Your current location:HomeAbout UsLeadership
Senior Leadership Team (SLT)
The Senior Educational Leadership Team is responsible for the educational programs at our BIBS Shunyi campus. The individual and collective experience of our educational leadership team is extensive and impressive. This team is tasked with realizing the Beanstalk bilingual educational mission, modeling the behaviours identified in our school motto, and ensuring the professional implementation of our three International Baccalaureate Programs (PYP, MYP, and DP) with the Chinese National Curriculum. 
Kathy Shi
Kathy Shi
Founder / Board Director

Ms. Kathy Shi graduated from China Youth Political Science University and got a Bachelor‘s degree in Adolescent Education in 1994. She became the Principal of Beanstalk International Kindergarten (BIK) in 1998 when she began to explore the new mode of combining Eastern and Western education. In 2003, she founded the BIBS Primary School (now BIBS Upper East Side Campus) and in 2009, she opened the BIBS MS/HS school connecting the Primary, Middle and High School and making BIBS a full K- 12 school. For 17 years, Kathy has involved in international education and her wish is that “the experiences and ideas of BIBS can better serve both society and Chinese international education. ”

Shuyan Wang
Shuyan Wang
Chinese Principal

Ms Wang's Education experience spans over twenty years. She was a senior teacher and a National Core Teacher for as well as the home room teacher of 'Ivy League' students at RDFZ. She has ten years' experience in International Education Management and has a profound understanding of the significance of education to families. She led the RDFZ Sino-foreign cooperative education project. Her vision is to create a warm and unique future education concept that respects students' personality and inspires their greatest potential within the Beanstalk Education Group.

Claire Liu
Claire Liu
Executive Principal

Claire Liu has a Master of Education in University of Edinburgh. After she graduated in 2011, she worked in private school first and then public school.She has 8 years' experience in international education. and joined in the Beijing Bayi School International Department as a co-founder in 2013. She worked as the director and was responsible for future development strategy, curriculum design, college counselling and student management etc. She believes that a great school should be responsible for each student and create the platform for both individualized study and holistic development. Love in education is the magic to change a student's life.

Betty Bai
Betty Bai
Whole School Leadership

Ms Betty Bai has worked in International Bilingual Education for the past 20 years, including 14 years in senior leadership. In 2001, she joined the BIBS group, where she taught before becoming a Principal and was part of the founding teams for both BIBS Kindergarten and K-12 schools around China. She has a wide range of skills and experiences, having been an Academic Principal, Director of Operations and Kindergarten group director during her time in the BIBS group.

Her personal motto is: “Being passionate straightens the path towards excellence.” She looks forward to sharing her love of learning as she works with our students, parents, staff and community to create a wonderful environment here at BIBS Haidian Academy.

Mr. Zawacki
Mr. Zawacki
MSHS foreign principal

Mr. Zawacki earned a bachelor's in history with an option in Social Science and specialized in the history of ideas and legal history.  From California, he holds a Secondary Teaching Credential in Social Science, English, and Cross-cultural, Language, and Academic Development (CLAD)(ELA)(SDAIE) and a Master of Science in Education, with an emphasis in Online Teaching and Learning (EdTech).  Twice selected by the National Endowment of the Humanities, he studied at Amherst College and UCL/University Nottingham. In addition, he had the honor of studying with two Nobel Prize winning economists: Douglas North (Institutions) and Vernon Smith (Game Theory). Other post graduate work includes studies at Loyola Marymount University, U.C. Davis, University of the Pacific, UOP McGeorge School of Law, NYU, George Mason University, James Madison University, SIEPR at Stanford University, and the Federal Reserve Bank. He has earned certificates from Cornell University and from the London School of Economics. 


Mr. Zawacki taught for eleven years in California before moving to China. In China he has taught at Beijing No. 4 IC (3 years), RDFZ ICC (2 years), and in Hong Kong (2 years). Before becoming a teacher, he was a manager for Tower and International Liaison for a publisher. 


Gerrie Blignaut
Gerrie Blignaut
ES/EYC Principal

Gerrie Blignaut is an experienced Primary School leader, with over 18 years of teaching and leading across all Primary levels. He has a B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education Degree) from the University of South Africa. He also successfully  completed his CSML (School Management and Leadership) course at Harvard Business School and is currently busy with his MBA (Master of Business  Administration) Degree at York University St. John’s.  Gerrie, his wife and six year old daughter have lived in China for over 2 years where he has served as the head of primary at a Bilingual International school in Foshan and is thrilled to bring his skills as an educational leader to BIBS Haidian academy. Gerrie is a transformational leader in education who leads by example and places a high value on creating community bonds, which encourage both students and teachers to greater levels of achievement. He enjoys spending time with his family, exploring nature walks and love to travel. 

Mico Men
Mico Men
ES Chinese Principal

Chinese Principal of primary School, M.ED. Master of Education Leadership, B.A. Bachelor of Chinese Language and Literature, qualified for the post of president of Beijing Normal University.


She has been engaged in international bilingual education for nearly 20 years and co-founded three well-known international bilingual schools in Beijing. She has served as a Chinese teacher, teaching director, IBPYP course Coordinator and Principal of the Department, and won the honorary titles of Excellent Teacher in Shunyi District, Excellent Educator in Shunyi District and Excellent Educator in Beijing. Proficient in The Chinese national curriculum, IB framework and IPC international curriculum, dedicated to academic research and curriculum development, education and teaching management and reform, professional teachers and compound team training; She wrote the teaching instruction manual of the reading project, led the team to develop and construct the Chinese curriculum structure, bilingual mathematics curriculum framework, Learning Center English classroom model and diversified evaluation system.

Jennifer Hou
Jennifer Hou
Principal of EYC

Jennifer Hou graduated from Nankai University, majoring in English Language Education. Thereafter, she went to Canada to pursue preschool education. She devotes herself to the cause of preschool education as a lifelong learner. During the two decades of teaching and management, she has been affectionately known as 'Hou mom'. With 7 years of IB teaching and management experience and 14 years of International kindergarten management experience, Jennifer Hou is deeply aware of the importance of preschool education in a child's life, and believes that the core value of education is 'Helping the child become himself'.

Marina Chen
Marina Chen
Academic Principal of EYC

Ms. Marina Chen was one of the founding staff at the BIBS Shunyi Campus and has 12 years’ experience in international education. During her last five years with the Beanstalk International Education Group,   Marina has successfully held the roles of Principal at BIK Shunyi and Wanda CBD campuses. As an educator Marina believes in teaching how to fish rather than giving a fish.

施华 女士

创始人董事长兼总裁

创始人董事长兼总裁