Leigh Wedell is Senior Fellow at the Paulson Institute. She previously served as the Institute’s Chief Sustainability Officer overseeing programs to train Chinese mayors on urban sustainability best practices, the Paulson Prize for sustainability and supported the CEO Council. As part of the Mayors training program, she helped launch a new sustainability initiative with the mayor of a Beijing district.
Over the past two decades, Leigh has served in NGOs, business associations and consulting practices promoting economic reform, market access and expansion and sustainability in China. She currently serves as the Chief Operating Officer of Basilinna, a strategic advisory firm focused on the China, Middle East and the U.S.
Leigh has served as Vice President for Albright Stonebridge Group, a leading global consulting firm, and Managing Director for MBP Consulting, a consulting practice of Mayer Brown LLC, a top 10 global law firm. At the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Leigh was the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong‐U.S. Business Council, a private‐sector initiative bringing together U.S. and Hong Kong executives to promote commercial ties. She began her career at the International Republican Institute (IRI), working on political development programs in China, including observing village level elections, training newly elected village leaders, and supporting the efforts of the National People’s Congress to draft economic legislation related to key reform initiatives, including China’s first securities law.
Leigh’s insights on China’s sustainable urbanization and economic issues have been published in Foreign Affairs online, Huffington Post, Xinhua, China Daily, The Diplomat, and Caixin.