About Us

Headquartered in New York, the Falun Dafa Information Center’s operations are carried out by a team of dedicated and informed volunteers and staff. A range of professional backgrounds and expertise make the organization’s work possible. The Center brings together persons whose backgrounds include human rights research, government advocacy, language translation, Chinese history and culture as well as information technology.

The Center’s staff is as follows:

Levi Browde
Executive Director

Over the past 27 years, Levi has served as the Center’s executive director. He has been interviewed and quoted by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, CNN, the Associated Press, TIME Magazine, BBC, AFP, and other media outlets. He has also spoken about Falun Gong and human rights in China at briefings on Capitol Hill in Washington DC, and at the United Nations human rights sessions in Geneva, Switzerland. Levi studied East Asian Studies and Economics at Wesleyan University and is an avid supporter of traditional Chinese culture. He lives in New York with his wife and two sons.

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Erping Zhang
Director of Government and Advocacy

Erping has served as a panelist at European Parliament, U.S. Congress, Italian Parliament, Swedish Parliament, Norwegian Parliament, Japanese Parliament, and at South Korean National Assembly. He has also spoken at the United Nations Human Rights Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, University of Toronto, and at Stockholm University where he was a Guest Scholar. Mr. Zhang’s publications in the U.S., Sweden, Italy, Belgium, and Australia have covered topics such as Sino-EU relations, cyber security and Internet freedom and human rights in China. Mr. Zhang is a graduate of Beijing International Studies University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard where he was an Edward Mason Fellow.

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Larry Liu, Ph.D.
Deputy Director of Government and Advocacy

Based in Washington D.C., Dr. Liu has worked on outreach and advocacy efforts related to Falun Gong for over two decades. He has spoken at forums and press conferences in Washington, D.C., and has served as a liaison to U.S. Congressional offices. His comments have been published in the Washington Post, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the Boston Globe, and elsewhere. Dr. Liu holds a Ph.D. in statistics from the Washington University in St. Louis, and a B.S. in applied mathematics from Tsinghua University in Beijing. He taught at American University for five years and is now a senior statistician in Rockville, MD, alongside his volunteer work for the Falun Dafa Information Center. He was born in Liaoning Province in China and came to the United States in 1995.

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James Yu, Ph.D.
Senior Director

James is a human rights researcher, advocate, and columnist with a strong academic background and extensive field experience. Born in China and earning his Ph.D. in the United States, he has firsthand experience with the persecution of Falun Gong. Alongside his doctoral and postdoctoral studies, James devoted his time to documenting and researching human rights issues in China, contributing opinion columns and media reports that raised public awareness. In 2019, he actively advocated for a family rescue case on Capitol Hill. Before joining FDI, James served as a chair and faculty member at a private college in the United States.

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Cynthia Sun
Senior Researcher

Cynthia Sun is a Class of ’28 MSFS candidate at Georgetown University. Cynthia Sun specializes in persecution documentation, transnational repression, and public policy. Her research on Chinese influence at American universities has been featured by the Hudson Institute and Radio Free Asia. Cynthia has presented at the Council on Foreign Relations, Harvard University, and the U.S. Congress. Her latest testimony on state-controlled religion in China was published by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in October 2025. Cynthia previously served as a Freedom of Religion or Belief Fellow at the First Freedom Foundation. Her prior background also includes roles as a Research Affiliate at Innovations for Peace and Development and the Edward A. Clark Center for Australian & New Zealand Studies.

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Mark Yang
Researcher, Advocacy Officer

Based in Washington D.C., Mark Yang supports the Center’s outreach through advocacy and research. He has represented the organization at forums and press conferences on Capitol Hill. Mark holds an M.A. in Global Commerce and Policy and a B.A. in Economics from George Mason University. Passionate about human rights, he previously volunteered at various China-focused human rights events and grassroots initiatives for 14 years before joining the Center. Additionally, he serves as a China Analyst for a New York-based consultancy.

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Ben Maloney
Director of Digital Outreach

Ben Maloney is a digital marketing and software veteran with over a decade of experience in those industries. He brings expertise to help online advocacy efforts and co-hosts Falun Dafa Information Center’s podcast, The Falun Gong Bulletin. He has been a volunteer for the center since 2015 in his role as Director of Digital Outreach. Ben lives in New York with his wife and son.

Nick Haley
Researcher

Nicholas Haley is a researcher and communications officer at the Falun Dafa Information Center. Nicholas studied Biomedical Science at the University of Cincinnati, and completed his degree in 2022. Before joining the Falun Dafa Information Center, he volunteered as a writer for the Center. He now works on managing the social media channels, writing for the website, contributing to research on the persecution in China, and acting as a contact for our organization. Nicholas is also a four-time attendee and youth delegate at the International Religious Freedom Summit.

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Alex Zhang
Researcher

Alex holds a Master of Public Administration from the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany. Prior to joining the Falun Dafa Information Center, Alex worked as an analyst at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, and also served as a civilian employee at several federal and state agencies. Fluent in Chinese, Alex is skilled in research, policy analysis, and understanding federal regulations and public sentiment.

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Rachael Yu
Communications Officer

Rachael produces social media content to enhance outreach and awareness for the Center. She has a degree in architectural and graphic design from the University of Toronto, in addition to a summer intensive from the Institute of Classical Art and Architecture. Previously, Rachael worked in magazine production and content production related to human rights in China.

Connect with Rachael:

Scott Chinn
Director of Community Affairs

Scott is a software engineer by trade and human rights activist at heart. He combines these two skills to provide platforms and innovations for raising awareness, and connecting communities. For more than 20 years, Scott has organized groups in the New York City area to learn more about Falun Gong, and help inform the community about the atrocities in China. He has also traveled extensively, from Washington DC to Beijing to Geneva and South Africa, attending human rights conferences and events. Scott lives and works in New York.

Jan Lokos
Designer, Producer

Jan has 25 years experience designing publications, multimedia, advertising, and websites in both the commercial and NGO sectors. Raised in the Czech Republic, Jan has organized human rights events across Europe, including London, Geneva, Vienna, Prague, Budapest and more. He is also credited with writing and producing several documentaries and short films about human rights in China.