EDUCATORS

We hire the most qualified and dedicated educators in the Bay Area and provide them with the best training possible to enhance their skills. Our tutors include graduates from top-ranked colleges and universities across the country as well as future and former teachers whose lives are devoted to education. See brief bios below for a sampling of our educational staff.

Natalie Berkowitz loves learning by 'doing'!  Her specialties include math and life sciences.  Natalie has an MA in Secondary Science Ed - Biology from Teachers College at Columbia University, a CA teaching credential for math/science and her undergrad is in Speech Pathology.  One of her other specialties is advocating for students with special needs, especially working on IEP's.  Currently Natalie is working as a Pharmacy Technician to get in experience for a new venture she is undertaking. When she has down time she loves to read and be with her cat, garden, quilt, cook with friends and hang out at the beach.

Megan Cole has a BA in Spanish from SFSU, completed a graduate course at NYU in Spanish Translation and took courses with Landmark Education for 6 years. She spent a semester in Oaxaca, Mexico and visits Mexico on a regular basis, including a backpacking trip from Mexico City to Costa Rica. She teaches Spanish part-time at Piedmont High School (where she graduated in 1991) and has also taught for 3 years at Golden Gate Apple, in Kensington. Her interest in Spanish speaking cultures extends beyond school and travel: she is an avid salsa dancer and enjoys cooking and trying different kinds of Latin American cuisines. She is also a proud owner of 2 Persian cats, and participates in campaigns with API or volunteers at the Himalayan and Persian Cat Rescue in Mill Valley. She runs an online aromatherapy store with a product line designed to educate consumers about the dangers of ingredients used in many bath and body products.

Elizabeth Costello is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley, where she studied Psychology and Public Policy. She has been tutoring for the past 6 years, and co-taught a student-run course at Cal about current issues in education. Her interests include soccer, Italian films, and graphic design, and she will probably never love anyone or anything in the world as much as she loves Peet's coffee.

Kyla Danysh is a Berkeley native who discovered her love of teaching while living in Martinique in the French West Indies. She currently works as a Literary Specialist for middle school students. In her free time Kyla enjoys learning new styles of music on the violin, writing and spending time outdoors.

Bram Draper is an Oakland-born educator and aspiring filmmaker. He received a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from U.C. Berkeley in 2008. Through his experience in education (as student, student-teacher, and tutor) he’s found that there is no substitute for individual and small-group instruction. The kinds of learning relationships that develop through tutoring are inspiring and crucial to student development. He discovered this while tutoring in college and after graduating he didn't want to stop!

Hannah Greene grew up in Concord, Massachusetts where she was active as a soccer player and as a violinist. She has a BA in history from Yale University where she volunteered as an English and math tutor and violin teacher for high school students. After graduation, Hannah spent a year in Western Massachusetts working for AmeriCorps as a liaison between teachers in the public schools, college professors, and community organizations to aid in carrying out service-learning projects. She is currently a graduate student in the music history program at UC Berkeley, where she has taught undergraduate courses on Western music history, basic musicianship, and choral singing. She participated in a middle school mentoring program in the Emeryville Public Schools and assisted the String Orchestra of the Young Musicians Program during their summer session.

Corey Harkey holds a degree in Conservation and Resource Studies from UC Berkeley. While completing his degree he worked part time teaching standardized test preparation. This experience led him to redirect his academic efforts towards understanding the complexities that affect students' opportunities. Upon graduation, he committed himself to addressing the achievement gaps that exist between communities and across demographics. As Aspire Education Project's Director of Test Prep Services, Corey works to make the college matriculation process as smooth as possible for as many students and their families as he can. He plans to attend graduate school in order to pursue a career improving education in California. In his free time, Corey enjoys reading, cycling, and rooting for hometown sports teams.

Zack Hsi is a third year Electrical Engineering and Computer Science student at UC Berkeley. He’s a big fan of music, board sports, and technology. He’s been tutoring for several years now-- ever since high school. At first, it was the best and most readily available job for him, but has since become a rewarding experience and he plans on continuing indefinitely. Getting positively involved in other people's lives and helping out any way he can is what he’s all about.

Clement Kao goes to UC Berkeley for college. He came from University High School, located in Irvine, California (ranked 8th in the nation!). He loves tutoring because he gets an incredibly wonderful feeling when he sees someone finally understand a topic. That smile of comprehension, when someone gets it, is just the most amazing thing he’s ever witnessed, and he enjoys having played a role in that smile. He really likes biology (and science in general), and plays video games with his brother -  feel free to talk to him about music, science, and gaming!

Martin Katz’s first BA was in Sociology, as he was planning on becoming a Social Worker.  He thrives on helping people.  While studying Sociology at UCSB, he took a good number of Spanish classes as well. He’s fascinated by Spanish, and went on to live in Spain for four years, get an additional BA in Spanish (UCLA; June, 1986) and an MA, also in Spanish (UCLA; December, 1993).  Six plus years ago, he finished another MA program, in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (San Jose State University; May, 2005).  Working as a tutor in Spanish and/or in ESL provides meaning, a sense of fulfillment/accomplishment, and satisfying purpose in his life.

Daniel Kim grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Southern California, and Texas. During his years in high school, he was an active member of his school, participating in clubs such as Academic Decathlon and Interact. In addition to his extracurricular activities, he tutored math as a part time job. During the summer, he tutored math and chemistry in a community college. Currently, he is a freshman Nuclear and Electrical/Computer Science engineer at UC Berkeley. In his spare time, he enjoys listening to all kinds of music, playing guitar, and going outside to play frisbee.

