Tina graduated from the University of Oxford, UK, and the University of Leuven, Belgium, holding both a bachelor's and a master's degree in Education. She currently serves as the Vice-President of the Oxford University Alumni Association in Guangzhou, leveraging the academic rigor of world-renowned institutions and a robust alumni network to support school development and student growth through a global lens.
With over 20 years of teaching and school‑management experience within IB international schools, Tina has extensive experience in CIS, WASC, and IB accreditation.
Tina previously held leadership roles at a well‑known IB international school. She joined ISA in 2013 as the founding Deputy Head of School of ISA Tianhe. In 2018, she was appointed Head of the International Education Division of Best Study Education Group. Her extensive experience in running schools enables her to deeply understand the essence of international education and provide the most suitable growth pathways for every student.
A seasoned expert in education management, Tina possesses a keen understanding of global education trends, educational research, and the evolving landscape of international curriculum development and accreditation.
In her concurrent role as Director of Public Affairs Department at ISA International Education Group, Tina is dedicated to creating a favorable development environment for the school, building global educational partnerships, and broadening students' international outlook and cross‑cultural communication skills.
Rovanna Bawden
Director of Student Support
Rovanna comes from Australia and has worked extensively in other big international schools across six countries, most recently at the International School of Macao and the Western Academy of Beijing.
She has a Master of Education in Inclusive Education and a Master of Education in Guidance and Counselling, and her expertise is in supporting families and students who require individual programming.
At ISASC, she will develop the Student Support Team which will grow to include pastoral care, English as an Additional Language, Learning Support, and Counselling services for students.
She believes that ISASC will be a school where all students can be successful given the right conditions, and with individualized support, all students can reach and even exceed their full potential.
Sean Maj
Athletic Director
Sean is the Athletic Director of ISA Science City, and Chair of the Pearl River Conference’s Green Division. He brings to the school a strong lifetime commitment to sport and and in-depth knowledge of leagues in Guangzhou, the Greater Bay Area, and China as a whole.
In the 2000’s he started the sport program at Utahloy International School of Guangzhou, helping them gain entrance into local leagues and ultimately ACAMIS. He attended the first ACAMIS sport league meetings that divided schools across China into divisions for competitive sport.
Mr. Maj graduated from McGill University of Montreal, (ranked 29th in the world) where he earned a 4-year Bachelor of Education with a major in teaching Physical Education and a minor in teaching English Literature. This balanced background makes him a holistic role model for our student athletes. The McGill program featured intensive coaching certifications in a range of sports coupled with student-teaching assignments in Montreal’s top schools.
At McGill Mr. Maj was selected for their American football team which competed on the national stage against the country’s top universities. This experience has helped him understand what it takes for our athletes to reach their aspirations for university or even professional sport; this year he is proud to witness the first ever signing of an ISASC Lions’ athlete by an NCAA team.
Sean is passionate about sport and building community through participation in league play. He believes that sport help students build resilience, understand commitment and develop relationships that last a lifetime. He looks forward to the continued success and growth of the ISASC Sports Program. Go Lions!
Coco Chen
Activities Coordinator
Coco is an enthusiastic experiential educator, a facilitator of community and social-emotional learning, and a student leadership coach. She has been working in education innovation and international education since 2014, leading experiential and social-emotional learning programs in China and Southeast Asia. Among the programs offered are adventure expeditions, nature and culture explorations, leadership workshops, Global Citizenship conferences, and social innovation projects. Coco is also passionate about promoting education equality. Her work in China, Thailand, and Nepal has been focused on empowering under-resourced youths to make a change in their local communities. Coco has conducted many Social Emotional Learning & Experiential Education Workshops for international educators in addition to serving as an educational consultant and trainer.
Adina Ondere
Learning Support Teacher
With 20 years of dedicated experience in special education, Adina have spent 15 years in the USA and the last 5 years in China, working with students from Early Childhood Education to Year 13. For the past four years, Adina served as the Head of Student Support and Safeguarding Lead at an international school in Beijing, where she implemented TIERD levels of support to foster inclusive learning environments.
