Elizabeth Knup completed her decade-long tenure as regional director for China at the Ford Foundation in December 2023. In that role, she oversaw Ford’s operations in China and its programmatic strategies focused on U.S.-China relations, understanding the impact of China’s political and economic power in the world, and strengthening China’s domestic philanthropic sector. Elizabeth first moved to China in 1998 to be the American director of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies after serving 10 years at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. She then spent 11 years in the private sector as president of Pearson Education China; chief representative of Pearson PLC; and managing director of Kamsky Associates. While at Pearson, the company owned the Financial Times newspaper and Penguin Books, in addition to its core education publishing, testing, and technology companies.

Elizabeth is currently a senior advisor to China Focus at The Carter Center. She is also senior advisor to the Penn Project on the Future of U.S.-China Relations at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the board of directors of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, where she co-chairs the Program Committee.