Our Instructors

Philosophy

The best tutors aren't just brilliant and accomplished; they are patient, supportive, and down-to-earth, too. Our tutors need to connect with students from all kinds of backgrounds, so we carefully choose experienced tutors who can build a real bond with our students, sharing their skills, their successes, and their enthusiasm. We're proud of our tutors' uniquely effective blend of expertise, heart, and superb credentials.

Staff

Eva, Founder & Director

Eva earned her B.A. at Harvard University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude. A Bay Area native, Eva attended Livermore High, where she was a National Merit Scholar, valedictorian, and recipient of various awards in math, science, technology, foreign language, and composition. She earned perfect scores on the SAT and four SAT Subject tests.

Over the past decade, Eva has tutored and mentored students through a variety of professional and volunteer roles. With an interest in college admissions, Eva has also taught test prep since the late '90s, worked as a Harvard Admissions aide and interviewer, and served as an essay consultant for two admissions agencies. She holds a certificate in College Admissions Advising from UC Berkeley.

Anne, Director of Client Services

Anne graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University, earning her BSE in Civil Engineering. She was nominated to three of the top national honor societies, Sigma Xi (Scientific Research Society), Tau Beta Pi (Engineering Honor Society) and Phi Beta Kappa for her undergraduate work. Since then Anne has enjoyed working with the Princeton Alumni Association as an admissions interviewer. Before heading off to college, she graduated high school as a valedictorian, a National Merit Scholar and a recipient of numerous awards.

Anne worked for a non-profit before returning to the world of academia by becoming the Director of Client Services for PrepPoint and is now serving as the liaison between PrepPoint's tutors and clients. Anne lives with her husband and two boys, one of whom has special needs. She and her family are very involved in their community and with their church. She and her husband began a special needs soccer program in their town and have thoroughly enjoyed providing such opportunities to other special needs families.

Lead Tutors

Amara

Amara is a recent graduate from Stanford University and former NCAA Div. I athlete. She earned her B.A. in Human Biology, an interdisciplinary major, while balancing pre-medical commitments and a 30 hour/week training regimen for track. She loves to tutor and has been a peer tutor, a private tutor to Peninsula families, and a mentor through programs like Upward Bound and EPATT. Amara is a National Merit scholar who often works with students of varying academic capabilities including a few that have successfully managed learning disabilities. Amara has an eclectic music library, loves photography and fashion, and watches SportsCenter. She also enjoys healthy debates about health care and aspires to someday make significant contributions to the life sciences arena.

Carl

Carl is a graduate student at San Jose State University, where he received his M.S. in Chemical Engineering, with a semiconductor and polymer processing emphasis. While attending SJSU conducted research projects in nanotechnology at NASA. Carl holds a B.S. in Chemistry from U.C. Santa Barbara. As an undergraduate he has done extensive research with hydrogen fuel cells and inorganic metal complexes. Because science and mathematics are his forte, he puts careful attention and effort towards the student's complete understanding of the material. Whenever time permits, Carl likes to stay fit through sports and strenuous exercise. Upon completion of his M.S. degree, Carl is looking forward to studying patent law.

Ellen

Ellen is an experienced teacher who holds a CA multiple subject teaching credential and a single subject teaching credential in Science. She has a BA, graduating magna cum laude, in Biology and Chemistry from Hunter College, and a BS, also graduating magna cum laude, in Computer Science from City University of New York, and an MA, graduating summa cum laude, in Interdisciplinary Education from Santa Clara University. Over the last ten years she has taught at the fifth, sixth, eighth grade and associate degree college levels, and enjoys making learning meaningful for each student. She was a software engineer for IBM for eight years prior to her career as an educator. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, reading, writing, singing, gardening and baking. She lives with her husband, their two cats, and her son when he is back from college on holidays.