Adina hold a BA and a Master's in Counseling and Exceptional Education, as well as a Master's in Educational Administration from the University of South Carolina. Her work involves close collaboration with parents, students, and teachers to create supportive environments that empower students to reach their full potential.
Adina is particularly interested in mental health and well-being, and she have pursued additional learning about English learners. Currently, Adina us also working towards ICF certification with the International Coaching Federation, enhancing her ability to guide students, parents, and educators in their developmental journeys.
Simon Macdonald
Student Wellness Counsellor
Mr.Simon Macdonald is a school wellness counselor and Licensed Clinical Social Worker. His professional experience spans schools in China, India, and the United States. In addition to his work in schools, Simon has held positions as both a counselor and clinical social worker in a hospital setting.
Simon holds a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Maine and a Bachelor of Science degree from Sheffield Hallam University.
Kelly McCarron
Psychologist
Kelly is a licensed clinical psychologist from the United States. She earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Columbia University (Barnard College) and a Doctor of Psychology degree from The Wright Institute, followed by a two-year neuropsychology postdoctoral fellowship, with a total of 17 years of clinical practice prior to joining ISA. She has extensive experience in neuropsychological assessment and psychotherapy and has published original research on social cognition, integrative health, and institutional courage. After first arriving in China, she enjoyed teaching and contributing to intercultural communication projects in the Department of English at Sun Yat-sen University. As an ISC Science City psychologist, Kelly is grateful to contribute to the communal goal of helping each student feel safe, seen, valued and successful. She also strives to promote educator, leadership, and family wellness to build a flourishing community that loves learning.
Shirley Zong
School Counsellor
Shirley has a Master of Counselling from Monash University and a Bachelor of Applied Psychology from South China Normal University. She has almost 2 years of experience in mental health centre as a psychotherapist for children and adolescents. In the hospital, she provides ethical and professional therapy and collaborates with psychiatrists and other mental health professionals to prevent individuals from risk and foster their wellness. She has a great passion for working with children and adolescents with the goal of helping young people enhance their resilience and achieve their full potential. In ISASC, she will establish rapport with students, their families and teachers to be the part of the support network.
Kristina Jdi
Library Coordinator
Kristina Jdi is an experienced educator with over eight years of teaching experience in upper elementary, middle, and secondary education in Canada and at international schools in Morocco. Her background in diverse classroom teaching roles has strengthened her practice as a secondary and middle school librarian and IB Extended Essay Coordinator. She is a graduate of Simon Fraser University, earned her Bachelor of Education from Vancouver Island University, and completed her teacher-librarian certification at Queen's University.
Kristina has successfully guided multiple IB DP cohorts through the Extended Essay process from start to finish. She has also developed Extended Essay and library websites, led IB workshops (both internally and externally), and worked closely with administrators to create handbooks and fine-tune and systematize school-wide programs, including advisory, CAS, and academic integrity policies. As a librarian, she enjoys collaborating with teachers to design meaningful, student-centered research projects that strengthen literacy, research, and critical thinking skills.
In her role as a teacher librarian, she is passionate about fostering research skills, integrating educational technology, and building community. She has a knack for transforming libraries into welcoming, innovative learning hubs where students are challenged to meet high standards and inspired to grow as readers, thinkers, and researchers.
Rebecca Bushell
Teacher Librarian
Rebecca (Becci) Bushell brings a wealth of experience from various professions to support students’ academic development and pastoral wellbeing. She excels at fostering positive learning environments and building strong community relationships.
With a background as a trained health professional, Becci has served as a midwife in both the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. During her time in Hong Kong, she discovered a passion for working with students and young adults, leading her to plan and deliver specialised sessions on relationships and sexuality across primary and secondary schools in the region.
