2026 Atlanta Symposium on ASIA-USA Partnership Opportunities

9:00am-10:00am: Registration & Breakfast with Live Guzheng Music Performance
Sponsored by KSU College of Architecture and Construction Management

10:00am-10:30am: Opening & Introductions

Sponsored by KSU Radow College of Humanities & Social Sciences (RCHSS)

• Sha Huang, Asian Studies Director, Chinese Program Director, Professor of Chinese, KSU
• May Gao, SAUPO Chair, Professor of Communication & Asian Studies, KSU
• Gregory Paul, Associate Dean, Radow College of Humanities & SS., KSU
• Kenichi Matsuda, Consul General of Japan in Atlanta
• Kiyo Kojima, Partner, Smith Gambrell Russell

10:30am-11:30am: Sponsored by KSU Coles College of Business

SAUPO Panel #1: Global Business and Sustainability Strategies

Moderator: Hazem Rashed-Ali, Dean, KSU College of Architecture and Construction Management

• Raymond Shelton, VP, Chief Sustainability & Communications Officer, YKK AP America
• William Strang, President, TOTO USA
• Robin Cheramie, Dean, KSU Coles College of Business
• Madison Conway, Chief Marketing Officer, The DDC Group

11:30am-1:30pm: Sponsored by Toyo Tires

SAUPO Networking Lunch with Keynote Speeches

Introduced by: George Mui, Managing Partner, Global Consultants United

• Joann Hill, Executive Director, Office of Small Business, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Patrick Lenz, President & COO, Toyo Tires
• DeAnn Golden, President & CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties

1:30pm-2:30pm: Sponsored by KSU College of Computing and Software Engineering

SAUPO Panel #2: AI, Technology and Innovation

Moderator: Lawrence Whitman, Dean, KSU Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering & Engineering Technology

• Andrew Kim, Director, International Specialty Sales, Delta Air Lines
• Connor Murray, Head of Stewardship, BSV Association
• Lucy Lu, Founder & CEO, aiLegal
• Mahmut Karakaya, Program Director, Master of Science in AI, KSU

2:30pm-3:00pm: Sponsored by YKK AP

Afternoon Networking Break

3:00pm-4:00pm: Sponsored by KSU College of Science & Mathematics

SAUPO Panel #3: Global Workforce Development

Moderator: Nozomi Morgan, Founder & CEO, Michiki Morgan Worldwide

• Sachiko Ueno, HR Manager, Nissei ASB Company
• Rose Jarboe, Founder & CEO, WePartner
• Ming Francis, Co-Founder, The LiveHaus Group
• Heather Koopman, Dean, KSU College of Science & Mathematics

4:00pm-5:00pm: Sponsored by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties (BHHSGA)

Live Jazz Concert

Led by Yuichi Arai, Executive Director, Japanese Chamber of Commerce of Georgia (JCCG)

SAUPO Networking Reception with visit by KSU mascot “Scrappy”

SAUPO Zoom Webinar for global livestream will be operated and recorded by

• Brian Olovson, Director of Modern Languages and Cultures, KSU

https://tinyurl.com/5n77bw29