Staff Bios
Justin O’Jack, Resident Director, 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, Shanghai Chapter.
Liao Jianling, Language Director, joined CIEE in the fall of 2006. Originally from Jiangxi, China, Ms. Liao is a doctoral candidate 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 an 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, Ms. Liao also taught for five years at the Middlebury College Summer Chinese School.
John W. Tai, Academic Director, is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Political Science at George Washington University, where he has researched and conducted extensive fieldwork on Chinese politics, civil society, non-governmental organizations, public administration, and social welfare. He holds an M.A. degree in East Asian Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs from George Washington University, where he completed field examinations with distinction in East Asian Politics and Modern Chinese History, and a B.A. degree in Political Science and History from the University of California, Los Angeles. Before joining the CIEE Study Center in Shanghai as the Academic Director of the China in a Global Context program in fall 2009, he served as Visiting Scholar and later Associate Director of Academics for another study abroad program in Beijing. In addition to his academic experience, Tai has worked in the public sector in various roles, including Foreign Policy Analyst of East Asia, and Research Associate for the Asian Studies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Born in Taiwan and raised in the U.S., John speaks both native English and Mandarin Chinese.
Additional support services are given by Zheng Huan, Program Coordinator; Yang Lihong, Student Services Coordinator; and Liu Lihua, Housing Coordinator.