TAO HONG 陶红, Director, Hangzhou. 

JESSICA COLWELL 柯思捷, Assistant Director.

Jessica first moved to China in 2009 after graduating with her BA in History and Sociology from the University of Washington. In Shanghai she worked as an editor at Shanghaiist.com, where she was allowed to cultivate her love of all things media and the Chinese internet. She returned to Seattle to get her MA in China Studies, after which she received a Blakemore Freeman fellowship to study intensive Chinese in Taiwan. She now returns to the mainland excited to cultivate future China enthusiasts and xiaolongbao lovers. A Pacific Northwest native, Jessica has a very confused relationship with the sun, enjoys both kinds of football, and drinks her coffee black.

CHEN MIN 陈敏，Program Assistant.

A native of Hangzhou, Chen Min graduated from Shanghai Normal University and began working as the academic program assistant for the Middlebury School in Hangzhou in 2009. She designs course schedules, prepares academic materials for students, records grades, and assists with various other administrative and accounting tasks.  Chen Min enjoys cooking, singing, and practicing yoga in her spare time.

LIAN KUISHENG 练奎胜, Lecturer.

In 2008, Lian Kuisheng received his MA in Chinese Literature from Hangzhou Normal University, and he has been teaching at the Middlebury in China: Hangzhou program ever since. He teaches the Debate & Discussion and Chinese Newspaper Reading classes, among others. He teaches one-on-one courses relating to Chinese history, ethnic minorities, Chinese politics and diplomacy, and the Chinese economy. In 2010, Lian Laoshi began traveling to Vermont every summer to teach at Middlebury University’s Intensive Chinese Summer Program. He also worked as a visiting lecturer at Middlebury University in 2012. In 2015, he coauthored the Chinese textbook China in Depth, published by Beijing University Press.

SHI YUECAO 施越草, Lecturer.

Shi Yuecao graduated from Hangzhou Dianzi University with a degree in Publishing and Editing. She worked at the Ningbo Publishing House until February 2011, then moved to Hangzhou and began teaching one-on-one courses for the Middlebury School in China: Hangzhou program. In 2012 she returned to Ningbo to work in international communications at the Ningbo Cultural Plaza Investment & Development, where she helped organize international events such as the Fete de la Musique and the Ningo International Film Festival. In spring of 2016 she returned to the Middlebury School in China: Hangzhou program, and now teaches one-on-one classes in Chinese medicine, Chinese tea, and other cultural topics.

Yang Xiaona received her Master’s degree in Chinese Literature from Henan University in 2008. From 2008 to 2009, she taught at CET Beijing. She then moved to Vermont and taught in the Chinese department at Middlebury University from 2009 to 2012, also participating in the Intensive Summer Chinese Program in 2012. In the fall of 2012, Yang Xiaona returned to China to teach at the Middlebury School in China: Hangzhou program. She teaches Everyday Chinese, as well as one-on-one courses in Chinese business, Chinese education, and Classical Chinese.

ZHANG XUEZHEN 章学珍, Lecturer.

Zhan Xuezhen graduated from Hangzhou Normal University in 2008 with a Master’s in Contemporary Chinese Literature. She has been a teacher at the Middlebury School in China: Hangzhou program since 2006, specializing in spoken Chinese, Chinese literature, Chinese film, and Chinese history. From 2007 to 2010 she also worked as a Chinese instructor in CET summer programs, and assisted with the Princeton in Beijing program in June of 2011.