3 - Elyse Ribbons - China Movie TV Radio - The Beertelligence Podcast

“No one believed that a white (non-Chinese) girl wrote it”
Elyse, a self-proclaimed language nerd, has a very eclectic background spanning her 15 years in China. She has worked as a Movie & TV star in China, gotten a Masters in Peking Opera, written a play and been COO of a Chinese construction company (which meant she can drink Baijiu).
That’s not to mention her being cohost of one of China’s highest-rated nationally syndicated news radio programs called 老外看点 LaoWai KanDian(International Perspectives) as well as working at the US embassy, speaking fluent Mandarin and starting a theatre company all before entering Stanford Ignite Beijing to build a charity startup “GeiLi Giving”.
Whew.
Through her career she followed a core theme of communication & bridge building, metaphorically and literally, striving to see other people’s points of view.
In this episode we discuss:
+ Being good at drinking & referencing Tang dynasty poetry
+ Translating for meetings with Bill Clinton
+ Traveling with 180 Chinese millionaires
+ Stanford Ignite Beijing
+ Teaching people how to hug in China (workshops)
+ Nano Wrimo (to write her novel)
+ Her dream of being Secretary of State
+ How former president Bush Senior (41) smoothed the path for Bush Junior in China before diplomatic meetings took place
+ The good & bad of philanthropy and how difficult it is in China
+ Moving from Detroit to small town North Carolina to a “Nerd school”, a public boarding school.
+ Playing Helen Snow in Red Star Over China
+ Doing stand up comedy in Mandarin & English
+ Why Chinese girls can’t talk about sex on stage
+ How acting helps in business
+ Her daily journaling habit
Mentioned in the episode:
Stanford Ignite Beijing
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/stanford-ignite/global-locations/beijing
China Pacific Construction Group:
http://www.cpcg.com.cn/en/
Nano Wrimo (national writing month):
http://nanowrimo.org
Clinton Global Initiative:
https://www.clintonfoundation.org/clinton-global-initiative
The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World
by Jacqueline Novograt
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide
by Nicholas D. Kristof (Author), Sheryl WuDunn (Author)
Heifer International (Chengdu):
https://www.heifer.org/join-the-conversation/blog/2012/november/read-to-feed-begins-in-chengdu.html
Panda Conservation (Chengdu):
http://www.panda.org.cn/english/
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
http://www.ncssm.edu
Playing Helen Snow in Red Star Over China:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5655944/
Kung Fu Komedy:
http://www.kungfukomedy.com
SOS Ventures / Chinaccelerator:
http://chinaccelerator.com/
You can find Elsye online:
GeiLi Giving:
http://geiligiving.com/
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/iheartbeijing
Google Elyse Ribbons or
Baidu 柳素英 liǔsùyīng (her Chinese name)
Music:
http://www.bensound.com
Subscribe to The Beertelligence Podcast on….
Podcast: Play in new window | Download