New York-Area Tutoring Experts

Ada Meyers

Ada Meyers was born and raised in Manhattan. While attending Stuyvesant High School, she started tutoring for the SSHSAT, SSAT, and ISEE. After graduating she went north to Montreal, Canada where she attended McGill University. There she pursued a major in psychology and a double minor in behavioral science and social studies of medicine. While in Montreal, she became further involved in education by teaching at a non-profit organization focusing on the education of children with special needs. Additionally, she worked as a research assistant at a McGill research study focusing on child psychology.

After graduation Ada moved back to her hometown with the hopes of being able to spend her time helping people, sharing knowledge, and making personal connections. Having excellent SAT and SAT Math II Subject scores, finding A-List Education was a perfect match. Not only does Ada privately tutor through A-List, but she also teaches in the classroom with their non-profit sector. Ada firmly believes that through the tailored and interactive communication of knowledge and skills, anything can be mastered.

Allen Springer (Vice President of Test Prep & Admissions)

Allen Springer grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated from Emory University.

He spent a year traveling after college, and upon his return, Allen was accepted to the MA/PhD program in American Literature at New York University; however, with the change in atmosphere of academics at the time, he left after two plus years of study. While in graduate school, he taught SAT, GRE, and LSAT courses for the nation's two largest test-preparation companies.

After graduate school, he was briefly an editor for the leading qualitative marketing research company.

Allen then found his niche, blending his business acumen and fondness of education, working for a successful Long Island test-preparation company, where he spent eight years teaching literally thousands of students and directing the company.

While looking for a new experience, Allen was presented with an interesting opportunity to work for the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). As the Acting Director of a non-profit initiative and research center at UCSD, he was tasked to improve the education and training opportunities of information and storage management professionals. The program was a nexus for industry, end users, and academia.

Allen now finds himself happily back in New York, working for A-List as one of its Directors and tutoring students for the LSAT.

Andrew Parrish

Andrew Parrish graduated with honors from New York University with a B.F.A. in Film & Television Production and a B.A. in English & American Literature.

He was a much sought-after tutor at a leading test preparation company for two years, where he taught the SAT, SHSAT, SSAT, ISEE & HSPT exams, and he is currently one of the resident educators and SAT instructors at the New York Historical Society.  He is also the audience coordinator for an extremely popular New York-based television show, with which he traveled across the country and performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in June of 2012.

In addition to teaching/tutoring, Andrew has a great knowledge and love of film, theater and books, having worked on many film sets, TV shows and theater workshops (and at one publishing company), so feel free to ask him about anything!

Arthur E. Crumlish Jr.

Arthur Crumlish, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, is a highly experienced tutor who has worked with young men and women of a wide-ranging variety from third-graders at a private school in Manhattan to college-level students seeking assistance in writing skills and text analysis. In addition, he has worked with students having special needs such as children for whom English is a second language and ones with learning disabilities.

Arthur has prepared students for the SAT, SAT II, GRE, the Hunter High School Admissions Test, and offered his skills as a homework tutor, a peer counselor, art instructor, and business English coach while living in Europe.

In addition to pursuing a professional career as a visual artist, dividing his time between teaching and painting, making exhibitions and attending workshops in New York and various cities abroad, Arthur remains a dedicated mentor whose reputation for "going the extra mile" with his students is well deserved.

Azusa Ueno

Aspiring pianist and teacher, Azusa Ueno born was born in Tokyo, Japan, but mainly grew up in Connecticut. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Social Psychology from Yale University. Currently based in New York City, she has a Masters Degree in Classical Piano from the Manhattan School of Music, and will begin her Doctoral studies there. As a performer, Azusa has given numerous solo, chamber music, and orchestral performances across the United States and Japan, and has several New York recital engagements this coming year.

