EXECUTIVE TEAM
Jenny Bowen
Founder and CEO
A former screenwriter and independent filmmaker, Jenny Bowen founded Half the Sky in 1998 in order to give something back to her adopted daughters’ home country and to the many children then languishing behind institutional walls. Half the Sky’s five innovative programs now provide nurturing family-like care for thousands of children of all ages. In partnership with China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, Half the Sky is embarking on a groundbreaking Integrated National Training Plan which, within five years, will make the HTS approach the mandated national standard of care for all children in the welfare system. In 2007 Bowen was awarded the American Chamber of Commerce’s Women of Influence Entrepreneur of the Year Award in Hong Kong, In 2008 she received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship,she carried the Olympic Torch on Chinese soil, and in the same year Half the Sky became one of only a handful of foreign NGOs officially recognized and legally registered by the Chinese government. She serves on China’s National Committee for Orphans and Disabled Children and on the Expert Consultative Committee for Beijing Normal University’s Philanthropy Research Institute.
Carma Elliot, OBE
Executive Director, China
Carma Elliot took the China helm of Half the Sky at the start of 2011. She first came to China in 1984, as a student at Fudan University in Shanghai - eager to experience the country which had fascinated her since childhood. Living and travelling in a China which was opening up and changing so rapidly led her to seek a career where she could continue to connect with the country, as a diplomat in the British Foreign Office. After a diplomatic career spanning 23 years, 12 of which were in China, Carma is delighted to join the amazing HTS family, truly making a difference for the orphaned and disabled children of China. Carma lives in Beijing with her daughter Isabel, whose first home was in Fuling, Chongqing - where Carma first felt moved to help those children left behind.
PROGRAMS
Janice N. Cotton, PhD
Chief Program Officer
Janice N. Cotton has a PhD in early childhood education and has worked in the field for over 30 years. She has been a preschool and elementary school teacher, public school administrator, a child development center director, a professor and research scientist at the university level, and an education consultant for foundations, research institutions and public schools. She began work with HTS in 2001 as lead nanny trainer. Janice, her husband Jim, and their daughter Kathryn, adopted as a toddler from Shenzhen Social Welfare Institution in Guangdong, reside in Birmingham, Alabama.
DEVELOPMENT
Deanne Bevan
Chief Development Officer
Before joining HTS Deanne had a long corporate career with McDonald’s, including as Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Training & Development in the Australian company and international roles in Asia. She has served on Australian Boards including the National Centre for Vocational Education Research; President of the national Fast Food Chains Association; and Editorial Board of the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. She chaired the 1998 Review of the Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunity for Women) Act and following the published report, Unfinished Business – Equity for Women in Australian Workplaces, chaired the Ministerial Advisory Board for the commonwealth EEO Agency. Deanne holds a Bachelor of Business and a Master of Arts. She lives in Melbourne with her husband, Guy and son, Jack.
COMMUNICATIONS
Patricia King
Chief Communications Officer
Using the skills she acquired as a reporter and bureau chief at Newsweek Magazine, Patricia King coordinates Half the Sky’s communications department. With technological support from her husband Harold, she edits Half the Sky’s newsletters and website content. She also answers queries from Half the Sky’s supporters, adoptive families whose children have “graduated” from HTS’ programs, and the media. As the grateful mother of Shanghai-born Anna, she sees her job as one way to keep in touch with her daughter’s roots and help the children in China who have not yet found their forever families. She lives in Marin County, California.
OPERATIONS
Rachel Xing
Chief Operations Officer
Originally from Qingdao, Rachel received her BA and MasterS degrees in mainland China and Hong Kong respectively. She then moved to Canada where she lived for 10 years. She received her second bachelors degree, a BS, and worked at the largest telecomm company in Western Canada. She was also a passionate volunteer for immigration associations, helping new immigrants settle in Canada. Rachel brought her extensive experience in project management and in coordinating people from different cultural and technical backgrounds to Half the Sky. She is determined to serve orphaned children by dedicating her love to HTS angels in China.
FINANCE
Mei Jiang
Global Director, Finance
Born in Nantong, Jiangsu province, Mei Jiang worked as a bank manager at the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank before she came to the U.S. She received her MBA from California State University at Hayward with a focus on accounting. Formerly donations coordinator for Half the Sky in its Berkeley office, Mei now oversees finance and accounting for Half the Sky. She lives in Hong Kong with her husband, Ting Lu and daughters, Mira and Nora.
