Who Are Our Leaders

Maquita Alexander | Executive Director

M.S., Education Technology Leadership, George Washington University
B.S., Psychology & M.T. Early Childhood Education, Virginia Commonwealth University

An active problem solver and strategist, Maquita enables Yu Ying to utilize the flexibility of the charter school structure to maximize the benefits of immersion education. With over 20 years of public education experience, Maquita brings a wealth of knowledge to Washington Yu Ying PCS as Head of School. Beyond her normal responsibilities, Maquita integrates the values she promotes at Yu Ying into her everyday life. Whether she’s traveling to China to find potential sister school partnerships or immersing herself in local, national and global education conferences, Maquita is continuously looking for innovative ways to evolve the learning curriculum and student experience at Yu Ying. As a non-native Chinese speaker, she’s also hoping to soon become fully bilingual in Chinese. For now though, she “loves the chance to shape the future” by nurturing open-minded, global citizens that celebrate diversity.

Cheri Harrington | Chief Operating Officer

M.A., Public Administration, University of Massachusetts Amherst
B.S., Human Development from the University of California at Davis

With nearly 20 years of leadership experience in both the public and private sectors, Cheri is committed to ensuring Yu Ying’s continued success and long-term sustainability. Before Yu Ying, Cheri spent almost 10 years at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), where she analyzed social policies and made recommendations to Congress on ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of federal programs. She has extensive experience in budget analysis and operational effectiveness. As the COO of Yu Ying, Cheri goes above and beyond to ensure that Yu Ying provides an optimal learning environment for both students and staff.

As a nonprofit organization, Washington Yu Ying is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees.  Among its many duties, the board provides governance, fiscal oversight, and strategic planning for the school as we continue to work hard to provide a world-class education to students.  Yu Ying’s board meets monthly and holds an annual public meeting open to the whole school community.  Below is a list of Yu Ying’s current Board of Trustees.

Yu Ying is constantly working towards enhancing the capacity of its educators. We do this because we know that our students’ success is intrinsically tied to the success of our teachers. Our teachers regularly participate in a variety of professional development, ranging from internally led workshops on classroom management to external trainings on inquiry-based education.

Our teachers also deepen their knowledge and hone their skills by attending and presenting at national conferences.  In fact, Yu Ying educators are often regular presenters at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages and the National Chinese Language Conference.  Locally our staff lead learning sessions for International Baccalaureate Mid-Atlantic conference, Washington International Summer Institute for Teachers, and other various workshops in the DC Metro area.