Jason

Jason graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2008 with a B.A. in Integrative Biology. At UC Berkeley, he was a 4-year recipient of the Regent's and Chancellor's Scholarship, the most prestigious academic scholarship in the UC system. He received a California single subject teaching credential at California State University, East Bay and now teaches high school science. A former Eagle Scout, he graduated with Very High Honors from Saratoga High School in 2004, earning 4's and 5's on 7 AP tests and graduating with a GPA of 4.3. Jason scored 800 on SAT math and writing sections and on the SAT Subject test in math. In college, Jason was a 4-year member of the Cal Marching Band, where he served as an officer on the Musical Activities Committee. He is an avid follower of Cal Athletics, and in his free time, he likes to exercise and play the piano and french horn.

Joy

Joy earned a double major in May 2005 from U.C. Berkeley in Legal Studies and Political Science. Prior to attending UC Berkeley, she graduated valedictorian from a private college preparatory academy and received numerous awards in English, math, science, and composition as well as passed 5 AP courses solely through self-study. She received a score of 5 in AP English & Composition. She also received a perfect score on the Chinese SAT Subject test. She has also prepared many ESL and native students for the SATs. She is extremely passionate about working with others to help them increase their opportunities in life. She loves music, played and taught piano, played varsity volleyball, and loves traveling to foreign countries. She is extremely energetic and enthusiastic, and loves to motivate others!

Kate

Kate is a graduate of UC Berkeley, where she received a BA in music, and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she obtained her Masters in Opera Performance. Kate is a fellow of the American Scandinavian Foundation and The UC Berkeley Hertz Traveling Fellowship, and she earned the opportunity to study in Finland for a year on those grants. She was a National Merit Finalist, and graduated from Granada High School where she studied AP German, History, English, and Biology. While she was an SAT tutor and teacher for a national test prep corporation, Kate supported numerous students preparing to take exams. Kate loves the outdoors and the arts, and has treasured the opportunities for travel and performance that her professional singing career has afforded.

Melissa

Melissa graduated Phi Beta Kappa from UC Irvine, where she majored in Computer Science and minored in Education. After graduation Melissa became a member of Teach for America, an organization dedicated to eliminating the achievement gap that exists for students who attend inner-city and rural schools. She currently teaches high school math. Melissa has tutored students of all ages, ranging from elementary school to college-aged. Melissa loves to see students develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for math as they learn how to apply concepts to the real world.

Associate Tutors

Alisa

Alisa is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in Bioengineering. A recipient of the Regents' and Chancellor's scholarship, she was in the top .5% of entering Berkeley freshmen. Alisa has extensive experience and has tutored at all levels, from advanced high school mathematics to elementary school social studies. She is a former tour guide for Cal, so she is extremely familiar with the rising college admissions standards. Named by faculty one of the students who made a difference in high school, she'd like to help students get the most out of their education.

Andrea

Andrea is in her final semester at UC Berkeley, where she will graduate with High Honors in Interdisciplinary Studies. Her research focuses on value formation in western societies, primarily through Anthropology and Religious Studies, and her recently completed senior thesis was extremely successful. She intends to pursue graduate studies in Fall 2009. She has fluency in both French and Italian. Andrea also founded and was active in Progressive Students of Faith, a student organization focused on faith-based service and leadership. High school yielded many distinctions such as Valedictorian, 98th percentile SAT results, perfect ACT scores, and multiple AP successes. Aside from academics, Andrea enjoys competitive and social ballroom dancing, has taught horseback riding and trained horses for almost ten years, and unwinds by painting/drawing and being active in sports and the outdoors.

Becky

Becky is an undergraduate at Cal State East Bay pursuing a bachelor's degree in Multimedia Art. Prior to attending Cal State, Becky attended BYU for one year and transferred to Las Positas College, qualifying for the Las Positas College Vice Presidents' Honors List in 2007. Becky graduated from Dublin High School in 2006 with a GPA of 4.25. While in high school, Becky took many honors classes as well as AP classes, passing her AP exams. Becky loves helping others succeed in their learning, and is currently enjoying giving flute lessons to adorable fourth graders.

