Dr. Pamela Whitten, President, Kennesaw State University
Ms. Sophia Marshall, VP of Organizational Communication, WellStar Health System
Dr. Eric Eisenberg, Dean & Professor of Communication, University of South Florida
Ms. Wendy Lu, SAUPO advisor, Partner, International Tax Services, Aprio
Mr. Robert Striar, President, M Style Marketing
Mr. David Kirk, President & CEO, Murata Electronics
Ms. Jessica Cork, SAUPO advisor, VP, Public Relations, YKK Corporation of America
Mr. Dan Forsman, President & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HS Georgia Properties
Ms. Candy Nip, Director, Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office, NYC
Dr. Carmen Skaggs, Associate Dean, Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences,
Kennesaw State University
Congratulatory Messages
Dr. Gao, Hope that you are getting to enjoy a slower Sunday than you have had in months.
A wonderfully successful event with great speakers and insights... pulled together
during a pandemic with location, technology and scheduling challenges. Really great
work and an amazing representation of the school and your network. Thank you for including
me in the panel. I really enjoyed hearing President Whitten and Professor Eisenberg
speaking. We learned the fresh perspectives that combined the humanity of the situation
along with the reality of present challenges
Robert Striar
President, M Style Marketing
Professor Gao, Thank you for inviting me to attend SAUPO this year online. I am impressed with how speakers in Panel#1 discussing scores of macro level topics, while speakers in Panel#2 sharing specific strategies each company adopted in dealing with the challenges of the pandemic.
Ji Tao, President
China Daily USA
Dear May, Congratulations on a successful SAUPO 2021! Many thanks for your hard work
on planning and delivering the event. I'm so proud that the Radow College is the home
of the Asian Studies program and SAUPO.
Dr. Carmen Skaggs
Associate Dean, RCHSS, KSU
Another excellent SAUPO conference, May!! I learned a lot from your terrific speaker
and panelists. Thank you so much for making them available to us. I'm already looking
forward to next year's SAUPO, hopefully in person!
Alex Gregory
Former President, CEO and Chairman of the Board, YKK Corporation of America
Dear May, Great job today at SAUPO 2021 Zoom Webinar. I enjoyed the conference as well as seeing many familiar faces on the screen. Can’t wait to see you in person next year.
Brendan Tate
International Affairs Specialist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Dept. of the
Interior
Dr. Gao: Good virtual event and keep up the good work. I would like to thank all SAUPO
speakers, participants and your planning committee members
Henry Yu
Investment Banker, Asia Pacific Consortium
Dr. Gao: Congratulations on another successful SAUPO. I still remember your inaugural
conference in 2011 when I participated as a panelist. It is amazing to see how SAUPO
has grown in the past ten years.
John Endicott
President, Woosong University, Korea
Hi May, I really enjoyed listening to the SAUPO speakers on Friday. They were all terrific and added valuable insights to the impact of the pandemic on business. You are a rock star for all you do to organize this event each year!
Polly Howes
SOCM, KSU
Dr. May Gao: Greetings from Chicago! Very Informative Webinar on Zoom today! Congratulations
to you, panelists, sponsors, supporters, participants and staff team making this first
virtual event a success! I enjoyed it greatly.
Kam Liu
Liu’s Real Estate Development
Dr. Gao! I want to let you know how much I appreciated the SAUPO conference this morning.
It was very insightful and informative. I always enjoy when professors provide us
the opportunity to see the materials we are learning at work in a professional environment.
I look forward to the upcoming guest speakers in class.
Emily Thurmond
MAIGC graduate student
Dr. May: Thank you again for the opportunity for our President and CEO Mr. Dan Forsman to be a part of the SAUPO event. He was happy with the panel and how it went.
Thank you, Dr. Gao! I attended the virtual SAUPO conference after my online teaching.
Congratulations on the success as it was beautifully produced and so many of your
guests said they wanted to come back again to SAUPO! The story of YKK in Georgia was
one of my favorite learning moments.
Rory Zimmerman
Instructor at VIPKid
Congratulations on another SAUPO completed, Dr. Gao! My students watched SAUPO 2021 Webinar in class. We were going over the topic of “Communication in Organizations,” so it was such a fitting week for it.
Kylie Torres,
Instructor, School of Communication & Media, KSU
It was an excellent experience Dr. Gao. I learned a great deal from all the speakers. It was morning well spent!!
Jaswandi Karnik
Graduate student, KSU
Dear May: Congratulations! Good job on SAUPO 2021 via Zoom Webinar. I enjoyed watching you and speakers on screen while being in New York. Long time no see and let’s catch up soon
Victor Deng
Attorney, NYC
Thank you and congratulations, Dr. Gao. The content from you and the speakers was
excellent.
Joe Manguno
Instructor, School of Communication and Media, KSU
Program Details
The 2021 SAUPO Program, a leading Zoom symposium on Asia-USA Partnership Opportunities,
was organized by Kennesaw State University's Asian Studies Program in the Interdisciplinary
Studies Department. This free, virtual event took place from 9:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
on Friday, April 2, 2021, and featured global thought leaders discussing essential
topics in international partnerships, economic trends, and innovation. Supported by
prominent sponsors and distinguished speakers, including KSU leaders and industry
experts, the symposium offered valuable insights to foster collaboration between Asia
and the United States.
