Team
CNA China Studies' analysts bring diverse experiences and critical skills to their craft. All have lived, studied, or worked in the region. Some have had extensive careers in the Foreign Service, in the military, or in policy making positions in the U.S. Government. Many have the critical language skills necessary to understand the issues at hand from a regional perspective.
Dr. David M. Finkelstein is the director of CNA China Studies. He can be reached through Tamara Hemphill, 703.824.2106 or at finked@cna.org.
China Specialists at CNA
David M. Finkelstein is a Vice President at CNA and is the Director of CNA China Studies. He received his Ph.D. in Chinese history from Princeton University and studied Mandarin at Nankai University in Tianjin, China. A long-time student of Chinese and Asian affairs, he is widely published. His 1993 historical monograph, From Abandonment to Salvation: Washington’s Taiwan Dilemma, 1949-50 (GMU Press), was hailed in Presidential Studies Quarterly as "blazing a new trail" and "will take an important place in the literature of U.S.-China relations in the mid-20th Century." He is co-editor of China’s Leadership in the 21st Century: The Rise of the Fourth Generation (M.E. Sharpe, 2002), Chinese Warfighting: The PLA Experience Since 1949 (M.E. Sharpe, 2003), China’s Revolution in Doctrinal Affairs: Recent Trends in the Operational Art of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (CNA, 2005), and Civil-Military Relations In Today’s China: Swimming In A New Sea (M.E. Sharpe, June 2006). A retired U.S. Army officer, Finkelstein is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Army Command & General Staff College, and the Army War College. He has held command and staff positions at the platoon, company, battalion, and Major Army Command levels. He also held significant China-related positions at the Pentagon as an advisor to the Secretary of Defense and Chairman, JCS in addition to serving on the faculty at West Point, where he taught Chinese history.
Maryanne Kivlehan-Wise is the Director of the China Strategic Issues Group. Her research interests include: Chinese politics and foreign policy, China's media reforms, South China Sea and ASEAN issues, Chinese maritime law, and China's new generation of leaders. She is the co-editor of China’s Leadership in the 21st Century: The Rise of the Fourth Generation, and the author of chapters in several edited volumes addressing Chinese security issues. She completed her undergraduate work at the State University of New York at Buffalo, holds an MA in Security Policy Studies from the Elliott School of Foreign Affairs at The George Washington University, and is a graduate of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies, as well as Capital Normal University in Beijing, where she studied Mandarin. Before joining CNA, she worked for an international nonprofit organization directing projects on Chinese and Mongolian affairs. She also spent time in Bosnia working with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in support of the 1997 municipal elections.
Albert S. Willner is the Director of the China Security Affairs Group. Before joining CNA, he was an associate dean at Georgia Gwinnett College and a China Research Center associate in Atlanta. His research interests include Chinese defense policy, China-Taiwan security, and U.S.-China military relations. He holds a Ph.D. in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. A retired U.S. Army colonel, Dr. Willner was the first active-duty U.S. Defense Attaché equivalent since 1979 assigned to Taiwan, in charge of a team representing U.S. Department of Defense interests and supporting U.S. Pacific Command initiatives. Previously, he served as a rotary-wing aviation commander and staff officer and in Defense Department positions coordinating Asia-Pacific strategy, plans, and policy, and providing regional military analyses. He also served as the Director of International Relations and National Security Studies in the Department of Social Sciences at West Point. He is a graduate of the Chinese People's Liberation Army National Defense University's International Symposium Course in Beijing and the British Ministry of Defense Language School in Hong Kong, where he studied Mandarin. Dr. Willner is co-editor of China's Nuclear Future (Lynne Rienner, 2006) and is the author or co-author of numerous papers.
James Bellacqua holds a BA in East Asian Studies from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon and is currently pursuing his MBA at American University. Prior to joining CNA, Bellacqua served as a senior Chinese media analyst and linguist for the Foreign Broadcast Information Service examining PRC media treatment of Chinese domestic politics and legal affairs. He has also worked for CNN's bureau in Beijing. Having lived, worked, studied, and traveled extensively throughout the People's Republic of China for several years, he speaks, reads, and writes Mandarin Chinese fluently. Bellacqua is also a graduate of the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies and has studied Mandarin Chinese in Guangxi and Heilongjiang provinces. His numerous research interests include Chinese internal security, media reform, and PRC elite leadership dynamics.
Thomas J. Bickford holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to joining CNA, he was an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He was also Associate Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies and a member of UW Oshkosh's International and Environmental Studies program. He is the author of several articles and papers on the PLA and civil-military relations in China. His research interests include Chinese foreign policy and comparative civil-military relations in Leninist and post-Leninist eras.
