On Chinese New Year’s Eve, Ren CuiHua, a foster mother in Half the Sky’s Family Village in Nanjing, sat around the dinner table with her family like so many other moms all across China. But why wasn’t the seated family enjoying the fancy cuisine? What were they waiting for? All eyes were turned toward the doorway where CuiHua’s daughter stood and then started to make her way to the table. As little YanMeng took step after painstaking step toward her family, everyone at the table cheered her on. And when lYanMeng arrived at her seat and sat down, they each raised two fingers in a victory sign and cheered again. Everyone at the table knew that YanMeng’s walk from the doorway to the table was the culmination of a journey that started in 2006 Staff
Jenny Bowen, Executive Director
Like many adoptive parents of children from China, Jenny Bowen returned with a desire to preserve some link to her daughter's past, and to give something back to her daughter's home country and to the many children left behind. With Maya's adoption in 1997, she also became an avid student of early childhood development theories and practices. She and her husband, Richard Bowen joined with fellow adoptive parents to form Half the Sky in 1998. Daughter Anya joined the family in 2000.
A former screenwriter and film director, Jenny began her motion picture career working for Francis Ford Coppola after several years working in the theater. In addition to writing screenplays for major Hollywood producers, She was writer-director on several independent films. She, Richard, and their two youngest children live in Hong Kong and she is a regular commuter to Half the Sky's Beijing office, as well as its many sites.
Zhang Zhirong, Managing Director, Programs
Born in Tianjin, Zhang Zhirong graduated from Beijing's University of Foreign Languages and then received her MA from the University of Michigan. She is fluent in English and, early in her career, served as a translator for China International Travel Services. She has worked as a coordinator or project director for several UN-supported population projects in China and, for ten years, before joining Half the Sky, she worked for China Population Welfare Foundation as Director of International Liaison and Assistant to the Secretary-General in Strategic Planning and Management. She lives in Beijing.
Deanne Bevan, Director of Development
Deanne Bevan is an Australian expatriate living in Hong Kong with her husband, Guy Russo, and son, Jack. Before HTS she had a long corporate career with McDonald’s, including as Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Training & Development in the Australian company and international roles in Asia. She has served on Australian Boards including the National Centre for Vocational Education Research; President of the national Fast Food Chains Association; and Editorial Board of the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. She chaired the 1998 Review of the Affirmative Action (Equal Opportunity for Women) Act and following the published report, Unfinished Business – Equity for Women in Australian Workplaces, chaired the Ministerial Advisory Board for the commonwealth EEO Agency. Deanne holds a Bachelor of Business and a Master of Arts.
Ivy Yu, Director of Operations
Born in Taiwan, Ivy Yu moved to the United States as a teenager. She studied economics at the University of California, Berkeley and maintains a strong interest in education and working with children. Ivy keeps Half the Sky running smoothly despite its geographical challenges. In 2007, Ivy moved from the US to China so that she can more effectively oversee all HTS operations.
Janice N. Cotton, PhD, Director of Programs
Janice N. Cotton has a PhD in early childhood education and has worked in the field for over 30 years. She has been a preschool and elementary school teacher, public school administrator, a child development center director, a professor and research scientist at the university level, and an education consultant for foundations, research institutions and public schools. She has served as lead nanny trainer for HTS since 2001. Janice, her husband, Jim, a marriage and family therapist, and their daughter Kathryn, adopted as a toddler from Shenzhen Social Welfare Institution in Guangdong, reside in Birmingham, Alabama.
Mei Jiang, Acting Director of Finance
Born in Nantong, Jiangsu province, Mei Jiang worked as a bank manager at the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank before she came to the U.S. She received her MBA from California State University at Hayward with a focus on accounting. Formerly donations coordinator for Half the Sky in its Berkeley office, Mei now oversees finance and accounting for Half the Sky. She lives in Hong Kong with her husband, Ting Lu.
Zhao Wen, PhD, Director, Preschool Program
Zhao Wen is a native of Hangzhou, China. She received her doctorate in Early Childhood Studies at the University of Nebraska where she was also a Lecturer in Early Childhood Education in the Department of Child, Youth and Family Studies before becoming program director of HTS. She received her MS in Child and Family Studies at the University of Wyoming and her BA at Huzhou Teacher's College, Zhejiang, PRC. From 1987 until 1994 she was head teacher in a Head Start preschool program and a home day care provider at the University of Wyoming. Prior to that she taught at Qiushi High School in Hangzhou. She resides in both Lincoln, Nebraska and Hangzhou, China with her husband and two sons.
Jeronia Muntaner, Director, Infant Nurture Program
Jeronia is a Montessori-trained early childhood, preschool teacher and Montessori Teacher Trainer. She created the Montessori Chinese Language and Culture program and managed it as Program Director at the International Montessori School of Beijing (Pre-school to Grade 4). Prior to joining Half the Sky, where she first served as Infant Nurture field supervisor and trainer, Jeronia taught preschool children in China for six years. She has been working in China since 1985.
