Board of Directors and Officers
Tong-Ching Chang, Director, President and Treasurer, is a retired Certified Public Accountant. Ms. Chang developed her fascination with Chinese theater under the influence of her father, an avid fan of Beijing opera, while growing up in Taiwan. In high school, she studied Kunqu singing and flute playing from several prominent Kunqu scholars in Taiwan. Ms. Chang is the founder of the Wintergreen Kunqu Society, Inc. (WKS) and was a co-founder of the Society of Kunqu Arts, Inc. (SKAI). Since 1993 she has regularly organized and produced Chinese kunqu programs for the WKS and the SKAI (from 1993 – 1995) in the metropolitan Washington, DC area.
Michelle Chang, Director, has a bachelor’s degree of English from University of Illinois, Chicago Circle. She also has a master’s degree in linguistics from University of Georgia, Athens. After she completed her thesis entitled “Tone Sandi in Min Dialect” for her master’s degree program in 1981, Ms. Chang developed a deep interest in the relationship of various Chinese dialects and tones.
Charles A. Wilson, Director and Vice President, is Professor of Economics at New York University. Although a long time patron of the many of the performing arts, particularly classical ballet, he was first exposed to Chinese theater when he attended the performance of The Peony Pavilion at the Lincoln Center Summer Festival in 1999. He is particularly attracted to Kunqu theater because of its elegant integration of movement, music, and drama.
Yvonne Zheng, Director and Secretary, holds an MBA and specializes in accounting and financial management. Under family influence, Ms. Zheng acquired broad knowledge and grew deep insight of kunqu and Chinese theater arts. She has regularly supported non-profit organizations to promote kunqu in the northeast region, including the metropolitan Washington DC area, of the USA.
