Dr. Bonnie Liao, the Lead Founder & Board Chair, has been the Principal & Trustee of YingHua Language School, which she founded in May 2002. YingHua Language is the first community-based school accredited by CSS at Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. She has also initiated and designed the "YingHua in Beijing" Summer Language & Leadership Institute providing learning opportunities to American youth ages 8 to 17 who spend a month in China. She has been the Director of the program since 2004. In May 2007, she founded YingHua International School (aka YingHua Day School) as one of the first Chinese-English dual language schools in the United States combining language immersion with an internationally-focused inquiry-based curriculum framework. After working for a large financial firm as VP of Management Science for a decade, she taught math at a top private college preparatory high school in New Jersey. Born and raised in China, she received her Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Houston and an MBA in Finance & Information Technology from Rutgers University. Read Founder's Statement of Interest.

Ms. Norma Jean Byers is the Assistant Head of School at Princeton Charter School and one of the founding administrators since 1997-1998. She also teaches two classes of mathematics in the middle school and believes that providing students with a challenging and engaging math curriculum will help them lay the groundwork for future success. Ms. Byers was head of the K- 12 mathematics department at Stuart Country Day School from 1982-1997. She completed a Master's degree in Educational Leadership at The College of New Jersey and holds a Bachelor of Science in Education with a minor in Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh. A supporter of charter schools and an active participant in the charter school movement, Ms. Byers served on the Board of Trustees at Trenton Community Charter School before joining the PIACS board. She is currently on the Policy Committee.

Ms. Kristin Epstein is a registered professional engineer. After completing Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Princeton U and Johns Hopkins U, respectively, she was an environmental engineer for 10 years. She assisted manufacturing companies comply with the gamut of environmental regulations; and conducted audits and environmental inspections of a variety of facilities. In 2008, Ms. Epstein opted out of the paid work force to focus on her children and volunteer activities. Since that time, she successfully restarted the Princeton U Princeton Area Alumni Association by personally recruiting executive committee members, writing constitution and by-laws, and establishing non-profit status. As President of this non-profit, Ms. Epstein conducts fundraising; organizes events; authors marketing materials; liaises with the University; and builds connections.

Mr. Nigel Furlonge began his career as a teacher in American History after graduating from the Boston Latin School and the University of Pennsylvania. He has worked in three different boarding schools: Holderness (NH), St. Andrew's (DE) and Lawrenceville (NJ). He also has degrees in American History from Villanova University and an M. Ed. from Columbia University, having received a Klingenstein Fellowship in 2005–2006. In addition to his teaching, coaching and dorm parenting over the years, Nigel also served as the Director of Diversity, the chair of the Honor Committee and a Director of Studies at various points. He concluded his tenure as the Academic Dean at The Lawrenceville School in 2010 and serves as the Director of Admissions and Residential Life of a PK–8 school opening up in Trenton, New Jersey, called Christina Seix Academy.

Ms. Helen Ming is the President of Aureuseed Wealth Management LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor helping clients achieve their financial objectives. Aureuseed’s services include investment management, financial planning, tax management and asset protection. Helen’s other professional financial experience includes positions at Merrill Lynch, JPMorgan Chase, and REIS, Inc. Helen has an MPA degree from Princeton University and MA and BA degrees in Economics from Wuhan University in China, as well as a graduate-level Certificate in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University. Helen holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts. She also has the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP®) certification and is a CHARTERED RETIREMENT PLANNING COUNSELORSM (CRPC®).

Dr. Rajan Ravikumar is a practicing physician and resident of West Windsor-Plainsboro for the past five years. He was raised in Old Bridge Township, NJ and has spent most of his life in the Garden State. After obtaining his undergraduate degree in Biology at the College of New Jersey, he completed his medical degree at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School in 2000. He attended the University of Michigan for his Internal Medicine residency and finished his subspecialty training in Allergy and Immunology at the University of Rochester. In 2006, Dr Ravikumar moved back to New Jersey and has settled in the West Windsor area with his family. As a parent of a future student at PIACS, Dr. Ravikumar has been a committed and active parent member of PIACS Friends organization serving on the fundraising committee.

Board Committees