Born in Shanghai and grew up in Shanghai and Changsha, Hunan Province, Qidong Zhang (Kelly) was a news reporter/editor for Xinhua News Agency in Beijing before she came to the U.S in 1987. A veteran and senior executive in corporate/startup high tech sales, marketing, business development and media, she holds B.A. in English Literature from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, M.A. in Political Science from Arkansas State University (ASU), and M.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Annenberg School for Communications at University of Southern California (USC).