Wang Weiling, Director, Family Village Program
Weiling says she has always been inquisitive. When she was a young girl, she climbed a tree, wanting to find out more about a nest she'd glimpsed in the branches. She saw two tiny birds looking straight back at her. From that moment, Weiling started caring for little lives that need tender loving care. She became a nurse, a teacher, an editor, and eventually settled on charitable work. She worked with Alliance for Children where she learned about the tremendous needs of the institutionalized children in China. When Half the Sky presented her with the opportunity to help the children, she felt it was something she was always meant to do. She is so proud to be part of the family.
Ma Lang, MD, PhD, Director, Child Development
Lang received her PhD in applied child development from Tufts University in the U.S. Before Tufts, she was trained as a pediatrician and also completed her master’s degree in adolescent health in China. She has worked with Save the Children (UK) China Program, World Vision International, and Zigen Fund as a consultant/volunteer to promote the well-being of children living in impoverished rural China. Lang has extensive experience in human development research, particularly in designing and conducting program evaluation. She is focusing her time and energy on an evaluation project to systematically assess the Half the Sky programs.
Patricia King, Director, Communications
Using the skills she acquired as a reporter and bureau chief at Newsweek Magazine, Patricia King coordinates Half the Sky’s communications department. With technological support from her husband Harold, she edits Half the Sky’s newsletters, including the Big Sisters newsletters, and website content. She also answers queries from Half the Sky’s supporters, adoptive families whose children have “graduated” from HTS’ programs, and the media. As the grateful mother of Shanghai-born Anna, she sees her job as one way to keep in touch with her daughter’s roots and help the children in China who have not yet found their forever families. She lives in Marin County, California.
Carol Kemble, Director, Individual Philanthropy
Carol was formerly Half the Sky's long-time building director. She volunteered on her first trip with Half the Sky in 2000, never dreaming how this simple act would change the course of her life. Once she’d been, however, she knew she had to come back, and, often accompanied by her two China-born daughters, Tai (Taizhou, Jiangsu) and Ava (Maoming, Guangdong), she has, time and time again. Now, with her move into development, Carol has been able to apply her business background (marketing, training and sales) with her love of adventure, and her enormous passion for truly making a difference for the children who live in China’s social welfare institutions.
Zhang Yuxia, Associate Director, Family Village
In 1967, Zhang Yuxia began working at the Hefei Social Welfare Institution as a caregiver. After many years of experience and advanced training in special education and rehabilitation, she became the Director of the institution. She served in that position until her retirement in 2004, at which time she joined the HTS staff. The sole female recipient of the Hefei Provincial Government Model Worker prize, Director Zhang resides in Hefei and travels all over China for Half the Sky.
Debbie Tong, Associate Director, Special Needs
Debbie began working with Half the Sky in 2002 as a nanny trainer and says she found it impossible to not have HTS a part of her life. She has a MA in Physical Therapy and has been practicing over 20 years, serving the needs of children with disabilities, as a therapist and administrator. In addition to her work serving the special needs of orphaned children for Half the Sky, she also works at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford, CA. Debbie and her husband, Paul, adopted their daughter Maddie, from Tongling, Anhui province, in 2000, and live in Menlo Park, California.
Nancy Chen, Finance Manager, Programs
A native Beijinger, Nancy (Chen Yun) received her undergraduate degree in financial management at
Seal of Renmin University of China. She did her graduate study at
University of Free State in South Africa, where she received a Masters Degree in Business Management. Nancy loves working with people from all sorts of different backgrounds and prides herself on her ability to get along with everyone.
Anni Wang, Associate Director, Big Sisters
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Anni went to high school in Beijing and then studied law at Beijing University. Following an internship at the UN and a brief stint volunteering for the Special Olympics, she received an MA in Intercultural Communication from the University of Bedfordshire in the UK. Upon returning to China in 2004, Anni co-authored an English textbook and then joined Half the Sky. She is a member of the Delta Intercultural Academy, a community which explores communication in international business.
Joanna Ren, Senior Program Coordinator
Originally from Jiangsu Province, Joanna graduated from the Beijing Language and Cultural University with a degree in English Literature and Translation. While a student she worked as an interpreter for various non-governmental organizations, including Green Cross, US-China Environmental Fund, and UNICEF, led drama workshops for children to teach environmental awareness, and organized a group of volunteers to tutor the children of migrant workers. A member of the HTS family since 2004, Joanna is more committed than ever to the well-being of China's children.
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Field Staff
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 Li Ping Senior Field Supervisor-Trainer, Preschool Programs Hefei |
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Local Staff
Our Nanny Supervisors
Some of our Teachers