Carlos

Carlos is a graduate from UC Santa Barbara, where he received a B.A. in Business Economics. Carlos was a recipient of the National Hispanic Merit Scholarship for exemplary SAT scores. He is local to the Tri-Valley Area and graduated from California High School with High Honors. He has been tutoring math ranging in levels from Pre-Algebra to Trigonometry/Pre-Calculus for the past three years, as well as tutoring Spanish from basic to AP levels. Carlos enjoys collaborating with his students and seeing the progress they make through the academic term. Carlos is an avid soccer fan, enjoys cooking, and loves to travel as often as possible.

Caroline

Caroline graduated with Distinction from UC Berkeley in 2008, earning a BA in Psychology. Prior to attending UC Berkeley, Caroline was a valedictorian of her graduating class at Dublin High School. Throughout her time there she received a number of awards, including AP Scholar with Distinction, AP Scholar with Honors, Rotary Club Student of the Month, and Sandia National Laboratories Outstanding Achievement in Science and Mathematics Award. She also provided both group and private tutoring services for middle school and high school students, and swam on her high school's varsity swim team. Though she no longer swims competitively, Caroline still enjoys swimming regularly as well as travelling, reading, and cooking.

Cassie

Cassie is currently an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, double majoring in Mass Communications and Political Economy of Industrial Societies. She graduated high school at the top of her class, with distinctions such as National Merit Finalist and AP Scholar with Distinction. She scored above the 98th percentile on her SAT, and scored above the 95th percentile on all of her SAT II subject tests, including U.S. History, Biology, and Math IIC. She also excelled at the ACT, scoring 35 out of 36 and achieving a perfect score in both the Math and Science categories. Cassie has also worked as a Teacher's Assistant, in which she tutored high school students at all levels of math. Cassie likes to fantasize about Cal Football winning the PAC-10 and making it to the Rose Bowl.

Christine

Christine graduated from UC Davis with a Bachelor's degree in Biology, from San Francisco State University with a Master's in Cell Biology, and from UC Berkeley with a Ph.D in Microbiology. She is currently a researcher at UCSF, where she studies how bacteria are able to infect animals. Christine has received numerous awards for academic achievement and scientific research, and has published research findings in well-respected scientific journals. Although she enjoys research, she misses the excitement and challenge of teaching students. She enjoys working with students in math and science, especially chemistry and biology. In between research and teaching, Christine enjoys tennis and hiking, and, yes, the occasional video game. Eventually, she would love to do research and teach full-time at a university near you!

Danielle

Danielle is a junior at UC Berkeley, where she is majoring in Bioengineering. She is a recipient of the Regents' and Chancellor's Scholarship that is awarded to the top incoming students at Berkeley, and she is currently maintaining a 3.429 GPA. She was a valedictorian of Livermore High School, where she took and excelled in many challenging Honors and AP classes. Her SAT scores were in the top 98th percentile, and she looks forward to helping other students do well as she knows how important the SAT tests are for college applications. She has some previous tutoring experience from high school, which she found very rewarding. Danielle is a cheerful and enthusiastic person who loves reading, dance, yoga, and ice cream, and she is very excited to meet new students!

Denise

Denise has more than five years of classroom teaching experience in California, specializing in Biological Sciences. In 2002, she earned a B.A. in Biology Education from Hastings College in Nebraska. She served as a member of the Army National Guard for 6 years, where she was a Distinguished Honor Graduate in her Advanced Individual Training class. She deployed to the Middle East from 2003-2004, and began teaching high school science in the Bay Area upon her return. In addition to her focus in Biology, Denise has also been an active participant in the Reading Apprenticeship program, which utilizes specific strategies to help students achieve reading comprehension in all academic areas. In her spare time, Denise enjoys playing with her son, camping, cooking, dancing and singing karaoke.