Cristina Lau is a Bachelor’s degree candidate in Asian Studies, with a focus on China, at UC Berkeley. Cristina has worked as an English Language Learner Tutor for the Cantonese-speaking youth at Treasure Island Job Corps and also as a language trainer for IOR Global Services. She is the founder and director of an English-Spanish language program for Chinese children in Tijuana, Mexico that runs during winter and summer academic breaks. While growing up in Mexico and the United States as an ethnic Chinese, Cristina struggled as a child to learn and maintain three different languages and cultures. Now that she has mastered in balancing her diverse background, Cristina is dedicated at providing assistance to students who are experiencing language and cultural barriers. For leisure she likes to teach cooking classes, exercise and travel.

Nathan Lassig was a poor student through most of Junior high and high school, turning things around in the final two years to become an excellent student. He obtained a B.S. in bioengineering (because he loved biology, but couldn't part with math) from the University of Utah, and an M.S. in bioengineering from Stanford. Besides science, he loves to study history and languages. When not studying he loves to cook (but mostly ready cookbooks) and is excited about making salsa with tomatoes from his garden.

Jeanie Lerner earned a BA in English from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and an MA in linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley. She also holds two Clear California Teaching Credentials: Multiple Subject and English. While her primary love is language, she considers that to include math; she often quotes her high school algebra teacher, who said, “Math is the universal language.” In addition to academic subjects Jeanie teaches Aikido (in which she holds the rank of shodan) and yoga. She has had a varied career outside of teaching including positions as Executive Assistant, Managing Editor and Senior Public Administrative Analyst. As a volunteer at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum she worked with mammals and raptors and helped found the Ask Me team. When she’s not working, Jeanie enjoys reading, hiking, playing with her dog, watching movies, visiting with her family, and baking.

Eric Mefford will be a senior at Stanford in the fall, studying physics with
concentrations in theoretical physics and astrophysics. He likes to cook,
skateboard, and play music. He became interested in tutoring because he wanted to
gain teaching experience as he hopes to be a professor one day. Also, as one
of his professors has pointed out, one never really understands a subject
until they have to teach it; he hopes that tutoring will help him gain
insight into his own understanding.

Mausmi Mehta grew up in Texas and India, and attended MIT for her B.S. in Biology.  Seeking to apply her molecular biological training to the field of deep-sea hydrothermal vents, she completed her M.S. and Ph.D. in Oceanography at the University of Washington in Seattle.  Mausmi recently moved to the Bay Area, where she decided to take a break from research science and taught Physical Science and Water & Environment at John Swett High School in Crockett.  In her spare time, Mausmi likes to spend time with her family and friends, brew her own wine, grow vegetables and go hiking.

Karla Mendez grew up in Coahuayana, Mexico and then moved to California when she was five. She is now a University of California, Berkeley student majoring in Business Administration and Applied Mathematics. Her past professional experiences include being a recruitment director for a non-profit organization, as well as an undergraduate math tutor at UC Berkeley’s Student Learning Center.  She spends her free time helping the community through several leadership positions she holds. She is currently the Executive Director of People’s Test Preparation Services - a student-run organization dedicated to provide free test prep to high school students, and the VP of External Affairs of the Gates Millennium Scholars Association – an organization that outreaches to high school students about financial aid opportunities. Karla also enjoys reading, learning, and watching TV.

Howard Nathel is involved with Oakland's Youth.  Through his volunteer work with Students Run Oakland he mentors, trains, and tutors students and is active in fundraising and grant writing. Howard holds a B.A. from Cornell University, a Ph.D from U.C. Berkeley, and was on staff at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for 11 years, becoming a consultant in 1996. Howard is currently on the Board of Directors for Friends of Oakland Parks and Recreation. He has served on the Technical Council of the Optical Society of America, the Restoration Advisory Board for the Presidio of San Francisco, Board of Directors of LaserSonix, Inc., and as an assistant coach for Berkeley High's golf team.

Peter Rich is a UC Berkeley alum with background in urban education, specializing in student empowerment. He was awarded the undergraduate Departmental Citation from the Department of Sociology in 2004 for his thesis research studying the history of racial residential segregation in the City of Berkeley. Following his studies, Peter worked for several years with Making Waves Education Program in Richmond, CA, founding the Math Empowerment department which provides specialized concept-based math instruction for high school students. Additionally, in 2008-2009, Peter managed an academic- and enrichment-oriented after-school program at East Oakland School of the Arts. Peter has traveled extensively in India (where he also taught mathematics), Nepal, Southeast Asia, and Guatemala. He has a passion for learning from and supporting oppressed communities across the world, and is looking forward to a related PhD program in the near future. He enjoys rock-climbing, backpacking, and reading in his free time.

Tyler Ross is a Physics major at the University of California Berkeley who loves what he does. He puts his heart into learning and teaching because he believes in it, and that is constantly reflected in his students’ success. He understands the mental process that students have to go through to learn, and he knows that the major limiting factor is intimidation. By attacking math and physics with a straight-faced, understanding approach, he feels that he can bring any esoteric language down from its height and deliver it with grace to every student.

Angel Yan grew up in Hong Kong and came to the U.S. when she was 11 years old. She graduated from James Loagan High School with highest honors and is completing her studies in Molecular and Cellular Biology at UC Berkeley. In her free time she plays piano, keeps a scrapbook and volunteers in the Pharmacy and Emergency Departments in the hospital.