The Bernard Schwartz Fellows

About the Bernard Schwartz Fellowship

Past Fellows

Mira Kamdar has been a Senior Fellow at the World Policy Institute since 1992, and an Associate Fellow of the Asia Society since 2006. She is a regular speaker at high-level international gatherings, and has addressed audiences on India and global affairs at venues as diverse as the Asia Society in New York and in Mumbai; the Observer Research Foundation, Jawaharlal Nehru University, and the India International Centre in New Delhi; the Centre for International Relations Studies at Sciences Po in Paris; J.P. Morgan Private Bank, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Altria, Lehman Brothers, the New School, Columbia University, the University of Washington School of Business, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, the Pacific Council on International Policy, the Shorenstein Asia Pacific Research Center at Stanford University, and various World Affairs Council chapters across the United States. Mira Kamdar holds a bachelor's degree from Reed College, and master's and doctor of philosophy degrees from the University of California at Berkeley. She is based at the Asia Society's New York headquarters, where her work will focus on issues of equity and sustainability in the context of accelerating globalization and climate change, and on a changing US-Asia relationship.

Mira Kamdar's latest book, Planet India: the Turbulent Rise of the Largest Democracy and the Future of Our World, will be released in paperback in the United States in February 2008 (Scribner). The book has been published in separate English-language editions in India and in the United Kingdom, as well as in Hindi, Dutch, Portuguese, Italian, French, and Chinese translations. Her critically acclaimed memoir, Motiba's Tattoos: A Granddaughter's Journey into her Indian Family's Past (Public Affairs 2000), was a 2000 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection and won the 2002 Washington Book Award.

Mira Kamdar's opinions and articles have appeared in publications around the world, including the Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, World Policy Journal, Times of India, Daily News & Analysis, Outlook, Tehelka, the Guardian online, and YaleGlobal. She has provided expert commentary and been interviewed for radio and television outlets such as CNN International, Bloomberg TV, BBC, National Public Radio, TV Ontario, Public Radio International, Headlines Today, South Asia World, and TV Asia.

• It Costs Just $2,500. It's Cute as a Bug. And It Could Mean Global Disaster. (Washington Post, January 13, 2008)
• A Conflict of Interests (Guardian Online, October 14, 2007)
• Climate Catastrophe: Consuming Ourselves To Death (Outlook India, October 2, 2007)
• Forget the Israel Lobby. The Hill's Next Big Player Is Made in India (Washington Post, September 30, 2007)
• Climate-Change Challenge for the Poor: Part II (YaleGlobal, September 28, 2007)
• India Travel and Tourism Insights From Mira Kamdar
• India and the United States (Forbes.com, August 5, 2007)
• Reverse Exodus: High-tech Indian Immigrants Returning Home (Mercury News, May 13, 2007)
• Sanjaya: Giving Them Something to Talk About (ABCNews.com, April 19, 2007)
• India Cannot Afford Rural Failure (YaleGlobal, April 20, 2007)
• The Fear of Rural Failure (Outlook India, April 20, 2007)
• Letter From India (Publisher's Weekly, Feb. 2, 2007)
• India on the Verge (Verve, Winter 2007)
• India's Agrarian Crisis: An Urgent Opportunity

Mira Kamdar's recent public remarks and appearances
Mira Kamdar's official website

Tion Kwa is an editorial writer and op-ed writer on foreign affairs, business, and economics at the Straits Times in Singapore. He is based at the Asia Society's Washington Center, where his work will focus on trade issues between the US and Asia as well as regional security.

Before joining the Straits Times in 2005, Tion was based in Hong Kong as the editorial page editor and chief editorial writer of the weekly Far Eastern Economic Review. He was concurrently an editorial writer for the the Wall Street Journal Asia. Prior to joining the Review, he was bureau chief of Knight-Ridder Financial News—later renamed Bridge News—in Kuala Lumpur, covering the foreign currency and debt markets, commodities, and political news. He has worked as editor of a journal on Asian law, in Hong Kong, and of the law journal of the New York City bar association. He was also previously a research associate of the National Association of Scholars, based in Princeton, New Jersey.

Tion was a finalist for the 2004 Bastiat Prize for journalism, contributed a chapter on Malaysia and Indonesia in Tiger's Roar (edited by Julian Weiss, M.E. Sharpe) and has written numerous op-eds for major newspapers, including the Washington Post and the South China Morning Post. He has appeared on CNN, CNBC, and the BBC.

Tion was born in Penang, Malaysia.

Asia Society's Bernard Schwartz Resident Fellows Program

The Bernard Schwartz Resident Fellows Program seeks to help meet the large and growing need for a nuanced public dialogue on important issues related to the growing importance of Asia in the world and global economy by selecting Fellows to serve in residence at the Asia Society headquarters in New York or in its Washington Center.

Schwartz Fellows are selected from among the most respected leaders from Asia and the U.S., and serve up to twelve-month terms in residence. Candidates are drawn from a variety of fields, including former government officials, academics, business leaders, and journalists. The defining qualification for Schwartz Fellows is a record of distinction and a commitment to engaging the broader public in better understanding Asia.

During the course of their residencies at the Asia Society, Fellows engage in a variety of activities, including:

• Present major public addresses at the Asia Society in New York and Washington, D.C., with additional speaking opportunities at other Asia Society Centers globally;
• Actively engage with Asia Society Centers in the U.S. and Asia, as appropriate;
• Regularly attend and actively participate in Asia Society programs;
• Advise Asia Society staff on public program planning, directions, and potential speakers; and organize at least 2 programs conceptually;
• Participate in major Asia Society conferences in Asia, including the annual Williamsburg Conference, Asian Corporate Conference, and Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit, as appropriate;
• Media:
• Regularly publish op-ed and other articles on topics related to Asia policy or U.S.-Asia relations in major Asian or U.S. publications;
• Serve as a media resource on relevant, timely issues, while being willing to educate and speak about topics much broader than expertise area;
• Propose at least two stories a week that the Fellow would be willing to speak to news press on;
• Propose at least two pieces per month, one of primary interest to Asian publications, one to U.S. or general;
• Produce minimum of four additional in-depth features for AsiaSociety.org;
• Serve as a focal point for the Asia Society's community of Fellows, including Associate Fellows;
• Advise on training materials preparation and participate in at least four briefing/training sessions for Asia Society youth reporters (high school and potentially college-age journalism students who report on Asia Society events and international topics). These sessions may be held in person or online as video sessions with associated chats or message boards;
• Assist in the Asia Society corporate briefing program;
• Attend at least two programs a month at related institutions with the express purpose of making media contacts, introducing your expertise, etc.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Positions for 2008 and 2009 are already filled. If you are interested in applying for 2010, or for more information, please send your cover letter, CV, and contact information to Ms. Hee-Chung Kim at hkim@asiasociety.org.