research projects funded by China’s National Natural Science Foundation and contributes as an editor and reviewer for several international academic journals, including the Journal of Management Science and Business Intelligence.
In addition to her academic accomplishments, Dr. Sun holds several leadership roles. She is the Vice President and board member of the International Association for Educational Development, and Founder of the Academy of Business Intelligence and Innovation. She has also organized multiple international conferences on educational leadership and business intelligence, fostering scholarly exchange globally.
Dr. Sun is an active supporter of Asian-American organizations, serving on the boards of the Asian Chamber of Commerce and the Shandong Association in Houston. She is also the honorary president of the Qingdao-Weifang Chamber of Commerce. Her work spans teaching, mentoring, research, and community service, contributing to both academic and professional development in leadership and management.
Ylin Zhang
a business executive and community relations professional
Yilin Zhang is a business executive and community relations professional. She is the Principal Strategist at Yilin Zhang Advisory, which provides communications and development services to non-profit organizations and advises in political strategy to campaigns. In 2020, Ms. Zhang was a candidate for DC Council Ward 2. She serves as a board member of the Logan Circle Community Association and is a long-time DC Statehood Advocate for DC Statehood with the League of Women Voters DC. Ms. Zhang has a BA in Anthropology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, a master’s degree in Health Policy and Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and was a Fulbright Fellow. She has a campaign management certificate from The Campaign School at Yale.
Haiyan Mei
Education and Operations Manager
With a master’s degree in library science from SUN YAT-SEN University and a bachelor’s degree in medical informatics from Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Haiyan brings a wealth of experience in education and management. She has extensive experience in multi-level teaching, especially in course design and curriculum development. Haiyan is an education manager and operations manager at Yuan Foundations, and responsible for the design, promotion, implementation, and external communication of education programs.
Haiyan’s career began as a reference librarian at Guangzhou Medical University, where she honed her expertise in research and information management. Her professional background also includes roles as a teacher of classical and modern Chinese, a special education educator, and a long-term volunteer at a Chinese school, all of which highlight her unwavering commitment to education and student development.