People

Mei Hua Chinese School

Leadership & Board Members

Dan Sanford

Board of Directors

Dan Sanford has lived in Whatcom County for the last 23 years and is past owner, with his wife Barbara, of Launching Success Learning Store, a children’s educational materials store. At the same time he was visiting professor of International Studies at Trinity Western University, and active with Cordata Presbyterian Church, and the Kiwanis Club of Lynden. He has been a financial coach, and served as president of the board of Bellingham Love INC. Additionally, he was on the advisory board for the School of Business at Whitworth University.

Dan acquired his PhD in International Studies, University of Denver, with an emphasis on 20th century political economy of China and East Asia. He studied Mandarin and Chinese politics. He was a visiting scholar at the Stanford Center in Taipei, the China Studies Center at UC Berkeley, and Soong Sil University in Seoul. He was a Fulbright Scholar serving the United States Consulate in South and Korea, and teaching at Kiemyung University there. At Whitworth University, besides teaching courses on China and trade politics, he was President of the Faculty, Associate Academic Dean for Faculty Development and Accreditation, and Director of the Graduate School in International Management. He has also served as Director of Academics for Trinity University branch program in Bellingham.

Dan twice served as a Scholar in Residence at the US State Department, China Desk in Washington D.C., and was a board member of the Spokane Area Foreign Language Consortium, the Spokane World Trade Council, the Spokane Inter-collegiate Research and Technology Institute, and the Mayors Forum for Economic Development. He enjoyed participating in the Spokane Jilin, China, Sister City program where, as president, he traveled frequently to the Manchuria area of the PRC.

Before embarking on his professor career, Dan worked in the Tacoma Public Schools as a children’s interpreter for new immigrant Mandarin speakers.

Tony Huang

Dan Sanford

Board of Directors

Tony Huang retired from the Clorox Company after 27 years of service. At Clorox, he held positions in financial analysis, financial forecasting, financial accounting and cost accounting. Before his career at Clorox, Tony managed operations for Procter & Gamble at its Sacramento plant.

Tony is a graduate of Sehome High School, and received his BS in Chemical Engineering from University of Washington and earned an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Tony currently volunteers at the hospital, and has also volunteered at the SPCA and local food bank. When not volunteering, Tony can be seen walking the local trails around the neighborhood with his wife and cruising the oceans.

Amy Sheng

Dan Sanford

Elaine White

Principal

Board Member

Amy is originally from Shanghai, China and now calls Bellingham home. She joined Mei Hua in 2019. Amy has a business management and finance background. She lived in China until 2000 and has lived in North America since 2001.

Amy loves promoting Chinese culture and language and has established a variety of sponsorships and grants for the school. She has a son who attends Mei Hua.

Elaine White

Carolina Santos

Elaine White

Vice Principal & Secretary

Board Member

Elaine is originally from Vancouver, British Columbia. She joined Mei Hua in September 2022. Elaine has a medical genetics background and lived and volunteered in China for 2 years.

Elaine enjoys community volunteer work and currently has two children who attend the school.

Sandra Chu

Carolina Santos

Treasurer

Board Member

Introduction coming soon...

Carolina Santos

Social Media Coordinator

I am originally from Bogota, Colombia. My daughter and I joined Mei Hua school in 2018. I am a graphic designer and I worked designing and updating digital newspapers in Venezuela. Today I teach art and Spanish at Assumption Catholic School in Bellingham. I moved to the United States in 2009.

My passion for languages and cultures brought me to this beautiful school where we have created beautiful memories and friendships. I enjoy supporting Mei Hua's teachers and their students in different ways. My favorite word in Chinese is 毛虫 (máochóng, caterpillar).

Teachers

Celina Wang - Sun Class 太阳班

My name is Celina, and you may call me Ms. 王 (Wang). I am a wife and a mother of two boys. I work at Growing Oaks Preschool in Ferndale. My favorite color is white and I enjoy running. I love cooking healthy meals for my family and baking with my kids. I am patient, passionate, hard-working, and adventurous, and I am excited about the new experiences and learning opportunities with MeiHua Chinese School.

Shu Zhang - Moon Class 月亮班

Celina Wang - Sun Class 太阳班

Originally from Chengdu, Sichuan, Shu has been teaching Chinese at the Mei Hua Chinese School since 2016. She graduated from ChongAng University in South Korea with a Master of Fine Arts. Majoring in computer animation, Shu loves the art of children’s storytelling and character design. Shu has also had one year of part-time experience teaching Chinese as a second language to adults living in Korea. Shu is dedicated to exploring and deepening her own heritage and Asian culture by regularly practicing a variety of Chinese martial arts, studying Chinese classical literature and actively engaging in any opportunities that engage her Chinese and Korean language skills. Shu is also currently studying positive psychology from Happiness Studies Academy.

Lei Wang - Star Class 星星班 / Adult

Originally from Henan in Zhengzhou province, Lei has been teaching at Mei Hua since 2015. Before joining Mei Hua, Lei spent 7 years studying traditional Chinese culture as well as the history and formation of Chinese characters. In her classes, Lei loves to teach the history as well as the stories behind each character her students learn.

Lei is a proud mother of an elementary aged son. She lives in Bellingham with her family.

Lily Li - Substitute

Lei Wang - Star Class 星星班 / Adult

Lily Li previously taught the Sun Class for 4 years. She now serves as a substitute teacher for the school.

Originally from Xiamen, Fujian, Lily has enjoyed teaching Mandarin and English to various age groups. She has volunteered part-time teaching English with NGOs for many years. Lily has also taught and tutored Mandarin full-time at a charter school in AZ. She loves teaching children. To her, young minds inspire her because they view the world so differently than adults do.

In addition to being fluent in English, Mandarin and Cantonese, Lily is a talented musician, singer, and dancer. She has performed on numerous occasions playing a variety of Chinese music instruments, singing with local choirs and performing Chinese cultural dances. In AZ, she organized and hosted annual events and festivals for the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars.

Lily graduated from Beijing University, holding a Master's Degree of International Relations. Prior to moving to the United States, she had held roles in television and newspaper industries in China. Lily is retired and happily lives with her husband in Bellingham. She practices Swimming Dragon Tai chi daily. She truly enjoys sharing her passion for Chinese culture through teaching the language, music and dancing. She loves to interact and share different ideas and talents with her students and have fun with them!