Edward

Edward graduated from UC Berkeley with a B.A. in integrative biology. He graduated in the top 10% of his class at Oxford Academy High School where he also played varsity basketball and tennis. In high school and in college Edward has tutored middle school and high school students privately and through programs like OASIS. In his free time he loves to play basketball, tennis, and golf. Edward loves tutoring and wants to share his knowledge and experiences with his fellow mentees.

Erich

Erich graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Finance and from Golden Gate University with a Master's in Accounting. He is currently a financial advisor with Waddell and Reed and also teaches accounting at UC Berkley. Erich has had his early research in psychology published in several well respected journals and he is also a member of American MENSA. Math and science come naturally to him. He is passionate about teaching and has experience teaching both high school and college level students. In his free time Erich enjoys running, mountain biking, politics and spending time with his two dogs.

Giancarlo

Giancarlo recently graduated from Princeton University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and is a graduate of De La Salle High School, where he graduated second in his class and received an SAT score in the 99th percentile. Giancarlo has tutored middle school and high school students while he was in college, coached a swim team for three summers where he mentored children ages four to eighteen, and is currently tutoring local high school students. Of utmost importance to Giancarlo is to foster a compassionate attitude when dealing with students so that they can flourish intellectually without fear or shame.

Jeremy

Jeremy earned his BS in Cognitive Science from the University of Westminster in London, UK, graduating with First Class Honours (the highest degree classification in the UK). He earned 5's on the AP Computer Science A and Computer Science AB tests, scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT, and has since scored in the 98th percentile in the GRE verbal section and earned a perfect score in the GRE quantitative section. While attending university in England, he hosted a weekly radio show, was the deputy editor of the university's newspaper, and helped host an international linguistics conference. Jeremy is an avid fan of music and plays both guitar and drums. He is currently preparing for a PhD in Computational Neuroscience and hopes to ultimately become a college professor.

Karen

Karen is currently studying neurobiology, physiology, and behavior at UC Davis. While in high school at Mission San Jose, Karen maintained a 4.0 weighted GPA and passed three AP tests. She swam varsity all four years, was captain of the girls' team, volunteered at the hospital, led a local youth ministry, and tutored Spanish and math. While at UC Davis, she has been on the Dean's Honor list, has tutored underclassmen at the Learning Center, and has worked in a research lab. Karen continues to swim on Davis' Masters Aquatics. Her seven years as a swim coach, teaching students of all ages and needs has shown her that the best instructors are understanding, adaptive, and patient to all student's abilities, needs and goals.

Kimberlee

Kimberlee is an experienced teacher in science and mathematics. She has a Masters Degree in Environmental Science & Policy, Transportation Engineering and Epidemiology, and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science & Policy from the University of South Florida. She has extensive research and teaching experience and has spent the last two years preparing to enter medical school by pursuing a second Bachelor of Science in Chemistry at California State University. She is focused, driven and very energetic. In her spare time, Kimberlee likes to read and run marathons.

Luke

Luke is a senior chemistry and math double major at St. Mary's College of California. He graduated with a 5.00 GPA from Concord High School before spending one year at Diablo Valley College. He transferred to UC Santa Barbara as a Junior and worked for 10 months as the first undergraduate in the Zakarian Group chemistry research team. After completing a summer research project, He moved back to the bay area to finish his senior year at St Mary's on full academic scholarship. Luke started tutoring for the SATs as a high school senior and has worked with great success with students both in the bay area and Santa Barbara. He learned the patience necessary to excel as a tutor while working with younger students in his Boy Scout troop where he earned his Eagle Scout Award in 2006. Luke's favorite part of tutoring is helping his students realize their potential and surpass their own expectations.

Margaret R

Margaret has twenty-five years of experience teaching high school and college, and is currently an English professor at Cal State East Bay, where she teaches composition, linguistics, and graduate courses for future ESL teachers. She earned her doctorate from Washington State University with an emphasis in Composition Studies, Rhetorical Theory, and American Literature. She was born and raised in San Diego, and earned her BA and MA from San Diego State University. One of the things she enjoys most about teaching is helping students discover connections between their personal interests and their academic work, so school becomes more meaningful. When she is not teaching, spending time with her family, working on the computer, listening to music, or reading, Margaret likes to hang out with her four-year-old Golden Retriever, Lilly Belle.

