The New Mind team is a group of energetic professionals who carry out our mission of inspiring and cultivating global talent. All of us have broad global experience and educational expertise, and are passionate about applying this experience to help students become successful. We believe learning should be creative, challenging, and fun—so that is the culture we bring to New Mind. Like our students, each of us has a unique story and set of skills that have helped us forge our own paths. Learn more about the journeys each one of us took to get to New Mind.
Michael Chen, University Relations / Founder
“Being an international student myself, I learned many lessons in hard ways. I hope to pass these lessons to the new generation of students so they can achieve even more!”
Prior to New Mind, Michael worked in multiple executive roles in leading public and private companies, and managed businesses and teams in North America, Europe, and East Asia. His diverse work experience and background helped him to gain strong insight in cross cultural collaboration, and develop very unique perspectives in leadership development in different cultures and markets. In his spare time, Michael also serves as the strategic adviser for the China Council of the Governor’s Office; Board Director of the International Affairs Council, and Strategic Adviser for the Computer Science Department of NC State University. He has a strong passion for education, and has built sustainable business models to drive social and business bottom lines.
Enoch Chow, Advisor
“I feel that individuals who harmoniously integrate western and eastern cultures into their lives truly understand the meaning of ‘Cultural Diversity’ and maximize their potential in life. This is why I have a passion for working with and helping international students”
A high-energy individual from childhood to present, Enoch has always been filled with a passion for people. Raised in an Asian household in the suburbs of the Washington DC Metropolitan Area, he was exposed to a variety of cultures. Recognizing that there was much to offer from both western and eastern thinking, Enoch set off on an educational and world journey that eventually took him from the University of Virginia (Go Wahoos!!!), to Taiwan/Asia, and finally to the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Along the way he received his B.A. and M.S. while studying psychology, kinesiology (sport and exercise psychology), and counseling. He came to New Mind because it presented him with an opportunity to integrate his energy, cultural knowledge, and education to help people from all backgrounds.
Tzu-Yuan Chuang, Advisor
“The ways to become an outstanding person in this modern society are to understand yourself deeply and to engage in the multicultural context.”
Tzu-Yuan is an active learner and always likes to try new things. She received her double bachelor degrees in Material Science and Engineering and Industrial Management in her hometown, Tainan, Taiwan. However, she found herself getting more interested in counseling and education after she taught English in elementary summer school as well as serving as an international volunteer in Canada working with disabled youth. During her college, Tzu-Yuan spent one year studying psychology in Singapore, as well as travelling around Southeast Asia and Europe. These precious experiences taught her a great lesson that you can’t engage with locals only with communicable language skills, but without cultural capability. The experience of studying and traveling abroad has enhanced her competence and confidence to realize herself. Moreover, she becomes enthusiastic with helping international students to embrace the cultural differences and define their own success in their personal and cultural transitions.
Jes Dormady, Advisor
“I believe that international education provides a valuable cultural exchange that enriches our lives and broadens our views in this complex world.”
When Jes was a teenager she wrote a letter to her first international pen pal and with each received letter her interest in other cultures grew. Since then she has maintained many close friendships with her pen pals from all over the world, exchanging cultural views, and often helping them with their grammar in preparation for their TOFLE test. In community college, she tutored and became friends with a Chinese classmate and was inspired to help international and adult students at the college level. While earning her BA in English at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Jes volunteered at an adult literacy organization called Reading Connections. She is now a graduate student at North Carolina State University pursuing a M.Ed in Adult Education. Helping international students with their transition both to college life and American life has become a passion for Jes and she is thrilled with work with the New Mind team.
Frances Fu, Recruiting / Marketing
“International students can gain so much from their study abroad experience as well as contribute to the local community when they fully integrate into their environment. I’m so excited to be able to help them make the most out of their time here!”
When she was young, Frances was one of those kids who had a million questions about almost everything in the world. To her, the world is a kaleidoscope with so many different, yet interesting people and places. As she grew up, this curiosity drove her to take on a journey of exploration to seek the answers to her questions about the world. From elementary school to graduate school, she studied at over 10 schools in 3 different countries and 9 cities, along the way meeting new people and experiences that ultimately led her to New Mind Education, where she utilizes her knowledge of the education system in different countries and her communication skills to help more international students take advantage of what New Mind has to offer.
