CCACC ACADEMY

Academic Teachers

Ms. Lynne Lim

English Reading & Writing

Ms. Lynne Lim has been an English Language teacher for over 20 years. Her professional history includes working with students from different cultural backgrounds in various primary and secondary schools in Singapore and the United States. She has taught English to students from different countries, e.g., Malaysia, China, France, Indonesia, the Philippines and the United States. She is currently teaching SAT English, Reading Comprehension and Writing Courses to students from Grades 5-12. Her SAT English class helps her students build a strong foundation in Reading and Writing to feel well-prepared and confident in taking the SAT when they are ready.

Ifan Wu

English Reading & Writing

Apart from Dr. Wu’s advanced academic work in Anthropology, she has a B.A. in History and English. As an instructor and teaching assistant at Cornell, she received a 4.9/5.0 rating from students for her teaching effectiveness. She has received recognition for improving student performance on oral and written exams. Additionally, she taught afterschool programs in a private school in Potomac, Maryland. As a tutor, she has worked with students in elementary, middle, and high schools in MCPS (Montgomery County Public Schools). Dr. Wu is now employed by MCPS and is a parent of a student at CCACC.

Charlie Wang

Math Teacher

Hello! My name is Charlie Wang and I am a Montgomery County Public School teacher. I am currently teaching Algebra 1 and Honors Algebra 2 at Gaithersburg High School. I have also taught at Blair HS, Lakelands Park MS, and Walt Whitman HS. I am a certified grade 7-12 mathematics and ESOL teacher. I speak English and school-related Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. I have 25 years of teaching experience and still have the passion and energy to enrich young minds!

Mr. Ollie Hardy

STEM & Math

Mr. Ollie Hardy is a MCPS Technology Teacher who loves what he does. Throughout his 17 year teaching career, Ollie has taught a variety of courses including Engineering, Game Design, Web Design, Lego Robotics & Computer-Aided Drafting Design. Mr. H (as his students call him) has taught grades 6-12 at a variety of Middle Schools and High Schools in Montgomery County. He currently is a 6th grade Computer Science Teacher at Silver Creek Middle School.

Art Teachers

Mr. Alexander Hearn

DIY Arts & Crafts

Alexander Hearn is currently an undergraduate at the University of Maryland College Park in their computer science major. He is studying cybersecurity where he has found to have a passion for programming and out-of-the-box thinking. He currently works tutoring math and programming where he enjoys making learning simple and fun while enforcing understanding of sometimes quite complex material.

Dr. Jean YC Hsu

Chorus Conductor

After graduated from the University of Maryland (UMCP) with a major in piano performance and a minor in voice performance, Ms. Hsu continued her study at the Catholic University of America (CUA). She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in orchestra conducting.

She was the conductor of Chinese American Music Society Orchestra for 9 years, included the 15th anniversary concert at the Kennedy Center and the 20th anniversary concert featuring violinist Cho-Liang Lin and soprano Yun Deng. She also worked as the assistant conductor and chorus mistress of the Summer Opera Theater Company in Washington DC for 8 years.

Beside her professional career, Ms. Hsu is an acclaimed music educator. She was a piano teacher at the Lavine School of Music (Washington DC) and the chairperson of Maryland State Music Teacher Association piano concerto competition. She also founded the JinHua Children’s Chorus for ages 4-17 and taught children and youths to sing since 1990.

She loves to spend time with children, leading them to learn and enjoy music

Chinese Mandarin Teachers

Ms. Afang

Ma LiPing Chinese

Ms. Afang graduated from a domestic university with a bachelor’s degree. She once worked in the outreach department of the domestic “Overseas Chinese Business Daily” and participated in the compilation of local industry corporate culture books. After coming to the United States, she worked as a teacher in a Chinese school for nearly 10 years. In 2017, after studying and passing the exam, she obtained the “Chinese Language Teacher Certificate” in the United States. Ms. Afang is devoted to the teaching and dissemination of overseas Chinese culture out of her love for Chinese culture. She is serious and responsible, patient and meticulous, good at teaching, and diligent in management. She loves children and is willing to work with parents and children to contribute to the revitalization of Chinese culture overseas.

Ma LiPing Chinese

Li Zhuang

Chinese Teacher

Mrs. Li Zhuang graduated from Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, China, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Science.
After working in China for many years, she came to live in the United States. She has work experience in early childhood education in the NIH kindergarten for many years. She enjoys getting along with children and has a deep understanding and great experience in American preschool education. She has taught Chinese in multiple schools such as Hope, Potomac, and New Oriental. In the Courseroom, she integrates teaching with entertainment. She pays great attention to cultivating and protecting children’s interest in learning Chinese, which provides a good foundation for their future Chinese learning.

Ma LiPing Chinese

Mr. Roger Chen

Chinese for Non-Heritage Learners

Mr. Roger Chen has worked as a teacher for over 33 years. Roger has a firm belief that Education needs to take root. After Graduating from the National Changhua Normal University in Taiwan, Roger sought to understand grass-roots Education. Roger has taught at every level of Education and received numerous awards, one of which was:(2017) Won the Rotary International 3480 Regional 2016-17 Thank You Letter – (International Rotary Youth Exchange Students’ Tutoring Chinese Language Teaching Work, Promote Cultural Exchange, Specially Awarded Thank You Letter B Paper. )”

Future Leader Teachers

Pending

Movement Teachers

Ms. Jie Zhang

Gymnastics Teacher

Ms. Jie Zhang is a former member of the Chinese National Gymnastics Team and a national level coach and judge. She won the first champion of individual asymmetrical bars and team competition in China’s National Gymnastics Competition. She worked as a judge in the US Gymnastics Cup in 1999 which the Chinese National Gymnastics Team was attending. Currently Jie works as a gymnastic coach at MarVaTots ‘n Teens Gymnastics Club in Maryland while teaching at CCACC Academy. Several of her US students have won first place in local competitions of balance beam and floor exercises, as well as all-around champion of individual gymnastics and team championship.

