On February 21, 2019, Marc Berger, Vice President and Partner at Nyhus Communications was elected unanimously as the new chair at the WSCRC’s board of directors meeting. The Council greatly appreciated Andrew Wilson, former Chairman, for his leadership in the past two years.
Marc Berger is vice president and partner at Nyhus, a strategic communications and public affairs consultancy based in Seattle. Marc oversees executive communications and crisis management for the firm, supporting leaders and companies in a wide range of industries.

Marc has a rich background living in, studying, and engaging professionally with China. He supports Chinese companies looking to successfully expand their businesses in the U.S. market and American firms seeking greater connections with the People’s Republic. He previously worked at the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, the nation’s foremost organization promoting constructive Sino-American relations, and received his master’s degree from Columbia University, where he focused on international relations, Chinese foreign policy and media.

Marc is a leadership fellow of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, and former fellow of the World Affairs Council of Seattle. He is a former board member of the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County and a member of the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations.

On April 18, 2019, the WSCRC, in partnership with the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma, the Northwest Seaport Alliance and Garvey Schubert Barer hosted the 40th anniversary celebration of the arrival of the Liu Lin Hai in Seattle. The reception event commemorated the resumption of direct shipping relations between the People’s Republic of China and the United States that took place on April 18, 1979, with the docking of M.V. Liu Lin Hai at the Port of Seattle, following a three-decade hiatus. It also honored Stan Barer, founding member of the WSCRC and name partner of GSB, for his role and extraordinary contributions to U.S.-China relations during the past 40 years. Speakers at the event include Consul General Wang Donghua from the San Francisco Consulate, Port of Seattle Commission Ryan Calkins, Port of Tacoma Commissioner Clare Petrich, President of COSCO North America Feng Bo, CEO at SSA Marie Knud Stubkjaer and CEO of Northwest Seaport Alliance John Wolfe.

On April 17 and 18, accompanied by the interim director of the WSCRC Man Wang, Consul General Wang Donghua from the PRC’s San Francisco Consulate visited the Snohomish County Executive Office, the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County, the Port of Everett, the Washington State Department of Commerce and the City of Bellevue. Consul Wang discussed with leaders from those agencies on the importance of promoting and strengthening a healthy bilateral relationship between Washington state and China. All parties acknowledged the importance of collaborations in trade at this critical stage of U.S-China relations. New to the region, Consul Wang was very impressed with the economic status and business environment in Washington state.