Administration

Mordechai Cohen has been Associate Dean and Professor of Bible at the Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies since 2008. A popular teacher at YU, he has received Senior Professor Awards multiple times and has published Three Approaches to Biblical Metaphor (2003), Opening the Gates of Interpretation (2011), and The rule of Peshat (2020). An internationally recognized expert on comparative studies, he co-edited with Adele Berlin the volume of collected studies, Interpreting Scriptures in Judaism, Christianity and Islam: Overlapping Inquiries (2016).

For the last four years, Cohen has taught at the Shandong University Center for Judaic and Inter-religious studies and has participated in philosophical conferences in Beijing. Having learned Mandarin, Cohen has created a network of Chinese scholars worldwide interested in engaging in comparative studies with Judaism. Since 2018 he has been implementing this vision through the Chinese-Jewish Conversation, which sponsors events and lectures comparing the two cultures, in addition to creating a welcome space on our campus for the growing Chinese student body of Yeshiva University.

Audrey Wu graduated from Queens College in 2015 with a BA in Psychology and a minor in Japanese. In 2019 she earned her MS.Ed in School Counseling with Bilingual Extension at St. John's University. For the past several years, Audrey has been working in administration and marketing in multiple settings, including business, education, and healthcare.

A native Mandarin speaker, Audrey oversees CJC events and programming, both in-person and online. She also assists in the recruitment and training of our graduate assistants. Working with the YU communications department, Audrey manages CJC social media, with the goal of creating meaningful connections between the broader Chinese and Jewish communities worldwide.

Shun Shang Guan is from Wuhan, China. She earned her BS in Statistics from Zhong Nan University of Economics and Law in 2018. Shun is now studying for her MS in Quantitative Economics at YU’s Katz School of Science and Health. At the CJC Shun works to organize events and publicize them among YU’s Chinese student body and the broader Chinese community. She also assists in translating CJC literature into Chinese.

Grace (Lu) Xu, originally from Wuhan, China, earned a BA in Chinese language instruction from Heilongjiang University in 2009 and a Master’s degree in literature from the University of Macau in 2011. After earning her Master’s degree, Grace worked in China at marketing, both at educational and advertising companies. She has always had a deep affinity for traditional Chinese culture, which made her curious about how Jews preserve their ancient cultures. That brought her to the CJC, where she began to serve as a graduate assistant responsible for CJC social media in May 2020 in conjunction with her Master’s degree program in Digital Marketing and Media at Yeshiva University’s Katz School. Since her graduation from the Katz School in 2022, Grace has served the CJC as a senior consultant responsible for a range of CJC programs and events, as well as recruitment of new student volunteers. Her chief interest in CJC continues to be a desire to promote an understanding of Jewish culture in China through social media and, eventually, educational programs. 

Jinming (Jimmy) Chen is from Qingdao, China. Having arrived in the USA in 2016, he graduated from Maryville College with a BA in Mathematics in May 2020. Currently, he’s studying Data Analytics and Visualization at the Katz School of Science and Health. While an undergraduate at Maryville, Jinming was a leadership member of the Global Citizen Organization and the Student Government Association. He also was a Resident Assistant and an international student peer mentor. In all of those roles, Jinming leveraged his multi-cultural experience to assist Chinese and other international students to get the most out of their American student experience. Now at YU, Jinming serves as President of the Chinese Student Union and as a graduate assistant for the Chinese-Jewish conversation. Passionate about the international student experience, Jinming is eager to use the skills he has acquired to build cultural bridges between the Chinese and Jewish communities at our university and beyond.

Caiwei Mao grew up in the coastal city of Yantai and graduated with a BA from China University of Mining and Technology. During his time at university, he participated in the debate team and sports competitions. After graduation, he worked as an intern at Zhongtai Securities, where he received professional training in business valuation, securities trading, and wealth management. Caiwei plays the accordion and is an avid tennis player. Always maintaining a love for history and the humanities in general, Caiwei was happy to join the CJC as a graduate assistant upon his arrival to YU’s Katz School, where he currently is studying digital marketing. Good at accordion playing, tennis and other recreational activities.

Mengchen Li is from Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China, where she lives and works currently. She earned a bachelor's degree in Chinese Language and Literature in 2018. During her undergraduate years, she was an exchange student at Columbia University in New York, where she studied English language and literature. While pursuing her graduate studies, Mengchen also did a stint in the UK as an exchange student. Her master’s degree in education, focused on educational policy reform and its impact on student perception. She currently works as a coordinator for international collaboration at the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, which is also the State Key Laboratory of the National Clinical Research Center and National Engineering Research Center of China. Menchen became interested in the Chinese-Jewish Conversation through her work at Wenzhou Medical University, which recently signed an agreement of cooperation of with YU. Her primary responsibility in this project is translation of the CJC Chinese-language blog on Jewish culture.

Shuizao Xiong, who lives in Beijing, graduated from North China University of Technology with a bachelor's degree in international economics and trade. During her college years, Shuizao began her illustration work and has since developed a distinctive lively style. Her personal project is picture book about a puppet called Lou Lou with an incomplete body placed in a beautiful cabinet who one day leaves the safety of its home and explore the outside world and try to understand why it is not as complete as other puppets. He other current projects involve picture books and graphic novels. Since the start of the pandemic, Shuizao has become interested in wildlife and environmental protection. Always curious about Jewish culture, she welcomed the opportunity to serve as a consultant for the CJC. Her primary responsibility is the illustration of the Chinese-language blog on Jewish culture.

