Our Team Members

Senior Management

Scott G. Farber (Founder and President)

Mr. Farber earned a degree in International Relations from Harvard University in 2001. After graduation he took a position as the CFO for an environmental program in Ecuador coordinated through the British Embassy. Upon his return, Mr. Farber served for three years as a Director for a Long Island based SAT preparation company before founding A-List in September 2005. Since its inception, he has overseen all aspects of the company's growth while continuing his commitment to his students. As President, he has expanded A-List's programs into New Jersey and Pennsylvania and forged a number of successful partnerships with non-profit education organizations and schools. Mr. Farber also serves as Vice President for another educational company, CEO, which specializes in providing college essay services.

Robert K. Hay (Co-Founder and Managing Director)

Robert has been working in the SAT preparation industry since the age of 18. During his first year at Columbia University in the spring of 1997, he was hired by a Long Island based company that runs premium courses for the SAT. After teaching for all four years of college, he graduated in 2000 with a B.A. in Philosophy, training that has honed his reasoning skills and enabled him to more fully understand the logic of the test.

After graduating, he began to work full-time at a leading test preparation company and has since performed virtually every role to be played in the company at one time or another. He has recruited, hired and trained new teachers. He has also personally taught hundreds of students.

His primary concern for the past few years has been developing materials at all levels, from training documents and manuals for staff to drills, lectures, and practice tests for students. Most notably, he had a pivotal role in updating the curriculum for the new version SAT, by doing research, writing problems and lectures, and examining pedagogical strategies for the new test.

It is this expertise that he now brings to A-List. He is the principal author and editor of all A-List's tutoring materials, most notably the Book of Knowledge. His extensive research has ensured that the materials are accurate reflections of the nature, style, and content of the test. His personal experience in the classroom has ensured that the materials are fun, easy to understand, and geared toward the material kids need the most. He is continually revising existing materials and developing new ones in order to perfect the A-List experience.

Edward G. Smallwood (Executive Vice President)

Mr. Smallwood was born in London and moved to the U.S. to attend Harvard University from which he graduated cum laude in Romance Languages. He subsequently served as Project Director for an innovative environmental development project in Ecuador funded by the British Government, working to rebuild communities devastated by El Nino. After moving to New York City, he worked as an Account Executive at a global advertising agency managing integrated campaigns for several Fortune 500 accounts. Mr. Smallwood has extensive marketing and strategic planning experience and holds an MS in Integrated Marketing from NYU.

Mr. Smallwood serves as Executive Vice President at A-List and is responsible for strategic planning, business development, and marketing. He is currently enrolled in a Global MBA program at Columbia Business School and London Business School.

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.

Management

Arthur E. Crumlish Jr. (Director)

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.

Sherwyn A. Fullington (Director)

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.

John J. Oh (Director)

John resides in Queens, where he has lived for almost his entire life. He first began tutoring the SAT as a part-time job while he was studying for his MFA at Columbia University's Film School. He has written two feature-length screenplays.

John has taught over 2,000 students (in a one-on-one setting and in classes as large as 30) from all five boroughs of NYC, Long Island, Westchester, and New Jersey. He has researched the SAT, written SAT teaching materials, and has also trained other young, aspiring SAT teachers.

Lisa C. Stella (Director of Nonprofit Programs)

Lisa grew up in Southern California and never had any real plans of venturing farther than Los Angeles, where she expected to fulfill her adolescent aspirations of movie stardom. Then one day a visit to Boston and the big brick buildings of Harvard awakened the latent Northeasterner lying within, and she spent four years there studying history and Italian. At some point during her sophomore year she remembered how much fun she had forcing her indulgent grandparents to complete the scores of worksheets she created for them as their "teacher," and decided to enroll in the teacher education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

After graduation in 2002, she taught middle school History, Geography, and Social Studies outside of London for a year and then moved to Rome, where she paid for her 85-centesimi cappuccinos by teaching English as a foreign language. Lisa came to New York in 2005 to study education policy at Teachers College, Columbia University, and completed her MA in Politics and Education in 2006. She is now back in the classroom where she belongs, teaching ninth-grade English and Humanities at a charter school in the Bronx.

Dina Altshuler (Client Services Manager)

Dina was born in St. Petersburg, Russia but grew up primarily in New Jersey. She graduated with honors from Princeton University with a BA in Psychology. After graduation she moved to Los Angeles to work with mentally disabled adults with psychological problems but realized that her heart lay in New York.

Since returning to the East Coast she has worked as a Workshop Facilitator and Retention Specialist at a large New York non-profit serving the homeless, ex-substance abuser, and ex-convict populations. She has brought her knowledge and experience of providing excellent customer service with her to A-List as a Client Services Coordinator.

Caroline Romano (Marketing Coordinator)

Caroline was born and raised on Long Island (though she regularly tries to convince Scott to bring A-List to the West Coast, so she can make her way to sunny California). She graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University with a BA in American Studies, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.

