Advisory Board

The Association’s advisory board is represented by individuals who have learned Chinese and then been able to use their skills in professional settings. The board supports the aims of the Association and will help shape its priorities.

Giles Blackburne
(Co-Chair, Association for Speakers of Chinese as a Second Language)

I graduated in Chinese Studies at the Polytechnic of Central London in 1989. More...

Frances Weightman
(Co-Chair, Association for Speakers of Chinese as a Second Language)

I graduated in Chinese from the University of Edinburgh in 1993. More...

Peter Batey OBE

I am Chairman of Vermilion Partners Limited, a private equity and corporate advisory firm I co-founded in 2004. More...

Katharine Carruthers

I graduated from Durham University with a BA in Chinese Studies and worked for eight years as Assistant Director at the China-Britain Business Council. More...

Guy Dru Drury

I graduated from Leeds in 1991 with a degree in Chinese and have since spent my professional career using it in a variety of roles and professions. More...

Carma Elliot OBE

I graduated in Chinese and German from Leeds and Fudan Universities in 1987. More...

Andrew Halper

I did a BA in Chinese at the University of British Columbia in the mid-1970s, when there was absolutely no economic reason for learning Chinese. More...

Isabel Hilton

I started to teach myself Chinese during an exchange year in the US and continued the following year at Edinburgh. More...

Peter Humphrey

I studied a BA in Chinese at Durham, including a year in Taiwan. More...

Jeremy Sargent

When I arrived at Leeds University in 1985, perhaps the most common question I received was “why Chinese – are you planning to open a restaurant?” More...

Adam Williams OBE

As fourth generation of a China-based family, I studied Mandarin in Hong Kong and Taiwan, after graduating in English literature from Oxford University in 1975. More...

Frances Wood

I studied Chinese for four years at Cambridge, 1967-1971. More...