Our Team

AJ Cortese is a Senior Research Associate at MacroPolo, the Paulson Institute’s think tank. In this role, AJ’s research and analysis focuses on the political economy of technology in the US-China relationship, examining industrial policy, evolving supply chains, and human capital. His work analyzes China’s strategic priorities in technology and the transition of its innovation ecosystem from internet-centric development to promoting deep tech and self-reliance.

Previously, AJ worked in Beijing as an analyst for 36Kr Global and ICR Inc., researching technology companies and investment trends in China. AJ holds a BA in economics from Fordham University and is pursuing an MBA from the University of Chicago. He speaks fluent Mandarin.

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Johanna M. Costigan is a Senior Editor at MacroPolo, the Paulson Institute’s think tank. In this role, she works with analysts on their research and writing spanning politics, the economy, technology, and energy, from the brainstorming phase to publication.

Previously, she held editorial and research roles at the United Nations, Trivium China, the Asia Society Policy Institute, Stanford University’s DigiChina, the National Committee on US-China Relations, and other organizations. She has an MsC in Contemporary Chinese Studies from the University of Oxford and a BA from Bard College, where she double majored in East Asian Studies with a focus on Chinese language and literature and Written Arts. Her work has been published in Forbes, Los Angeles Review of Books China Channel, Foreign Policy, China Books Review, Rest of World, Project Syndicate, ChinaFile, Nikkei Asia, The Diplomat, and others.

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Annie Inacker is the Director of MacroPolo, the Paulson Institute’s think tank. She leads on overall operations of the think tank—from managing product development and team resources to internal processes, standards, and communication. She aims to ensure that MacroPolo delivers its products and content with consistency, quality, and impact.

Annie works closely with the Managing Director on the think tank’s creative strategy and human capital, among other institute-wide endeavors. She has expertise in user testing, graphic design, and data visualization tools.

Originally from Buffalo, Annie moved to Chicago to pursue her undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago. She holds her MS in Product Design and Development Management from Northwestern University.

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Damien Ma is the founder of MacroPolo, the Paulson Institute’s think tank, where he currently serves as its Managing Director. He is the author or editor of the books, In Line Behind a Billion People: How Scarcity Will Define China’s Ascent in the Next Decade, The Economics of Air Pollution in China (by Ma Jun), and China’s Economic Arrival: Decoding a Disruptive Rise, published by Palgrave Macmillan. He is also adjunct faculty at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Previously, Damien was a Senior Analyst at Eurasia Group, the political risk research and advisory firm. At EG, he mainly focused on the China and East Asian markets, covering areas that spanned energy and commodities and industrial policy to elite politics and US-China relations. He also led work on analyzing Mongolian politics and its mining sector. His advisory and analytical work served a range of clients from institutional investors and multinationals to the US, Japanese, and Singaporean governments.

Prior to joining Eurasia Group, he was a manager of publications at the US-China Business Council in Washington, DC, where he was also an adjunct instructor at Johns Hopkins SAIS. Early in his career, he worked at public relations firm H-Line Ogilvy in Beijing, where he served multinational clients.

In addition, Damien has published widely, including in The Atlantic, New York Times, Foreign Affairs, The New Republic, Foreign Policy, and Bloomberg, among others. He has also appeared in a range of broadcast media such as the Charlie Rose Show, BBC, NPR, and CNBC. In addition to media appearances, Damien has keynoted or spoken at various industry, investor, and academic conferences, including CLSA and Credit Suisse Latin America.

Damien was named a “99under33” foreign policy leader by the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy. He speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese.

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Jackson Martin is a Research Associate at MacroPolo, the Paulson Institute’s think tank. Jackson conducts quantitative and qualitative research on Chinese politics and political economy.

Previously, Jackson worked as a researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Asia Program) where he supported research into innovation across Asian economies. He also gained valuable analytical experience while working on international economic policy issues as an intern with the U.S. Department of State and the Department of the Treasury. He holds an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS with a concentration in China and states, markets, and institutions, and a BA in economics and Chinese Language and Literature from the University of Kansas.

