OUR TEAM
Every connection we make is precious. It is a bond we deeply respect and value. Be it with children, parents or colleagues, we are committed to each other. Always learning and growing together as one Chengzhu family.
Chengzhu consists of a team of skilled professionals dedicated to education and communication: teachers of voice, speech, drama, literature, early childhood educators, musicians, and linguists.
Julia Gabriel
Julia Gabriel
Background Information
Julia is the Founder Director of Julia Gabriel Centre, Chiltern House and the Julia Gabriel School of Education. She holds Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Early Childhood Education from the University of South Australia, and licentiate teaching diplomas in Speech & Drama from the both the Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the London College of Music. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, having been awarded life membership of the school in 1993 for her services to the field of speech and drama. Julia is the author of three books, including ‘EduDrama’- A Guide to Speech and Drama. She believes education is for sharing and enjoys working with parents and educators. In July 2019, Julia passed on after a decade-long battle with cancer. Her legacy which she had built with love, dedication and generous spirit of sharing and teaching, will continue to live on in all the children who have walked through our doors to pursue a dramatically different education.
Wang Pau Lee
Wang Pau Lee
Background Information
Pau Lee was a parent at Julia Gabriel Centre Singapore when she first enrolled her daughter, Kate in PlayClub as she found the programmes and learning environment truly enriching and enjoyable. When her family returned to Malaysia, Pau Lee and her husband, Surachet made the bold decision of bringing Julia Gabriel Centre over to Malaysia to enable their daughter to continue her learning, thus establishing the Bangsar flagship centre in 2006. Soon after, a second centre at CITTA Mall Ara Damansara was established in 2011. Since then, Julia Gabriel Centre Malaysia has welcomed and nurtured many confident communicators under its roof. She now works with an ever expanding team of more than 70 educators and staff.
Wendy Loh
Wendy Loh
Background Information
Wendy first worked as a counsellor for two years in a non-profit counselling centre in downtown San Francisco before joining an early childhood development centre in San Francisco. When she finally returned to the Malaysian shores in 2008, she was welcomed into the Julia Gabriel family.
Currently the Head of Chiltern House, she was previously Bangsar’s Head of Centre and was instrumental in building the foundations of Julia Gabriel Centre’s PlayNursery programme. She has taught in Julia Gabriel Centre’s PlayClub and Bilingual PlayClub programmes, and is still presently teaching Speech and Drama classes for the Primary level.
She believes education is for sharing and enjoys working with parents and educators.
Shobana Chandran
Shobana Chandran
Background Information
Shoby first started her teaching career in our organisation as an Assistant Teacher in Julia Gabriel Centre’s exciting and immensely popular PlayClub programme in 2008. There was no stopping Shoby since then as she has sung, performed, danced and taught her way to leading her own PlayClub class, Bilingual PlayClub, Speech and Drama, and PlayNest before taking charge as the Head of Julia Gabriel Centre Programmes. She also leads her team of specialist teachers for Chiltern House Preschool classes and is part of the Julia Gabriel Centre storytelling team. In December 2019, she took on her second role as Head of Centre for CITTA Mall centre, before moving to lead the Bangsar team as Head of Bangsar centre in 2022.
Cannie Beh
Cannie Beh
Background Information
Cannie’s background in Special Child Education has provided her with an invaluable insight into how she could best provide for children across levels with different needs. Her experience as an intern at an enrichment centre for the deaf prior to joining Chiltern House only proved to solidify her passion for educating young minds, fired by her passion and flair for the Mandarin language.
She first joined Chiltern House Preschool in 2018 as a Mandarin Teacher and has since taught children from the Nursery to the Kindergartens. Julia Gabriel Education’s EduDrama methodology, she believes, has inspired her to express herself creatively, keeping the children engaged in this language immersion journey through fun and interactive learning. She likens Mandarin words to building blocks and the enjoyment one can derive when composing different characters together to make a meaningful word. It’s been a beautiful and fulfilling experience so far, and she is thankful for the opportunity to share her passion for Mandarin language with young children.
Janice Tan
Janice Tan
Background Information
Janice joined the Chiltern House family back in 2018 and has since taught young children across different levels from the Nursery to Kindergarten One. Always up for a challenge to continuously improve herself as an educator, she became a part of Julia Gabriel Centre’s Mandarin team in their Bilingual PlayClub toddler programme. Teaching has always been a strong passion of hers that she attributes to her innate love for children. For Janice, working with children leaves her with such a gratifying feeling that she could never leave a room full of children without a smile on her face. And being able to play a pivotal part in helping her young students build a strong foundation for their early years through Chiltern House has certainly been the highlight of her career so far.
