Ben Tsiang is the co-founder and CEO of CNEX, a 3-year-old social enterprise with the mission of making 100 documentary films in 10 years about contemporary Chinese society.Previously, he was one of the co-founders of SINA.com.

Steven Schwankert is founder of SinoScuba, Beijing’s first professional scuba diving operator, and a member of The Explorers Club. In 2007, he led the first-ever scientific expedition to dive Mongolia’s Lake Khovsgol. His book on a groundbreaking China maritime discovery, The Real Poseidon Adventure, will be published in 2010.

Stefen Chow is a photographer and mountaineer. Stefen summitted Mount Everest in 2005, becoming one of the rare individuals to document the journey. His works have been published and awarded internationally, and was named a ‘Nikon Professional’ in 2009.

Kaiser Kuo is a writer, rock musician, and culture/technology commentator. He previously worked as Director of Digital Strategy, China, for Ogilvy, as China Bureau Chief for Red Herring magazine, and as a freelance reporter. He is the author of Ich Bin Ein Beijinger, an anthology of columns written for that’s Beijing/The Beijinger magazine since 2001.

Kristie Lu Stout is an award winning anchor/correspondent for CNN International. Recently named one of Forbes magazine’s ‘Nine Women to Watch’ in Asia, and winner of a prestigious Asian Television Award as “Best news presenter or anchor”, Stout hosts the evening edition of the network’s “World Report” news program from CNN’s Asia Pacific headquarters in Hong Kong.

Elyse Ribbons is a playwright, actress, blogger, director and radio host. Born in Detroit Michigan, raised in North Carolina and a Beijing resident for the past 7+ years, she is the founder of Cheeky Monkey Theater.

Hung Huang is currently the CEO of China Interactive Media Group, a publishing company that prints iLook, a lifestyle magazine targeting China’s middle and upper classes. Hung has written 3 books and used to write for Economix about how Chinese culture is adapting to a rapidly changing economy. She also pens a popular personal blog (in Chinese).

Ines Brunn is a German physicist and passionate cyclist that lived in the USA for 6 years. She was a researcher at a particle accelerator, then moved to the telecommunication industry and relocated to Beijing in 2004.

Yan Zhang is the CEO and co-founder of Meiloo.com, an Internet start-up that helps people find and choose elective health care services in China. Meiloo was founded in 2007 and has been featured in CNN, Forbes Asia, Men’s Health China, TechCrunch and other domestic and international publications. Prior, Yan was the Chief Representative of Random House, Inc., the world’s largest general interest book publisher, in China.

Rania Ho is a practicing artist, a former member of Complete Art Experience Project (CAEP), and one of the founding members of the performance art band, The Contractors. Rania has participated in solo and group exhibitions throughout China and the United States. A former Interval Research Fellow and visiting scholar at Microsoft Research Asia’s Center for Interaction Design in Beijing, she received her M.A. from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University.