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Yna Louise Mataya is Lead Designer at MacroPolo, the Paulson Institute’s think tank. In this role, Yna works with the creative team to execute on a range of projects, including interactive products, illustrations, motion graphics, and social media content. She supports MacroPolo specific projects as well as those of the Paulson Institute as a whole.

Yna gained valuable experience through her previous positions and internships over the years. She interned as a Graphic Designer at Panorart and as a UI/UX Designer at Alex Crown, WeFitness, and YourMD. Yna graduated with a BA in Visual Communication from School of the Art Institute of Chicago and furthered her education by learning UI/UX Design Essentials from Columbia College of Chicago and studying Web Development at Northwestern University.

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Chris is the lead web developer at MacroPolo, the Paulson Institute's think tank. Born in Evanston and now a resident of Chicago’s north side, Chris turned his passion for coding and creativity into a web development career he loves. With previous experience in retail management and front-end-development, Chris landed his dream job with the PI/MP team and loves turning the team’s research into amazing visual experiences on the web.

A graduate of the University of Oregon, Chris is a Chicagoan through-and-through but also takes every chance to travel to fantastic places and spent a year teaching English while wandering around China. He’s a pretty happy guy but he’s much happier when the Bears and Cubs are winning…

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Amy Ouyang is a Research Associate at MacroPolo, the Paulson Institute’s think tank. In this role, Amy conducts in-depth research and analyzes the global energy transition and its intersection with the economy, technology, and industrial policy. She has written extensively on green hydrogen production and supply chains, as well as the nuclear energy renaissance, including advanced frontier technologies such as small modular reactors and nuclear fusion. 

Prior to joining MacroPolo, she interned at a number of think tanks in DC, including the Wilson Center and the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she focused on examining US-China relations and China’s foreign policy agenda through the lens of the military, technology, and the economy. She also worked in a number of news outlets and broadcasting stations in Hong Kong and the US. Amy holds an MA in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, an MS and a BS degree in Journalism from Northwestern University.

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Yuxi Yuan is the Content Marketing Associate at MacroPolo, the Paulson Institute’s think tank. In this role, she drives content creation for newsletters and social media, leveraging web analytics and audience segmentation research to optimize content distribution and devise user growth strategies. Yuxi also contributes to the conceptualization and development of multimedia projects and event content.

Before joining MacroPolo, Yuxi honed her skills through internships at notable organizations such as GroupM, Pfizer, and Prudential Financials. During these experiences, she gained practical expertise in media campaigns, marketing analytics, and full-cycle marketing plan development. Yuxi holds an MS in Integrated Marketing Communications from Northwestern University and a BA in Economics from Donghua University in Shanghai.

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William (Bill) Adams is senior vice president and chief economist at Comerica Bank. Bill leads Comerica's Economics Department, providing research and analysis that impact the bank's key markets, as well as business leaders and policy makers throughout the country.

Bill joined Comerica in 2022 after spending the previous 10 years with The PNC Financial Services Group, where he served as the senior vice president and senior manager economist. Bill contributed to forecasts and analysis of the U.S. national economy and regional economies within PNC's core footprint. He also provided forecasts of international economic conditions, interest rates, and exchange rates, covering major foreign developed and developing economies. An expert financial forecaster, Bill's exchange rate forecasts were ranked in the 90th percentile of Bloomberg's forecast accuracy rankings when he left PNC. Prior to joining PNC, Bill was China resident economist for The Conference Board from 2009 to 2011.

He is co-author of In Line Behind a Billion People: How Scarcity Will Define China's Ascent in the Next Decade, published in 2013 by the Financial Times Press, and translated into Chinese in 2014 by Gusa Publishing (Taiwan). He is former president of the Economic Club of Pittsburgh, a local chapter of the National Association of Business Economics (NABE); a former associate of the University of Pittsburgh Asian Studies Center; and a former co-director of the Pittsburgh Warburg Chapter of the American Council on Germany.

