Our China Staff

Weihang Chen
China Program Director
weihang@comcast.net

In China, Weihang was a physicist, a philosopher, and a scholar of Chinese classics. He suffered and recovered from 23 years of political persecution under Mao's regime. After his education was interrupted by the difficult years of the Cultural Revolution, he finished university and went on to become a professor of philosophy. In 1991, while teaching at Wuhan University, Weihang helped an American professor to adopt a little baby girl from China. This was one of the earliest international adoptions from China. Through his early contact with government officials in China, Weihang became a resource for individuals and agencies adopting in China, and for the Chinese government as it established guidelines for international adoption.

Weihang and his wife, Xiaozeng Wu, had the opportunity to come to America in 1991, when Weihang received an offer to teach at the University of Missouri at Kansas City and then at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. From the time they arrived in the U.S., Weihang and Xiaozeng began working as volunteers to develop Sino-American adoptions with China and to assist a number of American adoption agencies in navigating the ever-changing process of international adoption.

In 1996, Weihang accepted a full-time position as adoption coordinator for the Alliance For Children, and at the same time, he voluntarily began helping the FCC (Families with Children from China), as well as individual families who needed assistance with special needs adoptions. Weihang and his wife (working as a volunteer) are tireless advocates for Chinese orphans, and through the Alliance for Children Foundation, they have founded over 60 programs to aid those orphans who may never find homes.

Ruthie Rich
China Program Coordinator/
International Program Director
ruthie@allforchildren.org

Ruthie has been working with Alliance for Children for over 20 years. She currently serves as the China Program Coordinator, facilitating China adoptions for out of state families. Ruthie also manages the Russia and Colombia programs. Her broad experience and willingness to help has benefited families all over the country and the world. She is married and the mother of four children. Ruthie enjoys being part of the Alliance family and working to bring children and parents together to create forever families.