Azusa's tutoring experience began in high school, where she tutored extensively in Geometry, Algebra I and II, French, and Chemistry. At Yale, she was selected to tutor French and Japanese, and worked closely with ESL students, preparing them for the TOEFL exam. Azusa is an enthusiastic piano teacher and currently manages a full studio of students aged 6-33, and also works as a music theory instructor. Recipient of a Doctoral Teaching Fellowship, she will join the Secondary Piano Faculty at Manhattan School of Music this fall. Dedicated and caring, Azusa aims to carefully guide her all of her students to think in a comprehensive and flexible manner, and believes it is it crucial to explain how and why concepts work, rather than just teaching facts. She always tries to make the learning and critical thinking process as creative as possible, with plenty of room for student opinion and input.

Ben Prusiner

Ben Prusiner is from the San Francisco area and graduated Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa from UCLA. He has taught one-on-one and in the classroom since his high school days. Favorite experiences include teaching English in Japan with the prestigious JET Programme, writing plays with incarcerated youth in San Francisco, and creating an original UCLA seminar about pirates (yes, pirates). Since graduating with a B.A. in English he has put his love of language into practice, directing and performing classical theater in New York, California, India, Israel and Japan. In all of his work he seeks to empower his students to have their own moments of discovery, where even the most mysterious concepts are suddenly exciting and clear.

Chiara Klein

Chiara Klein graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College where she earned a BA in Theater and Psychology. She grew up in Westchester County, NY and graduated from Edgemont High School. At Dartmouth, Chiara kept busy in the performing arts working as a carpenter in the theater scene shop, leading the musical theater student group, co-founding the student Shakespeare group, co-managing and singing in the Gospel Choir, and performing in and/or directing dozens of theatrical productions. She additionally served as the President of Dartmouth Hillel, worked as a tour guide, and served on multiple student advisory boards. Following graduation, Chiara moved back to NY and is working as an A-List tutor and a religious school teacher at Park Avenue Synagogue. In the summer of 2011 she founded MaineStage Shakespeare, a non-profit regional theater in Kennebunk, ME. She currently serves as the artistic director as well as an actor and director in the company. In addition to a background in and a passion for teaching (both one-on-one and in the classroom) she is a lexicon of musical theater knowledge, a word games aficionado, and is extremely handy with a glue gun.

Chris Viemeister

Chris Viemeister graduated Dean's List from the Johns Hopkins University with a BA's in Economics, Film and Media Studies, and a minor in Entrepreneurship & Management. Chris was a member of the JHU Varsity Crew team and the Philanthropy Chair for the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. It was also at Hopkins where Chris discovered his love for education when he had the opportunity to tutor and mentor inner-city Baltimore kids through the Hopkins Tutorial Center. He graduated in 2009 and has been tutoring ever since.

Chris is currently residing on his native Long Island while pursuing an acting career in NYC. He has been part of numerous films and network shows both in front of and behind the camera. He is also one of the principal creators of the award-winning documentary Give and Take.

Clay Glad

Clay Glad grew up in New York but went to school largely on the west coast, where he studied philosophy, mathematics, and linguistics. He did his graduate work in mathematical logic at Stanford, where he taught classes in logic, philosophy of mind, and ethics, and was certified as a writing instructor. Not wanting to end up living in Des Moines, Clay opted to become an editor rather than a professor. He has edited textbooks and scholarly works in philosophy, logic and mathematics, religion, and music. His experience as an editor in designing multimedia instructional materials led him subsequently to work in developing courseware for a variety of subjects and to teaching in a wide variety of settings.

Courtney Coveney

Courtney is a graduate of Georgetown University and a native of Long Island's North Shore. She grew up competing in Long Island's rigorous horse show circuit and renewed her verve for competition upon returning to New York after college. Courtney is a lifelong writer with many publications to her credit, most notably the short piece "Uncle Ayman's Hot Dog Stand," which appears in the W.W. Norton Anthology Lost and Found: Stories from New York. The piece is reviewed by New York Magazine, among others. Courtney graduated from Georgetown with an M.A. in British Literature, for which she focused on gender studies in texts from the Early Modern through the Victorian eras. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to engage with students who are preparing for higher education.

