Meet Our Leadership
“Integrity, honesty, respect, and working for the benefit of those we serve are some of our core values.”
Larry Lifson, President and CEO
Larry partners and works with colleagues around the world who market the Global School Access program and who bring families and students to GSA. He created strategic partnerships for GSA with educational communities in North America.
Larry is a business-development executive with a track record of growing businesses, establishing strategic partnerships, and organization culture change. His previous experience was in the retail, wholesale, and promotional-products industries. He developed and implemented multimillion-dollar cost-savings programs and delivered multimillion-dollar programs for major retailers. He has experience in branding and licensing, and his supply-chain background enabled him to travel internationally and work with people of many cultures.
Larry was a founding member, board member, and officer of a major industry trade association. He holds a Bachelors in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is a member of The World Innovation Network global community, a board member of Kellogg Alumni Club Chicago-West, a member of the Education Committee of the United States Heartland China Association, and a member of the Asian American Executive Network.
TJ Bai was one of the first university students after the Cultural Revolution. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern Polytechnic University, he entered Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics to continue his studies and graduated in 1984 with a master’s degree. He then worked in the university as a faculty member. In 1987, he went to the United States to study and obtained his master’s degree and doctor’s degree from the school of Aerospace Engineering of Georgia Institute of Technology, and MBA degree from Robinson School of Business of Georgia State University. From 1992 to 1999, he worked as a professor in an American University for eight years, and then entered the field of high-tech development and management. He worked as a project manager on its 3G wireless networks in Motorola, he was the startup CEO of Neoteny Broadband Communication Technology Co., Ltd., and the Chief Scientist of Qilu Software Park. He was one of the pioneers in WiFi technology development in China.
TJ has been working in the field of international education and cultural exchange since 2003. He is now the Executive Vice President of GSA International Education Group. He is a well-known scholar and expert in the field of study abroad and international education. His college-application counseling service has benefited hundreds of families and students. He is the author of “Profiles of Top US Colleges” and Deputy Editor in Chief of the text book: English for Educator (New Version).
“Strive to be always student centered and professional.”
Dr. Tiejun “T.J.” Bai, Executive Vice President and China General Manager
A native New Mexican, Anita earned her undergraduate degree in International Politics and Economics from Middlebury College in Vermont. Middlebury is also where she gained professional experience in higher education as Coordinator of the college’s German Language School and Spanish Department. In 2001, Anita moved to Washington, D.C., where she served as a Legislative Aide to former U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman, while concurrently completing her Master’s in International Peace & Conflict Resolution at American University’s School of International Studies.
After completing her Master’s degree, Anita devoted her life and career to addressing global health development challenges. Her decade of international development work, starting with two years of Peace Corps service in a remote village in Tanzania, was made both enjoyable and productive through the close partnerships she formed with leaders in government, business, education and civil society.
Anita later returned to education, when she and her husband moved to Chengdu, China. Through teaching opportunities at public middle and high schools, she found she had both a talent and a passion for teaching. She continued teaching English for two more years at an international school in Nagoya, Japan.
In 2015, Anita returned to Chicago with her husband and daughter. In her spare time, she mentors graduate students at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. She hopes to find new ways to apply her combined eleven years of overseas education and professional experience to making international students’ experiences the best they can be.
“Students’ safety and welfare is our number one priority.”
Anita Chavez-Berry, Vice President of Operations and Student Services