Team

• Linda Jakobson - CEO and Founding Director
  

  Linda Jakobson

  Staff

  Linda Jakobson is founding director and Chief Executive Officer of China Matters.
  
  Linda Jakobson has been a student of Chinese politics and China’s foreign and security policy for the past three decades. She is internationally known for her publications about China’s foreign policy. Her China-related career includes posts as a teacher (at the Shandong Institute of Economics in China), a lecturer (at Hong Kong City University), a foreign correspondent (in Beijing), a visiting professor (at Sydney University), and senior researcher and program director (at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), and the Lowy Institute for International Policy). A Finn by nationality she has served as a policy advisor on China-related issues to the president, prime minister, or foreign minister in seven countries. In 2017 Jakobson was invited to join the board of the new Diplomatic Academy of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
  
  Before moving to Sydney in 2011 Jakobson lived and worked in China for 22 years. A Mandarin speaker, she is the author, co-author or co-editor of seven books about Chinese and East Asian politics and society as well as the author of over 100 other publications about Chinese politics and society, China’s foreign and security policy, the Taiwan Straits, China’s science and technology, and China’s Arctic aspirations. Two of her books and one report have received awards. Her most recent book, written with Dr Bates Gill, is China Matters: Getting It Right For Australia (La Trobe University Press / Black Inc., 2017). Her current research focuses on Australia-China ties and China’s foreign and security policy.
  
  She and her husband, Chris Lanzit, also a Mandarin speaker, live in Pyrmont, New South Wales. They are permanent residents of Australia.

• Jeremy Stevens - Program Director
  

  Jeremy Stevens

  Staff

  Jeremy Stevens is Program Director at China Matters. He holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Adelaide, a Master of International Relations from the University of Sydney, and has studied Mandarin in Shanghai at East China Normal University and Jiaotong University. Jeremy has 12 years’ experience in Banking and Finance including four years as a senior treasury and risk management advisor at two local Chinese banks where he managed a range of projects and business-focussed teams. His research interests include the global impact of China’s growing economic power and developments in international financial and security organisations.

• Jackson Kwok - Policy Analyst
  

  Jackson Kwok

  Staff

  Jackson Kwok is a Policy Analyst at China Matters. He previously was an intern and Chinese Media Research Consultant with the Lowy Institute for International Policy’s East Asia Program. He holds a Bachelor of Arts (Languages) with First Class Honours in Government and International Relations from the University of Sydney. He has also studied Mandarin at Tsinghua University in Beijing and modern Chinese history and foreign policy at Nanjing University. His research interests include Sino-Japanese relations, security in the East and South China Seas, and China’s state media. In addition to Mandarin, he has also studied Japanese and Indonesian.

• Sophia Sun Zou - Project Coordinator
  

  Sophia Sun Zou

  Staff

  Sophia is currently completing a Bachelor of Arts (Languages) (Hons) from the University of Sydney, with a triple major in Government & International Relations, Chinese Studies, and French Studies. She has also studied political science at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. She was previously a Research Intern with the Department of Premier and Cabinet NSW, and Junior Policy Associate at the China Studies Centre, as well as university representative for the School of Social and Political Sciences. Sophia speaks fluent Mandarin, Cantonese, and French.

• Jacinta Keast - Research Assistant
  

  Jacinta Keast

  Staff

  Jacinta Keast is a Research Assistant at China Matters. She is a member of the Global Editorial Team of Young China Watchers, and her work has been previously published on East Asia Forum, ChinaFile and Young Australians in International Affairs, as their 2017 China Fellow. She was previously a Research Intern at the Australian Studies Centre at Peking University and a Country specialist on Fijian politics for the Global Leadership Project at the University of Texas. She completed her undergraduate degrees in Chinese Studies and International Business at the University of Sydney, Peking University, and the University of Hong Kong. She is a Westpac Bicentennial Foundation Scholar, speaks Mandarin Chinese, Japanese and Spanish and is learning Cantonese and Russian.

