Thomas E. McLain

Chair, Asia Society Southern California

Trustee, the Asia Society

Thomas E. McLain is a Trustee of the Asia Society, Member of the Executive Committee, Co-Chair of the Global Committee and Member of the Governance Committee. He    also   serves as Chair of the Asia Society Southern California Center and has been active in the Asia Society Southern California for over 15 years.

Thomas E. McLain is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Arnold & Porter LLP.  He focuses his practice on complex domestic and international business transactions, including joint ventures, private equity investments, strategic acquisitions and investments, privatizations, restructurings, location based entertainment, intellectual property licensing, international corporate counseling, and tax-efficient offshore real estate transactions.  In addition to being an attorney, Mr. McLain has worked as an investment banker and as a partner in a private equity firm. He began his career as a foreign law trainee at the Nagashima Ohno & Tsunematsu law firm in Tokyo in 1974.  Mr. McLain speaks Japanese, has lived, studied and worked in Japan on several occasions, and taught Japanese law at the University of Southern California Law Center.  He currently serves on the board of directors of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc.

Mr. McLain was appointed by President Clinton to serve as a Commissioner of the Japan-US Friendship Commission and as a member of the US-Japan Committee on Cultural and Educational Exchange.  He is a Trustee and member of the Executive Committee of the Asia Society and serves as Co-Chair of the Global Committee and Vice-Chair of the Audit Committee; in addition, he is Chairman of the Asia Society Southern California center. Mr. McLain has served on the boards of the Library Foundation of Los Angeles and the Terry Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.  Mr. McLain is an honors graduate of both Duke University and the Duke School of Law.  He was awarded a Japan Foundation Fellowship to study at the Inter-University Center in Tokyo.

John Windler

Executive Director

John Windler is the Executive Director of the Asia Society Southern California. John joined the Asia Society in early 2012 but has been involved with the Southern California Center for nearly 20 years.

John has had successful careers in both academia and in business. John spent nearly two decades with the University of Southern California, involved in the University’s international activity. John was the Managing Director of the Center for International Business Education and Research (CIBER). CIBER’s aim is to foster international business understanding and to make Americans more competitive in the international marketplace. His duties included coordinating the activities of CIBER under a grant from the Department of Education, managing tens of million of dollars in government funds.

John was the founding Director of the University of Southern California's International Offices. He oversaw the comprehensive administrative operations for a multi-country network of offices throughout Asia and the Pacific Rim. He opened offices in Jakarta, Hong Kong, Taipei, Tokyo and Mexico City. John was instrumental in developing a range of services, activities, and programs to enhance USC’s international presence. He improved efforts to organize and serve the University's international alumni, developing a strong network throughout the Asia Pacific region and the world. His efforts enhanced the recruitment of qualified international students. He improved communication with families of Pacific Rim students. He facilitated academic exchange relationships, including being instrumental in the development of USC’s Global Executive MBA program in Shanghai, China. He also worked to cultivate regional donors. John implemented the USC Asia Conferences, which were held in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul and the APBO Asia Conference in Bangkok. Each of these large-scale conferences attracted hundreds of participants from upwards of 20 different economies around the world. Participants included key academic, government, and business leaders. John has a strong interest in Asia with nearly 20 years of being a regular visitor.

John has extensive management and operations experience as an owner of the Computer Learning Center in Denver, Colorado. Prior to this, John spent almost fifteen years in the motion picture industry, most recently as president and director of operations at Scene Cinema. John served on the U.S. Department of Commerce's District Export Council. He also served on USC's International Affairs Committee and was on the Board of Directors of the Foreign Trade Association of Southern California for six years.

John received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from California State University, Fullerton with an emphasis in management and finance. He received his MBA from the University of Southern California with an international and finance emphasis.

Katherine Estrada

Assistant Director

Katherine Estrada is Assistant Director of Asia Society Southern California. Katherine joined the Asia Society in 2012 after several years of working with non-profit organizations in the Los Angeles area.

Katherine received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Religious Studies with a South Asia regional focus and Global Studies with an East Asia regional emphasis from the University of California at Santa Barbara. As an undergraduate, she spent 6 months studying in Beijing. Katherine has a Master’s in Public Policy from the University of Southern California and participated in a student led consulting project in Foshan, China during her graduate studies.