about us | teacher bios

founder

Kimberly Funasaki earned dual Bachelor of Science degrees in both Mandarin Chinese and Japanese at Georgetown University. She studied and worked in both China and Japan before earning her MBA at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, completing coursework in Chinese. She used both languages when working for various international companies over a decade. Kimberly is the mother of three little ones, and has been exposing them to the sounds of foreign languages from the time they were infants. She combines her passion for languages with her love of children in opening the Little Ambassadors school.

chinese teachers

Wang Yun-ai (Wang Laoshi) came to Hawaii in February 2007 from Beijing, China. She has a certificate in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, and earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Beijing Language and Culture University in Beijing, China. She is currently earning her Masters in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at Hawaii Pacific University. Wang Laoshi has many years of experience teaching Chinese to students of all different ages. She is a warm and enthusiastic addition to the Little Ambassadors team!


Lynnette Lee Ling Shimabukuro (Pan Laoshi) originally hails from Singapore, where she gained fluency in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English. She earned a B.S.B.A. in Travel Industry Management at Hawaii Pacific University, and recently completed a Chinese teacher training course at UH Manoa. She is a volunteer board member of parent-participative Early Education Co-operative, and has been involved with Kilauea Ohana Playschool for several years, acting as both Co-Director and Membership Secretary. A mother of three children, Lynnette also owns her own jewelry business called "Lynn's Treasures.

japanese teachers

Jasmine Togashi (Jasmine Sensei) was educated in Japan before moving to the United States and earning a Bachelor of Music degree at Mount St. Mary's College in Los Angeles. She previously worked as an instructor teaching Japanese to infants and toddlers in California. She specialized in utilizing art and music as developmental tools. She also contributed to a Japanese community paper for parents and children as a volunteer writer.

Katsura Peterson (Peterson Sensei) graduated from Aichi Shukutoku University in Nagoya, Japan, with a B.S. in English literature. She then earned a Masters degree in education with a focus on bilingual education from Western Oregon University. She teaches Japanese and math to 4th graders at Rainbow Gakuen, and also teaches Japanese three times a week at an elementary after-school program. Peterson Sensei is the mother of two young children who are being raised bilingually.

Ryoko Tsubaki (Ryoko Sensei) comes to Little Ambassadors from Tokyo, Japan. She is currently getting a degree in Teaching English as a Foreign Language at Hawaii Pacific University. Her teaching experience primarily consists of teaching Japanese students, but her English is excellent (she earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and American literature at Seikei University in Japan) and she really loves teaching children!

spanish teachers

Fernanda Delatorre (Tia Fernanda) hails from the Andes in Ecuador. She followed her high school sweetheart to Irvine, California, and then to Japan, where she lived for almost seven years. Her two sons were born there. They are bilingual in Spanish and English. While stationed in Yokosuka, she volunteered at her son's elementary school. In December 2005, she relocated with her family to Hawaii, and continues to volunteer at her sons' schools. She loves teaching Spanish!