Founder of HipHipMahjong!, Lauttie often wonders if her love of mahjong has officially become a mental illness considering she built an entire career around it. Colorful, fun, and always teaching by the book, her real passion for mahj is connection and belonging. She loves seeing women and families come together around the table, week after week and holiday after holiday, choosing to do life together. To Lauttie, spreading mahjong means creating memories, building traditions, and passing something special from one generation to the next. Lauttie also co runs the local Facebook group, St. Louis Mahj Club.

Shannah Ehlen has been teaching mahjong since 2021 and is largely responsible for bringing the mahj buzz to St. Louis. As the owner of Mix & Mahj, she’s taught at several country clubs, boutiques, corporate events, private parties and trained majority of the instructors teaching around town today. A certified NMJL instructor, Shannah paved the way for the St. Louis mahjong scene, making the game approachable, social, and seriously fun to learn. Anyone who has the pleasure of learning from Shannah quickly discovers her cocktails are every bit as good as her mahj lessons.

With a master’s degree in teaching, Shayna has traded the classroom for the mahjong table and loves teaching friends, couples, and families how to play. Her Bubbe played Mahj for over 70 years, but never got to play together. She especially loves seeing generations come together around the table and making the memories she wishes she’d had with her Bubbe. With a daughter away at college and a teenage son, thank goodness for mahjong! Shayna co runs the local facebook group St. Louis Mahj Club.

Paula French is an avid Mahj player since 2020 who enjoys seeing others fall in love with the game! She especially loves the challenge of teaching those who struggle to understand the many nuances of American Mahjong. Her style is by the rules with humor and patience. She takes her fun very seriously!

Andrea is a certified American Mah Jongg instructor who fell in love with the game’s perfect mix of strategy, challenge, and connection. She loves helping others learn the game and build confidence at the table while teaching NMJL rules. Andrea discovered mahjong shortly after losing her mother, Kay, a fiercely competitive card and domino player. For Andrea, playing and teaching mahjong is a special way to honor her mom and the love of games they’ll always share.

With more than 30 years as a classroom teacher and Literacy Specialist, teaching mahjong came naturally. Ange loves creating those celebratory “A-HA!” moments, whether teaching children to read or adults to play mahj. Her own mahjong journey began alongside her husband, and they quickly fell in love with the strategy, competition, and unmistakable sound and feel of the tiles. Now playing almost daily, she loves sharing a game she knows will be part of her life forever.

Simone will make sure you understand how to play and have a blast while learning. She’s been teaching mahjong for several years and genuinely loves getting to know everyone who sits at her table. Known for spreading cheer around the room and filling every lesson with plenty of laughter, Simone makes learning mahj feel more like a night with friends. She’s also Lauttie’s daughter. When she’s not teaching mahj, she is busy earning her degree and working at YaYa’s.

Birdie is HipHipMahjong!’s official emotional support mahj trainer. She specializes in moral support when the NMJL card makes absolutely no sense, comforting players after a bad Charleston, and reminding everyone that learning mahjong is hard, but treats help. She may not know a Bam from a Crak, but she’s never met a player she couldn’t cheer up.