David Gitter is the president and CEO of the Center for Advanced China Research, where he specializes in research and analysis of authoritative open source Chinese language materials. He previously worked in various analytical capacities in the private, public, and non-profit sectors, including the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (OUSDP), Project 2049 Institute, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), focusing on Chinese foreign policy and broader Asian security issues. Gitter received his MA in Asian Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. He has lived, worked, and studied in Beijing, China and has working proficiency in Mandarin.

dgitter@ccpwatch.org

Sandy Lu is the director of analysis at the Center for Advanced China Research (CACR), where she monitors and analyzes authoritative Chinese-language open source materials and assists in CACR’s project management and development. She has previously worked for the Foundation on Asia Pacific Peace Studies in Taiwan and on the East Asia team at the Stimson Center in Washington, DC, focusing on Taiwan’s domestic politics and cross-Strait relations. Sandy received her MA in China Studies and International Economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). She is fluent in English and Mandarin and proficient in Japanese. 

hsuandylu@ccpwatch.org

Julia Bowie is the editor of the Party Watch Initiative at the Center for Advanced China Research. She previously worked at the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, the Project 2049 Institute, and the National Defense University’s Institute for National Strategic Studies. She holds an MA in Asian Studies from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and a graduate certificate from the Hopkins Nanjing Center. She lived in China for four years and is proficient in Mandarin Chinese.

jgbowie@ccpwatch.org

​Brock Erdahl is an analyst at the Center for Advanced China Research, where he specializes in propaganda analysis. Prior to moving to D.C., he lived, worked, and studied in Zhuhai, China for five years. He holds an MA in International Affairs from the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs and is professionally proficient in Mandarin Chinese.

berdahl@ccpwatch.org

Andrew Baer serves as a full stack developer at the Center for Advanced China Research where he is developing tools for analysis.  He previously worked as a defense contractor and scientific researcher within various government agencies, including the Department of Defense (DOD), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Naval Research Lab (NRL) under the Department of the Navy.  

abear@ccpwatch.org

Connor Swank is a Research Assistant and Program Manager at the Center for Advanced China Research. Prior to working at CACR, he completed a master’s degree in Chinese politics, foreign policy, and international relations at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, where he lived for two years. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He previously worked with the Asia Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States, on Capitol Hill, and as a part-time research assistant at Georgetown University. 

cswank@ccpwatch.org

Svyat Nakonechny is an experienced data scientist and data engineer, with expertise in unstructured/semistructured data processing, transformation, and integration into user-facing applications. He has worked on and managed several long term projects across many industry domains. He is particularly interested in building robust analytical tools (search platforms, business intelligence dashboards, etc.) for sophisticated subject matter experts. Svyat holds a Bachelors Degree in social sciences from Northwestern University.

Ricardo Barrios is a senior analyst at RWR Advisory where he conducts risk analysis on Chinese and Russian firms. Prior to that, he investigated China’s growing ties with the countries of Latin America as part of the Inter-American Dialogue’s Asia & Latin America program. His research interests include Chinese foreign policy, party-state relations, and state ideology. Barrios holds a Master’s in International Politics from Peking University and a BA in Politics and East Asian Studies from Oberlin College. In 2019, he was selected by the American Mandarin Society as part of its “Next Generation Scholars.” He is professionally proficient in Mandarin Chinese, fluent in Spanish, and reads Russian.

Elsa B. Kania is an Adjunct Fellow with the Technology and National Security Program at the Center for a New American Security, where she focuses on Chinese defense innovation and emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence. She is an independent analyst, consultant, and co-founder of the China Cyber and Intelligence Studies Institute (CCISI). Her prior professional experience includes working at the Department of Defense, the Long Term Strategy Group, FireEye, Inc., and the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy. Elsa is a graduate of Harvard College, where her thesis on the evolution of the PLA’s strategic thinking on information warfare was awarded the James Gordon Bennett Prize. Elsa was a Boren Scholar in Beijing, China, and she is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Michael Laha is a program officer at the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations in New York, where he manages the Center’s public programming and helped manage a project with ChinaFile tracking Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign. He joined the Center as a U.S.-China Dialogue Fellow. Laha is also the New York Chapter Director for Young China Watchers, a global network of young China-focused professionals. In that role, he conceives and runs a monthly speaker series for a young professional audience. Laha holds an M.A. in East Asian Cultures and Languages from Columbia University and B.S. in Chemistry from Tufts University. Before completing his Master’s degree, he spent a year at Nanchang University in Jiangxi Province teaching English. He is proficient in Chinese.

Ann Listerud was previously a research associate with the Simon Chair in Political Economy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a researcher and translator for Industrial Bank of Japan, Leasing Co. Ltd., and an English teacher for Henan University and the Shenzhen public school district. Her research interests include Chinese economic policy, state-owned enterprise reform, aging populations, and U.S.-China economic relations. Ms. Listerud earned her MA in International Affairs from the University of California, San Diego, and her BA from Beloit College, where she double majored in international relations and East Asian languages. She speaks and reads Mandarin Chinese and Japanese.

Zongyuan Liu holds a Ph.D from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) specializing in International Political Economy with regional expertise in Asia. Her research focuses are Asian energy security, political risk in Asia, China-Middle East relations, and China’s overseas infrastructure investment.  Her dissertation examines the politics and economic fundamentals of foreign exchange reserves management in China and Japan and its global implications. Zoe holds an MA in International Affairs from George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs. In addition, she took the CFA Level III exam in June 2018 and is a part-time consecutive/simultaneous translator for visiting Chinese government and business delegations to Washington DC.

Scott Wingo is a doctoral candidate in political science at the University of Pennsylvania focusing on China’s economic engagement in the developing world and why its modes of doing business are different from those used by Western governments, international organizations, and multinational corporations. He has previously worked with the Woodrow Wilson Center, the World Bank, and in the private sector, and has served as a teaching assistant for five semesters at Penn. Scott is proficient in Mandarin Chinese and Spanish and reads Portuguese. He holds both a Bachelor’s of Science in Foreign Service and a Master’s of Arts in Asian Studies from Georgetown University. You can follow him on Twitter @ScottCWingo.

Jake Eberts graduated from the University of Chicago in 2019 with a BA in Political Science, minoring in East Asian Languages and Civilizations. He studied Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien at National Taiwan University as a Boren Scholar in Taipei, and previously worked as an intern at the Department of Defense and Department of State.

Daniel Shats is an MA candidate in China Studies and International Economics at the Johns Hopkins University’s Nitze School of Advanced International Studies. He worked and studied in China for two years and has working proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. Daniel received his BA in International Studies and East Asian Studies from the Johns Hopkins University.

Leigh Meyer is the editorial intern for the Party Watch Initiative at the Center for Advanced China Research. She is a BA candidate in Chinese Language and Literature and International Affairs at the George Washington University.