Adams holds a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard.

W. Gyude Moore is a Senior Policy Fellow at the Center for Global Development (CGD). He previously served as Liberia’s Minister of Public Works with oversight over the construction and maintenance of public infrastructure from December 2014 to January 2018. Prior to that role, Moore served as Deputy Chief of Staff to President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Head of the President’s Delivery Unit (PDU). As Head of the PDU, his team monitored progress and drove delivery of the Public Sector Investment Program of Liberia—a program of over $1 billion in road, power, port infrastructure, and social programs in Liberia after the civil war. As one of the President’s trusted advisors, he also played a crucial role in supporting President Sirleaf as Liberia responded to the West Africa Ebola outbreak and shaped its post-Ebola outlook.

At CGD, Mr. Moore’s policy analysis and research focus are governance, the financing of infrastructure, and Africa’s response to the changing landscape of external actors. His focus tracks the policies of traditional, aspiring, and emerging actors on the continent, especially the rise of China and its expanding role in Africa. Mr. Moore is a lecturer at the University of Chicago’s Harris School for Public Policy where he teaches a class on the role of infrastructure in the practice of foreign policy and international development. Mr. Moore provides expert analysis and is frequently quoted in print, on radio, and on television. His writing has been published in newspapers and magazines like Africa Business, The Hill, Quartz, Foreign Policy, and Mail & Guardian in South Africa. Mr. Moore is also a Senior Fellow at the Breakthrough Institute. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors of the Master of Science in Foreign Service Program at Georgetown University and on the Board of Directors of Management Sciences for Health and the Charter Cities Institute. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Berea College and a Master’s degree in Foreign Policy and International Security from Georgetown University.

Jessica Beinecke Muir 白洁 is a Mandarin-fluent entrepreneur with 1+ million followers on Chinese social media, and highly collaborative storyteller with 12+ years of experience driving multisite international communication teams, strategizing full-cycle productions from conceptualization to promotion, launching award-winning social media campaigns that bridge cultures and serving as the public face of efforts that inspire action in global markets.

Known for her cheerful and engaging personality, Jessica has worked directly with heads of state, celebrities, star athletes and business leaders as a global community builder with an unwavering passion for creating content that educates, engages, and entertains. For the past 5 years she has guest lectured at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management as an entrepreneurship and Chinese social media expert, and has traveled to Beijing, China with the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Management to guest lecture on Chinese millennial market insights.

Paul Triolo is Senior Vice President for China and Technology Policy Lead at ASG. He advises clients in technology, financial services, and other sectors as they navigate complex political and regulatory matters in China and around the world. A recognized expert in global technology policy, Mr. Triolo was most recently founder, Practice Head, and Managing Director of the Geo-Technology practice at Eurasia Group.  Previously, Mr. Triolo spent more than 25 years in senior positions in the U.S. government, analyzing China's rise as a technology power and advising senior policymakers on a broad set of technology-related issues. At the beginning of his career, he worked as an engineer for a semiconductor testing firm in Silicon Valley. Mr. Triolo is frequently quoted on technology policy issues in media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, the South China Morning Post, and others. He speaks regularly at conferences and has authored many journal articles and book chapters on global technology policy and China-related issues. He also serves as a Senior Advisor at the Paulson Institute. He received an M.A. in International Relations from the Catholic University and a B.A. in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University. He is based in Washington, D.C.

Houze Song is Director of China Research at 22V Research, an investment research firm. Previously, Houze was a Fellow at MacroPolo, the think tank at the Paulson Institute. His work is read by market participants and policymakers and has been cited in The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Financial Times, Bloomberg, and The New York Times.

Before joining Paulson Institute, Houze had worked as a research manager at the Unirule Institute, where he assisted the chairman Mao Yushi with research and project management. He holds an MA in quantitative methods and an MPA in international economics, both from Columbia University, and a BA in economics from Peking University.