• Louisa Bochner - Project Officer
  

  Louisa Bochner

  Staff

  Louisa is currently undertaking her Honours year in Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney, where she is researching Chinese Communist Party ideology concerning women from 1950 to 1962. She is the 2018 recipiant of the T.M. Hsiao scholarship to support a Chinese Studies student to undertake research in the PRC. Louisa majored in Chinese Studies and Philosophy for her Bachelor of Arts, and served on the University of Sydney’s Student Representative Council in 2016. Louisa has completed two study abroad programmes at Fudan University in Shanghai, China in 2014 and 2015, and has also studied Middle Eastern Politics in Milan, Italy. Louisa has a broad interest in Chinese culture, history and art, and is currently taking  Mandarin classes.

• Heidi Blinman - Administration Officer
  

  Heidi Blinman

  Staff

  Heidi has over a decade of experience in administration. She started her administration career with the Royal Australian Air Force as an enlisted Clerk which took her all over Australia involving various Defence exercises. Since discharging in 2012 Heidi has gone on to work as an Office Manager for a growing pharmaceutical company as well as a Medical Admin Officer for Defence Force Recruiting. Heidi enjoys the variety and constant changes admin work brings. In her spare time Heidi enjoys following her beloved Penrith Panthers in the NRL by attending most games and reading true crime novels.

• Noah Vaz - Media Officer
  

  Noah Vaz

  Staff

  Noah is studying a Bachelor of Arts (Media & Communications) and a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Sydney. He has completed overseas studies at Beijing Language and Culture University, Fudan University, Cambridge University and King’s College, London. In 2017, Noah was awarded an international fellowship by the Australia-Korea Foundation within DFAT; and named on the 2017 Dean’s List for Excellence in Academic Performance. Previously, Noah worked in change management at the Westpac Group and interned in the Political and Economic Affairs section at the US Consulate in Sydney. He has a keen interest in foreign languages and has studied Mandarin, French, Spanish and German.

• Julie Zhu - Intern
  

  Julie Zhu

  Interns

  Julie is currently completing a Bachelor of Commerce and Law, majoring in Finance at the University of New South Wales. She will be studying China International Business and Economic Law at Tsinghua University this year. Previously, Julie has interned at the Bank of China Head Office in Beijing, conducting market research, assisting with publications and completing translations. Her interest in the Australia-China space has led her to become actively involved in the Australia-China Youth Association for the past few years, and she is now acting as the 2018 UNSW President. She has also attended several Australia-China Emerging Leaders Summits and volunteered with the Australia China Business Council. In her spare time, she likes to read about ancient Chinese history and psychology.

• Jessie Ding - Junior Fellow Intern
  

  Jessie Ding

  Intern

  Jessie Ding is currently studying a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Sydney, majoring in Asian Studies. In 2017, she was awarded a New Colombo Plan Mobility Grant to complete a Chinese Politics, Business and International Diplomacy course at Shanghai Jiaotong University, and an intensive language program at the University of Sydney’s Suzhou campus. She also competed in the 2017 Atlantic Council Cyber 9/12 Student Challenge, providing policy recommendations for potential cybersecurity threats within the Asia-Pacific region. Previously, she worked as paralegal in a boutique Sydney law firm. Jessie also has a keen interest in the evolving Australia-China discourse and global Sinophone literature.

• Luke Gallen - Junior Fellow Intern
  

  Luke Gallen

  Intern

  Luke is currently completing a Bachelor of Laws with a Bachelor of International Studies at Macquarie University, majoring in China studies. In 2018, Luke was competitively chosen to partake in the Global Leadership Program’s China symposium. He spent a month travelling across the country engaging with officials from AIIB, BRICS New Development Bank, AustCham Shanghai, Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs, UNDP and the Australian Embassy. Luke is currently a Social Justice Executive within the Macquarie University Law Society. In this role he organises and coordinates events, such as trivia nights, speaker forums and fundraiser BBQs, to raise money and awareness for local charities. He will also study at the Chinese University of Hong Kong next year.