Advisory Council
Gary Rieschel - Chair
Founding Managing Partner, Qiming, Asia Society Trustee
Gary has over 30 years of successful operating and investing experience as a senior executive, entrepreneur, investor, and global business strategist. He held executive positions at Intel, Sequent, and Cisco, and was the Founder of the Softbank Venture Capital group. He is Founding Managing Partner of Qiming, a firm with over $8B USD under management focused on early stage investments in China and one of China’s premier VC firms. Mr. Rieschel’s investment areas are Healthcare and Cleantech. He advised the China Greentech Initiative, and the Rocky Mountain Institute in its introduction to China. He actively supports the US China Clean Energy Forum, PERC (Property and Environmental Research), The Nature Conservancy, the Climate Leadership Council, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Atlantic Council, and the U.S. Olympic Foundation where he and his wife Yucca serve as Sports Ambassadors for mental health for the U.S. Olympic team. He served on the joint venture boards of Blackrock/Bank of China and Silicon Valley Bank/Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. Gary holds a BA in Biology from Reed College in Portland, OR, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He lived in Japan for five years in the late 1980s and lived in Shanghai from 2005 through 2016. He now lives in Seattle, WA. He is the Chairman of the Asia Society Northern California Advisory Board and a Global Trustee.
Marc Berger
Executive Vice President, Desautel Hege; WSCRC Board Chair
Marc is an expert communicator, business leader and strategist with a passion for executive communications, crisis management, thought leadership, media relations and international engagement.
As executive vice president, Marc leads the DH Puget Sound team and provides senior-level counsel to the firm’s diverse clients. He oversees executive communications practice, developing strategies and creating speeches, articles and other leadership communications for executives in a wide range of industries.
Marc also heads crisis communications in the Puget Sound, helping clients prepare for and manage reputation challenges, drawing on his expertise in media relations, crisis messaging and internal communications. Marc is adept at gathering information, analyzing complex situations and synthesizing clear, compelling content.
Marc cares deeply about helping visionary leaders build awareness and support for their work and business goals. He excels at solving problems and bringing together intersecting interests, people and priorities to identify the best path forward. Marc develops powerful community engagement strategies to ensure his clients are connected to the stakeholders that matter most. He has expertise in the health care, technology, transportation, financial services, legal and nonprofit sectors.
Prior to joining the firm in 2013, Marc spent over a decade living in, studying and engaging professionally with China. He previously worked at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the nation’s foremost organization promoting constructive Sino-American relations.
The Puget Sound Business Journal recognized Marc in 2020 as a ‘40 Under 40’ honoree. Marc is a leadership fellow of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, and former fellow of the World Affairs Council of Seattle. He is the board chair of the Washington State China Relations Council, a board member of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, a former board member of the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County, and a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.
Marc received his master’s degree from Columbia University, where he focused on international relations, Chinese foreign policy and media. He is a graduate of Wesleyan University in Connecticut. A native of Lincoln, Nebraska, Marc’s passion for Cornhusker football is surpassed only by his love of all things guitar. He lives in Seattle with his wife and two young boys.
Avik Bhattacharya
Director for International Strategy & Business Development, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
Avik Bhattacharya is director of Global Strategy & Market Development for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, based out of Seattle. Avik leads a team responsible for developing strategic partnerships, industrial participation strategies and other business collaboration opportunities in leading markets across the world, including China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa and Australia.
Previously, Avik served as Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ director of Business Development and Strategy, in Boeing’s offices in Seattle and New Delhi. In that role, he was responsible for developing and growing Boeing’s industrial collaboration in the Asia-Pacific
Prior to joining Boeing, Avik worked in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, strategy consulting and business development roles in China, Indonesia, Germany, France and India. Avik speaks multiple Indian languages and makes do in Mandarin and French.
Avik holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and two master’s degrees in business administration and international studies from the University of Washington.
