Destination: Beijing A unique, modern view of an ancient city

Looking to visit Beijing? Be sure to check out this video collection of interesting places to visit, first.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30217776/#37722359

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.

Chinese Language School of Connecticut Registration Opens for Fall 2010

Press Release

For immediate release


FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Susan Serven, Chinese Language School of Connecticut
203/918.8085
susan.serven@chineselanguageschool.org
please visit our web site: www.chineselanguageschool.org

photo caption: principal Daisy Chen Laone with students from the Chinese Language School of Connecticut

Chinese Language School of Connecticut Opens Registration for Fall 2010

-- Chinese Dance and Chinese Art Workshops New for 2010/2011 School Year--


RIVERSIDE, CT May 25, 2010 -- The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.chineselanguageschool.org) has announced that registration for its Fall 2010 programs is currently open. The school, which teaches Mandarin Chinese as a second language to students ages 18 months and up, uses age appropriate, interactive methods to introduce children to Chinese.

The school welcomes all students, from Beginner levels through Advanced, and offers multimedia, interactive, online support tools to make practice engaging, relevant, and fun for students.

New for 2010 is a Chinese dance class, and Chinese Art Workshops on calligraphy, origami, Chinese bookbinding using traditional rice paper, and much more. For more information, or to register, please visit www.chineselanguageschool.org.

Expanding programsAccording to CLSC’s President, Susan Serven, “We have focused considerable energy and resources on building the quality of our faculty and curriculum during the past eight years since our founding in 2002. The results of this strategy are evidenced by program expansion into various public and private schools, our conducting before and after school programs at more than 20 schools and organizations, the expansion of our private tutoring and small group private classes, and our new corporate program.

Our school consists of families who have no Chinese background, but want their children to learn Chinese and about Chinese culture, adoptive families, who want to have their children maintain language and cultural ties, Chinese-American families who may not speak Chinese at home, but encourage their children to learn, and many families who do speak some Chinese at home, but who want a more interactive, age-appropriate, engaging learning experience for their children.

“We are currently entering our 9th year, and we look forward to continuing to focus on providing students with a high quality educational product that strives to make learning Mandarin and experiencing Chinese culture fun by incorporating traditional language training techniques with interactive supplements, games and other activity based exercises.”

We’re very pleased that our school now consists of about 25% of families from the Westchester area, as well as 70% from Fairfield County, and about 5% from farther away, in upstate Connecticut.

Parent and Harrison, NY resident Darwei Kung, said, “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."

Why study Chinese at an early age?

Principal Daisy Chen Laoneg explained, “Our approach is unique because we stress interactive usage over rote memorization. Lessons are organized around themes such as family, food and travel so that children can quickly gain useful communication skills. More than 50% of class time is devoted to conversation and activity-based learning to give children ample opportunity to practice communicating in Chinese. We’ve done considerable research to determine which learning methods and interactive, online support materials work best for American students learning Chinese as a second language, and it seems to be working; many parents say their children love doing their Chinese homework!”

Ms. Laone continued, “Generally, younger children acquire a second language better than older children. Early introduction to Chinese exposes each child to a wider variety of its contexts. These contexts foster language proficiency and help develop insights into the nature of the language. With time, each child will gain a deeper understanding and better command of the Chinese language. He / she will ultimately develop a life long interest of Chinese language and culture.

CLSC Advisory Committee Member and Parents Committee Chair Deborah Serianni noted, “We joined the CLSC community 3 years ago. Our son, Aaron (an 8 year old at Rye Country Day School) certainly enjoys the program. Learning the Chinese language is no doubt not easy, but he does not want to quit. He will be promoted to Level 5 next year! He likes the interactive internet program of "Better Chinese" as the core part of the curriculum. He also enjoys the cultural activities and the homework projects, which are challenging and fun. As a family, we have met a lot of great people and good friends."

Many CLSC students have gone on to continue their Chinese at area high schools. Norwalk resident and parent of former student Alexa Williams, Janet Williams said, “We’ve been with CLSC for five years and my daughter Alexa loved it. Alexa graduated Roton Middle School [in Norwalk] and will be taking Chinese next year at Brien McMahon].” Alexa noted, “Learning Chinese is a good experience for any nationality and any age group. I hope to use Chinese when I become an adult and get a job."

The CLSC faculty consists of experienced, native-speaking, Chinese instructors who are graduates of universities in the U.S. and China. CLSC teaches Mandarin Chinese using effective, proven methods, allowing the efficient acquisition of practical communication skills.

For information on the Chinese Language School of Connecticut’s weekday and weekend language programs, including their Before and After School programs, special workshops. lectures, events, private tutoring and their corporate language program, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org.

Abacus Bank Sponsors Chinese Language School of Connecticut

Thank you to New York's Abacus Federal Savings Bank for their very generous donation of $1,000 to the Chinese Language School of Connecticut.

