Faculty & Staff Directory

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 2026

Ellie Han joins CAIS as a bilingual (Mandarin–English) music and movement educator with over two decades of experience in performing arts education, most recently serving as Lead Music and Movement Teacher at San Francisco Day School.

Grounded in Orff Schulwerk, Kodály, and Dalcroze approaches, her teaching invites children to experience music as a language through singing, movement, and creative expression. She designs performance-based curricula and leads school-wide concerts that cultivate artistry, collaboration, and a strong sense of community.

A trained children’s yoga instructor, Ellie thoughtfully integrates mindfulness and body awareness into her teaching, deepening students’ musical expression, embodied understanding, and holistic development.

Beyond the classroom, Ellie enjoys time by the ocean, practicing yoga, and engaging in the arts.

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 in 2022

Jenny has a B.A. in Art History from San Francisco State University and most recently was the Membership Coordinator for the Asian American Women Artists Association. Jenny brings a positive personality and a strong administrative skill set to the position.

Began at CAIS 2026

Began at CAIS 2025

Began at CAIS in 2012

Hsu Laoshi has taught Chinese in K–8 immersion programs for 11 years in the US. and has been with CAIS since 2012. A member of the CAIS Curriculum Committee, she has made presentations at ACTFL, CLTA, NCLC, and STARTALK conferences for the past nine years, and also gave a one-week workshop on immersion school teaching at National Taiwan Normal University. She has served as a master teacher at the Virginia STARTALK Chinese Teacher Academy at the University of Virginia for four summers.

Began at CAIS in 2021

Hu Laoshi was born and raised in Mainland China. She graduated from San Francisco State University with both a B.A. and an M.A. degree in Chinese: Concentration in Chinese Literature &​ Linguistics. She has been an early childhood educator for over 5 years. Working with children has always been a passion and she loves seeing smiles on the children’s faces when they learn something new. Things she enjoys outside of work are spending time with family, traveling, clay molding, and trying different cultural cuisines.

Began at CAIS in 2014

Began at CAIS 2024

Xinyi (Cindy) Huang is from Yangzhou, China. She has teaching experience from PreK to 12th grade and also worked as a full-time music teacher in Maryland, responsible for general music, choir, band, and orchestra instruction. She holds a Maryland teaching certificate and has Orff and Kodály music teaching certifications. Her primary instrument is voice, and she has performed many opera pieces and art songs. In her free time, she loves traveling, trying new things, tasting different cuisines, watching sports, and playing pool. She is particularly fond of Yoga, Pilates, and dance, and is currently learning African dance. Making life interesting is one of her favorite things. As an ENFP personality type, she enjoy making friends and socializing. Furthermore, she is passionate about her work, loves building relationships with her students, and enjoys sharing the joy of music with them.