Sandra Rogers is the international vice president at Brigham Young University. Rogers previously served as the associate academic vice president for International, Distance and Continuing Education. With broad experience in the international arena, Rogers has studied, served, and worked in countries such as the Philippines, Nigeria, Jordan, and Romania.

In addition to serving as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Philippines, she has worked with the Church’s Humanitarian Services Committee in Africa and Eastern Europe. As a nursing professor, Rogers was asked to serve as a consultant for numerous international programs, including training and development projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Rogers also served as dean of BYU’s College of Nursing for six years. Her research has focused on primary health care programs.

She received a PhD from the University of California–San Francisco, specializing in international, cross-cultural nursing and holds degrees from the University of Arizona and Brigham Young University.

Topic: A Few Important Life Lessons

People magazine called her "the most famous woman in China" and Time magazine proclaimed her "the Queen of the Middle Kingdom. Her popularity has drawn comparisons to Oprah's influence in the United States. Chinese-American Yue-Sai Kan is an Emmy-winning television producer, best-selling author, entrepreneur, and humanitarian. In 1972, Yue-Sai created the weekly television series Looking East, the first of its kind to introduce Asian cultures and customs to a growing and receptive American audience. In 1986, the television series One World, produced and hosted by Yue-Sai, aired on China’s national television network CCTV, giving millions of Chinese the first glimpse of the outside world. In 1992, she successfully transformed herself from a TV personality to an entrepreneur by creating the Yue-Sai Cosmetics brand, which is recognized by over 90 percent of the Chinese population today. She also created a lifestyle product line called House of Yue-Sai, which focuses on interior design and home furnishings. Yue-Sai has written nine best-selling books, spreading the knowledge of beauty, etiquette, health and success among Chinese readers. more

Yue-Sai’s humanitarian efforts have primarily been focused on education and children. She has built schools in her hometown of Guangxi and libraries in poor regions in Northern China. She awarded scholarships to students in a number of colleges in China as well as Hunter College and the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. As a board member of the Shanghai Soong Ching Ling Foundation, she has helped raise millions of dollars for the well-being of women and children. Six years ago, Yue-Sai signed on to be the National Director of the Miss Universe China pageant, which seeks to encourage young people in particular to be charitable, educate them about exemplary values, and create a positive image and celebrate women by empowering them to use beauty for positive social change. Yue-Sai also sits on the board of the Ellis Island Honors Society, Committee of 100, China Institute in America, and Prince Albert of Monaco’s Philanthropy Roundtable. Yue-Sai Kan is the first and only living American featured on a Chinese postage stamp.

Topic: Old Lessons, New Technologies

Jared Andersen has spent most of his 18-year career growing incubation technology businesses in China—spanning AR/VR, mobile apps, PC hardware, search, digital marketing platforms, and cloud services. He also spent four years living in Beijing, where he set up Microsoft's cloud services in China. In 2015 and 2016, he was the speechwriter for Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Jared has always been passionate about the role technology plays in how we live, work, and play. He has a master's degree in Information Systems Management and a BA in Business Management from Brigham Young University. He learned Mandarin while growing up in Hong Kong and studied it further at Nanjing University. Jared currently lives in Seattle, Washington. In his spare time, he enjoys restoring andcolorizing historical black-and-white photographs and writing.

Topic: Use Your Knowledge and Skills When Doing Business Between China and U.S.

Jon and Jinhua were colleagues when they both worked with Goldman Sachs. In 2016, Jon and Jinhua met and decided to build a company, EnRoute Global.They focus on helping clients expand business between China and the U.S. more

Adam Foster is the President of the Helen Foster Snow Foundation whose mission is to preserve, promote, and continue Helen's legacy of building bridges of international understanding between the US and China. Adam holds a Master's in Business Administration, and is currently the Director of Talent Success at Workfront, an Adobe company. Adam lives in Lehi, Utah with his wife and 5 beautiful children.

Eric Hyer received his Ph.D. in political science from Columbia University in 1990 and is presently an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Brigham Young University and the Coordinator for Asian Studies. His research focuses on China's foreign relations. He has authored many articles on China’s arms sales, territorial issues, and US-China relations. He was the associate producer of “Helen Foster Snow: Witness to Revolution,” documentary movie (2000) and “From the Masses to the Masses: An Artist in Mao’s China” (2005). His book, The Pragmatic Dragon: China’s Grand Strategy and Boundary Settlements was published by University of British Columbia Press in 2015.

Sharon Crain is a Specialist in Modern Chinese History and has been involved in China since 1977.

She served as a Trustee of China Institute in America for 20 years where she helped develop the Chinese Scholars’ Program after the normalization of relations between China and the United States in 1979. At this time she also became close friends with Helen Snow and An Wei, both of whom greatly influenced her deeper immersion into China.

She served as the first Chairman of the Kansas City- Xi’an Sister City Association and initiated meaningful exchanges to promote US- China understanding. She also served as a Board Member of the Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation. more

John Murphy is Curator for 20th Century Mormon and Western Manuscripts in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections. He has a BA in History from Brigham Young University, a MSLIS degree from Simmons College, and an MA in Comparative History from Brandeis University. John worked as a Special Collections Librarian at the University of Arizona and began his career at BYU in 2002. He and his wife, Leslee Thorne-Murphy, are the parents of three sons. They enjoy skiing, hiking, traveling, and camping as a family. more