Craig Ziegler

A native of Jericho, Long Island, and a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Craig has dedicated his life to the field of education. Whether that refers to his pursuit of multiple Masters degrees, in the fields of Literacy, Childhood Education, and International Education, or his extensive experience as an elementary school educator, test preparation strategist and educational consultant, Craig has committed his life towards helping his students fulfill their highest expectations. In additional to his more than 12 years of test preparation teaching and tutoring experience, both working for himself and leading test prep companies, Craig also has training and experience with the college admissions and essay writing process. He trained with both the International Educational Consultants Association, and the UCLA College Counseling program. Most of all, Craig understands the stress inherent in the college prep process and does everything in his power to ease his student's anxieties while preparing them to perform their best--all with smiles on their faces.

Dan Reckart

Dan Reckart was born and raised in the lovely dry heat of Tucson, Arizona. As a teenager, he toured the world with the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus to destinations including Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, and China. In high school, he was a National Merit Semifinalist and a National Achievement Scholarship recipient. He attended NYU, where he received a BFA in Devised Theatre and a specialization in producing for film and TV. He wrote and directed two productions at NYU and designed, stage managed, and acted in over a dozen others. Dan has worked with youth programs for over eight years, doing everything from teaching Sunday school to giving private acting lessons. This past summer, he worked as a residential assistant for Johns Hopkins University's Center for Talented Youth and taught seminars in playwriting and slam poetry. His high school superlative was "Best Laugh".

Desiree Burch

Desiree Burch is New York City-based actor, comedian, writer, performance and teaching artist. A graduate of Yale University with a B.A. in Theater, Desiree has committed herself to avant-garde performance on the Downtown art scene since 2001. She has been a NY Neo-Futurist, resident artist and curator with Galapagos Art Space, stand-up comedian, emcee and touring solo performance artist. In addition to being a contributor for the Huffington Post and VH1, her live work has been seen at Carolines, Comix, Gotham, Joe's Pub, Ars Nova, P.S. 122, Bowery Ballroom, The New Museum, The Ohio Theater, Columbia University, NYU, The Atlantic Theater, in the New York International Fringe Festival and at comedy clubs across the country. She is also the Executive Director of the Hysterical Festival for women in comedy, which debuted in New York in 2008.

Desiree's professional background of arts advocacy, arts education, activism and literacy reflects her progressive aesthetic in both on and offstage endeavors. Since 2003 she has worked in the New York City Public School system teaching reading, writing, performing and communication arts. She has toured all over the country working in K-12, collegiate and community forums to cultivate connections between theater, literature, awareness and involvement. Desiree has always brought a personal voice and passion to her educational work, and is pleased to add her talents to A-List Education's brilliant staff in their progressive and proactive approach to learning. 

Dory Schultz

Originally from Los Angeles, CA, Dory Schultz grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a proud graduate of UCLA. While still a student, Dory began teaching and tutoring privately and developed both a philosophy of teaching experiential learning and a love of sharing his knowledge with others. In 7th grade Dory was recognized for academic excellence by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth with financial scholarships and an invitation to take the SAT at that time, and due to his achievement was given the opportunity to repeat the test the following year. In addition to test prep, Dory teaches classes after school at the Bronx High School of Law and Finance, and private music lessons to students of all ages and backgrounds. Dory believes that academic success comes from a student finding out how to effectively learn, and strives to guide his students toward personal and long-lasting discoveries. Dory is currently pursuing his Master's degree in classical vocal performance at the Manhattan School of Music.

Gary Surman

Gary grew up in a small town in upstate New York and graduated as valedictorian from Cobleskill-Richmondville High School. He first discovered a passion for tutoring while studying mathematics and physics at SUNY Geneseo. He graduated Magna Cum Laude and pursued his graduate studies in math at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he taught calculus, precalculus, and basic math skills. After earning his MA, he moved to Long Island and pursued a career as an SAT tutor. He enjoys the tutor-student interaction, which is always interesting, intellectually challenging, and immensely rewarding.