Skylar Hong, Advisor / Student Services
“My experience as an international student has changed my life. I am glad to see more and more students from China taking advantage of the opportunity to go abroad. I want to help them develop their full potential, learn from their experiences, and establish their own cultural identity in this multicultural society.”
Skylar graduated from Nanjing Audit University in 2010 with her bachelor’s degree in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. After she graduated, she got the chance to study in America. She applied to several graduate schools and, based on her interest in international study, she chose American University which is located in Washington, DC. She graduated from American University in May 2012 with her master’s degree in International Communication, concentrating on Cross-Cultural Communication and International Education. From Skylar’s study and her experiences, cross-cultural training is essential while living in the globalized world we do today. This is a reality that organizations and individuals must deal with and she wants to help both reach their fullest potential. Through international education, she hopes to help students gain the experiences they need to become successful and contribute to a better global society.
Ya Chen Hsieh, Lead Advisor
“I love to learn different cultures and languages. Inspire students with my passion for education is my goal.”
YaChen received her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Campbell University with a concentration in Business Administration and minor in Marketing. She first worked as a language consultant and lecturer in Overseas Chinese University in Taichung, Taiwan. She was then worked as a high school math teacher in North Carolina’s Cumberland County School System under the NC Teach Program. Her latest teaching assignment was as a language instructor for the U.S. military. She was once an international student herself and enjoyed learning diverse cultures and meeting friends from all over the world. By combining her teaching experiences she has been able to service as a bridge to connect overseas students to multi-cultural experiences in The United States.
Lauren Hudson, Lead Advisor
After a semester long internship in a London high school, Lauren quickly came to the conclusion that simply knowing the native language wasn’t enough. To truly succeed in an academic environment in another country, you have to understand the subtle cultural differences and apply them to the classroom setting.
Raised in Asheville NC, Lauren has been thankful to call the beautiful Blue Ridge home for more than 20 years. From an early age, Lauren realized she had a passion for education and working with students. Beginning at age 14, Lauren worked as a camp counselor and youth cheerleading coach and a few years later, her commitment to education helped her to earn the NC Teaching Fellows Scholarship to study at Elon University. After four years, including a semester abroad in London, Lauren graduated in 2009 with a B.A. in History and a license to teach High School Social Studies. For the next three years, she enjoyed teaching social studies at a local high school but quickly realized that what she truly wanted to do was combine her love for education with her love for travel and international culture. Thus, New Mind became a perfect opportunity to do just that. Lauren also enjoys listening to old records, going to see live music, spending time in the great outdoors and trying as many new recipes as much as possible.
Catherine Leary, Student Placement
“My parents instilled in me the belief that a true education is one that includes an understanding of and appreciation for a wide range of cultures. I believe that helping international students make a smooth transition to schools here in the U.S. enables them to integrate quickly, which in turn provides them with the confidence to share their perspectives with others within and outside of the classroom.”
An educator with over twenty years’ experience, Catherine has worked at some of the top independent schools in the U.S. Over the span of her career she has worn many hats, including: chemistry and physical science teacher, grade team leader, advisory program coordinator, international recruiter, and director of admission. The mother of two grown daughters who attended independent schools, Catherine has experienced the independent school admission process from all possible perspectives. These combined experiences give Catherine a diverse perspective on the independent school admission process, which uniquely benefits the students she places for New Mind Education. Catherine holds an M.Ed with a specialty in science from Boston College Graduate School. She travels whenever possible, visits her family often in Boston and volunteers as a college adviser at a Duke University affiliated program in Durham, NC.
Rachel McBride, Lead Advisor
“My childhood was spent moving from one country to the next, each one feeling as much like home as the previous. I belonged nowhere and yet everywhere at the same time. Answering the dreaded question, ‘Where are you from?’ always left me struggling to supply an honest answer. Though, my default response was to cite the origin of my passport, it is without reservation that I am proud to be a third culture citizen.”
