Faculty & Staff Directory

Began at CAIS in 2020

Ms. Julie Farrell fell in love with China on her first trip as a high school student and enrolled in Mandarin classes immediately upon return. Her passion for Chinese language continued well into college and beyond, amplified by language intensives with Middlebury College and the US Department of State. Ms. Farrell holds a B.A. in East Asian Studies from New York University and an M.Sc. in Agroecology from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. She spent several years working with NGOs across southwest China, supporting farmers in rebuilding robust sustainable food systems. She also served young learners as an experiential educator, developing school garden curriculums in Chinese public schools and designing courses in China and Taiwan for American high school, middle school, and college students. Ms. Farrell’s favorite place on earth is a rural kitchen. As a long time resident of Sichuan, she never turns down a spicy hot pot.

Began at CAIS in 2020

Ruiting was born and raised in China and has been in San Francisco for seven years. Her passion from early on has been for teaching, especially early childhood education and curriculum design. She studied Early Childhood Education at City College of San Francisco and then completed her BA in Child and Adolescent development with a focus on School Age Child and Family at San Francisco State University. Ruiting is honored to have graduated summa cumme laude in her class. Before joining the CAIS community, she taught at Bright Horizons, Presidio Knolls School, and Saint Anne Chinese School. She enjoys helping children learn to love learning, both in language acquisition and social emotional development. Ruiting’s hobbies include traveling, learning about others’ life stories, and discovering new cuisines. (Ruiting is also fluent in Cantonese.)

Began at CAIS 2022

BEGAN AT CAIS 2022

Ms. Foster joined CAIS in 2022 after working as a librarian at The San Francisco School, San Francisco University High School, and Commodore Sloat Elementary. She also had a long career in nonprofit administration with local organizations such as First 5 San Francisco and the Brava Theater Center. She holds a Master in Industrial Administration from Purdue University and a Master of Library and Information Science from San José State University. In her free time, she enjoys paddleboarding, yoga, camping, and relaxing with a good book.

Began at CAIS in 2010

Fu Laoshi has been at CAIS since 2010 and has been a lead teacher in the Preschool for the past eight years. Fu Laoshi finds working with young children challenging and satisfying. She enjoys watching their abilities develop and grow. In particular she enjoys seeing children with no Chinese background first become comfortable with Chinese and then really start using it to communicate. As an English language learner herself, Fu Laoshi knows that learning a second language is challenging. She is always so proud of how well our students learn at CAIS. Fu Laoshi likes to add music and movement into her classes and she believes this is a fun and easy way to learn a second language, especially for young children. It is her hope that all children will be happy in her class and learn Chinese.

Began at CAIS 2024

Gao Laoshi was born and brought up in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province, China, the hometown of the great man Sun Yat-sen. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts Management from the Xinghai Conservatory of Music in Guangzhou. She shares that she is good at singing and playing guzheng, and music has always been an indispensable part of my life. Her journey in education began as a substitute teacher at Kai Ming Head Start in San Francisco. During this time, she completed 18 Early Childhood Education (ECE) credits at City College of San Francisco, earning my Child Development Associate Teacher Permit. She loves playing, learning, and growing with children. She believes that “three people always have their teacher,” and learn from each other in cooperative work with others. In her free time, she loves listening to jazz music, hiking, and watching movies—these hobbies help her find balance and joy after a busy day. 

Began at CAIS 2024

Mrs. Gutierrez shares, “My husband, Phil, and I live in Marin with our extremely mellow black Lab, Randy. I am the mother of a daughter who is a Keeper at a St. Louis raptor sanctuary, and a son who is in film school in Chicago. In my free time, I like to bake cookies (always chocolate), read books from the public library’s ‘New & Popular’ shelf (usually mysteries), and stroll through our neighborhood with the dog.”

Began at CAIS 2024

K-4th Grade Counselor Ginger Harper holds an M.Ed. in International School Counseling from Lehigh University and comes to us from Shanghai American School – Puxi, where she was an Early Childhood Counselor.

Ms. Harper is thrilled to return to the US after 14 amazing years abroad, where she and her husband had the pleasure of living in vibrant cities like Seoul, Bangalore, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, and Beijing. China holds a special place in their hearts as it’s where their son was born and where their daughter fondly calls “home”. Her partner, Joshua Brinn, will be joining the middle school as a math and science teacher, while their son begins 3rd grade and their daughter embarks on her Kindergarten journey.

Began at CAIS 2025