Maria Teresa

Maria Teresa graduated from Mount Holyoke College with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and Latin American Studies. She also holds a Master's degree from the University of London in Economics. Prior to Mount Holyoke, she graduated from The Ethel Walker School, a private college preparatory school in Connecticut. Maria Teresa currently works as an economist at a litigation consulting firm, assisting in writing testimony on various economic issues. She is also fluent in Spanish. In her free time she enjoys hiking, swimming, spending time with her son and in the past, working as a soccer coach with children of all ages.

Mike

Mike graduated from Duke University in 2008 with a degree in Literature and Political Science. He graduated with Distinction - phi beta kappa and summa cum laude - and has twice been published, once in the humanities (a paper on suicide bombing), and once in physical anthropology (a paper on lemur cognition). Mike is a native of the Bay Area and attended The Athenian School in Danville before heading back east. He has worked across a wide range of students and subjects, and is accommodating, flexible, and encouraging. He's a big fan of 20th century painting and experimental film. Mike will be applying to interdisciplinary PhD programs in the coming months and in the meantime is looking forward to some engaging and productive tutoring sessions.

Miranda

Miranda graduated from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, in June 2005 with a BA in biology. While growing up in Livermore, she attended public school, was homeschooled, and went to Las Positas College in lieu of high school. These different learning environments helped her understand and create a wide range of learning tools for her students. In addition to studying biology, she is proficient in reading and writing English, all levels of high school math, American history, economics, drama, and dance. She has experience teaching science, math, and drama to students individually and in mixed age groups through her work with 4-H and JASON Day.

Nick

Nick graduated with honors from UC Berkeley receiving a Bachelors Degree in Economics. Since he was a junior in high school, Nick has tutored students of all ages and subjects. He is currently working for a firm specializing in consulting for small businesses, where he enjoys using his acquired analytical skills from his economics studies to solve the challenging real world problems faced by small businesses. Nick has SAT scores in the 99th percentile and is a motivated, patient, and passionate tutor who enjoys helping students achieve their greatest potential.

Peter

Peter is a recent graduate from UC Santa Barbara with a Bachelor of Arts in economics-mathematics and a minor in philosophy. While at UCSB, Peter was a four year member of the intercollegiate rowing team, and the team vice president and captain his senior year. Given this experience, Peter can easily relate to the unique difficulties that student athletes face during the educational process. Peter started tutoring his junior year of college by helping close friends with their math homework -- from there it grew into a part time hobby. Peter has worked with a wide variety of students; from motivated college students to struggling low income students while volunteering at the local YMCA branch. This wide array of experience has given Peter a strong ability to discover and relate to each student's unique needs, which are different for everyone. In his free time, Peter enjoys playing/writing music, riding his bike, and running.

Phil

Phil is an undergraduate at Stanford University where he studies biology with an emphasis in neurobiology and a minor in economics. He is currently conducting research at Stanford's sleep laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry. He has SAT scores in the 99th percentile and was a National Merit Finalist as well as an AP Scholar with Distinction. Phil has over four years of teaching and mentoring experience and enjoys working with students of all ages. In his free time, he enjoys tennis, hiking, traveling, and music.

Priya

Priya graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 2004 with a degree in Cognitive Science. She now holds a master's degrees in Functional Neuroimaging and Mind, Brain and Education and is a doctoral student at Harvard Graduate School of Education. She has a B.A. in Cognitive Science (Neuroscience emphasis). She consistently tests in the top percentiles on standardized tests and she received the 1999 Bausch and Lomb award for science at her high school. When not tutoring, Priya volunteers to gain experience in labs at U.C. Berkeley and UCSF. She is also a founding member of The Fog Horns brass quintet.