Dennis J. Blasko, Senior Associate, served 23 years in the U.S. Army as a tactical and strategic Military Intelligence Officer and Foreign Area Officer specializing in China. Blasko served as an Army Attaché in Beijing from 1992-1995 and in Hong Kong from 1995-1996. He also served in infantry units in Germany, Italy, and Korea. Blasko later worked in Washington at the Defense Intelligence Agency, Headquarters Department of the Army (Office of Special Operations), and at the National Defense University War Gaming and Simulation Center. Blasko is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and the Naval Postgraduate School. He has written numerous articles and chapters on the Chinese military and defense industries and is the author of The Chinese Army Today: Tradition and Transformation for the 21st Century (Routledge, December 2005).
Peter Cugley is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He has previously worked as an organic chemist, an analytical chemist, and is a patent holder. He has worked as a manager at several Sino-U.S. joint ventures in the northeastern cities of Dalian and Shenyang, and studied Chinese for two years at Liaoning University in Shenyang. After returning from China, Cugley spent three years as a researcher and translator in the China Branch at Voice of America in Washington D.C. Areas of focus include Chinese R&D, technology, and the space sector.
Kerry Dumbaugh is a China Analyst on the China Strategic Issues Team. From 1985 - 2009, she was a Specialist in Asian Studies with the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division at the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the policy research arm of the U.S. Congress, serving for a time as the head of the Asia Section. She has written extensively on a wide range of U.S. policy issues, including U.S. policy toward China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong; U.S. relations with Asian governments; and Congress' role in U.S. foreign policy decisions. Ms. Dumbaugh received an M.S. in National Security Studies from the U.S. National War College in 1995; an M.A. in Asian Studies from the University of Pennsylvania in 1977; and a B.A. in East Asian Studies (with a double major in music) from Wittenberg University. In 2009 she was named a Senior Fellow of the Wittenberg University East Asian Institute. Ms. Dumbaugh is also the moderator for a public TV program in the Washington Area, "The China Forum," which conducts interviews and discussions on foreign policy issues with scholars, former government officials, and other experts in the Asia policy field.
Larry Ferguson graduated Magna Cum Laude from Boston University, with dual degrees in Chinese Studies and Ancient Latin & Greek. He has studied Mandarin in Beijing, at Capital Normal University, as well as at Boston University. Prior to joining CNA, Ferguson spent significant time in China as a student, teacher, intern, and both a public and private sector professional. He has worked at the American Embassy in Beijing, for an American online marketing firm in Beijing, and interned at Microsoft's Beijing research laboratory. Ferguson possesses valuable language skills and on-the-ground knowledge of Beijing's political, commercial, and cultural arenas. In addition to PRC defense and security affairs, Ferguson's research interests include domestic stability and provincial and municipal governance in China. He is currently pursuing a master's degree in Asian Studies at the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University.
Sherwood (Woody) Goldberg, Senior Advisor for Asian Affairs, is a graduate of Dickinson College and holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Juris Doctor from the Temple University School of Law. His lifelong experiences in Asia and beyond encompass expertise in diplomatic, commercial, military, and legal endeavors. Among his many positions, Goldberg served as Chief of Staff to Alexander Haig during the latter's tenure as Secretary of State, as a Special Assistant to the President and COO of United Technologies, and as an advisor on domestic and international issues at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. As the first Managing Director of Worldwide Associates, Inc., he focused on advancing U.S. corporate interests around the world. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Dickinson College; the Board of Visitors of the College of Liberal Arts, Temple University; and a member of the D.C. Veterans' Advisory Board. In April 2001, he was appointed by the Acting Secretary of the Army as the Civilian Aide to the Secretary of the Army for Washington, D.C (CASA). Mr. Goldberg has traveled extensively throughout Asia and has deep, first-hand knowledge of Chinese and Asian political, security, and commercial affairs. Throughout his many years of travel to China in government and business he met multiple times with Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and a host of other national and provincial-level PRC elite. A retired Colonel (U.S. Army Reserves), he spent nearly three decades on Active and Reserve duty, including tours in Vietnam and as an instructor at the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Tamara Hemphill is the Program Coordinator for CNA China Studies. Trained as a cultural anthropologist, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from George Mason University. Her areas of academic interest include the history of the migration of diseases and their impact on social systems, the socio-cultural dynamics of insurgencies in Southeast Asia, and the influence of the environment on the development of culture and social institutions. Prior to joining CNA, Hemphill supported research on international security and national defense issues at the RAND Corporation where she focused on homeland security initiatives, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism.
Heidi Holz is a graduate of Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, where she studied Chinese and East Asian history. She has studied Mandarin Chinese in Beijing at Peking University and Tsinghua University. While living in China Ms. Holz taught English at various schools and appeared as a regular guest on Chinese-language talk shows. Her research interests are focused on health issues in China: specifically the social, political, and structural impacts of disease in Chinese society. Prior to joining CNA, she worked as a bio defense analyst and China specialist with the Division of Integrated Bio Defense at Georgetown University's Imaging Science and Information Systems Center, where she analyzed the frequency and causality of infectious diseases in various parts of China. An accomplished linguist, Ms. Holz was previously a staff member at the Voice of America's Mandarin Service, where she wrote programming in both Chinese and English, to include broadcast programs for teaching English to VOA's Chinese audience. Ms. Holz is currently pursuing a master's degree in Security Studies at Georgetown University.
