Founder's Story

Seeing Education Through a Different Lens

My story did not begin with a company. It began with trying to understand myself. Around 2007, I was diagnosed with major depression. Growing up, I had many things a child could ask for. I had food, clothes, games, friends, family, and independence. But there was one thing I often felt I did not have. Someone who understood me.

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During high school, I struggled with depression, loneliness, anger, and questions about my place in the world. I did not always understand my own value, what I wanted from life, or what my purpose was.

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As I grew older, I began to realize that everyone carries a story. Children have stories. Teachers have stories. Friends have stories. Sometimes we see a person's behavior without understanding what caused it. That lesson would later become one of the ideas behind Lens Publishing and Network.

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Becoming a Teacher

Teaching was not my original plan. When I was younger, I wanted to become a soldier or a cook. Those paths did not work out, and I eventually entered education because it was a position I was qualified to do. At first, teaching was simply a job.

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Then I started working with children. I discovered that teaching was extremely difficult, but also extremely rewarding. Teachers do much more than teach lessons. They manage behavior, complete paperwork, communicate with families, meet administrative demands, solve problems, and try to help students who may be facing challenges that no one else can see.

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I also began noticing problems in education systems. Teachers were overwhelmed. Students were sometimes expected to do things without understanding why.

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Professional development often told teachers what they should do without clearly explaining why they should do it or how they could use it in a real classroom. And student behavior was often misunderstood. A student might be called lazy, disrespectful, difficult, or challenging. But sometimes that student was dealing with problems at home. Sometimes they were struggling socially. Sometimes they were tired, angry, scared, confused, or simply needed someone to understand what was happening. I knew that feeling. That changed the way I looked at education.

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The Idea Behind LPN

The first idea was not actually Lens Publishing and Network. Around 2019 or 2020, I began thinking about creating a school of my own. I wanted to build something that could help teachers and students in a more practical way. That idea continued to develop.

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In January 2026, Lens Publishing and Network officially began. At first, it was very small. There were no large programs or international projects.

There were newsletters. I wrote about education, history, and world affairs. Many of those publications used the word Lens in their titles. A lens represents perspective. It represents looking at a problem from another point of view. The articles were mostly written through my lens, but my hope is that LPN will eventually help many people share their knowledge and perspectives. That is how the name began.

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The Turning Point

The Certified Student Behavior Response Practitioner program, or CSBRP, became a turning point for LPN. It was the first time I truly tested whether I could take research, educator feedback, and practical experience and turn them into professional development for teachers. It taught me something important. Professional development must be practical. Feedback matters. Research matters. Evidence matters.

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It is not enough to create something because I believe teachers need it. I cannot assume what people want. I need to ask. I need to listen. I need to gather evidence. Then I can build something.

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That lesson helped change LPN from a collection of newsletters into something larger: an organization focused on educational research, publishing, professional development, and practical solutions.

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Why Teachers Matter to Me

Helping teachers is personal. Teachers helped me when other people could not. That is something I have never forgotten.

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Teachers help shape the people who will eventually become workers, parents, professionals, community members, and leaders. But teachers also need help. They need people who listen to them. They need useful training. They need strong systems. They need professional development that works outside of a presentation and inside a real classroom. One day, I want teachers to look at LPN and say: “They listened to our needs.” That would mean we are doing something right.

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Why Children Matter

Children are the next generation. One day, they will be responsible for the homes, communities, institutions, and countries that we leave behind. I believe students can go beyond the limits that other people place on them. Sometimes they simply need help. Sometimes they need patience. Sometimes they need someone willing to understand them before judging them.

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If teachers improve, students have a better chance to improve. If students learn to understand themselves and each other, perhaps they will also become adults who are more willing to communicate, cooperate, and solve problems instead of fighting. Education reaches much farther than the classroom.

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Building LPN

Building LPN has not been easy. I am building the organization while working full time as an English teacher in Shenzhen, China. I am also continuing my education, preparing for my teaching license requirements, and preparing to begin doctoral studies in 2027.

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Time is limited. Money is limited. And I am building much of LPN myself. But I continue because I believe there is a better future worth working toward. I want to fulfill my mission of helping children. I want to create something of my own. And I want to see how much good one idea can eventually create.

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The more I work with teachers, the more I understand that education never stops changing. Teachers must adjust. Students must adjust. Schools must adjust. LPN must continue learning too.

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The Company I Want to Build

I do not want LPN to become a company that cares more about money than its purpose. Every organization needs money to operate. LPN is no different.

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We need sustainable products, professional development, consulting, publishing, and other services so that the organization can survive and grow. But money should support the mission. It should never replace it.

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I want LPN to be known as practical, credible, and trustworthy. I want people to know that we research problems before claiming to have solutions. I want educators to know that their feedback matters. I want partners to know that we will try to be reliable. And above everything else, I want people to know that we care about children and education. I do not need to become a perfect founder. I want to become a good person who built something useful.

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Looking Toward the World

My vision for LPN is international. Education is not only an American problem, a Chinese problem, or the responsibility of any one country. We all share the same world.

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My hope is that LPN can eventually become a respected voice in international education and contribute alongside schools, universities, associations, NGOs, governments, and international institutions.

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One of my largest ambitions is for LPN to someday contribute to global conversations about the right to education, including conversations connected to the United Nations. That is a very distant goal. But every large goal begins somewhere.

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For LPN, it begins by listening to one teacher. Helping one school. Researching one problem. Improving one program. Supporting one student. And then doing it again.

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What I Have Learned

If I could speak to the younger version of myself, I would give him simple advice: Focus on learning as much as you can. Knowledge does not solve every problem. But knowledge gives us a better chance to understand the problem in front of us. And understanding must come before meaningful help. That belief began with my own experiences.

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Today, it sits at the center of what I want Lens Publishing and Network to become. My story began with a person who wanted to be understood. My hope is that LPN can become an organization that listens to others.

Teachers. Students. Schools. Communities. People whose needs may otherwise be overlooked. Because improving education does not belong to one person, one company, or one government.

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It is the responsibility of everyone to improve education and the lives of children for the current and next generations.