Ray

Ray is a 2006 graduate of U.C. San Diego with a degree in Visual Arts, Art History & Criticism. He achieved Provosts Honors and was an active member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. For 3 years he worked with a national test prep corporation and was employed at LLNL's Technical Information Department. Ray is also a graduate of Granada High School in Livermore, where he served as a lifetime member of the California Scholastic Association and received excellent scores in his SAT and SAT subject tests. He received an AP Scholar with Honors award for his accomplishment on the World History, English Literature, German, US History, and Psychology exams and was the recipient of the Granada Booster's Scholarship for achievement in Writing. Currently he is working to obtain a teaching credential to further his interest in the educational field.

Rebecca

Rebecca is an undergraduate student at California State University, East Bay, where she is majoring in biology with minor in human development. She is currently involved with research in solar cell development utilizing carbon nanotubes. She has an SAT I score in the 95th percentile, a perfect score in SAT subject test mathematics level 2, and passed 3 AP tests during her high school years. She also served as a peer tutor in her high school helping others with math and science. She is dedicated, patient and eager to show students how to improve their study skills and broaden their understanding of the subjects at hand. In her spare time, she enjoys dancing, pilates, yoga and reading books. She is passionate about environmental protection and patient rights issues and is planning to apply to UCSF's midwifery program in near future.

Sara

Sara graduated from San Ramon Valley High School in the top of her class and is now an undergraduate at UC Berkeley working towards a degree in Marine Sciences and Environmental Science while participating in many university leadership programs, a campus sorority, and tutoring children of all ages in an Oakland housing complex. Sara scored in the 95th percentile on the SAT and scored 5 on many AP tests. Sara has tutored through volunteer programs for many years as well as tutoring summer school students in Math and English. In her free time Sara loves live music, going to the ocean, and hanging out with her awesome little brother.

Thuy

Thuy graduated from MIT in 2008 with a degree in neuroscience. She was valedictorian in her class of 950 at Independence High School and was active in community service and the Math and French clubs. She scored above the 95th percentile on the SAT and earned 5's and 4's in 10 Advanced Placement tests. In college, she taught middle school and high school students in one-on-one and group programs in subjects as diverse as doodling and calculus. She has been a mentor for two-year-olds up to MIT freshmen and really enjoys connecting with her students and mentees to help them define their own path to success, whatever that may be. She loves reading, writing, traveling, foreign languages, and learning new things. She is currently taking time to gain work and life experience and plans to study medicine and public health in the near future.

Tim S

Tim is a graduate of Amador Valley High School where he took numerous honors and AP classes in math, science, English and social studies. He is also well acquainted with the Spanish program and is competent to tutor up to level 3. Tim has enjoyed being thoroughly engaged in the band program at Amador Valley High School and now passes on his expertise by giving private drum lessons. Tim is friendly, kind, and willing to do his best to provide assistance!

Vladimir

Vladimir is a graduate student at the University of California at Berkeley, where he is working towards a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering with an emphasis on laser-driven Inertial confinement fusion. As part of his studies he works at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the fields of laser and plasma physics. Vladimir holds a B.S. in Physics from UC Berkeley. As an undergraduate he has done experimental ultra low temperature physics. During his college career Vladimir taught, tutored and graded college level math and science courses. Now he wants to use his expertise to help more students completely understand their material. Vladimir likes to cook, hike and play music in his off hours. Upon completion of his Ph.D., Vladimir hopes to become a staff scientist at one of the national labs.

Whitney

Whitney is an undergraduate student of sociology at UC Berkeley. After leaving high school to attend college two years early on a full-tuition two-year scholarship, Whitney has earned Dean's List distinctions every semester, as well as receiving a prize for her work in social studies upon earning her A.A. from Simon's Rock College of Bard. She is a National Merit scholar and has earned scores in the 98th percentile in the critical reading and the 99th percentile in the writing sections of the SAT, as well as a perfect score on the SAT Subject test in Literature. Whitney loves playing piano, volunteering, creative writing, classic rock, and Tae Bo.