Abacus' Chairman presented many non-profit organizations with grants at a ceremony at their headquarters, located on Canal Street New York. CLSC's president and board member, Susan Serven, attended on CLSC's behalf.

Abacus' gift will help CLSC provide interactive educational materials to allow even more children to learn Mandarin Chinese.

Xie Xie Ni!

Expanded Advisory Committee

The Chinese Language School of Connecticut Expands Advisory Committee

-- Professionals will work with local business leaders to expand CLSC’s programs and services --

“We’re very fortunate and extremely pleased to have such dynamic professionals working with us to expand our Chinese language learning and program services,” said New Canaan resident, CLSC president and board member, Susan Serven.


Riverside, CT, November 15, 2009 – The Chinese Language School of Connecticut (www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org), the non-profit Riverside, CT-based provider of Chinese language programs and services to students, schools and corporations, has announced the expansion of their Advisory Committee.

Former Greenwich First Selectman Jim Lash explained, "The dramatic growth of the Chinese Language School of Connecticut comes as no surprise given the high quality of their programs and the rise of the global economy. Every child will be better prepared for the new world of work by being exposed to the Chinese language and culture."

Former CLSC Board Chair, Greenwich resident Raymond E. Dunn, said, “We are very excited to gain the benefit of experience and guidance that these leaders and professionals will bring to our school. After seven years of operation we now service about 1,000 students through programs via our regular classes, tutoring, before and after school programs, workshops, special classes and summer camp. CLSC faculty or faculty alumni are now teaching at a number of private and public schools in Fairfield and Westchester counties. The interest we have found in our community for a continued strengthening and broadening of our programs is both exciting and challenging. We believe that CLSC will benefit significantly from the commitment the new Advisory Board has made to help us move our programs forward to better serve existing and future students and parents.

“We’re very fortunate and extremely pleased to have such dynamic professionals working with us to expand our Chinese language learning and program services,” said New Canaan resident, CLSC president and board member, Susan Serven. “Our expanded Advisory Committee will be instrumental in helping us expand our reach in order to allow more children to learn Chinese, and will work with us and local business leaders to broaden our services to the community,” she continued.

Advisory Committee members include:

Jeffay F. Chang, of Pelham, NY, 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.

Da Chen, of Highland Park, NY, the, NY Times bestselling author of “Colors of the Mountain”, “China’s Son”, “Sounds of the River”, “Wandering Warrior” and “Brothers” arrived in America at the age of 23 with $30 in his pocket, a bamboo flute, and a heart filled with hope. He attended Columbia University School of Law on a full scholarship, and upon graduating, worked for the Wall Street investment banking firm of Rothschilds, Inc.
His most recent book, “Brothers” was nominated for a 2007 Quill award. Please visit www.DaChen.org

Samantha Wu Connell, of Stamford, is currently CLSC Chinese New Year Chair. She was born in Taipei, Taiwan and emigrated to the US as a young child. Sam graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1995 with a BA in English and Psychology. After four years in marketing, she enrolled in culinary school and graduated with honors from New York City's Institute of Culinary Education Pastry Arts Program. Sam was an Associate Food Editor at Martha Stewart Living Magazine and has worked as a Food Stylist and Cake Designer. She currently lives in Stamford with her husband, Dan, and their children Quincy and Tobin.

Raymond Dunn, of Greenwich, is a co-founding partner of New York based maritime investment banking and brokerage firm Shipping & Finance LLC. Prior to that, he was an investment banker with UBS Securities for 14 years. He was Vice President of the Asian Business Society while an MBA student at Columbia and following graduation and prior to joining UBS, he was a research consultant at the OECD as a member of the China research team. Subsequently at UBS for several years, Mr. Dunn was head of international equity capital markets in New York with responsibility for both Europe and Asia. He also spent time seconded to UBS' Hong Kong office and worked extensively with Taiwanese companies. Mr. Dunn’s four children have attended CLSC and he is a member of the China Institute.

Laurie Heiss, of Greenwich, brings a successful professional background in the private sector and a deep personal commitment to educational initiatives to CLSC. Her career included high-level sales and marketing positions at GE for over a decade, Gateway Computer and IBM.

Most recently she has served two years as the Co-President of the PTA at Greenwich High School representing those 1400 member families and leading the 300 volunteers who support the operations of this large school. As a middle school parent she helped lead the parent-student effort to offer Mandarin at the high school. Previously, she chaired the Arts-in-Education efforts in the Town of Greenwich, a joint body of public and private school representatives organized as a sub-committee of PTA Council; she also chaired the Fairfield County Performing Arts & Enrichment Council.

She is a founding member of the Redding Preservation Society, a trustee of the Land Trust in Redding, where she owns a farm, and she serves on the board of The Merritt Parkway Conservancy.

She is a graduate of Connecticut College, where she received the Fielding Award base on contributions to class, college and community. She majored in Field Biology and Anthropology.