Alison Kaufman is a research analyst with CNA China Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of California, Berkeley, with a focus on Chinese political philosophy. Prior to joining CNA, she worked for the World Bank's China program and at China Radio International in Beijing. She has also worked as a subject matter expert on Chinese affairs for a well known consultancy. Kaufman studied Chinese at Capital Normal University in Beijing and at the International Chinese Language Program in Taipei. Her research interests include US-China relations and Chinese political ideologies.
Kathy Lewis is the Administrative and Program Assistant for the China Security Affairs Team. Prior to joining CNA China Studies, she was the Executive Assistant and Conference Coordinator to the Director, Center for Strategic Studies. She has supported the CNA National Security Seminar series and has been an employee of the CNA Corporation for 20 years. Her educational background is in business management and training.
Peter Mackenzie has a Master's Degree in Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University and a BA in Asian Studies from Williams College. Prior to joining CNA, Mackenzie worked for the National Committee on United States-China Relations, researching the interaction between American and Chinese foreign policy think tanks. He previously worked for the International Republican Institute (IRI), first with IRI's China program and later as the director of IRI's East Africa office in Nairobi, Kenya. He has also worked on the Asia program at the Atlantic Council of the United States and coordinated the Council's Senior Fellows Program. After college, he taught English for one year at the Sun Yatsen University of Medical Sciences in Guangzhou. He studied Mandarin Chinese at Capital Normal University in Beijing and the Harbin Institute of Technology. His research interests include Chinese political reform and social change, PRC elite leadership dynamics, US-China Track II diplomacy and China-Africa relations.
Julia Rosenfield is a specialist in Chinese political-military affairs and maritime issues. A graduate of Middlebury College, she has studied Chinese at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies, the Harbin Institute of Technology, and Middlebury College's renowned intensive summer language program. She is also an alumna of the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program (Mystic, Connecticut), where her interests in both maritime trade and Chinese affairs culminated in the writing of "The American China Trade: Beginnings, Development, and the Shanghai Experience". Ms. Rosenfield is particularly interested in Chinese maritime policies, Chinese social, economic and legal developments, as well as contemporary and historical gender and minority issues. Prior to joining CNA, she worked as the China Program Officer for CET Academic Programs, and as a paralegal specializing in civil rights and antitrust litigation. Ms. Rosenfield is currently pursuing a master's degree in conflict analysis and resolution at George Mason University.
Suzanne Ross specializes in Hong Kong and Mongolian affairs. She is a graduate of the University of Central Florida, and holds a Master of Social Science degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. Prior to joining CNA, Ms. Ross served as the Country Director for Hong Kong and Mongolia in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs. She provided strategic planning and support to senior Department of Defense officials in the formulation of defense and security policies in East Asia, with a focus on Hong Kong and Mongolia. Ms. Ross has also served as Special Assistant to the Acting Secretary of the Army, and as a Research Assistant on the Senate Committee on Armed Services.
Murray Scot Tanner ("Scot") has published widely on Chinese and East Asian politics and security issues, and is recognized as one of the country's top specialists on internal security, social unrest, policing, and intelligence in China. Among his many books and articles are Chinese Economic Coercion Against Taiwan: A Tricky Weapon to Use (RAND, 2007), The Politics of Lawmaking in China (Oxford, 1998), and "China Rethinks Unrest" (The Washington Quarterly, 2004). Dr. Tanner has previously served as Professor of Political Science at Western Michigan University, Senior Political Scientist at the RAND Corporation, as a senior staff member for the US Congress, and as a China analyst for the US Government. Raised in Syracuse, NY, Scot received his B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Fred Vellucci holds an MA in Asian Studies from the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University. Prior to joining CNA, Mr. Vellucci worked as an analyst focusing on Chinese domestic political reform and East Asian security for a number of organizations in Washington, D.C. including the National Bureau of Asian Research, Intellibridge Corporation and the Sigur Center for Asian Studies. He studied Mandarin Chinese at the Beijing Institute of Technology, Capital Normal University in Beijing, and most recently at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies in Nanjing, China. In addition to Chinese foreign policy and East Asian security affairs, Mr. Vellucci's research interests include domestic political reform in China and its implications for continued social stability and one-party rule.
Catherine Welch holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania in Asian & Middle Eastern studies and a graduate certificate in Asian studies from the University of Cincinnati. She is currently pursuing a master's of global affairs with a specialization in information technology policy at George Mason University. Before joining CNA, she worked for the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce and, most recently, at an energy consulting firm in Washington, D.C. She has Mandarin, Turkish, and French language skills. Her research interests include U.S.-China cyber security issues and Chinese energy and environmental issues.
To arrange an interview:
Contact Connie Custer, Vice President, Communications and Public Affairs
703.824.2100 office, 703.585.6827 cell, custerc@cna.org.