Cindy Xianqian Huang
Founder and CEO
Cindy is also known as Huang lao shi (“Teacher Huang”) to students. Cindy has been working with children since 2014 in various capacities and settings including in Romania, Malaysia, Morocco, China, and the United States. After getting a Master’s Degree in International Education Development from the University of Pennsylvania, she came to Whittle School & Studios and helped build their Chinese immersion curriculum. After that, Cindy became a kindergarten teacher at National Presbyterian School where she dove deeper into early childhood education and philosophy to teach literacy, math, and science. Her favorite way to teach Chinese is to combine what students learn and talk about at school, such as art, science, physical education, and even Orton Gillingham’s Multisensory approach, with immersion language learning. Students find it fun and easy to learn about similar content without realizing that they are speaking a completely different language – Mandarin Chinese!
This belief became stronger and stronger until one day Cindy decided to leave her teaching job and start Chia Chinese Learning Program. Besides education, Cindy also loves cooking, hiking, gardening, going to museums, and farmers’ markets.
Chunyuan Zou
Co-Founder and Director of Learning
Chunyuan Zou, known to students as Chunyuan lao shi (“Teacher Chunyuan”), is the Co-Founder and Director of Learning at Chia Chinese. With over 12 years of full-time experience teaching Chinese across various age groups in Thailand, China, and the United States, Chunyuan has developed a deep expertise in effective language teaching methodologies, particularly through seven years of immersion program experience.
Chunyuan holds a bachelor’s degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from China and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Maryland, USA. She is currently pursuing a second master’s degree in Positive Psychology and Happiness Studies, a field that fascinates her, especially in relation to student well-being. She strongly believes that children need to learn not only academic knowledge but also essential life skills such as finding purpose, maintaining physical well-being, growing from challenges, nurturing relationships, and managing emotions.
Chunyuan is passionate about integrating these principles into the curriculum at Chia Chinese to ensure that students thrive both academically and personally. She is also the Vice President of The Chinese Language Teachers Association – National Capital Region (CLTA-NCR) and has been a lead presenter at prominent conferences such as the IB Global Conference and the National Chinese Language Conference. Chunyuan’s teaching philosophy is guided by her favorite quotes: “Children learn best when they are happy” by Nel Noddings, and “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all” by Aristotle. She looks forward to creating a nurturing and enriching learning environment for your children.
Our Teachers
Zhao Laoshi
Wei Laoshi
Jin Laoshi
Demi Laoshi
Halina Ya Laoshi
Our Board
Jessica Boger
Advisor
Jessica Boger is an attorney who formerly practiced in the area of government contracts and worked as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center. She serves on the boards of several local organizations and loves engaging in her community. Her current primary occupation is raising her two daughters, ages 7 and 13. Jessica believes that we are living in a global community and exposing children to foreign language and culture is a significant boon to both their skills and their perspectives. She passionately believes in celebrating the whole child and supporting each child with the learning style that is effective for the individual.
Beth Lester
Advisor
Beth Sidhu is the Chief Brand and Communications Officer for Stagwell Inc, a top 10 global marketing services network. In her professional life, she works with marketers in more than 20 countries, providing global perspective on new ways to move brands forward. Beth believes that learning Chinese – or any new language – will help provide her most darling children with important perspective and encourage them to grow into global citizens.
Join Our Team
Chia Chinese Learning is a global platform bridging East and West, connecting families and teachers with a Chinese language acquisition program that fosters multicultural understanding.
We invite talented, qualified, and like-minded teachers to join our community!
Get in Touch
We’re here to discuss your child’s Chinese learning journey.
