As Fellow for Chinese Society and Political Economy at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis, G.A. Donovan leads research initiatives on the social, cultural, and intellectual trends shaping China’s future. He experienced the country’s transformation firsthand while living and working in-country over the course of more than three decades.

A former Foreign Service Officer, G.A. handled a broad range of political and economic issues as an American diplomat in Beijing, Chengdu, and Kathmandu. Subsequently, was the Senior Researcher and Assistant Director at the Harvard Business School Asia-Pacific Research Center, traveling throughout China to conduct field research on business and financial topics. He also served as communications director and speechwriter for the CEO of Hong Kong’s securities commission.

G.A. earned a BA in English from Columbia and master’s degrees from Harvard Divinity School and St. John’s College. As a student, he was a researcher/writer for Let’s Go: India and a producer and announcer on WKCR-FM in New York and WVBR-FM in Ithaca. His writing has appeared in the China Economic Quarterly, Far Eastern Economic Review, South China Morning Post, and other publications.