I’m a nonprofit leader and Chinese language advocate, dedicated to fostering cross-cultural understanding in the Iowa City community. My academic background in East Asian Languages and Literatures from The Ohio State University laid the foundation for a career spanning teaching, program development, and community outreach.

After years of working in higher education, I chose to settle in Iowa City to focus on building meaningful connections and supporting local initiatives. Over the past three years, my time as a visiting scholar at the University of Iowa has deepened these ties and strengthened my commitment to bridging Chinese and American cultures.

As the Executive Director of Midwest Chinese Academy, I oversee curriculum development, program management, and strategic partnerships--helping to bridge Chinese and American cultures and build a vibrant, multilingual community. I’m passionate about creating opportunities for cultural exchange and fostering meaningful connections across generations and backgrounds.

My approach to nonprofit leadership is hands-on and driven by curiosity: I believe in learning by doing and in empowering those around me to grow alongside the organization. I’m always looking for ways to strengthen our programs and make a positive, lasting impact on the community.

Helen H. Shen, Professor, Department of Asian and Slavic Languages and Literatures, The University of Iowa, USA. She served as Academic Coordinator of the Chinese Program, Director of Graduate Studies for the Department; college board SAT Subjest Tests Committee in the U.S.; Roundtable Grant Committee of the National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations in the U.S., grant Evaluator for the International and Foreign Language Education grants of the US Department of Education, Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. From 2012-18, she served on the Board of Directors for the Chinese Language Teachers Association, USA. And served as President for the association in 2016. 

Professor Shen‘s major research areas are Chinese L2 literacy development and reading education. She has published dozens of journal articles and is the author of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language: Vocabulary Acquisition and Instruction (Second Edition), and lead author for the books of Introduction to Standard Chinese Pinyin System, Learning 100 Chinese Radicals, and Routledge Intermediate Chinese Reader. See full profile >>

Na Li began her career as an Associate Professor at Sichuan Normal University (1998–2012), where she taught with clarity and passion—sharing not only language skills but also thoughtful life perspectives. After moving to the U.S., she earned her M.A. in East Asian Languages and Literatures from the University of Iowa, specializing in Chinese pedagogy.

She taught immersive Chinese at Lakes International Language Academy in Minnesota (2010–2012), then continued teaching Mandarin at the University of Iowa for over five years. She also led high school-level instruction through the federally funded StarTalk Program, blending task-based teaching with cultural learning to help students connect language to real-life use.

Beyond the classroom, Na has been an active community leader. She served as President of the Iowa City Area Chinese Association (2021–2022) and has led APAPA’s Eastern Iowa Chapter since 2022. She is dedicated to promoting Asian culture, fostering cross-cultural understanding, and creating inclusive spaces. Since 2023, she has hosted the annual Lunar New Year Gala at the Englert Theater—a joyful celebration of Chinese heritage and performing arts.

Huiqiang Zheng is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Asian and Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Iowa. She has taught Chinese as a second language at universities in both China and the United States for over ten years. In 2019, she was named “Teacher of the Year” by the Kentucky World Language Association. In addition to teaching, Dr. Zheng has published research in second language acquisition, language pedagogy, and computational linguistics. She is also active in the local Chinese community, sharing her expertise in Chinese pedagogy and folk dance. At UI, she recently launched the course “Chinese Minority and Folk Dances.”

Hello, I am Jacky Xiao. I was one of Chai Laoshi's students for five years and have learned much from her courses. In high school I was a part of a robotics team where I specialized in programming and now I am a student at the University of Maryland, pursuing a degree in computer engineering. I enjoy writing software to solve problems within my daily life and learning more about low level computing. Currently I work within the university's College of Education, where I write software to help streamline various processes within the workflow of the college. In my free time I enjoy video games, cooking, and drawing. I have been doing digital art for about six years now and am glad to have the opportunity to help Chai Laoshi.