Lean in and give back

Giving back to the world and treasuring every path (or experience) that leads one to success, those were the ideas that most impressed Carol Li when she was a student at Yale University (from 1996 to 2000). Now managing director of Yale Center Beijing, she hopes to share the spirit and precious experiences she gained, when she lived abroad, with people who have an interest in Yale University. In particular, she hopes to share those ideals with professional women who want to broaden their horizons and knowledge, and who want to become global citizens.

Carol Li, managing director of Yale Center Beijing [Women of China English Monthly]

Like virtually everyone, Carol Li has a family. Unlike most families, though, several members of Li's family work in the fields of banking, finance and/or law. Her grandfather, Ronald Li, is founder of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Her uncles, David Li and Arthur Li, are chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the Bank of East Asia. Another uncle, Andrew Li, in 1997 became the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Influenced by her family, it is no wonder Carol developed an interest in both economics and the law at a young age.

In 1992, then 12-year-old Carol left Hong Kong, and she spent the following 16 years studying and working in the United States. In 1996, she enrolled at Yale University, where she completed her undergraduate studies. She received bachelor's degrees, in economics and international studies, in 2000.

She was impressed by Yale's motto, Lux et Veritas (the Latin words for "light and truth"). "The school not only trains talented young people, to (help) them pursue their personal success, but also encourages the students to become light of the world," Carol says.

While a student at Yale, Carol was taught to make a positive impact on society. She participated in a volunteer program, through which she helped poor and underprivileged students prepare applications for universities. She also learned "there are many paths (that lead one) to success," and that "everything is possible as long as one leans in."

Says Carol: "To me, leaning in means having the courage to do something that one believes, and forging one's own path rather than go down a well-trodden and conventional path."

After she graduated from Yale, Carol earned a JD (Doctor of Jurisprudence) degree at the Law School of Stanford University. She then worked for an investment bank, on Wall Street, and then with a law firm before she returned to China in 2008. Prior to assuming her post, in 2014, as managing director of Yale Center Beijing, Carol was senior vice-president at China Investment Corporation.

Carol, who grew up in a privileged environment, realized at a young age that she should give back to her home country. "A mission I want to fulfill throughout my life is to improve (people's) access to the world's best education, and to increase opportunities for people to achieve their own definitions of success," she says.

"The advantage of having traveled, worked and lived in other parts of the world is that I have had opportunities to learn, and grow in, different environments. We are all global citizens. I consider my experiences overseas valuable, because I have gained opportunities to learn how the world sees China, and how China sees the world. I want to act as a bridge, to help build up connections between the US, Chinese mainland and Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region)."

With such ideals, Carol accepted the position at Yale Center Beijing. She witnessed the center's opening on October 27, 2014. At that time, she was 38 weeks pregnant with her second child.

Watching the center develop was like watching her baby grow. "Our mission is to build a forum for thoughtful leaders, from around the world, to discuss the most important issues facing humanity, such as globalization, technology and international relations."

During its first year, the center hosted more than 100 events and programs. Also, nearly 10,000 people subscribed to the center's WeChat account. The center invited numerous people, including its founding donors, Shen Nanpeng (cofounder of Ctrip.com) and Xu Xiaoping (founder of XDF.cn), and graduates from Yale University, including Barbara Woodward, British Ambassador to China, Alibaba's Vice-Chairman Joe Tsai, renowned architect Ma Yansong, environmentalist Ma Jun, and economists Chen Zhiwu and Wu Jinglian, to give speeches.

Carol was particularly impressed with the center's first anniversary conference (held in October 2015), during which there was a panel discussion on "One Belt One Road." Kevin Rudd, former Australian Prime Minister, Max Baucus, American Ambassador to China, Sun Zhenyu, former Chinese Ambassador to the WTO (World Trade Organization), and a number of presidents of China's State-owned enterprises were invited to speak about technology and innovation.

In addition to fulfilling her tasks at Yale Center Beijing, Carol has made efforts, with several of her friends, to help professional women cope with challenges they face in their everyday lives.

In 2013, Carol and five of her female friends were inspired after they read the book, Lean In, written by Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook. They decided to establish an organization to encourage women to "lean in" by taking on leadership roles. Carol and her friends spent three weeks completing a survey with the theme "What Women Want."

By obtaining information about the roles women play at home and at work, they identified the resources women would need to both overcome obstacles and achieve their goals. "We collected responses from almost 600 recipients in three weeks, and we found that young women (mostly born in the 1980s or the 1990s) were very eager to become part of such a platform, where they could get advice on how to advance in their lives and careers," Carol says.

Since 2013, when the Lean In Beijing organization was established, Carol and her friends have organized events once every two or three months, during which they have invited professionals (mostly women) to discuss the difficulties they have to cope with in career and/or family life.

"We've taken the key concept of the book, Lean In, by creating what is called a lean-in circle, and we have enabled women to share the challenges they are facing," Carol explains. "During an offline mentorship event that draws around 80 people, we usually group 6 to 12 participants into a circle and we assign a professional mentor (a person at senior-level management in his/her company) to listen to other participants (mostly university students and/or entry-level employees) talk about difficulties they have a hard time sharing with their family members and close friends."

Q: What is the center's development plan for this year?

A: Before we speak about the future, I'd like to first talk a bit about Yale's history in China. Rong Hong, who went to Yale University in 1850, was China's first student to study abroad. In 1906, Yale's alumni opened Xiang Ya Medical School and Yali Middle School in Changsha (in Central China's Hunan Province).

Today, Yale University has more than 100 collaborative projects in China. For example, Yale has a joint program with Tsinghua University on environmental sciences. The Yale-Shanghai Jiao Tong University Center for Genomics has almost 100 researchers.

We would like to continue showcasing Yale University's work with its Chinese partners, and to host important dialogues with thoughtful leaders, who will discuss how we can improve education, economic growth, sustainable development, technology and the development of fine arts in China and around the world. We hope to invite prominent female speakers, such as Yale's alumnae Hillary Clinton, the US presidential candidate, and Janet Yellen, Chairperson of the Federal Reserve.

Q: Has your husband supported your efforts to achieve a work-life balance?

A: My husband (Colm Rafferty, Vice-Chairperson of AmCham China) and I are both graduates of Yale University. What we share in common is the urge to give back, and to make a positive impact on society.

When I was pregnant with our second child, I was hesitating about whether I should become the inaugural head of Yale Center Beijing. My husband told me not to be afraid, and he encouraged me to take on a leadership role, which would enable me to make a positive impact on academic exchange and higher education. Without my husband's encouragement and support, I would not have assumed this post. We always make sure that if one of us has to take a business trip and leave home, the other will stay to take care of our children and family.

I am not sure if a professional woman can really balance her work and life well. I totally agree with one thing that is written in the book, Lean In: One of the most important decisions that a woman makes is choosing her life partner. I think it will make a huge difference if a woman chooses someone who not only supports her because of her role in marriage, but also supports her because who she is as a person.