Hui Zhang

Wushu Teacher

Hui Zhuang is a professional athlete from Beijing, China. She started training in Chinese Martial Arts when she was nine years old. She was chosen by the well-known Beijing Wushu Team when she was fifteen years old and became a professional Wushu Athlete. In 1988, she first competed in the National Wushu Championship for Beijing Wushu Team. In 1989, she was awarded the second place in spear. In 1990, she won two gold medals in spear and double straight sword and was awarded a title called,“WuYing” (the top ranking for Wushu athletes). From 1991 to 1995, she consecutively won the women’s all-round champion for 5 years and many gold medals for the single events. In 1992, she represented the China Team and competed for the Third Asian Wushu Championship held in South Korea and she won women’s all-round champion and other three single forms gold medals. In 1994, she competed in the 12th annual Asian Olympic Game held in Hiroshima, Japan and won the women’s all-around champion once again. She was awarded the title of the First One Hundred Wushu Hero. After she came to America, she went to a martial arts school for nine years and has a great experience teaching.

Laura Garofalo

Dance Teacher

Laura Garofalo is a Chinese American adoptee whose passion for Chinese dance stems from her desire to explore and share her Chinese culture with others through the universal medium of dance. For the past ten years, Laura has been teaching Chinese dance in Maryland to students from preschool through college. Currently, she dances and assists with courses at the Xuejuan Dance Ensemble in Herndon, VA. Laura has performed throughout the Washington, DC area, including at events hosted by the Chinese Cultural and Community Services Center (CCACC) in Montgomery County, MD, as well as at the Freer Gallery in Washington, DC as part of the Smithsonian Institution’s Chinese New Year Celebration. Laura has also helped develop and present Chinese dance educational programs for organizations in the Washington, DC area, including the Children’s Theatre-in-the-Woods at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Vienna, VA, and the Kennedy Center’s Dance Sanctuaries social impact program.

Mr. Serg Kharchev

Tennis Teacher

Mr. Serg Kharchev is a USPTA Certified Tennis Professional who earned a degree in Business Administration from Morgan State University in Baltimore while on a 4-year Full Scholarship for Varsity Tennis. In 2019 Serg won the Mid-Atlantic Conference and played in the NCAA D1 National Championships! Serg directs most of the Junior and Adult programs at QOSTC. He enjoys working with all age groups and skill levels including many who are preparing to compete and actively compete in tournaments. Serg began his coaching career in 2014 working with top Ukrainian players (of all ages) and working with members of the Ukrainian National U12 Team. Before arriving from Ukraine in 2018, Serg competed in tennis at all age levels with numerous accomplishments: ranked in the top 3 for U12, U14, U16, and U18 including winning the Ukrainian Championship for U14 and U12. Serg was also a National Team member. From 2021-2022 Serg was an Assistant Tennis Coach of the Men’s and Women’s College Teams for Morgan State.

Multi-Interest Teachers

Ms. Dawn Covington

Learning to Cook/Visual Arts

Say “Hello!” to Ms. Dawn Covington, our Academy’s beloved creative arts and culinary instructor! Dawn has been teaching art for 25 years and has run several informal and formal cooking clubs and classes. She enjoys cooking for her kids and experimenting with new things in the art studio and the kitchen. She is excited to welcome hands-on learning and fun into The CCACC Afterschool Program.

STEM Teachers

Mr. Simbisai Kahari

STEM

A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a B.F.A in Communication Arts, Mr. Simbisai Kahari has been passionate about STEAM & STEM education and has led CCACC Academy’s science and technology-related programs. In addition to teaching, Simbisai has painted and illustrated for over ten years, and designed (Graphic & Web Design) for the past three years. Simbisai currently resides in DC teaching robotics and technology. During his college years, Simbisai worked and educated at-risk youth at Elk Hill Farms and assisted in running and producing work out of the Hill Gallery.

Mr. Ollie Hardy

STEM & Math

Mr. Ollie Hardy is a MCPS Technology Teacher who loves what he does. Throughout his 17 year teaching career, Ollie has taught a variety of courses including Engineering, Game Design, Web Design, Lego Robotics & Computer-Aided Drafting Design. Mr. H (as his students call him) has taught grades 6-12 at a variety of Middle Schools and High Schools in Montgomery County. He currently is a 6th grade Computer Science Teacher at Silver Creek Middle School.

Afterschool Monitor

Chelsea Mai

Chelsea Mai is an artist who began drawing at the young age of 9. She has been influenced by many styles including anime, Art Nouveau, and religious imagery, which she incorporates into her art to this day. After teaching a range of people aged between 5 and 55, Chelsea learned she loves being able to see the growth of her students and imparting everything she’s learned over the past 20 years and at art school. Outside of art, her favorite things are cats, video games, and cats in video games.

Operations Coordinator

Ms. Jean Tso Li

Ms. Jean Tso has been working at Montgomery County Public Schools for 22 years. Her current jobs are the Westland Middle School Cafeteria Manager (full time), and the CCACC Academy Afterschool Program Operations Coordinator (part time). From 2011-2018, Jean worked part time as the Operations Coordinator of an academic learning center in Rockville, MD. Originally from Taiwan, Jean holds a B. Ed. from the National Taipei University of Education. She works hard to help provide the students with a safe and nurturing learning environment where they can study a wide spectrum of courses such as English and Math.