Trila Bumstead
Owner of ‘Ohana Media Group, LLC & ‘Ohana Digital Services
A proud graduate of the University of Washington with a BA in Accounting. Graduate of the NABEF class of 2004. Serves as an associate dean for that same program since 2012. Employed as an Audit Manager for Deloitte & Touché (1994 to 1999). Joined New Northwest Broadcasters (“NNB”) as its Chief Financial Officer in Feb 1999. During a 13 year tenure with NNB served as CFO, Executive VP and President & CEO.
Founded Ohana Media Group, LLC (“OMG”) in 2011. Purchased stations in Alaska, Washington and Oregon. Today OMG consists of 11 radio stations. Honored as Oregon’s Broadcaster of the Year 2022. Recipient of Media Financial Managers Rainmaker Award (2009). Voted one of Radio Ink’s Most Influential Women (June 2010 & June 2016). Oregon Association of Broadcasters board member (2012-2020). OAB Chairwoman 2017-2019. Currently OAB’s ex-officio Treasurer. NAB Radio board June 2017-June 2022 and served on NAB’s audit, real estate and diversity sub-committees.
Sam Cho
Commissioner, Port of Seattle
Sam Cho was elected to the Port Commission in 2019 and became Commission President in 2023. Cho is the son of immigrants who immigrated from South Korea to the United States through the Port of Seattle in the 80’s. Today, he is the youngest and first person of color to become Commission President since the founding of the Port in 1911. Driven to help shape the economy of the future, Commissioner Cho’s career has spanned from government and emerging start-ups to established companies in the tech and sustainability space.
Immediately before his election to the Port, Commissioner Cho was the founder and CEO of Seven Seas Export, an international trading company that exported over 2.5 million pounds of eggs to various countries throughout the Asia-Pacific. Earlier in his career, Commissioner Cho held positions as an analyst at the US Department of State, as a Legislative Assistant to both a Washington State Senator and a member of the United States Congress and served as a political appointee under President Barack Obama.
Commissioner Cho earned his Master of Science in International Political Economy from The London School of Economics and his Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from American University. His priorities as a commissioner include creating economic opportunity, promoting environmental sustainability, equity, diversity, and inclusion, and ending human trafficking.
J. Norwell Coquillard
Executive Director, WSCRC
Stepped down as the Executive Director of the Washington State China Relations in May 2023. Mr. Coquillard spent four years in this role. Prior to his relocation to Seattle in late 2016 he spent 32 years living and working in North Asia. From 2010 to 2017 he served as the Chairman and President of Enactus China, the China operations of Enactus a U.S. based non-profit. Concurrent with this role he also served as the of Chairman of IMA Asia China, an organization which runs peer group forums for the China based CEOs of multinational corporations.
Mr. Coquillard served as the chairman and president of Cargill Investment (China) Limited, the China operating company for Cargill Incorporated of the United States from 1998 to 2009. Before moving to China Coquillard served as the country head of Cargill Inc. operations in Japan and Korea from 1984 until 1997.
Coquillard was the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai for calendar years 2008 and 2009. A graduate of Dartmouth College he currently serves as a member of the International Advisory Board of the global communications firm APCO Worldwide as well on the board of the Washington State China Relations Council.
J.D. Delafield
Portfolio Manager, Select Equity Group
John Dennis (J.D.) Delafield is a portfolio manager at Select Equity Group (2020 - present). Prior to Select Equity, J.D. founded Delafield Hambrecht, Inc., a merchant bank in Seattle (2001-2020). Prior to DHI, J.D. co-founded WR Hambrecht+Co, an investment bank in San Francisco (1998-2001). Prior to WRH, J.D. worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in Singapore (1995 – 1998). Prior to Morgan Stanley, J.D. served as Chief Representative of the The Coca-Cola Company in Beijing (1989-1993). J.D. received a BA in East Asian Studies from Princeton University (1989) and an MBA from Harvard Business School (1995).