Heather Lowe

Heather graduated from Columbia University with a major in Comparative Literature focusing on Russian, and a minor in dance. Originally from New Jersey, she grew up juggling her love of reading, ballet and Latin. During college, she tutored students in Harlem in math and English with America Reads. For the past academic year she taught English and test prep in Moscow, Russia to students from 2-60ish (yes 2, I know). From this diverse teaching experience, she is adept at finding creative ways to suit any teaching or tutoring situation. She currently works as an editor for the Voice of Russia and dances whenever and wherever possible. She is free to tutor, speak in Russian and dance at her next available time slot.

Jacqui Rossi

Jacqui Rossi graduated cum laude from Harvard University with a BA in History. While at Harvard, Jacqui studied modern European history and received high honors for her thesis on the 1938 Venice Film Festival. Outside the classroom, she performed in, wrote, and directed over a dozen Harvard Theater Productions and student films. She also served as a Harvard tour guide, which brought together her love of oratory and the sharing of trivial historical factoids. Her passion for imparting knowledge and helping others inspired her to serve as a mentor and tutor with the Earthen Vessels program for inner-city Boston students. Throughout college, she also tutored privately in English, writing, history, study skills, public speaking and the SAT. Jacqui, a native Floridian, now resides in New York where she is pursuing a career as an actress and writer. She loves traveling, Billy Joel, and Phish Food ice cream.

James Patton

James attended Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Tennessee. Though he played both basketball and soccer through middle school, he joined MBA's high school debate team, that year's national champions. James began his study of Latin at MBA and showed an early aptitude for it, receiving several gold medals and a perfect score on the National Latin Exam.

At Vanderbilt University, James developed his passion for the classics and graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Classical Studies and a minor in Philosophy. Extracurricularly, he helped found the Vanderbilt Australian Football Club and went on to become to team's president and captain in addition to playing in the USAFL for the Nashville Kangaroos. During his time at Vanderbilt, James also began tutoring for Nashville's premier tutoring company. As a tutor, James found that his classical education gave him a firm foundation in a surprisingly wide variety of subjects including: political science, art history, philosophy, history, social sciences, English, and of course Latin. James' knack for standardized testing, one that enabled him to find an error on the ACT, now helped him tutor students with the SSAT, ISEE, PSAT, SATs I and II, ACT, GRE, and AP tests. James continued tutoring after he graduated, and has worked with a wide variety of students, including international students, students with learning disabilities, and some for whom English is a second or even third language.

John J. Oh

John resides in Queens, where he has lived for almost his entire life. What is now his full-time job began as just a part-time job while he was studying to be a screenwriter at Columbia University. But, as John facetiously likes to say, "Since no one bought anything that I wrote, I had no choice but to continue teaching." Recruited by his friend and colleague Scott Farber, John is actually one of the five founders of A-List.

When Scott presented John with the opportunity to build a better mouse trap, he was more than ready. Before he joined A-List, John was already familiar with the test-preparation industry, having worked as both a director and teacher for several test-preparation companies. During that time, John estimates that he taught over 3000 students from Nassau County, Suffolk County, Westchester, New Jersey, and all five boroughs of New York City. He has researched the SAT and ACT, spoken about the SAT and ACT, written materials on the SAT and ACT, and has actually taken quite a few of them too over the years.

As A-List has grown in size and success so have John's responsibilities and contributions to the company. He is now responsible for the hiring and training of A-List's ever-growing and exemplary staff. In fact, he's even hired and trained some of the tutors on this page!

Julia Lindpaintner

Julia Lindpaintner was born in Germany, and grew up in Iowa City, Boston, and Basel, Switzerland. She returned to the United States to attend college at Harvard University where she recently graduated cum laude with a B.A. in History of Science and a minor in Dramatic Arts. While in college, Julia worked with the Harvard Program for International Education teaching a curriculum on International Public Health in Boston public high school classrooms. She learned Spanish her Sophomore year of college and spent the following summer in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala tutoring students ages 6-16 in English and Math. In March of 2010, she moved to New York City with the help of an Artists Development Fellowship from Harvard to pursue a career as a modern dancer.

