Janet Yang, a film producer who served three terms as president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has been named board chair of the Committee of 100, a non-profit organization made up of distinguished Chinese Americans. Hollywood Reporter I’ve learned.
Founded in 1990 by architect I.M. Pei, musician Yo-Yo Ma and other prominent Chinese Americans, C100 aims to strengthen US-China relations and challenge the treatment of Chinese Americans as foreigners rather than full participants in American life. Yang, a C100 member since 1998, succeeds Gary Locke, the former governor of Washington state and former U.S. ambassador to China, who has led the organization for the past five years.
Yang, 69, was born in Queens to Chinese immigrants, majored in Chinese at Brown University and earned an MBA from Columbia University. It has broken into the entertainment industry by connecting major players in the Chinese and Hollywood film industries, helping to produce potential films like Steven Spielberg’s. Sun Empire. She then became a producer in her own right, accumulating credits including Joy Luck Club, The People vs. Larry Flynt and Over the moonAnd winning an Emmy Award for TV Movie Indictment: The McMartin Trial.
A member of the Motion Picture Academy’s Producers Chapter since 2002, she was elected to the board of directors in 2019 and to president in 2022, and will serve in both capacities until 2025. As president (she was the first Asian American to hold the position), she led efforts to recruit new members from around the world. Today, about a quarter of its approximately 10,000 members reside outside the United States.
“Chinese Americans have always contributed to this country at the highest levels — as entrepreneurs, business leaders, scholars, public servants, and artists,” C100 President Paul Cheung said in a statement. “Janet’s leadership will help us take greater ownership of our narrative than ever before, so that the next generation of Chinese American leaders can contribute more fully and freely to American society.”
Yang said THR“While the global media may focus on anti-China or anti-American sentiment, my experience is that there is a great deal of mutual curiosity, affection, and desire to cooperate. At a time when international cooperation is more important than ever – especially to address unprecedented challenges like artificial intelligence and climate change – I stand with those who choose to connect through shared values and a vision for a better future.”
She added: “What I see today would have been unimaginable just years ago, and certainly decades ago. That is why I have chosen to take the reins of the Committee of 100. I am drawn to the enormous opportunities to connect East and West in meaningful ways – person to person, heart to heart. I am grateful and honored to continue doing the work I have always loved under this new banner.”
