Chinese Language School of Connecticut Elects New Board

Photo caption: Newly elected and outgoing Board members celebrate at a recent luncheon in Greenwich. Pictured, left to right, are top: James Lee, Greenwich, CT, Darwei Kung, Harrison, NY, Joab Tjiungwanara, Stamford CT, Jeffay Chang, Pelham, NY, Thomas Myers, Redding, CT; bottom: Mei Nishiwaki, Scarsdale, Dr. Sue Chang, Orange, Susan Serven, New Canaan, Cynthia Chang Scanlan, Greenwich, CT

The Chinese Language School of Connecticut Elects New Board of Directors

-- Local professionals to help expand school’s success in bringing Chinese to students --

“CLSC is entering its 9th year with a very dynamic, very dedicated Board of Directors, and we are excited to be a part of the school's continued growth,” noted CLSC Co-Chairs, Greenwich resident Cynthia Chang Scanlan, and Stamford resident Joab Tijungwanara.

Riverside, CT, June 1, 2010 – The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org), the fully-accredited, non-profit, Riverside, CT-based provider of Chinese language programs to students, schools and corporations, has elected their new Board of Directors for the upcoming year.

New members of the CLSC Board is Pelham, NY resident, Jeffay Chang, and Harrison, NY resident, Darwei Kung.

Jeffay Chang explained, “I am excited to be part of a growing school and community of families that has developed a way to introduce children to Chinese interactively while providing the tools and resources for parents to support their child’s efforts.”

Darwei Kung explained, “My family speaks English at home. We would like our son to learn Chinese as a second language. My wife and I chose CLSC for the communicative style used for teaching Chinese, since this teaching style best reflects how language is taught in the U.S. educational system."

Greenwich, CT, resident Jim Lee and Scarsdale, NY resident, Mei Nishiwaki, are retiring from their roles as Directors. Jim has been involved with CLSC since its inception, in 2002, and has been a Director since May, 2006. Mei has been a Director since 2009. Both have made tremendous contributions to the growth of the school.
Mei Nishiwaki, although retiring from the CLSC Board of Directors, has generously agreed to serve on the school’s Advisory Committee. She noted, “CLSC’s program is perfect for my family. We are of Asian descent but do not speak Mandarin at home. Through the program's extensive use of technology and pace of delivery, my daughters are able to learn Mandarin in a supportive, engaging and enjoyable way.”
Jim Lee noted, “Looking back on my association with CLSC, I have fond memories of my children, starting at ages 7 and 11, learning Mandarin. The foundation was so good they are still taking classes at Greenwich High School and the University of Michigan. Service on the board was especially rewarding. I had the opportunity to shape curriculum, guide CLSC, and help in fund raising. I will miss my colleagues and friends at CLSC and I am grateful for the opportunity to have been asked to serve.”

CLSC Board of Directors for 2010 / 2011 include:

Cynthia Chang, Greenwich, CT (co-Chair)

Cynthia was born in Taipei, Taiwan and moved to New York City at the age of six, learning English after Taiwanese and Mandarin Chinese. She graduated from the Bronx High School of Science and received a B.A. at the University of Pennsylvania. She worked in real estate and banking in New York City. Her husband, Brian Scanlan, founded a software company, and Cynthia joined the company soon after to manage administrative operations and facilities. The company had an initial public offering in 2000 at which time, Cynthia left to concentrate on family and community service in Greenwich, having moved there in 1997. She has been a board member at the YMCA of Greenwich since 2001, serving as the annual campaign chairman, Facilities Committee chair, and currently as Secretary of the Board. She also served as the First Selectman’s representative on the Board of Trustees of the Greenwich Library. Cynthia is also active with her alma mater, chairing the University of Pennsylvania’s Secondary School committee in Greenwich. Cynthia lives in Greenwich with her husband and two children, Kevin, 17, who attends the Brunswick School and Paula, 10, who attends Greenwich Country Day School.

Joab Tjiungwanara, Stamford, CT (co-Chair)

Joab is a Risk Manager with General Electric and has worked extensively in the credit and market risk area at GE Corporate Treasury. He is a graduate of University of Bremen, Germany (Electrical Engineering) and University of Rochester (MBA in Finance). Joab is an overseas Chinese who was born in Indonesia, went to Germany after high school and came to the US for graduate school. He speaks fluent Mandarin, German, English and is conversant in Indonesian.

Dr. Sue Chang, Orange, CT (Secretary)

Sue is a graduate of the University of Michigan where she received her B.S., followed by her M.D. degree at Michigan State University. She completed her residency training in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Nephrology at Yale University where she served as a research fellow in the genetics of hypertension. She is in private practice with Metabolism Associates of New Haven, CT.

Jeffay F. Chang, (Director) Pelham, NY

Jeffay serves as the East Coast Trust Strategist for the Goldman Sachs Trust Companies. He was named Executive Vice President with responsibility over national marketing and sales in 2008. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs in May 2004, Jeffay was a Corporate Vice President in the Private Wealth Services Group of UBS Financial Services where he provided counseling and planning services for ultra high net worth clients in such areas as wealth transfer and philanthropic planning, stock option exercise planning, and hedging and monetizing concentrated equity positions. Prior to UBS Financial Services, Jeffay was a Financial Planner in the Financial Planning Group of US Trust and before that was a Trust Officer in the Trust Settlement Department of US Trust. Jeffay obtained his B.A. from Brandeis University and J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. He is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, New York State Bar Association, New York Bankers Association, Estate Planning Council of New York City and the Westchester Estate Planning Council.

Darwei Kung, (Director) Harrison, NY

Susan Serven, (Director; CLSC President) New Canaan, CT
Susan has been with CLSC since the school’s founding in May 2002. Susan is a graduate of Pace University (BBA, Marketing) and is pursuing her MBA in Finance and International Business (Fairfield University). She has held positions in global marketing at Lever Bros. Co., and Save the Children Federation, and as Special Events Director for the American Cancer Society.
Susan founded the Chopstix preschool Mandarin program in 1998 so her daughters and other children could learn Chinese; Chopstix proceeds were donated to help fund various non-profit groups working with Chinese orphanage programs. She continued running Chopstix until it joined CLSC in 2003. Susan and her husband Lawrence adopted their daughters Emily in Kunming, Yunnan Province, China in August 1996, and Becky in Gao Ming City, Guangdong Province, in October, 2000. They live in New Canaan, CT

Thomas K. Myers, Jr., (Director), Redding, CT

Tom is the Director of Sales and Marketing for FocusVision Worldwide based in Stamford, CT. A graduate of Bucknell University with a B.A. in Political Science, Tom spent his early career in account service with New York based advertising agencies. During this time he met his Taiwan born wife Katy. Since then Tom has held sales and marketing positions for several international companies. Tom’s interest in Chinese language increased quickly with the birth of his daughter, Emily. “I have always believed a second language to be a useful tool. But a second language with ties to one’s heritage is a gift that should not be missed. My goal is to help CLSC continue its efforts to make learning Chinese as enjoyable and satisfying as possible”.

For information on CLSC’s weekend or weekday language classes, summer programs, private tutoring, corporate services, or any of their other programs, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or email them at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org.