The Chinese Language Core Team was established in 2006 to focus on language learning and teaching issues in support of the initiative to expand Chinese language capacity in Washington state. (Information is not necessarily up to date.)
Core Team Members
Co-Chairs
Adam Ross has taught Chinese language at both the pre-collegiate and university levels for more than 15 years, and is presently the Chinese instructor in the Upper School of Lakeside School in Seattle. Mr. Ross recently organized a workshop for Puget Sound area Chinese language teachers, and is a former board member of CLASS (Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools). He has a BA in Chinese from Middlebury College and an MA in Asian Languages and Literature from the University of Washington.
Chunman Gissing has experience in teaching Chinese as a foreign language ranging from middle school age to post college learners. She has experience in coordinating high school Chinese language programs and K-12 China Studies program. Ms. Gissing is currently charged with launching a Chinese program for 6th-12th graders at University Preparatory Academy in Seattle, Washington. She also serves as Mandarin examiner for the International Baccalaureate Organization. In addition, Ms Gissing is actively engaged in organizing and conducting Mandarin teacher training workshops and workshops on how to start a Mandarin program. She also facilitates writing projects on age and level appropriate literature in Chinese for children and young adult readers. Ms. Gissing has an MA and has done Ph.D. coursework in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington.
Team Members
Betty Lau is the ELD/ESL (English as a Second Language) Department Chair at Franklin High School in Seattle and Supervisor of the Chong Wa Benevolent Association Chinese language school programs. She is well-known for her work with Chinese heritage programs, advocacy for world languages, and coordination of summer language camps for young children. She received the 2005 World Educator Award from the World Affairs Council in Seattle.
Catherine Pease Barnhart is Coordinator of International Programming at Annie Wright School in Tacoma. She taught Chinese at Middlebury College for six years and later became an administrator at Western Washington University, working with the China Teaching Program, East Asian Studies, International Business, International Studies and Programs, Huxley College of the Environment, and the TESOL Program. She has taught ESL / EFL in the US, Korea, and Japan and has led study tours to China and southeast Asia. In the past few years she has renewed a longstanding interest in K-12 education and came to Annie Wright in 2006 after teaching for two years at Spring Street International School in Friday Harbor. She has a BA in Chinese language from the University of Washington and holds an MA and PhD in Chinese literature from Stanford University.
Christopher Lupke is Associate Professor of Chinese language and culture at Washington State University where he coordinates the Asian language programs. He has been a teacher of Chinese language, literature and culture for twenty years. His research focus is modern Chinese culture and his publications include an edited volume on the notion of "fate" (ming) in Chinese culture and guest edited special theme issues of journals such as <Asian Cinema>. He graduated with a B.A. from Grinnell College, received his M.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and holds a Ph.D. in Chinese literature and culture from Cornell University.
Lo Sun 'Lotus' Perry is a long-time instructor at the University of Puget Sound, which established its Chinese language program in 1986. An advocate for the use of instructional technology, Lotus integrates computer-assisted materials into her course design and daily teaching. She develops online resources in Chinese language and culture, and is the co-author of Taiwan Today (Cheng & Tsui Co.) http://www.ups.edu/faculty/perry/taiwantoday/home.htm. She has a B. A. in Western Languages and Literature, an M. A. in Comparative Literature. Her website is www.ups.edu/faculty/perry. As the faculty liaison for the University of Puget Sound Tunghai Program, Lotus promotes student learning through study abroad experiences and takes students to Taichung, Taiwan every summer for language and culture immersion courses www.ups.edu/faculty/perry/studyabroad/tunghai/home.htm. Lotus is the key administrator for the WA Chinese Language Teachers Network (CLTN), a member on the City of Tacoma Taichung Sister City Committee, and serves on the Board of the Chinese Reconciliation Project Foundation (CRPF) and as the CRPF webmaster www.crpftacoma.org.
Michael Rawding, Vice President, Special Projects, Corporate
Affairs, Microsoft Corporation
Michael Rawding is a 13 year veteran of Microsoft. He currently leads
cross company initiatives on Disaster Response and Environmental
Sustainability. From 1998 to 2005, Rawding was posted to Asia where he
held the positions of President, Microsoft Greater China, President,
Microsoft Japan and President Microsoft Asia. While in Asia he served on
the US – Japan Business Council and the US – China Business Council. He
currently serves on the boards of
Business for Diplomatic Action, a private-sector initiative aimed at
addressing the decline in America's standing in the world, and
Town
Hall Seattle, which showcases music, arts and humanities, civic
discourse, and world culture in Seattle. Rawding has a bachelor’s degree
in Political Science and German from Middlebury College in Middlebury,
Vt.
Meitsu Chuang-Mendel has been teaching Mandarin Chinese for 25 years. Currently a Mandarin Chinese examiner for the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), she has taught at the Taipei Language Institute in Taiwan and Beijing, at the Washington Academy of Languages in Seattle, and the International School of Beijing. Meitsu holds a M.A. in Curriculum & Instruction, and has been active in developing curriculum for students at all ability levels and all age levels. She has also been a frequent instructor at teacher training courses for Mandarin Chinese teachers. She is a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese and is fluent in English.
Michele Anciaux Aoki is World Languages Program Supervisor at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Prior to taking this position, she consulted with schools on language learning and assessment and businesses and non-profits on project management and effective communications. For over 15 years she has been actively involved in local, state, and national education reform efforts. Since 2002, she has been part of a national effort to promote international education in the schools, and in 2003, she co-founded the Washington State Coalition for International Education http://internationaledwa.org to help Washington achieve the goal of preparing all students for today's interconnected world. She is state organizer for Washington's Capitol Forum on America's Future, a nationally recognized program from Brown University that provides an opportunity for high school students to deliberate on the U.S. role in the world. Michele has a B.A. in Teaching English as a Foreign Language and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Slavic Linguistics, all from the University of Washington.
Ming Feng has a combined experience of teaching EFL/ESL and Chinese for more than 20 years. He has coordinated several language programs at the secondary and post-secondary levels including the English program in the first U.S.-China government sponsored MBA Program in China, and the Chinese programs at Nichols School and SUNY at Buffalo in the U.S. He is Associate Professor of Chinese at Seattle University where he teaches, responsible for establishing the new Chinese program and administers the Chinese Proficiency Test (HSK). He received his B.A. in English Linguistics and Literature from Shanghai International Studies University, M.A. and Ph.D. in Second and Foreign Language Acquisition from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His research interest is in metaphorical thinking across languages and cultures and the integration of technology in language instruction.
Sharon Gao is the Director of the Asia Pacific Language School. Asia Pacific Language School provides language/cultural lessons and hosts bilingual/multicultural educational programs to families and children in King County, Washington since April 1995. Our programs include: (1) Bilingual preschool in Chinese or Japanese; (2) Before/after-school language classes; (3) Summer language & cultural camp in Bellevue and in Beijing, China; and (4) Tutoring for adults and children who want to learn a second language. See: http://www.apls.org/.
Tiffany Lin founded the Legacy Multicultural and Educational Service Center in 2003, which provides instruction to those who want to explore Chinese language and culture. Over the past 15 years, Ms. Lin has served in various capacities in bilingual education programs: as principal, president of the PTA and director of the school music program. Currently, Ms. Lin is also president of the Northwestern Association of Chinese Language Schools (NWACLS) which represents 35 member schools in Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, and helps coordinate numerous events involving Chinese culture, including teacher conferences, singing contests, scholastic competitions, summer camps, food bazaars and youth leadership camps. NWACLS website is www.ChineseSchoolsNW.org.