In addition, Becci is a trained counsellor, holding a postgraduate diploma from Monash University. She expertly applied her counselling skills to support and develop students in her role as the after-school activities coordinator at an international school in Switzerland.
Vivian Lou
Teacher Librarian
Vivian holds a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Studies, specializing in understanding diversity in Early Childhood Education from Walden University (U.S.), as well as a Master’s degree in Media, Culture and Society from University of East Anglia (U.K.). Vivian has lived and studied abroad in the UK for several years. She has been working with children from the ages of two to six years for over 10 years. Vivian’s IBPYP teaching journey began in 2013 and she has worked in three IB world schools with English as the primary language of instruction. As an experienced Early Years educator, Vivian believes in holistic learning for young learners of all abilities, and that teachers are facilitator to inspire, develop and strengthen the interests of the student. As a mother of twins, Vivian understands the challenges that come with parenting, working and developing a multi-cultural perspective. In her pastime, she enjoys completing puzzles and spending time with her family.
Ana Liang
Library Assistant
Ana works in ISA Science City as a Library Assistant. She graduated from Zhujiang College of South China Agriculture university in 2015.During her university, she majored in the research on English culture. As she really loved Kids, she devoted herself into to English Pre-school Education after graduation from university. She had more than 5-year working experience on younger kid’s English teaching. Before she joined ISA, she worked in My GYM School and Giraffe American English as teacher assistant to be key communication bridge between school and parents, therefore she was professional in Kid’s and parent’s communication. When Ana is not at work, she enjoys doing yoga and traveling. She is joining IELTS. She enjoys challenge and hopes to offer most professional assistance for her students.
Leanne Chen
Associate Teacher
Leanne was born and raised in Guangzhou. Prior to joining ISA Science City, she has successfully worked at international schools in China in Learning Support, including leading a team for 4 years. With over 12 years of experience working in various international schools in Guangzhou, she is passionate about supporting students who have particular needs in order to develop their learning. She strongly believes that every child is unique with their different learning styles and capabilities. She is also known by the children with the nickname “Gamer”. This is because she often plays board games to build the rapport with students before she starts their interventions.
Leanne provides individual and group sessions to meet the specific needs of each learner. She collaborates regularly with other teachers and families to help students access the learning opportunities in their classroom. Furthermore, she helps her students to feel increased confidence in themselves, and in their social development, behavior management as well as their learning progress. She feels a great sense of achievement when she witnesses students’ progress, and receives genuine compliments from class teachers and parents. Her calm and patient nature is a valuable asset that allows her to deal with students of all ages. Her professional aim is to use her knowledge, languages and experiences to nurture students who need support in terms of learning.
Nan Jiang
Associate Teacher
Nan is an Associate Teacher at ISA Science City International School. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in 2017. Nan worked in the library for several years, during which she participated in a large number of children's reading promotion activities. During that period, Nan met many children. She believes that students are independent individuals. She respects the independence of students and encourages them to face difficulties, continue to learn, and grow to be a lifelong learner. Nan believes that education is a happy encounter. Becoming a good teacher with a lifelong learning and a benevolent heart is her goal. She believes that in her teaching, children can feel the warmth of family and the joy of learning, and grow to be outstanding talents.
Fern Liu
Data Impact Analyst
Fern hails from Yichang, Hubei, a city celebrated for its iconic Three Gorges. She completed her undergraduate studies in Applied Statistics at the Central South University for Nationalities, where she honed her analytical skills. Following graduation, she embarked on a three-year journey with a Contract Research Organization (CRO), where she specialized in clinical data analysis. Her role involved leveraging analytical software to manage and interpret vast datasets, with proficiency in tools such as SAS and SQL. This experience has not only sharpened her data sensitivity but also instilled in her a meticulous approach to work and the ability to effectively coordinate and schedule tasks. She is confident that these skills, coupled with her professional experience, will enable her to play her role in the education sector, where she aims to delve deeply and contribute meaningfully.
