Biography
Julie Zhao’s engagement as a Yale alum began changing dramatically at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Under her leadership, Yalies in China donated N95 masks and protection gowns worth US$200K to Yale hospitals in the Greater New Haven area. She is proud that, among all the Ivy League alumni clubs in China, Yale’s was the first to donate PP&Es back to their home school. This project helped her realize how much Yale alumni have a heart to help others, and helped her define her purpose in life by how well she serves her community and the world.
Since then, Zhao has made her service to Yale alumni in China and local charities a priority in her life. In late 2022, she was appointed as club co-president of the Yale Club of Shanghai. Since then she has helped revive the club, whose community comprises over 700 alumni. Each year, the club has an active calendar of events, including orientation for newly admitted students, happy hours, Yale Day of Service projects, group attendance at concerts, networking opportunities and Ivy League mixers. Her goal is to make the club an indispensable part of the alumni experience for Yalies in Shanghai.
By joining the YAA board, Zhao hopes to serve for a wider group of Yalies and bring alumni stories from China to more people, and to convey best practices from other alumni groups to Asia.