Born in Southwest Missouri, Rachel’s parents were armed with an adventurous spirit that moved them from the USA, to Bulgaria, then Kuwait, and lastly Poland. Upon graduation from high school, Rachel moved back to the States to attend the University of North Carolina, earning a BA in English, and M.A.T. in ESL. Rachel then moved to China to teach. She returned to NC where she met her husband, who charged her with her most rewarding adventure so far, laying roots. Before coming to New Mind, Rachel taught ESL for 8 years; however, she is incredibly excited to be starting this new phase. She feels a strong connection to the experiences of her students and looks forward to further developing a sense of the world through their eyes.
Shane Riter, Lead Advisor
“I’m passionate about working with International Students because of the chance to integrate cultures through a transcending educational lens focused on the benefit of the global community.”
Growing up on the Coast of North Carolina with an appreciation for the outdoors, history, food, health, learning and education, Shane Riter chose to step into the far east corner of the world to prove that it was not far in the least. The journey he set out on for the next fifteen months would succumb him to personal experiences that led his college degree in History and Education into creating a global footprint determined to take learning in a direction based off experiences of exposure. Shane began to fulfill a passion for traveling after he graduated from North Carolina State University in 2010. Following teaching English in Foshan, China, Shane took a trip throughout 7 Southeast Asian countries before returning to North Carolina to collect his insight and experience. Setting foot in multiple educational systems while traveling across the globe inspired Shane to seek out differentiated educational platforms that addressed educational gaps in a world that is no longer operationally limited by distance.
Bryce Roberts, Advisor / Program Director
“My study abroad experiences opened up a new world to me. I want to help students discover their potential.”
Bryce Roberts is a Mandarin-speaking North Carolina native. He spent 7 years studying, teaching, and working in China. Bryce worked in middle and high schools as an ESL instructor, before acting as marketing manager for several US companies in China. His extended time abroad gave him a deep appreciation for cultures, international education, and the ability to draw on fresh perspectives. His degree in Interdisciplinary Studies from Appalachian State University has helped him reach students in a variety of ways. Bryce owes much of his cross-cultural experience to his wife, an accomplished pipa player and classical ballad performer from Suzhou, China. He is passionate about social and environmental sustainability, and enjoys writing.
Katie Sanders, Advisor
“I feel that we are all interdependent and dependent on one another. International education is crucial to making this whole planet function.”
Ever since college, Katie Sanders has had an interest in Chinese history and Mandarin. After teaching in Hong Kong at St. Stephen’s Girls’ College, an all girls’ Chinese private school, she obtained a Master’s in Teaching and a Learning Disabilities Teaching Certificate. She has taught grades 5-12 in private schools, including such prestigious schools as Choate Rosemary Hall and the Chapin School in Manhattan. In recent years, she has had a private practice evaluating and helping students achieve their full potential with a specialty in motivating and remediating adolescent males. Last year she gave presentations to EARCOS, an organization which supports overseas American schools, and consulted with schools in Hong Kong, Vietnam and Cambodia. Since moving to North Carolina, she has maintained her proficiency in Mandarin by exchanging cultural and language lessons with visiting Chinese professors and PH.D students at UNC Chapel Hill.
John Silva, Lead Advisor / High School Programs
John’s original path to education actually began on the collegiate football field, as a young and determined offensive coach. Choosing marriage over continued pursuit of gridiron glory, John and his wife Diane settled into the boarding school community of St. Paul’s School in Concord, NH. Over the next twenty years there they would raise two wonderful children while encountering incredibly fulfilling educational challenges both in the classroom and on the administrative level. Just five years ago John headed to the wonderful climate that is North Carolina. Until recently he served as the Head of The Elon School, a private secondary school that has achieved significant success in a very short period of time. When John became more familiar with the passion of the individuals behind the philosophy here, the New Mind way simply became an opportunity too grand to pass up. John also recently enjoyed one of the greatest trips a father can undertake when he had the honor of escorting his beautiful daughter Jacqueline down the aisle at her wedding.
PEER MENTORS
Peer Mentors don’t just identify with our students, they help them with every aspect of their cross-cultural transition. Our trained, local student interns integrate students into campus life and give them an established support network.
Student Leaders
We give our students opportunities to lead and achieve. Student leaders handle outreach events, community service, and cross-cultural programs that benefit their school and community. The leadership and teamwork skills they develop will stay with them throughout their academic and professional careers.