Fun Facts

I hsve had a lot of interesting experiences. For example, I was once kissed in front of 900 people by Justice Harry Blackmun. I have had lunch at the White House and a private tour by the White House curator.

I am passionate about classical music,especially Bach, and had a career detour for 10 years within the interior design profession, which is also a passion of mine.

About Me

I began working as an in-school math tutor in the fall of 2015. I changed this year to being a permanent sub in a school primarily for special-needs elementary students. I graduated first in my high school class of 900 at what was then considered the #1 public high school in the country. I graduated with highest distinction from the U of Illinois-Urbana and then earned a Master of City Planning from Harvard and a M.S. in Management from the Sloan School-MIT. (I earned these simultaneously.)

Experience

Most of my career was spent in the not-for-profit sector, primarily in healthcare policy but with that interior design "detour." I became aware of the need for tutoring inner-city students in particular after spending 10 years as a volunteer Court-Appointed Special Advocate and becoming aware of the dropout-drug-prison pipeline for these students.
Tutoring can help ALL students be more effective, and I feel that my own education has helped me see this.

Approach

I like to figure out how a student learns. Visually? By example? I like to form a rapport with each student so that we are partners. I also communicate heavily with parents and teachers whenever possible, so that we are all a team.
I am a big fan of the "growth mindset" school of thought, and I never allow a student to say, "I can't do this," or "I'm not smart enough for this."