Yinghua Academy 2024-2025 School Board
Nathan Bode – nathan.bode@yinghuaacademy.org
Board Secretary
Nathan Bode is a Yinghua parent and a resident of Northeast Minneapolis and works as an IT Applications Manager at Cargill. He is interested in working with the School Board to evaluate and set long-term financial strategies for the school. His undergraduate degree in finance and accounting and his MBA are from the University of Minnesota. He also has served on the Eastside Meals on Wheels board as treasurer.
Colleen Ebinger – colleen.ebinger@yinghuaacademy.org
Colleen Ebinger is a strategy and business consultant who specializes in housing, real estate, public health, and climate resilience with clients spanning the public, private and nonprofit sectors. She holds a B.A. from the College of Saint Benedict and a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University. Fluent in Spanish, Colleen has lived in Spain, Honduras, and Nicaragua and especially appreciates immersion education for its impact on raising multilingual, multicultural citizens. Colleen is a parent to three current Yinghua students and a Yinghua alum. She has served as a classroom coordinator for multiple grades, contributed to two separate strategic planning processes, and is in her third season coaching the school’s cross country team. Go Dragons!
Paul Haller – paul.haller@yinghuaacademy.org
Governance Committee Chair
When Yinghua parent Paul Haller was in high school, his mother served on the school board of their rural Minnesota community. Her enthusiasm for education propelled him to Moorhead State University where he earned a degree in psychology. Subsequently he graduated from the University Of Minnesota Medical School. He then began teaching medical students and residents while working in the emergency room at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. More recently, he has been practicing at community hospitals in Stillwater and Hudson, Wisconsin. Over the years, he has had the privilege of practicing medicine abroad at sites in New Zealand, Tanzania, Cameroon, and Haiti. He has served on the board of directors for the YMCA of Shoreview and on the Ramsey County public health advisory committee.
Bryan Huang – bryan.huang@yinghuaacademy.org
Bryan Huang is a dedicated parent of four children attending Yinghua Academy, including two of his own and two nieces. With a professional background as an expert in Supply Chain and Procurement, Bryan brings valuable skills in negotiation and resource optimization to the school board. Originally from Taiwan and fluent in Mandarin, he offers cultural insights and support for organizing enriching social events for the school community. Bryan is committed to enhancing the educational experience for all students by focusing on fundraising, particularly corporate fundraising. His passion for educational excellence and practical expertise will help drive improvements and advancements at Yinghua Academy.
Barbara Knott – barbara.knott@yinghuaacademy.org
Barbara Knott is a parent to a current 7th grader and a former student who completed K-4 at Yinghua Academy. Barbara has spent her career in the software technology space with Oracle Corporation and Workday building and leading sales teams. More recently, she works directly with large financial services organizations who are looking to modernize their finance function. She has previously served on the board of Mayflower Early Childhood Center/Mayflower Montessori in Minneapolis, now known as Creekside Montessori. Barbara earned a BA from Smith College, Northampton, MA, in chemistry and mathematics. She joined the Yinghua Academy governance committee and the strategic planning committee in 2022, and officially joined the board in 2023.
Paul Landahl – paul.landahl@yinghuaacademy.org
Paul Landahl is a parent to two elementary school boys who attend Yinghua Academy. He lives in Northeast Minneapolis and works as a Quantitative Equity Research Analyst for a Minnesota Financial Services Firm. Paul has experience serving on various multi-family housing boards and is committed to board service, good governance and Yinghua’s mission of preparing students to be engaged and productive global citizens.
Andrew Lawton – andrew.lawton@yinghuaacademy.org
After working in Seattle, WA as a graphic designer, Yinghua parent Andrew Lawton returned to the Midwest. Graduating Summa Cum Laud from Minnesota State University, Mankato he began his teaching career at a project-based learning charter school. Lawton’s 21 years as an art educator has been almost entirely at charter schools. Recently Lawton obtained a Master’s of Science in Educational Leadership with a focus on Arts in Education and Project-Based Learning. Lawton brings a passion for student-centered learning and entrepreneurial thinking.