Kyle Nunn

Kyle Nunn is a proud native of Cincinnati, Ohio, where he grew up trying to find a balance between being a math nerd, a sports fanatic, and a theater geek. His varying interests eventually led him to the University of Cincinnati, where he earned his BFA degree in Theater. Soon after graduating, Kyle combined his love for theater and learning about new cultures by performing in the world's largest theater fringe festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Back in New York, he has been busy writing, producing, and acting in shows around the city. Kyle first grew an appreciation for teaching in high school when he privately tutored students in math and English. During summers at college, Kyle also taught at theater camps for local grade schools and high schools. Always looking to learn, Kyle is constantly open to good book suggestions. He will also gladly engage in any sports debate, just name the topic.

Mishi Castroverde

Mishi is originally from Memphis, TN where she grew up surrounded by books. Her incessant reading fostered a love of learning early on that would later evolve into an obsession. Eager to share her love of learning with others during high school, Mishi became a tutor for "Young Women Striving for Excellence," a program aimed at serving underprivileged Memphis youth through one-on-one tutoring in various subjects. Mishi also worked as a private Algebra and Calculus tutor for high school and college students while attending Columbia University in New York City. In addition to her tutoring experience, Mishi is a proud grammar and math nerd. She is often referred to as a member of the "Grammar Police" and once won an award for "calculus enthusiasm." (The time she dressed up as Sir Isaac Newton probably has a bit to do with the latter distinction.) You can find some of Mishi's homemade logic puzzles hidden in her choreography, which can be found at www.mishiDance.com.

Molly Fitzpatrick

Molly graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a B.A. in English. She recently earned a master's degree in film history from Cambridge University--despite living in the UK for a year, she failed to marry any members of the Royal Family. An aspiring writer, she has interned at The Colbert Report, The Onion and The New Yorker. Molly scored a 2400 on the SAT, and has experience preparing students for the test in both one-on-one and classroom settings. A proud New Jersey native, she loves Bruce Springsteen more than is reasonable.

Nicholas DiMichele

Born in Baltimore, raised in Texas, Nick returned to the East coast to attend NYU. Graduating a year early with honors, Nick has remained in New York to pursue work in the arts. He has taught a broad range of subjects to students since living in New York including Advanced English and Accent, Math, Physics, Guitar, Piano, and Music Theory. He is excited to be part of A-List Services and help students reach new levels of academic potential. He is also the lead singer and guitarist for his band: Ghost & Goblin.

 

Noah Feder

Noah Feder has over a decade of experience in education and youth development. Growing up in Tennessee, Noah attended Memphis University School, where he excelled at calculus, Latin, literature, and the sciences. At Middlebury College in central Vermont, he earned a BA in International Studies, with focuses in Italian and History. In his spare time, he tutored fellow students in both writing and 200-level mathematics, performed in a sketch comedy group, started a campus-wide holiday, announced 100+ basketball games, and served as an RA. For the past 10 summers, Noah worked at a Boy Scout camp in rural Arkansas, working his way up from Nature Instructor to Camp Director. He's worked in various areas of education, from coordinating a college access network of 140 schools and 250 colleges, to running an elementary school's development office. Noah loves working hands-on with students to help them prepare for the transition from high school to college.

Rachel Flynn

Rachel Flynn is a graduate of Harvard University, where she received a B.A. with honors in the Study of Religion. While at Harvard, she performed in and directed over 25 theatrical productions, participated in the Institute of Politics, and helped to run the school's Freshman Arts orientation program. A proud New Englander, hailing from the beautiful Berkshires, Rachel now lives in New York where she is pursuing a career in theater and film. Her love of teaching (with a background in both private tutoring and classroom education) is only eclipsed by her love of Beatles trivia. She remains staunchly neutral in all matters concerning 'Boston vs. New York' sports team loyalty.

Regina Benford

Regina Benford is a Brooklyn native with a passion for teaching and travel.  She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Douglass College Scholars Program at Rutgers University, an honors college with a Women's Studies based curriculum.  She completed a double major in History and Italian Literature and a minor in Psychology, specializing in early childhood development.  Throughout her college years she tutored other university students in writing composition and worked part time in a pre school classroom. After graduating, she led a class of 2 and 3 year olds in New Brunswick, New Jersey before later moving to Chile for a year and a half to teach English.  In the summer of 2010 she traveled to India to volunteer teaching basic English and classroom games at an orphanage in New Delhi.  She has studied and taught in several parts of the world in a variety of capacities and settings, which has helped her develop a creative and energizing teaching style.  She believes it is her role as an A-list tutor to give each student the individualized attention they deserve in order for them to reach their full potential.

