Staff

Staff Biographies

Jonathan Stivers, Staff Director

Jonathan Stivers was appointed by Chairman Jim McGovern as Staff Director of the CECC in March 2019. In the Obama Administration, Jon served as the Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Asia at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). In this Senate-confirmed position he managed a budget of approximately $1.2 billion in foreign assistance and led a staff of approximately 1,200 development professionals in 32 countries in East Asia and the Pacific Islands, South Asia and Central Asia. He has testified before Congressional committees on almost two dozen occasions on topics related to the Asia-Pacific Rebalance, annual budget requests, China’s Belt & Road Initiative, and democracy and human rights in Southeast Asia. Prior to the Executive Branch, Jon served as Senior Advisor to Speaker Nancy Pelosi for 15 years where he focused on foreign policy, trade, global health, development and human rights. Jon has also served as a Commissioner at the U.S.-China Economic & Security Review Commission, Vice President for International Affairs at the Sheridan Group and in the Office of the Democratic Whip for Rep. David Bonior (D-MI). Jon earned a Masters of International Policy and Practice from The Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University in Asian Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts from James Madison College at Michigan State University in International Relations.

Peter Mattis, Deputy Staff Director

Peter Mattis was appointed by CoChair Marco Rubio as Deputy Staff Director of the CECC in June 2019. Peter joined the Commission from the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, where he was a Research Fellow in China Studies. He previously worked at The Jamestown Foundation as a fellow and editor of China Brief. Peter also worked as an analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency for four years after beginning his career as a research associate at The National Bureau of Asian Research. He received his M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service and earned B.A.s in Political Science and Asian Studies from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Judy Wright, Director of Administration, Budget, and Contracts

Judith F. Wright joined the CECC staff in February 2002, after five years working as an executive assistant on Capitol Hill. From 1997 through 2001, she was responsible for managing and coordinating appointments, staff assignments and travel schedules for Congresswoman Marge Roukema (R-NJ). Her duties also included managing official functions, planning meetings with visiting New Jersey delegations, and overseeing correspondence between Ms. Roukema and other government officials. Prior to that, she oversaw scheduling and staff assignments, and tracked activity on the House floor for Congresswoman Karen McCarthy (D-MO). Ms. Wright also served on the Legislative Resource Center Staff for the House of Representatives Office of the Clerk. While there, she assisted the Director with speech writing, edited and proofread official correspondence, and reviewed campaign financial reports and lobbying reports. She also researched and updated the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, the Bibliography of the U.S. Congress, and the Guide to Research Collections. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland-College Park.

Scott Flipse, Director of Policy & Media Relations

Scott Flipse came to the CECC from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom where he was Deputy Director for Policy. He also managed the Commission’s East Asia programs where he developed training and network capacity for human rights lawyers in China; built early warning defense systems, through social media, to monitor societal violence in Burma; assisted efforts to repeal ‘blasphemy laws’ in Indonesia by creating regional advocacy networks and media campaigns; and drafted two studies on conditions faced by North Korean refugees in China. His previous experience includes associate director and adjunct professor for the University of Notre Dame’s Washington Semester and legislative assistant for Representative Frank Wolf, with a portfolio that focused on defense, human rights, and foreign operations appropriations. Flipse holds a Ph.D. in Diplomatic History, from the University of Notre Dame, specializing in U.S. foreign policy in Asia.

Amy Reger, Research Associate

Amy Reger joined the CECC staff in July 2012. She previously worked as a researcher at the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP). Ms. Reger has worked in the human rights and journalism fields, with a focus on China, for more than a decade. She is an alumnus of the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies, and traveled extensively throughout China and Asia during studies in Nanjing, Beijing and Taiwan. She speaks and reads Mandarin Chinese.

Jen Salen, Senior Research Associate

Jen Salen joined the CECC staff in July 2012. Before joining the Commission, she managed China technical assistance programs in the areas of public interest law, civil society legal advocacy, and women’s rights for the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative and in rural women’s political participation and civil society capacity building for the International Republican Institute. Earlier in her career, Ms. Salen was involved in educational initiatives to expand Chinese language education and East Asian studies at U.S. elementary and high schools. She received a bachelor’s degree in history from Bryn Mawr College and a master’s degree in East Asian Studies from Harvard University.

Megan Fluker, Research Associate and Manager of Annual Report Production

Megan Fluker joined the CECC staff in January 2016. She was previously Deputy Director of the Laogai Research Foundation, where she researched human rights abuses in China's prisons and detention centers. Ms. Fluker earned a B.A. in International Relations from Tufts University and a M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, with concentrations in China Studies and International Economics. She also completed a Master's Certificate at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center for Chinese and American Studies. In addition to Nanjing, she has lived in Beijing, Chengdu, and Taiwan. Ms. Fluker is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Luke Adams, Research Associate

Luke Adams joined the CECC Staff in September 2018.  He previously served as research assistant for the Religious Freedom Institute's South and Southeast Asian Action Team where he researched religious freedom issues in the region and contributed to reporting on Burma's Rohingya crisis. Before coming to D.C., Luke spent several years teaching in China's Hebei province. Luke holds a Master of Arts in Asian Studies from Georgetown University and a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese and French from Calvin College. He speaks and reads Mandarin Chinese.