Cindy Moeller – cindy.moeller@yinghuaacademy.org
Board Chair, Personnel Committee Chair
Yinghua community member Cindy Moeller is now retired after a varied and interesting career. After earning a BA from Northwestern and an MSW from Western Michigan University, she served for four years as a school social worker in Battle Creek, MI. She then pursued an MBA at Northwestern followed by 20 years of work in various human resource leadership positions, including more than eleven years at General Mills. Her work at General Mills included serving as the Director of Human Resource Development and as an Innovation Leader. In 2003 she pursued her long-time interest in having an impact in public education. After participating in the year-long New Leaders for New Schools program in Chicago, she returned to Minnesota to direct a new charter school. Though that school was not able to attract enough students to open, she had the opportunity to take what those school founders had achieved (a charter, an authorizer, and a federal grant) to create Yinghua Academy. She served as Yinghua board chair for the first five years of the school’s existence and has helped in various ways over the years. She served again on the board starting in June 2019 and was elected board chair in December 2023.
Charles Robinson – charles.robinson@yinghuaacademy.org
Board Treasurer, Finance Committee Chair
Yinghua parent Charlie Robinson has lived within five miles of the University of Minnesota since receiving his Civil Engineering degree there. He has been a Structural Engineer at BKV Group in Minneapolis for most of his career, working on multi-family housing projects in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In the summertime, you can find him either bass fishing or boating at the cabin, with non-summer months packed full of ice fishing with the family and attending Gopher activities.
Pamella Stommes (杨老师) – pamella.stommes@yinghuaacademy.org
Development Committee Chair
Pamella is a licensed math teacher and the Middle School Mathematics Department Lead for Yinghua Academy who has over 10 years in leadership positions in secondary mathematics education. She is the grades 5-12 mathematics curriculum specialist for the district and has served on the Minnesota Math Comprehensive Assessments Review Committee for the middle grades since 2021. Her teaching expertise lies in the urban classrooms where diversity blooms. Pamella is also a parent to a Yinghua second grader and a seventh grader. Additionally, she has experience serving on School Boards in Twin City charter schools including Yinghua Academy and Community of Peace Academy. As a School Board member, she strives to offer an accessible and equitable education to all students in harmony with Chinese language and culture.
Yinglu Zeglin – yinglu.zeglin@yinghuaacademy.org
Yinglu Zeglin earned an MA in Education Administration with a minor in Teaching Second Languages and Cultures from the University of Minnesota in 2011. Since 2010, Yinglu has taught various grade levels in Chinese immersion settings at multiple schools. She led a middle school Chinese immersion program from 2014 to 2021 and served as the dean of Sẽn Lin Hú, a Concordia Language Village Summer Camp, from 2016 to 2022. Since 2021, Yinglu has been taking on the role of an Assistant Principal. She is passionate about inclusion and equity and is committed to making Yinghua Academy a welcoming school where everyone feels they belong.
Ying Zhang – ying.zhang@yinghuaacademy.org
Dr. Ying Zhang is a data scientist at Minnesota Supercomputing Institute, University of Minnesota. She uses her computer skills to study brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, hoping to find ways to prevent or treat them. Having grown up bilingual in Chinese and English, she understands the profound impact of a good immersion program on our next generation. Since her son started at Yinghua in 2021, she’s volunteered often at school events like field trips and cultural festivals. Over the past few years, she’s served as a classroom coordinator, which opened her eyes to the pressure teachers face, especially those in special education who often require extra resources to meet each student’s individual needs. This experience also highlighted the school’s financial challenges. Unlike public schools that receive funding from property taxes, Yinghua doesn’t have that option. Therefore, she joined the board in hope to advocate for the school, especially the special education teachers, and to contribute her knowledge on data science.
You may contact all board members by emailing board@yinghuaacademy.org.