Amy Armstrong
Amy Armstrong's interest in Chinese language and culture began when she moved to the Bay Area in 2000. Fluent in French, her work in the travel and tourism industry has taken her all over Asia and the world. Amy has an avid interest in the cultural history of San Francisco and enjoys creating tours and itineraries for visitors to the Bay Area.

Samantha Chen
Born in China and raised in Oakland, California, Samantha Chen has lived, worked and traveled extensively in Asia and Europe. Exploring the world and helping others appreciate its diversity and beauty through tourism is her mission in life. She has been a docent for the Chinese Culture Center since July 2002. Questions or comments can be e-mailed to Samantha at samanthachen@yahoo.com

Liz Einbinder
Bay Area native Liz Einbinder is a seasoned San Francisco tour guide, bringing with her 10 years of guiding experience for the non-profit organization CityGuides. As a CityGuide tour guide, Liz has been giving walking tours of individual San Francisco neighborhoods for a decade; including the neighborhoods of Pacific Heights, Cow Hollow, North Beach and the Golden Gate Bridge. Prior to moving to San Francisco, Liz was a licensed tour guide in Washington DC. Liz brings to her tours both knowledge and love of San Francisco and it’s history. When she is not giving San Francisco tours, Liz is a public relations consultant for consumer technology companies. And before venturing out into PR, she was a talk radio producer both in San Francisco and Washington DC.

Blandina Farley
Originally from the East Coast, Blandina Farley has spent most of her life living and working in the neighborhoods of Chinatown and North Beach here in San Francisco. Blandina has traveled to Asia, Europe and Mexico and believes San Francisco to be right up there with the most beautiful and interesting cities in the world. This has inspired her to lead travelers and natives alike through the streets and alleyways of Chinatown, so that they might feel a part of the city's history and experience the daily life in an extra ordinary way. Blandina's interests also include being a certified fitness and dance instructor and massage therapist.

Rob Farmer
Robert Farmer is a native Californian who has lived nearly his entire life in the state's northern region. He has spent the past 15 years working as a professional writer and editor. Formerly the editor of Where San Francisco Magazine, Robert has for the past two years been a fulltime freelance contributor to the pages of dozens of magazines and books, including San Francisco magazine, San Jose Magazine, The Vine magazine, and the Timeout Travel Guide to San Francisco. He has written extensively about Chinatown and about evolving trends everywhere from business and technology environments to the world of food and wine. Robert currently resides in San Francisco.

Shelly Ginenthal
Shelly has been a resident of San Francisco for more than 30 years with an avid interest in San Francisco history, art and music. She has been a long time volunteer and Gallery Representative with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (de Young and Legion of Honor). Shelly has volunteered with Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Herbst Theater, The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco and SF Jazz. Professionally she has been the Vice President of Human Resources for several Bay Area and international companies and currently runs the consulting firm Cooperative HR Solutions. In her free time Shelly does figure drawing, sews quilts, cooks and loves to read and travel.

Katie Hymans

After growing up and graduating with a degree in Marketing and Management in the Midwest, Katie followed her wanderlust to Taiwan. She spent two years there teaching corporate English classes and studying Mandarin Chinese, and eventually moving into a management position with the English teaching company for whom she worked. After moving back to the States in the fall of 2001, she wanted to move somewhere more diverse that would have a strong Chinese population with whom she could continue her interest in their fascinating culture. Finding herself in San Francisco, she jumped at the opportunity to act as a docent around Chinatown, peppering historical information with personal insights and stories from Taiwan. When not guiding people through the streets of Chinatown, Katie can be found acting with a traveling children's theater company and singing.

Colette Seavey

A graduate of San Francisco’s International Tour Management Institute, Colette has a wide breadth of experience in the tourist industry. She has directed and led tours all over the globe including Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Mexico, Britain, and China. Settling, for the moment, back into her home state of California, Colette is thrilled to be introducing the largest Chinese community outside of China to visitors of San Francisco Chinatown.

Rick Spear

Rick has been conducting walking tours in San Francisco for more than a decade. A graduate of the International Tour Management Institute, Rick is a freelance tour director and the owner of Blue Heron Custom Tours and Travel. Prior to becoming a tour director and guide, Rick was Executive Director of the San Francisco Children and Families Commission. For 19 years Rick worked for the US government where he managed human service programs, including Head Start, child care, child welfare, and public assistance for the western United States. Rick also worked with refugees in Thailand, Macedonia, and Kosovo and assisted flood victims in Mozambique. His hobbies include traveling (he’s been to all of the continents except Antarctica), hiking, soccer, and music.