Asians need to break out of their parochial mindsets and get to know about each other. With our vast network, we can create effective intra-Asian dialogues,” proclaims Vishakha Desai, the soon-to-be President of Asia Society. She succeeds Nicholas Platt who is retiring this summer after twelve years as president.

Desai, 54, will be the sixth president of Asia Society, which aims at fostering understanding between Asia and America. “In the 21st century, the rising powers are in Asia-India and China. Surveys show that the majority of our kids cannot identify the ocean separating the West Coast from Asia. One of my missions is to bring more of them into the society,” she says. Since 1990 Desai has had a distinguished career at Asia Society, where she assumed progressively major roles and responsibilities, her most recent being Senior Vice President and Director of the Museum and Cultural Programs. She has also been at the forefront of integrating Asian American issues into the Society’s public programs, which encompass a wide array of creative, social, political, and business topics.

Ahmedabad-based Desai is married to Robert B. Oxnam, a China scholar, who was the Asia Society’s president from 1981 to 1992.