PTA Committee

Mehroo Turel (Chair)

An MBA by qualification, Mehroo worked in the corporate world before she decided to quit her job to become a full-time mother. A certified ICF-PCC Coach, she specialises in career and business coaching. She also runs a community of women entrepreneurs and organises family-friendly events and bazaars.

An ESF mum throughout, her older son graduated in 2022 from WIS and her younger son is in Year 11. From being a parent class representative, to doing the school run, to volunteering at school, Mehroo has always been a complete ‘hands-on’ mum.

Mehroo joined WIS PTA Committee in 2017 and has also been playing an active role as PTA Chair since 2022. She looks forward to connecting with other parents and creating a warm and inclusive parent community in WIS.

David Blennerhassett (Treasurer)

David left Australia 29 years ago, with the last 20 years in Hong Kong, working in the financial industry. During this time, David and his wife Elena (a full-time interior designer) welcomed two children, both born in Hong Kong, who are now enrolled in Year 12 and Year 10.

The establishment of his own company six years ago has provided David with the flexibility to be more actively involved with his children. David joined PTA in 2017 and took up the active role of serving as the Treasurer since 2022.

Away from work and schooling, the family orients itself to various beaches and hiking trails on the weekend; while David has been a practitioner of yoga for over 20 years.

Irene Yue Li (Secretary)

Irene has a Ph.D. in Engineering and had been working in research labs and consulting firms before relocating to Hong Kong. She has always been an active member of school PTAs, organizing class and school events, hosting Lunar New Year celebrations. Irene and her family joined the WIS community in January 2021, with two kids studying at WIS. Irene became a WIS PTA committee member in January 2022.

She looks forward to helping and contributing to WIS PTA’s efforts in making WIS an even more welcoming and inclusive place for all the students and their families. (check about her role on school committee, VC)

Saman Rizvi

Born and brought up in culturally rich India, Saman has been living outside her hometown for almost 20 years. An MBA qualification holder, she had a short stint with a job at an Advertising agency making ads for “Coca-Cola” and “Times of India”.

Spending the most wonderful seven years of her life in Seoul, Korea, Saman moved to Hong Kong in 2008

A mother of three, she has two recent graduates from West Island School both who are now at HKU and her third child in Year 9. Having been part of the ESF as a parent for 16 years, Saman feels like a part of the WIS family.

Saman joined WIS PTA in 2016 and has been a part of many PTA events and field trips during her ESF journey. She was also on the PTA committee of Bradbury School for 3 years!

“Passionate about writing and baking, I love spending time with my children whether it’s just chatting casually with them or hearing out their big ideas to make the world a better place.”

Jameson Gong

Jameson (”Jami”) Gong is a Chinese American, born and raised in New York City’s Chinatown. Throughout Jami’s life, he always possessed the gift to make people laugh. Jami joined the ESF community in the year 2022 . His son is in year 8 . He is a Professional standup comedian and founder of TakeOut Comedy Club, the first full time Comedy Club in Asia. He is a Public speaking coach specializing in standup comedy and improv skills

He is a Licensed HK Tour guide. He is the 2004 Olympic Torchbearer.

He believes that laughter soothes the soul, and unites people of all ages, race, gender, and religion.

Neha Singh

Born and brought up in India, Neha has recently moved to HongKong in 2022. She is a parent member and mother of a year 8 student. She believes it is important to contribute to the school community through parent volunteer work. Neha has done her masters in social work and worked with different non profit organizations before moving to Hong Kong in 2022. Her hobbies include reading, yoga and hiking.

 

Rashmi Kumari 

Rashmi – Originally from India, has been living in Hong Kong for the past 9 years now. She has done her Masters in Science in life sciences and an MBA in marketing. She used to work as a market research analyst and business consultant in India before moving to Hong Kong. She was associated with a London based technology solution provider company InvictIQ, as a Strategy Director and is now an educational assistant with West Island School.
She has two lovely daughters and is actively involved in the PTA of both the schools. Her elder daughter joined WIS in year 7 in 2021 and the younger one is in Bradbury school. She joined WIS PTA in 2021.

Miki Graca

Miki Graca joined the ESF community more than 12 years ago and her two are at WIS now. She likes reading, cooking and serving the community. Miki graduated from HKU with a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Social Sciences, as well as studying Chinese literature and education at the University of Beijing. She has always had a great interest in education, and she wants to help young people to be able to demonstrate their strengths and abilities.

Clare Haworth (Interim Principal)

Clare has been working in education for almost 30 years. She had a number of roles and responsibilities in the UK including Head of Art, Assistant Principal and Vice Principal with responsibility for safeguarding, quality assurance and (PSHE) Personal, Social and Health Education. After moving to Hong Kong in 2006 with her family, Clare had a career break to look after her two-year-old son. She started working at West Island as a teacher of art and design in 2008. Since then, she has been Head of Years 12 and 13, Pre 16 Director of Learning and Pre 16 Vice Principal. In March 2023, Clare was appointed as the Interim Principal and will continue in the role until April 2024.

Emma Goodwin

Emma Goodwin is a teacher of languages and Theory of Knowledge and also Head of Year 10. She is originally from Leicester in the UK. This is her 11th year at West Island school after living and teaching previously in the UK, Egypt, Japan and Vietnam. She is also a WIS parent; her daughter graduated in June this year and her son is in Year 12 currently. When she is not at work, she loves enjoying the Hong Kong hills and sampling the varied cuisine in Hong Kong.

Helena Murchie
Fiona Bizos

Fiona joined as the only PTA Administrator in October 2021 during the Covid pandemic. She has been living in HK from 2017 this time and also lived in HK before, graduating with an MSc from HKU IN 2007. Her first child joined WIS in 2018 and she was already volunteering at PTA events before the pandemic. Her second child joined in Year 7 in 2019. Fiona is an experienced project, programme, contract and events manager with experience that covers both large budget multi-national organizations right down to small focused companies / NGOs. She is a trained Nia dance instructor, enjoys Pilates and singing in an African choir.

Pooja Misra

Pooja relocated to HongKong from India in 2020 and joined the ESF parent community at Kennedy School. She joined as a PTA Administrator at WIS in 2023.

In the past, Pooja has experience of working with finance and investment firms in the capacity of Human Resource and Learning and Development. She is a post graduate in human resource and believes in upgrading her professional skills by regular short courses and certifications. Pooja is a Corporate Trainer (Behavioral skills) and is associated with organizations as a freelancer.

In her free time, she loves to explore HongKong, socialize with friends and indulge in cooking new cuisine along with listening to music.

The WIS PTA Committee includes our school Principal, teachers and volunteer parents who aim to foster collaboration and engagement between parents, teachers, and the school community to enhance the educational experience of students.