Susan S. Huang, of Greenwich, is an independent consultant in the asset management business, and is a Trustee on the boards of HSBC Global Investor Funds, United Church of Christ Foundation and Huntington’s Disease Society. She also contributes her financial and fund-raising expertise for other charitable, educational and cultural organizations, and is currently a Director of the Music and Endowment Committees, and a member of the Second Congregational Church Council in Greenwich.

Susie spent much of her career in money management and in developing the investment business in the U.S., Middle East and Asia. Her latest assignment was with Schroder Investment Management, and her other selected clients have included The Beacon Group, Ashmore, Chase VISTA Board, Lend Lease, and State of Alaska Pension Fund. Prior to her retirement from Chase Asset Management where she was Managing Director and Head of Fixed Income, she held senior investment positions at Hyperion Capital, CS First Boston, and The Equitable where she began her career in 1978.

Susie was a concert pianist in Asia and was featured as a soloist with the Hong Kong Philharmonic before coming to the U.S. in 1972. She holds a piano degree with honors from the Juilliard School of Music, a BA cum laude from Princeton University and an MBA from Columbia University. She is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Shanghainese, and lives in Greenwich with her husband, Tony Kane and daughter, Shelley. She also sings in the choir at the Second Congregational Church.


Jim Lash, of Greenwich, is currently Chairman of the private equity firm Manchester Principal LLC. He grew up in Pontiac, Michigan, graduated from MIT in 1966 with a degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and earned his MBA from Tulane University in 1969. Jim has served as First Selectman of Greenwich, CT from 2003-2007.

Jim’s work has involved holding principal and senior operating positions in primarily the manufacturing sector including serving as Chairman and CEO of Reading Tube Corporation from 1982 to 1996. From 1970 to 1976 Jim was a consultant with Touche Ross & Co. where his clients included the government agencies such as the city of Boston, and the country of New Zealand.

Prior to his work in management consulting, Jim’s career included serving as Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of Business Administration at Tulane University where he also taught graduate level courses in information technology.

While a student at MIT, Jim joined the Apollo Space Program team working at the MIT Instrumentation Laboratory and Lincoln Laboratory between 1962 and 1966. After graduating from MIT, Jim accepted an offer from the Boeing Company in New Orleans to continue his work on the Apollo Program and worked on this mission as an Astronautical Engineer until 1969.

Jim Lash has served the interests of literacy, higher education, performing arts, medical research and international commerce with current and recent Board memberships including the City Center in New York (Chair Finance Committee); Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Member of the Corporation/Trustee, President of the Alumni/ae Association, Campaign Steering Committee); Baker Hughes, Inc. (Board member of Audit and Finance Committees), The East West Institute (Finance Committee); The American Cancer Society (Chairman of the Wayne County Detroit Unit) and the Greenwich Library Board (President).

Jim and his wife Debby Jones Lash moved to Greenwich in 1983. Debby has served the Greenwich community in numerous ways including being Chairman of the United Way Board of Greenwich and former President of the Greenwich Junior League. Jim and Debby are active in sailing and tennis and are members of several clubs including the Belle Haven Club, the New York Yacht Club and the Northeast Harbor Fleet (Commodore) here and in Maine where they have enjoyed many summer seasons.

Deborah Hsu Serianni, of Old Greenwich, is currently CLSC Parent Committee Chair, and was Vice President Global Marketing Personal Care & Wellness of Avon Products Inc., a leading beauty company and the world largest direct selling company. In this position, she was responsible for establishing global goals and strategies, new product development, advertising and print material for all regions around the world. Prior moving to the New York global headquarters, Mrs. Serianni was Regional Vice President Marketing of Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong.

Previously, Mrs. Serianni worked for Johnson & Johnson Consumer Product Group where she most recently served as Vice President Skin Care, Asia Pacific-China. In that role, she established the successful skin care business with a multiple brand portfolio covering Japan, Korea, China, to Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and India.

Earlier in her career, Mrs. Serianni worked at Procter & Gamble Europe where she held increasingly responsible positions in marketing, covering a vast territory including Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, Middle East and Central America.

Mrs. Serianni graduated from Oberlin College, majoring in Chemistry and Economics. She holds a Master sof Management degree from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She currently serves on the President ‘s Advisory Board of Oberlin College.

Robyn Wasserman, of Old Greenwich, worked in New York for ten years in real estate investment banking and in real estate finance at JPMorgan, Sonnenblick-Goldman and Prime Capital Management. She is a graduate of The London School of Economics where she earned her B.S. in Economics specializing in Accounting and Finance in 1996. She currently lives in Old Greenwich with her husband, Tom Wasserman, who is a Managing Director at Highbridge Capital Management, and her two daughters, Emilie and Sophia. Emilie and Sophia are learning to speak Mandarin.


For information on the Chinese Language School of Connecticut’s language and cultural programs for children and adults, their Before– and After- School programs, special workshops, private tutoring or corporate language programs, please visit www.ChineseLanguageSchool.org or email them at info@ChineseLanguageSchool.org.

* * *