We’re thrilled to share that the CUE team is expanding once again — and with it, our collective wisdom, vision, and strength.
In June, 2025 we warmly welcome our newest Global Parent Advisor to the team. Tonye and Xixi has shared conversations and calls, about the necessity for life transition support for students and their families, as she and her family has been navigating such a life change since 2024, when her daughter left home for the first time and started her studies in the Netherlands.
At her role as the Counseling Project Manager at the Community Center of Shanghai (CCS), she led the collaboration with CUE in curating a panel discussion event for the Unspoken Realities of Studying Abroad. We are so happy to continue collaboration with her, welcoming her onboard officially as our Advisor, specially to make sure our series echos today’s parent-child relation within the context of global mobility.
At CUE, we believe that meaningful change is built through thoughtful collaboration. Each new addition deepens our capacity to serve, learn, and grow, one cue at a time.
Welcome aboard — we’re so excited for what lies ahead, together. 🌍✨
Tonye Stuurman’s Bio:
Tonye is a mental health and gender-based violence advocate, workshop facilitator, writer, trainer and a loving mother. She brings profound empathy and authenticity to all she does by leveraging her background in journalism and a postgraduate degree in Women and Gender Studies, and her lived experiences, growing up under Apartheid, surviving rape, and parenting a child with anxiety.
Tonye and her family have travelled and lived across continents, from Cape Town, the Middle East, Lesotho to Shanghai. In 2024, Tonye and her husband became empty nesters when their daughter left to pursue her university studies in the Netherlands. In response, they’ve been proactively and intentionally navigating this life transition. Building on years of community work in Shanghai, Tonye is creating supportive spaces for parents, teens, and young adults experiencing similar transitions, mostly via the Community Center Shanghai (CCS). Through panel events, support groups, and group chats, she fosters open dialogue and peer connection during this pivotal stage of life.
As a Global Parent Advisor for our Transition Into Global Student Life series, Tonye channels her commitment to youth mental health into actionable insights. She advises on the research and development of learning content, ensuring it reflects the realities of modern parent-child relationships and resonates with the voices of today’s young people.