Nelson Dong
Of Counsel, Dorsey & Whitney; former WSCRC Chair
Nelson Dong is an Of Counsel in the Seattle office of the Dorsey & Whitney law firm and co-heads its National Security Law Group. He advises companies, professional societies, universities and research organizations on export controls, economic sanctions, national security and international trade and investment matters. He is also an author and teacher on international technology law issues.
Nelson was a White House Fellow and U.S. Justice Department official in the Carter Administration responsible for international and national security matters and was a federal prosecutor in Boston. He has been an export control policy advisor to the U.S. Commerce Department and served over a decade as a director of the National Committee on US-China Relations in New York City. He is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, a director of the Washington State China Relations Council in Seattle, a member of the Advisory Board for Asia Society Seattle and an active member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Committee of 100. Nelson is a graduate of Stanford University and the Yale Law School and has served as a trustee of Stanford University.
Kristi Heim
Senior Director of Communications, Element Biosciences; former WSCRC ED
Kristi Heim is an experienced communications leader in life sciences, international business, and global health. A former journalist, she is currently Senior Director of Communications for Element Biosciences, a multi-disciplinary life science company. She has more than 20 years' experience in media, public relations and international affairs, managing communications strategy and business partnerships.
Her experience includes directing corporate communications for global biopharma and genomics companies. She also spent many years working in Asia and served as executive director and president of the Washington State China Relations Council (WSCRC), from 2013 to 2016. As an award-winning journalist, she wrote about business and technology for publications including the Wall Street Journal, the Seattle Times, and the San Jose Mercury News.
Brent Irvin
Vice President & General Counsel
Tencent
Brent joined Tencent in 2010. He is currently Vice President and General Counsel, overseeing all legal matters, including intellectual property, litigation, privacy, compliance and public policy. He is also President of Tencent America, responsible for the operation of the Tencent’s US offices, and serves on the board of Tencent Music Entertainment as well as several Tencent-invested companies such as Dream11, Ola Cabs and Grinding Gear Games. He is a member of the board of visitors at Stanford Law School, where he has, among other things, helped promote various international programs.
Liam Li
Managing Director, Himalaya Capital
Mr. Liam Li has 30 years of business experience in the United States and China. He worked for major U.S. public companies and co-founded a small business in Shanghai. Most recently, Mr. Li is the CFO and Managing Director for a large Seattle-based investment company.
As Vice Chairman, Mr. Li co-founded Guardians of the Angeles Foundation during the pandemic period and oversaw the operations that had shipped millions of masks and PPEs to hospitals crossed 40 states in the US and 5 countries in the world. Mr. Li has also been active in Seattle metropolitan area nonprofit organizations such as Rotary Seattle 4, UCAWA, WSCRC, and the World Affairs Council. While he is building bridges among international communities, Mr. Li is also passionate on contributing time and financial resources to his neighborhood locally in Seattle area. He is a donor to the Northwest Chinese School and the University of Washington among other institutions.
Mr. Li graduated from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an MBA. He attended Case Western Reserve University for his undergraduate degree majoring in Accounting.
Fraser Mendel
Partner, Mendel Owens PS; WSCRC Vice Board Chairman and Legal Counsel
Fraser Mendel is a Partner in the Seattle office of the Mendel Owens PS law firm. He is a business and IP lawyer who works with clients in domestic and cross-border transactions, particularly in the area of technology licensing and advising businesses operating internationally.
Fraser spent 17 years in Taipei and Beijing before relocating back to his hometown of Seattle. He is a Vice Chair of the Washington State China Relations Council in Seattle, Board Secretary of the World Affairs Council in Seattle, and an officer of the Technology Law Committee of the International Bar Association. Fraser is a graduate of Pomona College, the University of Washington School of Law, University of Washington Jackson School of International Studies, and New York University School of Law.
