Nancy Li: A steady perspective on giving

In her capacity as board chairman of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association Houston chapter, Nancy Li has presented awards to some prominent people, from former US President George H. W. Bush to former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia and Houston airport system director Mario Diaz.

She convinced the Association of Holocaust Organizations to hold their annual conference in Harbin, Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, for the first time in 2013. She encouraged the Holocaust Museum Houston to issue its annual courage award to Chinese diplomat Ho Fengshan, who helped many Jewish people escape to China during World War II.

Li, a successful business woman and an activist in community affairs, was born in China in the early 1960s during the Three Years of Natural Disasters characterized by widespread famine.

"We didn't have a city residency and life was hard. Since I was little, I picked coal crumbs to help the family out," said Li.

In the early 1970s, a diplomat was sent to Li's village in Heilongjiang province to be reformed through labor. Li's mother, a high school graduate, was a wise woman.

"She sent me to learn English from him in secret. She thought that I should have some good skills to have a better life," recalled Li.

When English officially became a subject in schools across China in the late 1970s, Li was way ahead of her classmates. It helped get her into the university and she eventually earned a master's degree and joined the faculty at a university in Dalian, Liaoning province.

When Westlake Chemical Corporation, a NYSE-listed company based in Houston, looked to build a chemical plant in China in the early 1990s, Li was hired to oversee the project. At the time it was the largest foreign investment project in Shandong province.

The new job opened her eyes. Out of the desire for a better life and plain curiosity, Li came to the US on a student visa in 1995 and earned an MBA from Houston Baptist University.

After graduating, Li went to work for a Chinese company. Soon, governmental officials from Shandong, Helongjiang and Liaoning began visiting the US. Li had built good relationships with them through work and kept in touch after coming to the US. They asked her to help them arrange meetings with local people and set up training programs.

This gave birth to Li's own business - Easton Resource Development, a company providing educational services to Chinese leaders and professionals in the US and to US professionals in China.

"I had dealt with many American universities and learned a lot while setting up various training programs, and gradually I was asked to provide consultation to Chinese universities," said Li.

In 2007, Li was invited to deliver a commencement address at the Houston Art Institute by its president.

"I was surprised," said Li. "Why me? I am just a regular business woman, not a celebrity in any sense, despite my being the vice-president of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association at that time."

Li was told that her life was extraordinary, a good example of how the world was changing, and what she did was meaningful because it served the community and the two nations.

"It enabled me to look at what I do from a whole new perspective, and I felt that I could do more to give back to society," said Li.

After that speech, Li immediately took action. She provided funds to sponsor eight Chinese history professors to come for a week of training at the Holocaust Museum Houston.

"The program focused on how to set up and manage a history museum," she said. "I also wanted the professors to learn from the Jewish people about historical research. They are very diligent and rigorous in studying and preserving their history, and I thought Chinese could certainly learn something from them, especially considering how we had suffered similarly during World War II."

The visiting professors in turn gave lectures at the museum on Japanese Unit 731's chemical and biological warfare experiments in China and the Nanjing Massacre.

"The audience was quite shocked by the revelations," Li said. "Our side of the story was not that well known in the outside world."

Also in 2007, Li helped organize a photo exhibit to promote the China-hosted 2008 Olympic Games. Li managed to secure Shell's gallery in downtown Houston as the venue. The pictures showcased Chinese culture and achievement and the exhibition was a great success.

Li began to attend the world conference of the Association of Holocaust Organizations (AHO) in 2008. She became a trustee at AHO and eventually convinced the organization to hold its annual conference in Harbin in 2013. It was the first time the AHO held a conference anywhere in Asia.

Museum curators and historians from around the world attended. They also visited Harbin's 731 Unity Harbin Museum and learned much about WWII history in China.

"A lot of them were shocked to see that the experiments conducted by the Japanese on Chinese were the same as what the Germans did to Jewish people," said Li.

Li joined the American Leadership Forum in 2010 and did an 18-month leadership training course.

"This was an experience I am very proud of. It helped me to better understand myself and how to be a better leader," said Li. Many Texas leaders, including Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, have done the same training.

She was invited to observe the military parade celebrating the 70th anniversary of victory over fascism in Beijing last fall. There she helped form and became vice-chairperson of the International WWII Museum Association.

Li recently got involved in raising funds for the Museum of Fine Art Houston's upcoming exhibit Emperors' Treasure, which showcases items from the National Palace Museum in Taipei. So far, more than $85,000 has been raised, including a personal donation from Li herself.

Li's contribution got more recognition - she was recently named one of the Top 30 Influential Women of Houston in 2016 by d-mars.com Business Journal.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com