Yan was born in China, raised in Taiwan. As a result of her scholastic excellence, she was granted a full scholarship for Master’s Degree at the Status University of New York. After graduation she joined the Ralph M. Parsons Company, an international engineering and construction company, where she worked for twelve years, achieving the level of Principle Planner/Scheduler/Cost Engineer. For the past 22 years she has operated her own successful real estate firm, Boulder Investment and Realty Company. She recently received her Juris Doctor Degree and was trained and certified in Mediation by the Loyola Law School, Center for Conflict Resolution.