Tammy Hughes
Lead Teacher for Kindergarten
Originally from Florida, USA, Tammy has over 30 years of experience as a Waldorf educator and mentor in various settings.
- Began as a Waldorf kindergarten teacher in New Zealand, ’89 – ’90
- Ran her own Waldorf kindergarten in Durham, North Carolina, ’94-’04
- Taught at Highgate House School in Hong Kong, ’06
- Gave workshops and trainings in Mainland China on Waldorf early education, ’05-’17
- Mentor and trainer at a Waldorf kindergarten in Shenzhen, ’10-’17
- Senior teacher and pedagogical mentor at a Waldorf kindergarten in Hong Kong, ’18
- With IWS since ’19
Kaelly So
Class Teacher at Kindergarten
Kaelly was among the first cohort of locally trained Waldorf early childhood educator.
- 3-year Hong Kong Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher Training Program by WECC and RSEFHK, ’16
- Kindergarten teacher in two Waldorf early childhood settings, ’15 -’19
- With IWS since ’20
Gabriel Williams
Class Teacher for Class I
Gabriel is a Waldorf graduate and has taught in Waldorf schools for 7 years before joining IWS.
- Bachelor of Education, ’09
- Class teacher at the oldest Waldorf school in Africa, ’11 – ’15
- Class teacher at a Waldorf school located on a farm in South Africa, ’18 – ’19
- Class teacher at an international school in Kuwait, ’19 – ’20
- With IWS since ’20
Mala Almeida
Class Teacher for Class II
Mala was a Waldorf parent and has come to us from Mumbai, India, where she previously taught grades 1 to 6 in a large Waldorf school.
- Completed Steiner Teacher Training in Mumbai, ’05
- Class teacher at the largest Waldorf school in India, ’05-’08, ’10-12
- Facilitator at UnTaboo, which provides sex ed to schools and other groups, ’13-18
- Completed Steiner Advanced Teacher Training, ’15
- With IWS since ’19
Hajnal Nemeth
Class Teacher for Class III
Hajnal was originally from Hungary. She has worked in a variety of Waldorf settings in Eastern Europe and Asia.
- Bachelor in Education, ’03
- Certificate in Waldorf class teaching with specialization in drama, ’02 – ’04
- Class teacher at a Waldorf school in central Hungary, ’04 – ’09
- Private support teacher for children with ASD, ’07 – ’11
- Founder and head teacher of a private Waldorf school, ’12 – ’16
- Class teacher at a Waldorf school in Singapore, ’17, ’20
- Lead teacher and therapist at a Waldorf school located in a farm in Taiwan, ’18
- With IWS since ’20
Philip Beaven
Class Teacher for Class IV
Philip began his career as a trained eurythmist and went on to become a Waldorf class teacher. He is now running our Teacher Training program in addition to being a Class Teacher.
- Diploma in Eurythmy, ’75 – ’79
- Eurythmy, religion, and pottery teacher at a Waldorf school, ’79 – ’83
- Working in performing arts – eurythmy, dance, acting, puppetry, directing, ’83 – ’03
- Master of Arts in Advanced Theatre Practice, UK, ’00 – ’01
- Eurythmy and Theatre teacher at the Academy for Living Movement, Vienna, ’03 – ’08
- Eurythmy and then class teacher (grades 1 through 8) at the oldest Waldorf school in the UK, ’08 – ’17
- Director of part time teacher training courses in Beijing, Guangzhou, and Qingdao, ’12 – ’18
- With IWS since ’18
Deepa Ganju
Class Teacher for Class V
Deepa has over 20 years of teaching experience. Just before joining IWS, she shepherded a group of children through grade 1 to 6 as a Waldorf class teacher.
- Masters degree in English literature, ’95
- English teacher in primary grades at Delhi NCR public schools, ’96-’10
- Class teacher at the largest Waldorf school in India, ’11-’17
- With IWS since ’17
Venus So
Subject Teacher, Chinese
Venus tutored English for over 8 years before arriving at IWS. Since then, her experience in tailor-making curriculum and her innate passion for the Chinese language motivated her to become a Chinese subject teacher.
- Bachelor of Arts in English for the Professions, ’13
- Trinity Level 5 Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, ’17
- With IWS since ’18
Venus is also an avid artist who enjoys making pastel pictures and polymer clay miniatures and playing the piano.
Pinky Lu
Subject Teacher, Chinese
Pinky began tutoring children at an early age. Her ardor for teaching guided her towards pursuing a degree in education. She first joined IWS as a kindergarten teacher and later switched to teaching lower grades Chinese.