Scott Farber

Scott earned a degree in International Relations from Harvard University in 2001. After graduation he accepted a position as the CFO for an environmental program in Ecuador coordinated through the British Embassy. Upon his return, he served for three years as a Director for a Long Island based SAT-preparation company before founding A-List in September 2005. Since A-List's inception, Scott has overseen all aspects of the company's growth while continuing to work directly with students and schools – tutoring, training teachers, developing innovative education products such as Vocab Videos and speaking at conferences and educational organizations across the country. Scott also co-founded CollegeEssayOrganizer.com, an online tool designed to help students streamline the college essay process, and serves in a variety of educational consulting capacities for nationally recognized non-profit programs.

Sherwyn Fullington

Raised in New York City, Sherwyn has spent his whole life in the pursuit of excellent education. He was accepted into the prestigious Collegiate School in the 7th grade and graduated in 1997 after spending six invigorating years there. He went on to attend Harvard College, from which he graduated in 2001 with a degree in Psychology.

After finishing college Sherwyn paired his interest in working with kids with his interest in non-profits by working for a city run technology training program in the Roxbury section of Boston. The program, Technology Goes Home, focused on training low income families in computing basics, and the use of computers to advance educational and professional careers. At the end of the program, each family was given a free computer. Sherwyn left Technology Goes Home in 2002 to attend the Graduate School of Education at Harvard. He finished in 2003 after receiving his Master's in Administration, Planning and Social Policy.

After graduating, Sherwyn strove to find a means to continue his interest in working with kids while also learning about how educational systems function. He decided to return to his alma mater, Collegiate School, to work in the admissions office. To keep more in touch with his love for teaching, Sherwyn also joined a successful SAT preparation company and taught for two years. These two jobs have given Sherwyn a keen insight into the minds and needs of young teens and high school students. He enthusiastically hopes to take this knowledge and experience with him to A-List to refine one of a kind services for young teenagers.

Steven Sodders

Steven hails from Alstead, NH and attended Fall Mountain Regional High School where he first became immersed in AP examinations, the SAT, SAT II's, and the finer points of the college admission process. After graduation he attended the George Washington University in Washington, DC and majored in Political Science with a minor in US History. After graduation he worked for a major test preparation company teaching the SAT. For the next six years Steven taught AP US History, IB History of the Americas, Chaired the History Department and coached the Debate Team at Archbishop Carroll High School in Washington.

Following his move to New York he began teaching SAT classes with A List's institutional partners and tutoring students in AP European and AP US History. Steven's command of rhetoric, argumentation, and history as well as his extensive classroom experience make him an invaluable member of the A – List staff.

Tim Reckart

Tim Reckart graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a BA in History and Literature. Harvard's Eliot House awarded him the Edward H. Potter Prize for "great enthusiasm and curiosity for truly eclectic learning," which is one way to describe a healthy level of academic ADD. Tim wrote papers about circus freaks, Aztecs, aliens, communists, and Buffalo Bill, capping it all off with a thesis about magicians at the turn of the twentieth century. He has shared his love of learning as a teacher in various disciplines, including not only test prep but also character education, sports, and filmmaking. In addition to tutoring at A-List, Tim works as an animation director, and his latest film is currently playing at festivals around the world.

LA-Area Tutoring Experts

Donna Lazar

Donna grew up in Los Angeles, California. She is an honors graduate from New York University with a double major in Philosophy and Theater and has been tutoring students of all grade levels for eight years. She has been performing in theatrical works in New York and Los Angeles, including the Obie Award winning West Village Fragments by the Peculiar Works Project. Donna believes her experience in the theater makes her a dynamic and engaging tutor. She enjoys making even the most daunting academic subjects manageable and fun.