Andrew Shirman
Founder
George Dong is a founder of Education In Sight and is passionate about providing access to quality education around the world. George holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan, where he was the commencement speaker for the class of 2009. After graduation, he joined Teach For America and taught two years in the inner city of Chicago. As a ninth grade English teacher, he was named Teacher of the Year at his school. He was a J. William Fulbright Scholar to China where he launched this eyeglasses initiative. A Fuzhou native, George enjoys basketball, buffet, and road trips through national parks with friends and family.
Andrew Shirman’s desire to achieve educational equality in China and around the world became a true passion during his two-year fellowship with Teach For China. While teaching 7th grade English at Pingcun Middle School, Andrew initiated programs for both remedial and gifted students to foster their English abilities outside regular class hours. In his second year, Andrew spearheaded the glasses initiative in Yunnan, developing the proposal and locating funding to launch the program. Prior to teaching in China, Andrew graduated from Boston College where he majored in philosophy and was captain of the school's fencing team.
A Seattle native and Middlebury College graduate, Kristen has worked to provide underprivileged students a quality education in Latin America and later China as a Teach For China Fellow. In her second year as a Fellow, she partnered with Andrew and John to bring free glasses to students at her rural Chinese middle school. Still a member of the Teach For China family, Kristen currently works out of Beijing as a Development Manager on the Growth Strategy and Development Team. She is thrilled to continue working with Education in Sight to provide even more students with the glasses they need to see clearly and reach their academic potential.
Sam Waldo assisted in the very first year of Education in Sight's program as a teacher with Teach for China in remote Yongbao village in rural Yunnan. He has been passionate about educational inequity in China since he first studied Chinese at Columbia University, and his two years in rural China deepened his resolve to confront this issue. Out of his 7th-grade class of 53 students, there were 14 who needed glasses. Providing corrected vision to these students is one of Sam's proudest accomplishments from his two years of teaching. Sam has been working with Education in Sight since moving to Beijing in 2012, and currently focuses on donor relations as the organization's Chief Development Officer.
Kristen Faiferlick
Vice-President of Growth
and Development
Sam Waldo
Chief Development Officer
George Dong
Founder
Sara Shirman
Creative Director
Emily Chen
Director of U.S. Operations
Sara has always had a passion for design and how much power it can hold. During her undergraduate experience at the University of Wisconsin - Madison she received a well rounded education in Art and also found a passion for Environmental Studies. It became apparent to her that good design was the backbone for making a difference through her internship with the Clean Lakes Alliance of Dane County. By helping the organization with its design goals, she was able to see the impact that her creativity and passion could have in a non-profit environment. When not behind her Macbook, Sara enjoys painting, crafting and spending time outdoors.
Emily Chen is excited to be part of the Education In Sight team developing the U.S. side operations. Growing up in Los Angeles and attending public schools, Emily has always been interested in bridging social and educational disparities. She attended Yale University where she majored in Economics and Religious Studies. Some of her favorite memories in college include volunteering with her sorority, Spring Break service trips, brainstorming solutions to social problems with friends in dining halls, and spending her summers and year off hiking and eating her way through China. Emily is currently a medical school student at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Gina Chen
Vice-President of Growth and Development
Gina graduated from Yale University with honors in Political Science. Throughout college, she designed curriculum and advocacy training workshops for immigrants in New Haven and Washington, D.C. After graduation, Gina received a Fulbright scholarship to conduct research on post-quake community rebuilding efforts in China. She is also a Gates Millennium Scholar, Yale Urban Fellow, and a Drum Major Institute for Public Policy Scholar. She enjoys painting, calligraphy, performing arts, traveling, and collecting historical folktales.
Bryan Dooley graduated from Middlebury College in 2012 with a double major in Chinese and Biochemistry. After graduation he joined Teach For China, where he is currently serving as a teaching fellow in China’s Yunnan Province. Excited and inspired by his work with Education in Sight during his first year in Yunnan, he is very much looking forward to joining the team and coordinating the organization’s efforts in China this year.
Bryan Dooley
Director of China Operations
