Betsy’s passion for Asia, and China in particular, began at Wellesley College, where she received her B.A. in Chinese Studies. In 1984, she moved to Beijing to teach English and study Chinese for a year before accepting an English language teaching position in Shanghai in 1985. Upon arrival back in New York, she worked with the Columbia University-based US - China Arts Exchange. She then completed her Masters in Non-Profit Management at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, which included a year at the then-fledgling Hopkins-Nanjing Center in 1990.
Originally from New York City, Betsy and her husband moved to Hong Kong in 2018. Prior to the move, her career over the previous 35 years centered around mission-driven organizations, primarily at the Institute of International Education, a large non-profit based in New York, where in her final position she served as Vice President of Student Exchanges, overseeing large, complex scholarship programs with partners all over the world. She previously held other roles at IIE with a particular focus on program finance and management of large federal grant programs.
In addition to living in China, Singapore and Hong Kong, Betsy and her husband also spent three years in Sydney, Australia from 2002-2006. There, she pursued a Masters in Educational Administration at the University of New South Wales, while raising her two young children. Her son and daughter are now grown and both at university in the U.S. (including a junior at Wellesley!). Since arriving in Hong Kong, Betsy has been involved with a number of local community charities, including the American Women’s Association, where she serves as Chair of the Charitable Donations Committee, which oversees the solicitation, selection, and disbursement of over HK$1.5 million to local charities in Hong Kong.