- Higher Diploma in Early Childhood Education Programme, ’16
- Class teacher at a local kindergarten, ’16 – ’19
- BEd (ECE) in Leadership and Special Needs, ’20
- With IWS since ’19
Pinky enjoys making craft and experimenting with new recipes in her spare time.
Zoran Zovko
Subject Teacher, Eurythmy
Originally from Metković, Croatia, Zoran has worked in Camphill communities and Waldorf schools in a career that spanned the UK, Germany, and Taiwan. Zoran is an accredited curative eurythmy therapist and is deeply experienced in working with families with children with special needs. He is also a trainer in our Teacher Training program.
- Completed 4-year full time Diploma of Eurythmy program at Peredur Centre for the Arts, UK, ’97
- Completed 2-year Diploma of Curative Eurythmy program at Peredur Centre for the Arts, UK, ’99
- Eurythmy teacher and therapist at a Camphill community in Northern Ireland, ’97 – ’00
- Eurythmy teacher and therapist at a Steiner school in Scotland, ’00 – ’02
- House leader, therapist, performing art director at a Camphill community in Germany, ’02 – ’09
- Founded and managed an eco-village / threefold community inspired by anthroposophy in Kenya, ’09 – ’13
- Eurythmy teacher, therapist, high school humanities teacher at a Waldorf school in Taichung, Taiwan, ’13 – ’18
- With IWS since ’20
LeAnn Fu
Subject Teacher, Handwork
LeAnn came to learn about Waldorf education as a parent and worked in various Waldorf settings in Hong Kong before joining IWS.
- Hong Kong Waldorf Early Childhood Teacher Training Program by WECC and RSEFHK, ’14-’16
- Early childhood teacher in several Waldorf settings, ’16-’18
- With IWS since ’18
Outside of school, LeAnn still enjoys doing handcraft.
Maggie Chan
Co-Founder & Director
- Brought up and educated in Hong Kong
- Previously an operations director at a UK-based fashion group. She has strong technical and operational experience in managing complex projects.
- Maggie became interested in educational theories after the arrival of her daughter. She has taken short courses in Montessori and Waldorf education in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
- In her spare time, Maggie enjoys yoga, meditation, and handcraft.
Sharon Tsui
Co-Founder & Director
- Brought up and educated in Hong Kong and the US.
- Previously an investment professional at several private equities and an investment bank; later founded a specialty toy store and an NGO advocating natural parenting practices.
- Sharon became interested in Waldorf education after a chance visit to a Waldorf kindergarten in Hong Kong. Over time she studied foundational anthroposophy in short courses at Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training (San Francisco) and Emerson College (Guangzhou). Currently a student in the Island Waldorf Teacher Training program.
- Her favorite pastimes are crocheting and cooking.
Jane Cheung
HR & Operations Manager
- Brought up and educated in Hong Kong
- A Human Resources veteran at various technology companies, Jane has managed people of a wide range of personalities and functions.
- Jane became interested in Waldorf education as she searched for a pedagogy that befits her family’s ethos. She has participated in a Waldorf early childhood teacher training in Hong Kong.
- Jane also leads the craft circle at IWS.
Ivy Yip
- Principal of a primary school in Hong Kong.
- Ivy has over 20 years of experience in teaching and school administration. She also holds master degrees in education, literature, and Christian studies.
- Ivy is an avid writer of children’s picture books, one of which won an award from Children’s Literature and Culture Association of Hong Kong.
Julie Lam
- Founder and Director of Highgate House School, the oldest & largest Waldorf kindergarten in Hong Kong.
- Core Tutor on North of England Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Studies Program, Course Leader of Diploma in Steiner Waldorf Early Childhood Studies in Hong Kong, and guest tutor on a Education University of Hong Kong Master’s program.
- Julie has over 30 years of experience in early childhood education. She is also qualified in Montessori, Waldorf, Pikler methods, IAIM Baby Massage, and play therapy.
- She loves creating healthy snacks and practicing yoga in her spare time.
George Perry
- Former head of Educational Development at Emerson College UK, a center for Steiner studies.
- Currently a Senior Educational Associate with Emerson and coordinating its Anthroposophical Foundational Studies program in China.
- George has over 30 years experience in leading biography workshops and personal development training from an anthroposophical perspective.
- In his spare time, George likes dancing and collecting crystals.
Graham Kennish
- Waldorf Steiner teacher with over 45 years of experience.
- Graham still teaches secondary school Chemistry and Biology main lessons. He travels among Waldorf schools to support class teachers over science and contributes to several teacher training courses. Graham regularly gives talks on Steiner Waldorf education to public and parents.
- He is also a fully qualified psychotherapist, published author and counsellor.