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For years, friends have been telling Dottie Tiejun Li to write a book about her successful journey from China to America. Married and an engaged mother of a five-year-old, and with her hectic career to manage, she said, “I really hope to carve out a time for it.”

Dottie does a lot of local and overseas travel as communications expert and business consultant. She’s co-founder and managing director of TransPacific Communications. In this capacity, she teaches media skills and courses on improving cross-cultural communications to corporate and government executives, association leaders, students, and other individuals. In addition, she is the Voice and Voice Coach of Rosetta Stone' Mandarin products and teaches people to speak the perfect Mandarin.

Dottie is also a communications consultant for American corporations and associations launching or expanding their business in China. Often late at night (daytime in China), she can be found on telephone calls to China.

Her current career may be based on her genes – her father and siblings are all media professionals – and built on her successful stints in high-pressure jobs. Working with the White House advance staff (1997 to 2001), she helped make President Bill Clinton’s domestic and overseas trips communicate the proper message. As a producer for C-SPAN (1991-1995), the national public affairs cable channels, she learned about national political and governmental issues and dealt with many Members of Congress, U.S. Senators, and other VIPs. She even had a long conversation with former President Richard Nixon during her tenure at C-SPAN. Of course, they discussed China.

She remembers that the former chief executive “was still very interested in China many years after his historic trip there.” She said despite his flaws, he deserved his place in history, adding “I was able to express my profound gratitude to the man who opened the door to China.”

“He was kind and very frail when we spoke,” she said. “A few short months later, he passed away and I was assigned to produce the live coverage of his funeral service. That was a surreal experience.”

Dealing with high-level officials is a skill Dottie has honed over the years. Remarked Vince Doran, former president of international corporation ResCare’s Employment, Training and Services Group: “I’ve known Dottie for over 10 years. She has always been a professional, perceptive and charming. She has acted as translator, host and representative for numerous ventures.”

He lauded her ability to negotiate with Chinese officials, adding: “I am particularly proud of the tour Dottie arranged for three members of ResCare’s Board of Directors to Beijing and Hefei. Our directors were hosted at the Great Hall of the People, had extraordinary visits to numerous business-related sites, strong media coverage and the ability to experience the cultural treasures of China…I also know she has worked with a number of organizations and companies here, as well as the Clinton White House. She is just an exceptional talent.”

In in-person and email interviews, Dottie reveals a whirlwind schedule and a fulfilling career–one rich with professional and historic experiences.

She treasures her interaction with the country’s famous leaders. But she also appreciates memorable testimonials from ordinary students, and the professionals she counsels. For example, a grateful foreign-born scientist wrote he has gained skills from “Dottie's training courses,” praising her for providing an “excellent” professional experience.

Dr. Nora Yeh, Chinese Language Table Program Coordinator at the Library of Congress, thanked Dottie for her lecture on “Effective Communications through Accent Reduction & Modification” last June. The Asian American audience appreciated “your powerful message on the importance of communication.”

“Our program is designed to provide people from other countries, particularly those of Asian Pacific background, the skills they need to succeed in American society – personally and professionally,” Dottie explained. “Some of the country’s top scientists, researchers and doctors are foreign-born, and many are taking on roles as executives, managers and technical professionals.”

Dottie’s experience as a journalist at Voice of America, and especially at C-SPAN, has made her an extraordinary communicator. “It has given me a tremendous opportunity to understand the American legislature process, American politics, as well as how to manage things under pressure, in a ‘live’ setting as a team. One thing you learn to do is to quickly grasp the essential elements of very complicated issues, and then communicate them in a way people will find understandable and useful. I am still using those skills today.”

