Meet the Women of Thrive

  • Lizzy González
    Colombia
  • Anne-Marie McGibney
    United Kingdom
  • Tal Nakman
    Israel
  • Lubica Vidlickova
    Slovakia
  • Jolie Van Beek
    Holland
  • Sherry Poon
    Canada
  • Lin Wen
    Philippines
  • Doris Rathgeber
    Germany
  • Suzi Karim
    Indonesia
  • Carol Hoag
    United States
  • Sally Harris
    United Kingdom
  • Mae-Ling Tien
    United States
  • Sian Leong
    South Africa
  • Peggy Liu
    United States
  • Mandisa Khumalo
    South Africa
  • Candy Lim
    Singapore
  • Cisca Wikkeling
    Holland
  • Victoria Scott
    United Kingdom
  • Angie Wu Chin
    United States
  • Debi Yohn
    United States
  • Ann Yen
    China/United States
  • Tracey Cruickshank
    Australia
  • Nathalie Guihaumé
    France
  • Ana Gómez
    Spain
  • Aradhana Sangwan
    India
  • Natacha Devilliers
    France
  • Kristin Bair O’Keeffe
    United States
  • Jane Huang
    China/ United States
  • Lia Callery
    Mexico
  • Mariola Moncada
    Spain
  • Valerie Touya
    France
  • Kate Lilienthal
    United States
  • Vivienne Shi
    China/Australia
  • Tori Zwisler
    United States

Mandisa Khumalo

South Africa
Born the Year of the Rabbit
Former President of Consular General Spouses and Ph.D. Candidate

 

Of the many ways the City has impacted me, I truly believe that living in Shanghai has improved how I interact with people. I have to say, I’ve mellowed here. Shanghai is a huge city but with the help of Chinese friends and the Chinese people, it is quite manageable. Now I know that I can go out and live in any city in the world and not feel overwhelmed because I’ve been able to do it here.

Sally Elizabeth Harris

Cheshire, England
Born in the Year of the Rooster
Medical Doctor

I’ve never felt as proud of my career as I have been here. I think it is great that I can come and work in China. It’s great that I am respected, but it is being a doctor that is appreciated, the career.

Suziana Karim

Jakarta, Indonesia
Born in the Year of the Monkey
Co-founder, Designer LeGaZie

Since coming to Shanghai, I believe I’m much richer now but not in any way related to money. I feel more aware of myself … I know more about what I want and what I value. Before 40 I thought I was limited by age. But I don’t think that anymore. Earlier this year I got my ninth tattoo, adding to the others that each means a lot to me. But my recent one is the biggest one I have—it’s the picture of the strong firebird—the phoenix. To me it’s a symbol of my new-found zest for life and how strong I’ve become as a person.

Bonita Linmketkai AKA Lin Wen

Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
Born in the Year of the Dog
Founder, CEO of NuoMi Shanghai

My husband bringing us to Shanghai and then doing what he did was hard, but I got over it. It took me about a year and a half to get over it, but eventually I did. The way I see it, here in Shanghai I basically went through a fire where I lost everything except for my two kids and I’m just glad that I had two hands that were able to grab them and get them out of there. But here I was also able to start from scratch… with the understanding of the responsibility we have to those in poverty, and then bring it together through NuoMi and do something that I wanted to do my whole life.

Ana Gómez

Madrid, Spain
Born in the Year of the Dragon
Gallery Owner, ART in capitals

In Shanghai my dream to own a gallery and make an impression on people through art came true. I know I couldn’t have done this in Spain, not only because of my age, or maybe the fact that I wasn’t as well connected as I would need to be, but also because how art is evolving there. As I look forward, there’s no end to the opportunities for sharing Spanish art with China and sharing Chinese art and culture with Spain.

Debi Yohn

Miami, USA
Born in the Year of the Snake
Family Counselor, Author, Lecturer

My parting words - open your mind to your possibilities. There are too many people here who say, “I can’t.” And here you can try anything!