Little Panda Staff Bios


Xiaoping Johnson, PhD
Principal & Teacher
Teaches: Preschool Xiao Qing Wa (3&4 year olds), Da Gong Ji Class (4&5-year-olds), & Young Eagle After School Program
A native Mandarin Chinese language speaker, Xiaoping was born and raised in China. She received her BS and Masters degrees from China and her PhD degree from the US. She has many years of experience teaching Mandarin to children and adults. Her expertise was recognized recently by the US government when she was asked to develop its Mandarin teaching curriculum -- a program currently in operation. Xiaoping and her husband live in Cary with their son.

Julie Huang, MBA
Vice Principal & Teacher
Teaches: Preschool Da Gong Ji Class (4&5 year olds)
A native Mandarin Chinese speaker, Julie was born and raised in Taiwan. She received her BS in Taiwan and MBA degree in the US. She also has many years of experience teaching Mandarin to children and adults. Julie's proficiency in Mandarin teaching has also lead her to establish the curriculum for local Chinese schools in the US. She has been with Little Panda Preschool since the start and is adored by all her students. Julie lives in Durham with her husband and two daughters.

Jing Chen, BA
Teacher
Teaches: Young Eagle After School Program & Adult Mandarin Language Programs
A native Mandarin Chinese speaker from Beijing, Jing received his BA from China in Chinese History and Literature. He has been teaching Mandarin Chinese in China and in the US for many years. Jing lives in Durham with his wife and their son.

Mary Ma, BA
Teacher
Teaches: Preschool Xiao Song Shu Class (2&3 year olds)
A native Mandarin Chinese speaker, Mary was born and raised in China. She received her BA in Chinese Language in China and is an accomplished writer and Mandarin instructor in China. Mary immigrated to the US recently and she lives in Durham with her husband.

Nancy Mappes, BS
Teacher
Teaches: Preschool Xiao Qing Wa Class (3&4 year olds), Extended Day Program, & Young Eagle After School Program
A native Mandarin Chinese speaker, Nancy was born and raised in Taiwan. She graduated with a BS degree from Tainan College and has working experience as a teacher, sales manager, and business owner. Most recently, Nancy received an Early Childhood credential at Durham Technical Community College in December 2009. Nancy has lived in Durham with her husband since 2000.

Vera Wang, MA
Teacher Assistant
Teaches: Assists with Little Panda Preschool classes
A native Mandarin Chinese speaker from southeast China, Vera received her BA from Southwestern University of Finance and Economics and her Masters in Accounting at Jinan University.

Helen Wu, BA
Teacher
Teaches: Preschool Xiao Hong Hua Class (3&4 year olds), Music, Extended Day Program, & Young Eagle After School Program
Helen is a native Mandarin Chinese speaker raised in China and educated at Beijing Normal University. She received her BA in Music and taught middle school and high school for six years before coming to the US. Helen has brought her music education experience to Little Panda and we all feel very lucky to have her with us. She currently lives in Durham with her husband.

Hannah Zhang, MA
Teacher
Teaches: Preschool Xiao Song Shu Class (2&3 year olds) & Extended Day Program
Born and raised in Beijing, Hannah received her BA in Automotive Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing. Last summer she received her Master's Degree in Graphic Design from the University of Minnesota. She now lives in Durham.

May Zhu, MA
Teacher
Teaches: Preschool Xiao Hong Hua Class (3&4 year olds) & Young Eagle After School Program
May is a native Mandarin Chinese speaker from southwest China. She received her Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Early Childhood Education from Beijing Normal University. New to Little Panda this year, May brings a lot of energy and new ideas to the program.

Melissa Gedachian Zemon, BA

Marketing and Administration

Born and raised in New York, Melissa is a native English speaker making a concerted effort to learn Mandarin along with her two children Alexandra (6) and Cole (4) who have attended Little Panda since 2006. She received her BA from Syracuse University’s S.I. New House School of Public Communications and spent the better part of 12 years working in the magazine publishing industry in New York, Washington DC and Miami. She currently resides in Chapel Hill with her two children and her husband.