Judging Committee
Dr. Elizabeth Cho-Fertikh, PhD
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Dr. Elizabeth Cho-Fertikh, PhD is a Partner with the Baltimore-based 1812 Ventures which focuses on healthcare investments and has been an angel investor with the Keiretsu Forum, MidAtlantic Chapter. Her 25+ year career in life sciences has spanned across academia, industry, start-ups and now investment fields.
She is a trained cancer biologist and obtained her education from Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, Thomas Jefferson universities & Harvard Medical, with dozens of research manuscripts published in the highest impact journals, including Nature, Nature Cell Biology & PNAS.
As Founder of ECF Biosolutions, a life science advisory practice that supports early stage ventures thru pharmaceutical companies and investors, she garnered multi-million dollars in both non-dilutive & dilutive funding; developed & executed FDA IND enabling studies, recruited Board and Advisory Board KOLs, filed numerous nonclinical & clinical regulatory submissions, and provided scientific & financial due diligence support for investors. Clients have included Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Gore Medical, Becton Dickinson, Macrogenics, dozens of start-ups and angel investors.
Dr. Yuhsien Wu, PhD
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Dr. Yuhsien Wu is the co-founder of USCECC-Vertias Education Leaders. Prior to co-establishing the US-China Education and Culture Center in 2010, Dr. Wu worked as a senior manager at a New York Stock Exchange education company and has an in-depth understanding about the American secondary education system. She also worked as a business professor and has an intimate knowledge about the American higher education system.
​Dr. Wu is an expert in student development and mentors students globally, including Harvard College students. She serves as a keynote and panel speaker at various conferences to discuss global competence, international education, and race relations in America. She also works closely with a team of Harvard Medical School professionals to promote mental wellness for international as well as Asian-American students. With a Ph.D. in business management from University of Missouri specializing in interpersonal communication, and a master's degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Dr. Wu aims to bring high quality, targeted educational services and solutions to help students develop into a holistic individual.
Terry Hsiao
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Terry Hsiao is an entrepreneur, advisor and investor with extensive experiences in US and China. Mr. Hsiao has founded multiple companies in mobile that got acquired by Sybase, Verifone and Kaleyra. Appointed by two Governors across party lines, Terry served on the board of Center of Innovation and Technology, a state funded economic development and investment agency in the Commonwealth of Virginia.​​
Terry is the current President of Monte Jade DC, representing Asian American business leaders and entrepreneurs for 25 years, and the Executive Director of the MIT Alums Angel Group in DC. Mr. Hsiao also served on the Board of Governors at MIT Sloan, where he obtained a Master’s degree in Management of Technology; and Board of Advisors at College of Engineering at Rutgers University, where he received a BSEE Honors degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering.
John Lin
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John P. Lin is founder of CapStar Commercial Realty. John has been in the commercial real estate industry since 1983. Graduated from the University of Maryland College Park and earned his master's degree from Johns Hopkins University, John’s educational background prepared him with financial accounting, insurance, security, restaurant and information technology as well as real estate and business acquisition.
John believes honesty and integrity are important in the commercial real estate business and are two qualities he looks for in all his agents and staff members. John has received the 2006 Maryland Top 100 Minority Business Entrepreneurs and 2008 Top 100 Minority Business award. John has been a visiting professor at the University of Maryland Real Estate program and Chairman of the Asian Real Estate Association of America, DC Chapter.
Huiyu Zhang
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Ms. Huiyu Zhang works at ViiNet-a fintech company, as Director of Business Relations. She is an enthusiastic public relations professional with more than 6 years cross-industry project management experiences in the U.S. Capital Region.
Ms. Zhang came to the US in 2009, and has worked at distinguished organizations: US-China Business Council, Walt Disney World, Kalahari Resorts and Convention Center. Before Huiyu joined ViiNet, she involved projects for public relations, government relations, and marketing that have promoted businesses profits and created valuable relationships for win-win cooperation.
Grateful for her experiences in two difference cultures- China and US, Ms. Zhang is dedicated to promote US-China people to people exchanges. She is the winner of “Great Washington DC area’s Best Chinese in Community Service Sector” in 2017, and the founder and Chief Strategy Officer of “China-US Tourism Forum” in 2016, the China-US Tourism Year. Huiyu received her master’s degree in Event Management from the George Washington University.