James Chen is the Vice President for Global Operations at the Institute for Global Engagement (IGE). He first joined IGE in 2011, initially serving as a Program Officer and later as Executive Director before assuming his current role. His work for IGE in engaging governments and civil societies has taken him to Iraq, Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, and Singapore. Before joining IGE, James was a Research Fellow and Academic Resources Coordinator at the Near East South Asia (NESA) Center for Strategic Studies at the U.S. Department of Defense. In that role, he provided research support for engagements with U.S. government national security officials from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia. He also authored reports on the political, economic, military, and soft power aspects of China’s influence in the region. James’s writings have been published in Strategic Forum (National Defense University), The Diplomat, and The Review of Faith & International Affairs. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations and Security from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School