Five area residents have joined the board of directors of the YingHua International School in Princeton.
They are B. Bonnie Liao, Ph.D., of Lawrenceville; Kevin Merges, Ed.D., of Somerset; Cheryl Rowe-Rendleman, Ph.D., of West Windsor; Stacy Schuster of Robbinsville; and John Wang of Plainsboro. They join Robert Eng, Ed.D., and R. Wade Speir, both residents of Princeton, to complete the seven-member governing body of the independent, non-profit school.
Founded in 2007, YingHua International School is a full-time independent school for preschool through middle school grades. Over 70 students are taught the majority of their subjects in Mandarin Chinese by native Mandarin speakers. The scholars also study English and Spanish as part of their world language program.
They are headed by executive director Kristin Epstein, of West Windsor, who in 2013 became the first non-Chinese heritage administrator of the school.
Some of the tasks of the school’s board include oversight of the school’s candidacy period for the International Baccalaureate World Schools Primary Years Programme and to guide the school’s addition of international exchange programs.
“This is an exciting time in education,” Ms. Epstein said in a press release. “The needs of our workforce are changing rapidly, and it is no longer enough to be competent in your field. Employers are eager for employees who also possess full-depth knowledge of a second language and cultural sensitivity.”
Bonnie Liao of Lawrenceville earned her bachelor’s degree from Peking University, a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Houston, and an MBA from Rutgers University.
Dr. Liao is founder of YingHua International School and YingHua Language School. She is also the founder and director of YingHua in Beijing Summer Language and Leadership Institute.
Dr. Liao is also a consultant with MLWM Business Development & Strategy for Bank of America.
Kevin Merges of Somerset is a former math teacher who is now assistant principal of the Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science (PRISMS). Also since 2013, Dr. Merges has been the director of the Innovation Center at Rutgers Preparatory School.
He received his doctorate in mathematics education from Rutgers University following a master’s in education from Sage Colleges and a bachelor’s in math from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Albany.
Cheryl Rowe-Rendleman of West Windsor is a clinical research and development professional and has served as CEO of Omar Consulting Group, an ophthalmology consulting practice that specializes in creating business and clinical development know-how for companies with interests in eye diseases, since 2005. The consulting practice includes large and small pharma in the U. S., Israel, China, Germany and Japan.
Dr. Rowe-Rendleman serves in an advisory capacity for the PrincetonArea Alumni Association, Princeton Alumni Executive Careers Committee, Graduate Women in Science and Engineering Association at Princeton, Princeton Prize in Race Relations, Davis International Center, Girl Scouts of Central and Southern New Jersey, and FIRST Robotics. She serves on the Board of Directors of the YWCA-Princeton where she champions the platform of scientific and medical literacy.
Dr. Rowe-Rendleman has a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and her Ph.D. from the University of Houston. Subsequently, she held postdoctoral fellow positions at the University of Texas School of Medicine and the University of California San Francisco Medical School.
Stacy Schuster of Robbinsville is the associate vice president of college relations at The College of New Jersey, where she manages the institution’s government and community relations and oversees a portfolio that includes strategic events and partnership-building efforts. She works closely with development on the college’s fundraising endeavors.
She joined TCNJ in 2007 as the college’s first director of external relations and was charged with building strategic partnerships aimed at growing awareness, understanding, and support of the mission, vision, and value of the institution.
Before coming to the college, she was the chief executive officer of an independent, full-service communications and political consulting firm that provided strategic planning services to candidates for political office and various political organizations.
In 2007, Ms. Schuster served as the mid-Atlantic regional political director for John McCain’s successful presidential primary bid.
Previous to that, she held the position of New Hampshire state political director for the Republican National Committee where served as a liaison with federal and state party leaders, candidates, campaigns and media. She began her career in New Jersey politics and has held multiple positions in the state’s government and political arena.
Ms. Schuster is pursuing a masters degree at the University of Pennsylvania and received her undergraduate degree from Rider University.
John Wang of Plainsboro is a director of portfolio procurement at Centerbridge Partners, a private investment firm. He was a principal in the consumer and retail practice at A.T. Kearney. He began his career as a design engineer at General Motors.
Mr. Yang is a Yinghua parent. He is an active member of The Centerbridge Foundation, focused on serving low-income children and families in the areas of education and youth development.
He holds an MBA from The Harvard Business School and a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University.
