The Village Teacher

Jeremy,or 史老師 Shi Laoshi as his students call him, is the Founder and Executive Director of the Communitea Project and its Consortium initiative sponsor companies: Storied Journeys, The Village Teacher, and Communitea House.

Before starting this venture, Jeremy has spent the last 15 years in traditional and experiential education, mentoring new teachers, in business development, and volunteering his time in service to non-profit work for communities in the United States and abroad.  He is proud of the years he has spent teaching almost every age: Pre-school through University, in Special Education, English Language Learners, History, and Mandarin Chinese. He has also worked for the last six years collaborating, planning, and leading experiential education trips to the back and front countries of Washington, as well as to countries like Taiwan and China. Jeremy is very proud of his work connecting school communities through cultural exchanges between Seattle, Taipei, Taidong, Beijing, and Chengdu. He is also proud and honored to work as Instructional Lead, Pedagogy Expert, and Master Teacher Mentor for the ODNI and NSA backed StarTalk initiative through City University in Seattle. Through this program, Jeremy has worked with other amazing educators and community leaders to help mentor new teachers from around the globe looking to get their start in public education here in the United States. In the last decade, these programs have helped certify over 70 BIPOC teachers across the state and have worked hard to increase representation and opportunities for aspiring teachers from many and diverse backgrounds. Jeremy is passionate about creating and leveraging opportunities through Village Teacher to continue offering high quality professional development, placement, and networking opportunities to connect aspiring teachers with aspiring young minds.

Kathy Tien is a member of the Board of Directors for the Communitea Project, as well as Director of Operations for its sponsor companies:  Storied Journeys, The Village Teacher, and Communitea House.

Before joining the Communitea Project, Kathy worked for over a decade as an administrator at the prestigious Mandarin Training Center at National Taiwan Normal University. There, Kathy designed, coordinated and lead experiential education programs for students from around the globe. After moving to the United States, Kathy has worked for the last five years as the lead Elementary School Mandarin Chinese teacher at the Westside school in West Seattle, as well as at the Seattle Chinese School of Bellevue.  

Kathy received her BA in Mass Communication from Sheng-te College in Taipei, Taiwan and her MA in Design Strategy and Innovation from Brunel University in London, England. Her passion and love for art, design, education, and community connection continue to drive her work.  

When Kathy isn’t teaching or working with the community, she enjoys spending time with her husband Sunny and their family in Beacon Hill and Issaquah.  

Amanda is the Founder of Full Strength Human. This organization's mission is to inspire positive change and empower families and organizations to cultivate greater flourishing. Amanda is a National Board Certified Teacher and has been leading, coaching, and teaching in the Puget Sound area since 2005, and is passionate about researching the best data and practices for positive human development and organizational excellence. Amanda specializes in values-centric and wellness-driven consulting and coaching that is individualized to the unique strengths and goals of her clients. Amanda holds degrees in Positive Psychology, from the University of Pennsylvania, and Interdisciplinary Child Development, from Western Washington University.