About Us
We are a passionate collective of Cantonese teachers and
content creators, united by a shared commitment to
advancing Cantonese language education.
Board of Directors & Officers
President
Kristy Wong currently serves as the Assistant Principal at Merit Chinese School, where she plays a pivotal role in shaping the educational environment. Her deep commitment to teaching and nurturing young minds is evident in her concurrent roles as a Chinese school teacher and SEL (Social-Emotional Learning) coach. A proud alumna of the University of Southern California (USC), Kristy is a native of the vibrant city of Hong Kong and a native Cantonese speaker. She currently resides in Dallas, Texas, where she also founded and runs the Cantonese Book Club. Kristy is a strong proponent of progressive and immersive learning and is passionate about fostering strong teacher-parent-child bonds. She champions the promotion of family reading and open communication as essential elements for a child's success. Driven by a mission to preserve Cantonese culture and advance Cantonese language instruction, Kristy is honored to be the President of the Cantonese Language Teachers Association.
Vice President
Sandra Zhao was born and raised in San Francisco, where she grew up in a close-knit immigrant community that spoke Cantonese and Toishanese daily. Surrounded by the language both at home and in her neighborhood, she developed a deep appreciation for her cultural and linguistic roots. After attending Chinese school as a child and later studying Mandarin in college, Sandra pursued a career in education, earning her bilingual teaching certificate with a Cantonese focus. Since 2009, she has been a dedicated educator at the nation’s first Chinese immersion school, Alice Fong Yu Alternative School, where elementary students learn core subjects in Cantonese and are introduced to Mandarin in middle school. Now serving as assistant principal, Sandra works collaboratively with staff to sustain and celebrate Cantonese language and culture, inspiring students to become proudly biliterate in English and Chinese.
Treasurer
Kaiyan Wong was born in Macau and raised in Hong Kong. She came to the United States as a foreign exchange student in high school, where she continued her college education and began her career. Immersed in an English-speaking environment, she primarily used English—except when traveling back to Hong Kong or communicating with her family and friends there. After having her first child in America, Kaiyan quickly realized the importance of teaching her son Cantonese so he could communicate with his grandparents, who do not speak English. This inspired her to start a YouTube channel with her son, focusing on Cantonese language learning for multicultural families. Since then, she has dedicated herself to creating educational videos and interviewing Cantonese-speaking mothers from around the world. Her passion for language and culture led her to be hired by a Chinese school to teach Cantonese programs. In addition, she provides private tutoring for students and families who want to learn Cantonese and stay connected to their heritage.
Secretary
Francisca Hom was born and raised in Hong Kong, a native Cantonese speaker with some Mandarin learned in school. She immigrated to the USA as a teen, and is fortunate enough to have lived in a community where Chinese is used in daily lives. Along with constant contact with friends and family from home, she got to maintain her literacy skills in Cantonese. Now, as an elementary ESL teacher during the week and a Chinese school program director on the weekends, Francisca continues to make use of her lived experience of bilingualism to work with students on language development, whether in English or in Cantonese.
Membership Director
Eveline Yu was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Canada at six. She and her brother maintained Cantonese at home through their parents’ “Cantonese only” rule, and stayed connected to Hong Kong culture through her access to TVB and Cantonese radio in Vancouver. Eveline earned her B.A. in English and B.Ed. from SFU and her Master in Educational Technology from UBC. She has taught in B.C., Ontario, mainland China, Japan, and Mexico. After becoming a mother, she shifted from teaching English to Cantonese, creating music circles, online programs, and founding two children’s bookstores to give families access to Cantonese learning materials. Today, Eveline teaches in the local school district (K–12), writes Cantonese songs, translates children’s books, and continues to build communities that make learning Cantonese accessible and engaging.
Founder & Executive Director
Dr. Sik Lee Dennig is a psycholinguist with nearly 40 years of teaching and research experience and a lifelong passion for helping people discover the beauty of language and culture. Her research, which focuses on the acquisition of Cantonese as a first or heritage language, speech production, and discourse analysis, has directly informed her teaching methods. She earned her PhD from Stanford University, where she also founded and taught the Cantonese language program for more than 20 years. She helped develop and taught the TESOL program at East Carolina University, and her work in ESL, EFL, and linguistics took her around the world. She fell in love with teaching Cantonese when she realized she was sharing more than just a language; she was helping young people reconnect with their roots and community. When she is not teaching, she enjoys long walks with her two dogs, her favorite way to relax and recharge.
We believe in the power of language education to enrich lives, foster connections, and empower individuals to reach their full potential.
Our Mission
At Cantonese Language Teachers Association, our mission is to elevate the standards of Cantonese language education by fostering collaboration, promoting cultural appreciation, and providing resources and support for our members.
Our Vision
We envision a future where Cantonese language education is widely valued, supported, and celebrated, contributing to the cultural richness and diversity of our global community.
Our Values
We emphasize inclusivity, respect for cultural heritage, community collaboration, and the empowerment of individuals to connect deeply with the Cantonese language and its rich traditions.
