Chief Program Officer, China, Wen Zhao, Ph.D.

Wen discovered OneSky (then known as Half the Sky) over two decades ago after coming across an online post written by the organization’s founder, Jenny Bowen.

Wen, who was working as a faculty member of the Department of Family and Child Studies at the Child Development Lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, was intrigued to read that Jenny was looking for a child development education expert with a Chinese background.

She was deeply touched by OneSky’s determination to help orphaned children in China. Soon after, she met Jenny in person and was asked to join the team in 1999.

Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Wen previously worked as a middle school teacher in China. She obtained her doctorate in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and was instrumental in helping OneSky design its first preschool programs.

“I truly believe that all children can learn and transform their lives because I have witnessed it. The moments watching children grow and develop to the fullest, as well as the transformation of the adults working alongside them, have been the best and the happiest of my life,” said Wen.