Borong Zhang is a senior at the University of Toronto, majoring in East Asian Studies and Criminology & Socio-legal Studies, with a minor in Philosophy. Her research interests involve the philosophical relationship between ethics and legal culture in East Asia. Born and raised in Lanzhou, Gansu Province in north-central China, Borong has long been interested the various cultures that converged on the Silk Road that passed through her home province. Since 2018, she has been a cultural facilitator at both the Royal Ontario Museum and the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. Recently Borong has joined the inter-disciplinary “Practices of Commentary” international research group based at the University of Toronto, in which she is working with Professor Mordechai Cohen on a project that compares the commentaries on the Confucian classics with Jewish Bible commentary. Through that collaboration, Borong became interested in Jewish culture, and now also serves as a consultant and translator for the Chinese-Jewish Conversation.

Born in Shuangyashan, Heilongjiang, China, Jiuxin Zhu earned his Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science and Technology at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2018 and his Master of Science in Integrated Digital Media at New York University in 2020. Currently, he works as a freelance videographer and video editor. See his personal website: https://www.jiuxin-zhu.com/. Jiuxin’s interest in Jewish Culture motivated him to study for a month in Israel while at NYU. He currently serves as a consultant for the Chinese-Jewish Conversation, assisting in social media and video production.

was born in Beijing and came to study in the US for college. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2020 with a bachelor's degree in elementary education and educational policy. She went on to earn a master's degree in teaching English as a foreign language from the University of Pennsylvania in 2022. During her time of study in the US, Christina developed a strong interest in multiculturalism, and has become committed to harnessing diversity in the classroom to impart new understanding and tolerance to her students. She finds that learning about each student’s unique cultural background enriches her personal outlook, which she then uses to better educate all students in the classroom. It was this multicultural attitude that first motivated Christina to learn about Jewish culture, and that, in turn prompted her to join the CJC. She currently assists with the social media projects of the CJC that aim to inform Chinese viewers about Judaism and the Jewish people. 

was born in Beijing. In 2020, She graduated with a bachelor's degree in fashion marketing from Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology. In China, Allen worked as an assistant editor and project assistant in a media company, where she was responsible for editing and optimizing web pages, social media account management, and copywriting. Subsequently, Allen came to the US to study digital marketing and media at Yeshiva University’s Katz School of Science and Health, where she is currently pursuing a master’s degree. Allen finds it stimulating to study the cultures and religious beliefs of other traditions. At the Katz school she has made friends among her classmates from all over the world and has cultivated what she calls a “global mindset.” Yeshiva University has afforded Allen the opportunity to become engaged with Jewish culture for the first time—and this prompted her to join the CJC, where she has taken responsibility for its social media content on Douyin (Chinese TikTok). 

Shai graduated from the University of Virginia in 2019, where he was awarded the Jefferson Scholarship. He double-majored in International Politics and Middle Eastern Studies, and minored in Religious Studies. 

During his time in college, Shai spent 3 months living in Shanghai in an immersive Chinese language program at Fudan University. During his time in that program, he traveled through the country, absorbing China's rich culture, language, and history. 

After university, Shai worked for two years as an Associate Consultant at Bain & Company. During his time at Bain, he worked on projects in Private Equity, Consumer Products, Medical Technology, Defense and Information Technology. He also led two pro-bono projects for a local environmental non-profit and an education NGO in India. 

Shai now works as a Research Associate at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he focuses on US Foreign Policy. 
 

He is very interested in Jewish culture and Chinese culture to which he belongs.  Influenced by this, he joined the Sino-Jewish dialogue project.  He hopes to build a bridge between these two ancient civilizations, and at the same time make contributions to the best of his ability for these two outstanding civilizations to better adapt to the modern world.

Haoming Guo is from Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. He earned his BA in sociology from Guangzhou University in July 2022, and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in digital marketing and media at Yeshiva University, a program he begin in August 2022.

As part of his undergraduate studies in sociology, Haoming became interested in and researched the living conditions of foreigners in Guangzhou. This led to an interest in cross-cultural communication. That perspective brought him to join the Chinese-Jewish Conversation, as he is interested in enhancing mutual cultural understanding. He now serves as the CJC’s graduate assistant, helping to organize events, such as the upcoming Chinese New Year celebration.

Panxinyue (Reilly) Zhang was born in Suzhou. After earning her BA in marketing and advertising from Huazhong Agricultural University in June 2019, she enrolled at Yeshiva University’s Katz School, graduating in August 2022 with a master’s degree in digital marketing and media. Always interested in international travel and foreign cultures, Zhang seeks to understand the different marketing demands of diverse audiences in a variety of cultures, especially those that represent the world’s great civilizations. Of particular interest to her is the Jewish tradition and its ancient culture thousands of years old, almost as old as Chinese culture. This interest brought Zhang to the Chinese-Jewish conversation. Having participated in its events and activities during her time as a student at the Katz School, she began working on the CJC’s social media projects—aiming to maximize its exposure among Chinese audiences. Currently, she manages the CJC BiliBili channel.

Joann Yu was born in Beijing, where she studied in public and international primary schools. In 2019, she came to New York to attend the Horace Mann School. Fluent in Chinese and English, Joann embraces a truly multicultural perspective. In her spare time, she likes to play volleyball and piano. In 2020, she won an elite international music competition and performed at Carnegie Hall. Joann also excels in debate. As a member of the Horace Mann High School debate team, she won the Harvard University National High School Speech and Debate Invitational in 2020.

At Horace Mann, Joann had many Jewish classmates, and that has sharpened her interest to learn more about Jewish culture. As a young member of the Chinese-Jewish Conversation’s consultant team, Joann has contributed to a number of its cultural projects—including the Hanukkah video project. Joann has taken a leading role in the CJC Shanghai Holocaust video project. In August 2021, she interviewed Mrs. Chaya Small, whose family took refuge in Shanghai during World War II, on film. Subsequently, she narrated and is has been editing five videos (currently in production) of Mrs Small telling her story, and how it reflects the Jewish experience.