Global Careers through Asia Conference

*This conference is for STUDENTS AND ALUMNI ONLY and is open to all U of T undergraduate and graduate students (in person or online) and alumni (online).*

Organized by the Contemporary Asian Studies Student Union (CASSU) and Asian Institute at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, the conference brings together students, faculty, alumni and industry professionals to share personal career journeys and industry trends.

This conference will be held as a hybrid event, with both online and in person attendance options.

Registration through Eventbrite is for attendees who plan to attend the conference in person. Currently in person attendance is only open to U of T community members (current students, faculty, and staff). In person attendees are required to complete Ucheck self-assessment on the day of the event and will be asked to present a confirmation (i.e. Green Screen on your mobile device) at the entrance to the venue. To attend virtually via Zoom, please register here.

March 4, 2022 | 9:40 am - 15:30 pm

9:40 - 10:00 am | Registration (in person only)

10:00 - 10:05 am | Welcome Remarks by CASSU

10:05 - 10:10 am | Opening Remarks

• Professor Rachel Silvey - Richard Charles Lee Director, Asian Institute

10:10 - 10:30 am | Keynote Presentation

• Deanna Horton – Senior Fellow, Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy

10:30 - 10:45 am | Q & A with Deanna Horton

• Moderated by CASSU

10:45 - 11:35 am | Industry Panel: Public Policy

• Angela Min Yi Hou - Policy Analyst, Government of Canada
• Alice Niu - IT Policy & Strategy, Ontario Treasury Board Secretariat
• Aaron Wilson - Senior Data Analyst, Global Affairs Canada

11:35 am - 12:05 pm | Q & A with Public Policy Panel

• Moderated by CASSU

12:05 - 13:05 pm | Lunch Break

13:05 - 13:55 pm | Industry Panel: Business, Law, & Arts

• Arnaud Camu – Associate, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
• Mia Nguyen - Business Operations Associate, The Knowledge Society
• Betty Xie - Filmmaker, fundraiser, coach for creatives

13:55 - 14:25 pm | Q & A with Business, Law, & Arts Panel

• Moderated by CASSU

14:25 - 14:35 pm | Closing Remarks by CASSU

14:35 - 15:30 pm | Meet and Greet (in person only)

View the full conference program.

Photo by Amanda Ann-Min Wong, “Lest We Remember (IV)” Series.

SPEAKERS

Deanna Horton (she/her) is a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto, a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington, DC, and a Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. In her diplomatic career, Ms. Horton served as Canada’s Ambassador to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as Minister (Congressional, Public and Intergovernmental Relations) in Washington, and a total of twelve years in Japan culminating in her appointment as Deputy Head of Mission. She was a negotiator on the original North American Free Trade Agreement, and then spent four years in Washington following the NAFTA and WTO legislation through U.S. Congress. In the private sector, Ms. Horton was Vice-President (Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs) at Sherritt International, a diversified resource company. Ms. Horton has a Diploma in International Studies from the Bologna Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies; M.A. (International Affairs) from Carleton University Norman Paterson School of International Affairs; B.A. (Hons) McGill University.

Angela Min Yi Hou (she/her/elle) is a policy analyst working on Targeted Regulatory Reviews at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS). She is a participant in the Government of Canada’s Advanced Policy Analyst Program. Angela graduated from the University of Toronto in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Contemporary Asian Studies. She subsequently completed a Masters in International Affairs at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. Angela is an aspiring policy practitioner and civil servant passionate about all things relating to international trade and investment, global environmental governance, and sustainable development. Angela has a Chinese-Canadian background with roots in Shanghai and Toronto.

Alice Niu (she/her) is an IT Policy and Strategy Advisor at the Treasury Board Secretariat of Ontario. She is responsible for providing policy advice, analysis and recommendations to technology development office across the Ontario Government. Alice completed her Bachelor degree at the University of Toronto, double majoring in Contemporary Asian Studies and Ethics, Society, and Law. Alice joined the public service immediately following graduation in 2016 and has held positions at the federal, provincial, and crown agency level. She completed her Master of Arts in Public Policy and Public Administration from Ryerson University in 2020.

Aaron Wilson (he/him) is a senior data analyst at Global Affairs Canada's Rapid Response Mechanism. He previously held positions at Elections Canada, the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, and with Taiwan's Bureau of Foreign Trade. Aaron graduated from the University of Toronto with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Asia-Pacific Studies and Political Science.

Arnaud Camu (he/him) is an attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP in NY. His practices focuses on resolution and litigation of disputes and lawsuits, both in and out of court, for large corporate and financial institutions. He is an active member of the firm’s pro bono practice. Before becoming a litigator, he worked on mergers and acquisitions for publicly-traded companies and private equity firms. Prior to joining S&C, he served as law clerk to The Honorable Justice Marshall Rothstein on the Supreme Court of Canada. He completed his HBA (2010) at the University of Toronto with a double major in International Relations and Asia-Pacific Studies and holds degrees in common law and civil law from the University of Ottawa.

Mia Nguyen (she/her) is a political economist by learning and a business strategist by experimenting. As a Vietnamese-born and Canadian-educated professional, she fuels her passion with impact innovation in emerging economies. She is currently the Operations Associate at The Knowledge Society (TKS), an innovation program that accelerates students' development in STEM and entrepreneurship. Her professional expertise lies in go-to-market strategies, multi-sectoral partnership development, and project execution. She leverages her strengths to help international NGOs, SMEs, and government sectors implement impact projects across Canada and the Asia Pacific. During her free time, you can find Mia building her education startup, GOmana, with her co-founder, Roshni Thawani. Mia has worked and lived across Southeast Asia, Israel, Mexico and Canada. She is an alumni of several non-profit organizations, including Global Spark (a BCG-founded education non-profit), UNAC, APF Canada Youth Council and the League of Innovators. She graduated from the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and majored in Political Economy and Contemporary Asian Studies.

Betty Xie (she/her) is a filmmaker, fundraiser and coach for creatives. As an award winning filmmaker, her works have been shown at film festivals around the world, and most recently, she directed the short animated series Uprooted: Plantemic with CBC Gem, a series that features an all Asian-Canadian cast including Kim's Convenience's Andrea Bang and Space Jam 2's Eric Bauza. As a fundraising consultant, she has helped small nonprofits like the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival and VIBE Arts to build and grow their corporate and individual giving programs. She is also a certified coach who is passionate about supporting creatives to grow their career and practice and building resilient options in their careers. As a multifaceted creative, she deeply believes that creatives of today can carve their own paths by fully embracing who they are. She completed her Honours Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto in Contemporary Asian Studies and Cinema Studies.