Staff Bios
Justin O’Jack received his B.A. in History at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1988. He received his M.A. from the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2002, where he researched late medieval Chinese pilgrimage traditions and religious geography. Justin served as the Academic Director of a study abroad program in the city of Hangzhou, China for three years before joining CIEE in Shanghai in 2006. He also serves as Vice President of the Royal Asiatic Society China in Shanghai.
Dr. Catherine Q. E. Sim, Academic Director, received her Ph.D. from the University of Vienna, Austria (1998) and her M.B.A. in International Management from Thunderbird—School of Global Management, where she served on the faculty. She has also taught at the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management at Alliant International University in San Diego, and the University of Graz, University of Linz, and University of Salzburg in Austria. She has worked as a research psychologist at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. Having lived, studied, and worked in China, Singapore, Austria, France, the Netherlands, and the U.S., Dr. Sim has extensive experience with both Asian and Western business and cultural environments. She specializes in intercultural and cross-cultural competence.
Dr. Liao Jianling joined CIEE in the fall of 2006. In addition to her role as Academic Director of the Advanced Chinese Studies program, she is also the Chinese Language Director in charge of all Chinese language courses at the CIEE Study Center in Shanghai. Originally from Jiangxi, China, Dr. Liao completed her Ph.D. in the area of Second Language Acquisition from the University of Iowa. While studying abroad in the U.S. at the University of Iowa, she also received two M.A. degrees in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and Instructional Design and Technology. In addition, she holds a third M.A. degree in Chinese Linguistics from Wuhan University. Her research interests include computer-assisted language learning and language pedagogy in study abroad contexts. Prior to joining CIEE, Dr. Liao taught for five years at the Middlebury College Summer Chinese School.
Hui Li, Program Assistant, joined CIEE in 2008. A Shanghai native, she earned her B.A. in Business English from Shanghai Institute of Foreign Trade. Additional support services are given by Yang Lihong, Student Services Coordinator; and Liu Lihua, Housing Coordinator.