Historic

Another reason she’s unflappable? Well, try being an advance team staffer representing the President of the United States in far-flung corners of the world. “One of the most  demanding was the trip of President Bill Clinton to Bangladesh in 2000,” she said. The president was scheduled to visit a remote, impoverished village, where Dottie and other members of the team labored to help the citizens prepare for the historic event. But the night before the event, sudden security concerns arose precluding the president from traveling to the village. Overnight she and others in the advance team had to dismantle what they had organized over many days and instead “bring the village to the President.” This meant transporting much of the village and all the materials which usually accompany a president (communications equipment, media paraphernalia, staging materials, etc.) to the American Embassy in Dhaka.  It also meant staying awake for 24 hours, turning a courtyard into a replica of the village.  But, said Dottie, it was all worth it when the president arrived and was able to enjoy emotionally moving visits with the village people.  

Despite the often exhausting and nerve-wracking schedule, she said of her experience, “It was very exciting to be such a close-up witness to history and to meet some of the world’s leaders,” said Dottie, a graduate of the University of Mobile in Alabama and a journalism major at Hefei University in China.

At C-SPAN, her projects included the 30-hour Vietnam profile, the 1992 presidential campaign, conventions and inauguration, the State of the Union coverage and others. She enjoyed meeting prominent people from all walks of life as they passed through the Capitol Hill studios, including Elaine Chao, the head of the Peace Corps at the time who later served as Secretary of Labor for President George W. Bush. “We had an instant rapport, perhaps because we are both Chinese immigrants,” Dottie said.

She also got to meet Ross Perot, the billionaire who ran for president in 1992, and others. “One day you’d look up from your desk, and you’d see the great filmmaker Martin Scorsese standing there, taking a look around the place. The next day, it might be Senator Ted Kennedy or Jesse Jackson or Vice President Quayle or later, Al Gore. And most important of all, I met my husband, Michael at C-SPAN.”

Q & A

How different are the challenges now with globalization, compared with when you started? What about competition? The basic challenges have not changed. However, there are both more opportunities and more competition. Because of globalization, people are realizing the need for cross-cultural communications much more so than when I started, which is a good thing for my business. There are other companies out there offering different kinds of programs. But they’re not really on the same level or in the same capacities as TransPacific Communications. Because I have such a varied background in communications, having also worked in media and the corporate world, I’m able to see to it that we’re involved in more than just the one or two components most firms can offer.

Please tell us about your family. My father is a noted retired journalist, editor, publisher, and poet in my native China. He is also an accomplished artist. My mother is a retired teacher who has a beautiful voice. I am the oldest of three. Both my siblings are also in journalism. My sister speaks six languages and has traveled the world as well. My brother is an award-winning journalist in China.  And my husband also works in journalism, both print and television.

What are your big projects this year? Many people have urged me to write a book on how a young journalist from China made her journey in the U.S. I’ve always put it on the back burner. But I know it’s really time to finally write that book, if I just carve out enough time. I’m also looking for more opportunities to build stronger ties between some of our China partners and U.S. entities, as well as making the cross-cultural communications training more accessible to federal agencies, academics and individuals.

What’s unique about your Communications program? The training program has been successful among professionals in academic, business, government and non-profit organization settings because it is tailored to the specific cultural needs of individuals. We can customize a program just for you. The program really helps them to increase their confidence level. As we improve their ability to communicate with their colleagues, and concentrate on reducing and modifying their accents, their opportunities for promotion and advancement improve.

Basics covered in TransPacific Communications cross-cultural training include accent modification for foreign-born speakers; conversational skills, including business etiquette; writing skills; management /leadership skills, and effective networking.

What is your company’s website? People can get basic information at www.TraPac.net. But this is not a web-based company. I want to make sure the services offered are tailored to the specific needs of the individuals or corporation or association. I made a conscious decision to try to keep this a business where I can remain hands-on.

Years ago, when we first founded TransPacific Communications, we had a broader mission and it required several people all the time. Then I gave up my personal day-to-day involvement for a few years, while I worked with some large organizations full-time. When I returned to the company, I decided to pare it down and concentrate on this core mission. Now I have a small and trusted group of people and companies with whom I have formed strategic partnerships. That means when a major project comes in requiring several different disciplines to accomplish, I can bring in the professionals with the most direct expertise possible. It seems to work pretty well this way.