Evergreen Educational Foundation
Emeritus
Former President
Faith Chao 赵耀渝 (President 2001-2017)
Dr. Faith Chao founded the Evergreen Education Foundation in 2001 and served as President until December 2017. Her vision is simple yet impactful – to inspire people to bring educational opportunities to children in rural China, especially through libraries. Through the years, Prof. Chao has expanded her vision. She has been instrumental in promoting information literacy in rural China. Below is just a few highlights on Prof. Chao’s legacy:
- 2001 Founded the Evergreen Education Foundation
- 2002 Founded the biennial Teacher Professional Development & Training Series >>
- 2004 Founded the biennial Information Technology In Education (ITIE) Conference >>
- 2004 Led China Evergreen Rural Library (CERL) Service Center in winning the Access to Learning US$500,000 Award by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation >>
- 2007 Presentation at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA on A model for expanding information resources to China’s rural communities >>
- 2007 Presentation at the World Library and Information Congress: 73rd IFLA General Conference and Council, Durban, South Africa on Expanding information access to China’s rural communities >>
- 2008 Presentation at International Association of School Librarianship Conference, Berkeley, CA, USA on Benefits from NGO – School library cooperation: the China experience >>
- 2009 Advised Tongwei County Library on its circulation automation and addition of information services, including the e-reading room. This effort led to the promoted of the library to a National 2nd Class Public Library >>
- 2009 Spearheaded Project-Based (Problem-Based) Learning resulting in 30-50 EEF supported projects each year
- 2011 Introduced Online Courses for Teacher Professional Development & Training >>
- 2012 Led 30 rural Chinese teachers & librarians on a study tour to visit Libraries, educational, and cultural institutions in Taiwan
- 2014 Spearheaded the effort to engage China public libraries in projects related to Local Culture and Oral History >>
- 2014 Spearheaded Makerspace projects and programs for EEF schools, teachers, and students.
- 2015 Spearheaded EEF Project-Based Learning workshops for teachers in rural China Schools >>
- 2016 Pioneered the idea of creating Makerspaces in China Public Libraries >>
Former Board Members
Carol Tang
Carol Tang is the Executive Director of San Francisco’s Children’s Creativity Museum, an interactive art and technology museum committed to fostering creativity and collaboration in all youth and families through open-ended STEM activities and design challenges. She was a 2012 recipient of the Leading Women in STEM award by the California STEM Learning Network. Prior to her current role, Carol had leadership roles at S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Coalition for Science After School, and the California Academy of Sciences. Carol formerly was a Paleontology Professor at Arizona State University, She received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern California and a B.A. with honors from U.C. Berkeley. .
Eileen Tang 喻丽清 (Board member 2001-2017)
Dr. Eileen Tang co-founded the Evergreen Education Foundation in 2001. She was actively involved in Evergreen Education Foundation from inception until she passed in 2017. When she visited Qinghai in 2001, seeing the needs of the students there and touched by their perseverance, she immediately started the Evergreen Foundation Scholarship Program after she came back from her visit by initially supporting 10 scholarship students in PingAn middle school where she toured. She championed 2000+ scholarships where they are provided to 700+ individual students from 17+ schools located in 9+ rural provinces.
Ruth Hafter (Co-Founder)
Dr. Ruth Hafter co-founded the Evergreen Education Foundation (EEF) in 2001; she also participated in organizing initial Evergreen workshops and conferences. She was the main presenter at the 2002 workshop in Xining with over 60 participants. This ground breaking workshop was an important beginning that set the tone for all of Evergreen’s future workshops and conferences. Ruth has held leadership positions in several academic libraries: Head Librarian, St. Mary’s U., Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1969-1975; Library Director, Sonoma State University, Rohnert Park, California, 1978-1986; Dean of the Library, San Jose State University, 1986-1991and was Professor, San Jose State School of Library & Information Science, 1987-1999. In 1986, she published Academic Librarians and Cataloging Networks: Visibility, Quality Control, and Professional Status (Praeger). Ruth Hafter has a Ph.D. in Library and Information Studies, University of California, Berkeley; MLS, Columbia University; Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration (HRPBA) certificate; and BA in History and Economics, cum laude, Brandeis University.
Geoffrey Liu 刘正福 (Board member 2001-2007)
Professor Geoffrey Liu is a Professor in the School of Information at San José State University. He has a research background in information retrieval and systems design. He is currently investigating cognitive shifting in dynamic information retrieval and collaborative learning online. Prof. Liu also has research interests in data mining (applied in information processing and services) as well as virtual communities and group decision making. Prof. Liu is one of the integral curators of the Evergreen Education Foundation’s Information Technology in Education (ITIE) Conference series. He has written numerous academic papers and articles on Evergreen projects.
Mengxiong Liu 刘孟雄 (Board Member 2008-2017)
Professor Mengxiong Liu, worked at San Jose State University in California for 25 years as a professional librarian in the University Library. She is also an adjunct faculty at School of Library and information Science where her research focus was on science and technology resources, human information seeking behavior, reference and instructional services, and digital libraries.
Daniel (Dan) Peng 彭丹平 (Board member 2001-2018)
Dr. Peng served as the Financial Officer for Evergreen Education Foundation. Prior positions include lead engineering positions at Briance and Barra Incorporated. Dr. Peng has authored numerous publications in the field of mathematics and lithography. Dr. Peng received a B.S. and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics from Beijing University, Beijing, China, and a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles. His expertise lies in large-scale scientific computing, optimization, and analysis for complex, numerically intensive applications including lithographic modeling and inverse lithography technology.
John Lee (former Chairman of the Board)
Mr. Lee is the I.T. Executive of San Francisco YMCA. He has held senior I.T. leadership positions in various companies of biotechnology, international financial and banking, shipping logistics, and utility; and has taught courses at UC Berkeley Extension. Mr. Lee is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP). His other non-profit involvement include MentorNet and Red Cross. Mr. Lee is also a Commissioner of San Francisco Public Library.
Former Advisory Committee Members
Tu Wei Ming 杜维明 (Advisor 2001-2017)
Dr. Tu Wei-Ming is a Professor of Chinese History and Philosophy at the Director of Yenching Institute, Harvard University. He was born in Kunming, China, and educated in Taiwan (B.A. at Tunghai University) and North America (M.A. and Ph.D. at Harvard University). Prof. Tu is currently interpreting Confucian ethics as a spiritual resource for the emerging global community. He assumed his tenure as the Director of the Harvard-Yenching Institute in January 1996.
William Hsiao 萧庆伦 (Advisor 2001-2017)
Professor Hsiao is the K.T. Lee Chair, Professor of Economics, Harvard University & Director of Health Care Financing. He is internationally recognized for his work on health care financing and social insurance. Professor Hsiao is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in Economics. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, the Society of Actuaries, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and holds several honorary degrees. He has been awarded teaching awards by Harvard graduate students on several occasions.
