Our Team
Agnes Kong
Agnes completed her primary and secondary education at Diocesan Girls' School. She achieved high distinctions at the HKCEE and HKAL exams (scoring 9As and 4As respectively) and was awarded the Hong Kong Sir Edward Youde Memorial Scholarship to study abroad. She attended Yale University and graduated summa cum laude and phi beta kappa in three years. She received her Master’s of Business Administration from Harvard Business School. Agnes has worked for prominent investment banks and private equity firms, including Goldman Sachs (New York), J.P. Morgan (Hong Kong), IFC World Bank (Washington, DC), and the Carlyle Group (Hong Kong).
Although Agnes’ professional experience has been focused on finance, she has always been passionate about education. With her local and Western educational background, she designed a curriculum combining the strengths of both systems. Her professional experience further enabled her to incorporate in her curriculum elements that will help students develop skill sets that are essential for a successful career. Her aspiration is to inspire and develop children and teenagers into global-minded, socially responsible, and happy individuals who are well equipped to succeed in whatever career they pursue when they grow up.
Being brought up in a traditional Chinese family, I was taught to persist and excel in whatever I do. This has led to academic success throughout my 13 years of school in Hong Kong, then at Yale and Harvard. Professionally I also excelled at what I did – having worked at some of the most prestigious companies in the finance industry. However I was constantly struggling to fulfill my inner desire to make real impact, to be happy, and to feel truly motivated and passionate about my job. Founding The Open Classroom was the turning point in my life when I realized I could bring a new dimension to teaching, leveraging my unique educational and professional experience and network. My aspiration is to inspire and develop children and teenagers into global-minded, socially responsible, and happy individuals who are well equipped to succeed in whatever career they pursue when they grow up.
Huijin Kong
Huijin works closely with The Open Classroom to develop the “Young Leaders of Tomorrow” Summer Leadership Program for high school students. She graduated from Wharton with a 4.0 GPA, and has an MBA degree (Baker Scholar) from Harvard Business School where she was classmate with Agnes. She then worked at Mckinsey & Company and SCMP Group before pursuing her passion in leadership development and entrepreneurship.
Life was a never-ending series of challenges to be defeated — from mastering English in a year and half, regaining my academic confidence in a Canadian high school, becoming the best among the best at Wharton, and proving my distinctiveness at McKinsey — until I realized I wanted meaningful life and work, and it was not the path I had been on. That led me to leave McKinsey, become a media executive, and now an entrepreneur devoted to realizing my calling of supporting people’s development as leaders.
Annabel Lau
From a young age, pursuing a career in education has been Annabel’s long-term goal. Born and raised in the UK, she has spent the majority of her life in England and graduated from Newcastle University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, with a focus on child development and the psychology of teaching and learning. During her final year, she worked as a teaching assistant in a local primary school. Annabel has work experience in university events for potential students, including campus tours and presentations regarding higher education in the UK. Since then, her dream has been to teach in Hong Kong and reconnect with her roots as an adult, joining The Open Classroom in 2017. She is now a holder of the Trinity College London CertTESOL, acquired in Hong Kong and an equivalent of the CELTA.
A diligent and disciplined teacher, Annabel prides herself in building strong relationships with her students. At The Open Classroom, Annabel is dedicated to helping her students achieve success in learning. Having attained A* grades in English Language and English Literature GCSEs, she also closely assists students taking the similar IGCSEs.
Alexia Pierson
Having been a teacher with The Open Classroom since 2018, Alexia has developed a reputation for helping students to enrich their writing and improve in aspects from grammatical accuracy and strong vocabulary choices to well thought out plots and immersive descriptions.
As a child, Alexia attended international schools in Canada, France and Japan. She achieved full marks in her OIB English Literature written and oral exams. She later graduated from the University of Exeter with a degree in English Literature and studied TEFL. She now shares her knowledge and love of writing with her students, always encouraging them to think critically and strive for better. She has also assisted students with international school and boarding school admissions (SSAT/ISEE timed writing, analogies and reading comprehension). Students both present and past fondly remember Alexia for her valuable assistance and sense of humour.
Natalie Kwan
Born and raised in Canada, Natalie moved to Hong Kong after middle school where she completed her secondary education at South Island School. She graduated from Hong Kong University with a double major degree in Psychology and Criminal Justice. Afterwards, she continued to complete a Masters Degree in Psychological Medicine at HKU.
Following graduation, she studied in New York for a professional diploma and worked as a merchandiser. A year later, she decided to pursue a career she is passionate about, which can also bring her great satisfaction. She spent a few years teaching phonics to toddlers and foundational literacy skills to young children. As she wanted to further challenge herself, she joined The Open Classroom in 2015 to teach older children through an engaging and comprehensive English curriculum. A dedicated and compassionate teacher, Natalie works hard to build her students' interest in writing and is motivated by their progress.
Donna Jalosjos
Donna is a rising third-year student at the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania, concentrating in Environmental and Social Governance with a Minor in Real Estate and Urban Development. She has 4 years of speech and debate experience particularly in Policy Debate, qualifying to nationals for each of those years and making it to the top 10 in her final two years. She has helped coach numerous high school students as an assistant debate coach, mentoring students on their research and public speaking skills.
At the University of Pennsylvania, she was nominated for a Teaching Assistant position for Wharton's Business Communication for Impact course. Aside from public speaking and debate, she is also highly involved in the Performing Arts. She performs with the University of Pennsylvania Glee Club, serving on the Board of Governors, and she also sings in her own Acapella Group on campus. In her free time, she enjoys visiting cafes and doing karaoke!
Dora Lin
Dora is a rising sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Political Science and Gender Studies with a minor in Law and Society. She graduated from The Loomis Chaffee School, where she was a student representative on the Student Council, served on the Disciplinary Committee, and was debate team captain as well as debate club president. In her four years of debate experience, she has been ranked top 5 in the Connecticut Debate Association’s statewide tournaments and was a finalist for the state championship.
She also gained a lot of experience in teaching English, having taught Middle School Taiwanese children English via Zoom and produced entertaining videos to help Elementary and Middle School students in China learn and speak English. At Penn, Dora continues her interest in teaching and higher education on the Admissions Dean’s Advisory Board. As an Advising Fellow for Matriculate, she mentors high school students individually on the admissions process for colleges, providing mock interviews and feedback on personal essays.