Yingling Bao has over ten years of experience in teaching Chinese at post-secondary level in the U.S.  As a senior lecturer at the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at Indiana University, she continues to adopt innovative pedagogical approaches in language teaching. As a certified OPI tester, she also has rich experiences training novice teachers and designing proficiency-oriented curriculum. She has presented regularly at conferences such as ACTFL, CLTA, NCOLCTL, and etc. She received IU Trustee Teaching Award for lecturer and clinical professional in 2013 and 2020, and was recipient of FACET Dr. James E. Mumford Excellence in Extraordinary Teaching Award in 2021. She has also served teaching and administrative roles in intensive summer programs such as IU Summer Language Workshop, Middlebury College, and University of Virginia.  

Guili Zhang graduated from her master’s degree in Central Michigan University on Early Childhood Education in 2017. Currently she is a Ph.D. student on Mathematics Education in Purdue University. Zhang Laoshi has been working in Batesville Primary School since 2017 in the Dual Language Immersion Program. She is one of the participants that established the DLI program and created the Chinese literacy curriculum before the current curriculum was adopted. Zhang Laoshi is also an ESL certified teacher and always dedicated to serve language learners of any level. She believes that all students can learn and want to learn well. It is the teacher’s responsibility to provide scaffolding and support.

Ying-Sin Chen is presently employed as an Upper School Mandarin Teacher at the International School of Indiana. She holds a Ph.D. in Literacy, Culture, and Language Education from Indiana University, Bloomington, along with an M.S. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to her current role, she taught at Westchester Country Day School, the Hamilton Lugar School Language Workshop, and the Chinese Flagship Program at Indiana University, Bloomington. Additionally, she served as a lecturer at the Indiana University School of Education and as a mentor/tutor trainer for the Chinese Flagship Program. In terms of assessment, Ying-Sin worked as an Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) tester/rater and an Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) rater for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). She is currently an Advanced Placement (AP) rater/reader for the College Board. She is actively involved in various foreign language and Chinese-related PD programs and conferences to improve her teaching.

Ying Du has over 20 years of experience teaching Chinese language and culture. Currently serving at Batesville Middle School in Indiana, she teaches 6th-grade Chinese Literacy and 7th and 8th-grade High School Credit Chinese 1 and 2. Ying holds a Master’s in Elementary Education from Grand Canyon University. She also has multiple professional certifications, including an Indiana Educator’s License for Elementary Education (K-6) and Arizona and Georgia World Language Mandarin Chinese (K-12), along with advanced qualifications in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL). Currently, Ying is the Poster Contest Coordinator for the Indiana Foreign Language Teachers Association (IFLTA) Annual Conference, where she fosters creativity and cultural exploration among language learners. Throughout her career, Ying has worked with diverse learners across elementary, middle, and high school levels as well as international students from various countries. Her unwavering commitment to academic excellence and cultural enrichment inspires students to connect deeply with the Chinese language and its rich traditions. 

Sydni Lockeby Catalano received her M.A. in Chinese Pedagogy from Indiana University Bloomington and is now working towards her Ph.D. in the same field focusing on heritage language learning, with other research interests including the relationship between language and identity, multilingualism and translanguaging. She has been responsible for teaching beginner and intermediate level coursework at IUB and online heritage learner classes through Holistic Education since 2021. Sydni also has years of experience working with students and instructors through STARTALK programming and weekend Chinese schools in both New England and the Midwest. As a non-native speaker of Chinese who has grown up in the Chinese language classroom since age four, she believes the unique experiences of heritage learners both in- and outside the classroom may be transformed to create greater access to language learners of all backgrounds. In addition to being grounded in linguistic and second language acquisition theory, Sydni’s teaching philosophy is also informed by her over 10 years of experience teaching Chinese performing arts as well as her own experience as a language learner.

Qiao Xu currently serves as an Upper School Chinese Teacher at the International School of Indiana (ISI). She is a dedicated educator with 9 years of experience. 

With an experienced background in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, Qiao delivers MYP Chinese Language Acquisition, Chinese Language & Literature, and DP Chinese Language and Literature courses. Since 2023, Qiao has also served as the Upper School Mandarin Department Coordinator at ISI.

Qiao holds a Master's degree in Foreign Language Education and TESOL from New York University. Prior to the current role, Qiao taught for 4 years at Goshen Community Schools and also gained experience as a Chinese teacher in the STARTALK summer camp program at Ball State University.

Janna McCardel is a Senior Rates and Regulatory Strategy Analyst at Duke Energy, where she plays a pivotal role in strategic analysis and regulatory affairs. In addition to her professional work in the energy sector, Janna is dedicated to community service and education. She currently serves as the Principal of the Indianapolis Chinese Community Center, Inc. (ICCCI) Chinese School and is also a Director on the ICCCI Board. With over a decade of teaching experience, Janna has taught Chinese language courses at various levels, including a PreK class for 10 years, eight preschool classes across two Christian private schools, and IB Chinese for Grades 9-12 at Shortridge High School, an International Baccalaureate (IB) school within the Indianapolis Public School District. Janna has been an active member of the Indiana Chinese Teachers Association (ICTA) since 2016, where she served as Secretary from 2018 to 2021, and has been the Treasurer since 2021. Her passion for education, particularly in promoting Chinese language learning, and her commitment to community development have made her an invaluable asset both in her professional and volunteer roles.