Hwa Park
Board of Trustees at Seattle Art Museum
Hwa Park has been focused on strategy and business development for organizations of all kinds. She has a background in corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and wealth management having worked at financial service firms including Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. Currently, she serves on the Board of Trustees of Seattle Art Museum having led their Asian Art Museum’s capital campaign and on the Board of Directors of Bellevue Wolverines Girls Lacrosse Club. Hwa is a graduate of Smith College and Harvard Business School.
Tom Robertson
Corporate Vice President of Microsoft
Robertson is Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Microsoft Corporation, leading the Corporate, External, and Legal Affairs team supporting the Experiences and Devices organization, which includes Windows, Office, Surface devices, Microsoft 365, Teams, Bing, Edge, Microsoft Advertising, and their AI-integrated functionality. He sits on the boards of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the National Bureau of Asian Research, and Town Hall Seattle. Among other things, he has in the past led Microsoft’s Legal and Corporate Affairs team for North Asia, based in Tokyo, served as an Associate General Counsel in the Office of the US Trade Representative, been an attorney at Covington & Burling in DC and London, and served as a law clerk in the Eastern District of Virginia. He is a Life Member of the Council of Foreign Relations and a Fellow of the U.S. Japan Leadership Program.
David K.Y. Tang
Managing Partner, Asia, K&L Gates
David Tang is the Managing Partner, Asia for K&L Gates and his law practice concentrates in the areas of foreign investment, cross-border financings, mergers and acquisitions, and investments related to real estate. He has more than 40 years of transactional experience in the Greater China market. Mr. Tang was managing partner of Preston Gates & Ellis LLP from 1995–1999, a predecessor law firm to the formation of K&L Gates LLP. He is recognized in Best Lawyers and China Business Law Journal, among other directories.
Among his activities, Mr. Tang is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and the World Justice Project Leadership Council, is on the Blakemore Foundation Board, has been on the Council of The American Law Institute, the Boards of the National Committee on US-China Relations, and the National Bureau of Asia Research, and a former Chair of the American Bar Foundation, Anglo American Real Property Institute and Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce. He served on the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and as its Chair. He chairs the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Trade in International Legal Services, was a member of the ABA House of Delegates and served as Chair of the Section of Real Property and is on the Visiting Committee of the UW Jackson School. Mr. Tang holds an AB (magna) from Harvard University; a JD from Columbia University; and a Certificate from The Hague Academy of International Law.
T. Andrew Wilson
Former WSCRC Chair
Andy Wilson is a leader in international economic development, innovation, and global trade. Working within the private, public, and non-profit sectors, he has developed projects, businesses and relationships based on the belief that economic advancement and health are foundations for sustainable global relationships.
Wilson led the growth of a series of technology and consumer products companies across Europe, North America, and Asia –particularly in China. He also worked in the State Department Foreign Service, in a leading innovation and patent venture fund, and global health non-profit PATH – in all cases focusing on developing synergy between public and private sectors.
Wilson is past chair of the Washington State China Relations Council, holds a M.A. in international policy and economics from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. He and his wife live in Seattle.
Tong Zhu
CCO & CSO, Northwest Seaport Alliance
Tong Zhu is responsible for the organization’s commercial team, including the alliance’s container and non-container cargo business portfolio and oversees business development, real estate, and marketing & research departments.
Prior to the formation of the alliance, Zhu served as the chief commercial officer at the Port of Tacoma since 2010. She managed the activities of the Port’s diversified business portfolio, including container, non‐container (breakbulk and RORO), intermodal, and real estate. She also oversaw the marketing, research, and customer outreach activities of the port’s business development teams. Zhu joined the Port of Tacoma in 2007 as director of Commercial Strategies.
Before joining the Port of Tacoma, Zhu managed international relations at the Port of Seattle and directed the State of Washington’s Greater China trade development programs. With the state, she played a critical role in former Gov. Gary Locke’s successful China trade development programs and helped advance and finalize business contracts and international agreements.
A cum laude graduate of the University of Washington, Tacoma with a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Zhu is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Society. She serves on the board of trustees for the Clover Park Technical College and is a member of the business advisory council for the Asia Society.