Notable Alumnae

Sumiko Enbutsu ’60 is an author of English language travel books that celebrate the cultural and traditional aspects of Tokyo. She is also a leader in historic preservation in Tokyo.

Victoria Chan-Palay ’65 was the first woman to receive a medical degree summa cum laude from Harvard. She was named a White House Fellow in 1979, making her one of the first Singaporeans to achieve such a high rank in the United States government.

Irene Lee ’74 is executive chair of Hysan Development in Hong Kong, one of the largest real estate firms in the city.

Diana Kang ’78 is the CEO of GRI KOREA, a fashion retail company that imports and distributes global brands such as Nine West, Steve Madden and Carolinna Espinoza.

Peggy Liu ’80 is a senior consultant at ONC Lawyers in Hong Kong. She serves on the Leadership and Public Policy Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Ruth Ozeki ’80 is a novelist, filmmaker, and Zen Buddhist priest. Her most recent work, A Tale for the Time-Being (2013), won the LA Times Book Prize, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize and the National Book Critic’s Circle Award, and has been published in more than 30 countries.

Onyou Hwang ’82 is a tenured professor at the University of Ulsan College of Medicine and is one of the world’s leading researchers on neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Claire Chino ’88 is general counsel and head of the legal department at Itochu Corporation, one of Japan’s largest trading companies. In 2006, Newsweek Japan selected her as one of “Japanese Women Recognized by the World.”

Jeannie Cho Lee ’90 is the first Asian Master of Wine (MW) and an award-winning author, wine critic, judge and educator.

Mary Spackman ’91 is founder and principal designer at Spackman Associates, an interior design firm in Seoul.

Yan Zhang ’91 is general manager and China vice president for strategy and corporate development at McGraw-Hill Financial, where she oversees investments, new business developments, and government and corporate affairs.

Hanya Yanagihara ’95 is a novelist and travel writer of Hawaiian ancestry. In 2015, her second novel, A Little Life, was shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize for fiction.

Aki Shibuya ’98 is anchor of NHK TV’s Newsroom Tokyo, a daily English language news broadcast.

Carolyn Kuan ’99 is the principal conductor of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. Born in Taiwan, she is the second woman in history to lead a major American orchestra.

Rose Jang ’01 is an acclaimed Korean-American pop opera artist who is well known for singing operatic arias as well as Broadway musical and classic pop songs.