Having been tutored for her SAT by A-List's own Scott Farber, Caroline knows, firsthand, A-List's commitment to education and test prep and admissions services. She is currently working as part of the marketing team to bring A-List's innovative educational resources, like Vocab Videos and College Essay Organizer, to as many students and educators as possible. She also regularly maintains the A-List and Vocab Videos websites and aims to improve A-List's online and social media presence. With her love of learning, Caroline is excited to be a part of an organization that is committed to helping students from every imaginable background realize their dreams of higher education.

Educational Consultants

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Lindsay Tanner

Lindsay Tanner hails from Colorado, New Jersey, Virginia, and Australia. Her nomadic childhood fostered curiosity about people and an appreciation for experiences beyond her own, which would eventually lead to a double major in Theatre and Anthropology at New York University. Always a passionate student, and a voracious reader, Lindsay had devoured most of the complete works of Shakespeare by the time she was in high school. She received perfect Verbal scores on the SAT and SAT II, and had articles published in several Washington DC newspapers, including The Washington Post. She trained as an actor and a flutist, and decided to put her affinity for language to use on the stage and screen at NYU.

Having graduated with honors, she is now very active in New York's theatre community, but her abiding love of learning has always led her towards teaching and working with young people. She has worked as a drama coach and flute teacher, in addition to tutoring kids from very low-income areas in Manhattan. Lindsay enjoys teaching students who are below grade-level, have special needs, or are English language learners; her experience in the arts provides her with the ingenuity to help them reach their full potential. The right approach can make the most difficult subjects easy, and Lindsay is committed to discovering the right method for each individual student.

David Schreiner

A Los Angeles native and fan of the west coast, David came east to attend Amherst College where he ran cross country and track and field, and majored in Spanish and International Relations. After graduating in 2006, he spent a year teaching English, the TOEFL, and the SAT in Bangkok, Thailand. He is currently pursuing a career in International Relations.

Adam Horowitz

Born and raised in the suburbs of northern New Jersey, Adam graduated as the valedictorian of his high school class before journeying southward to attend Duke University. A passionate student and Blue Devil supporter, Adam received an exemplary liberal arts education at Duke, graduating with a B.A. in Philosophy and a Certificate in Film & Video. He then moved back north to the Big Apple, where he battled it out in the film industry for several years before enthusiastically entering into the field of education.

A highly experienced tutor, Adam has worked at the Boonswang Group in Manhattan and at Challenge Ivy Plus in Queens, where he concentrated primarily in SAT preparation, but also assisted a number of students in strengthening their college applications. Adam acquired additional experience at the Beekman School in Manhattan, where he taught and tutored high school students in English, World Geography & Cultures, U.S. History, Philosophy, and Geometry. He has also tutored Ivy League college students in courses that include American History, Economic Development, Philosophy & Poetry, Identity in American Culture, Russian Literature, and Social Stratification & Inequality.

While always making sure to devote the bulk of his time to his students, Adam has continued to pursue his own creative projects and has recently taken up acting, studying at the Stella Adler Studio. He is also a long-time writer and creative consultant for Mental Floss Magazine, an acclaimed publication for which he has authored numerous educational articles and blog posts. In both his tutoring and writing endeavors, Adam has always strived to achieve a perfect blending of education and creativity - a most highly constructive combination.

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.

Brian Polk

Brian Polk is a graduate of Harvard University where he concentrated in History and Literature of America. Brian grew up in San Diego, CA and graduated valedictorian of Point Loma High School, where he was also a National Merit Finalist, a Bank of America Scholar, and a Harvard Book Award winner. He has experience peer tutoring on campus in English, French, Algebra, and writing. As an undergraduate, Brian worked at the Harvard Admissions Office and as an Admissions Tour Guide. He became deeply involved with the performing arts on campus, especially as a cast member of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals. His junior year, Brian had the privilege of writing the book and lyrics for the Pudding's 160th annual show, Fable Attraction. With the Pudding, he met and helped roast such stars as Charlize Theron, Renee Zellweger, Christopher Walken, and Ben Stiller as part of their Man and Woman of the Year ceremonies. In his time at school, Brian continued as a peer tutor and was lauded for excellent writing by his professors, his thesis-readers, and the Harvard Writing Center. He was awarded high honors on his senior thesis on Herman Melville and the Fugitive Slave Act and graduated cum laude in his field. These days, outside of tutoring, he can be found in New York performing improv, sketch, and stand-up comedy. Brian's thumb has also made multiple appearances on the Cartoon Network show "Thumb Wrestling Federation." His wrists and elbows, however, are still looking for work.

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: The Kobolds.

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.

Rebecca Erenrich

Rebecca Erenrich was a National Merit Scholarship finalist and earned an International Baccalaureate diploma in her hometown, West Palm Beach, Fla. While studying government at Wesleyan University, she taught writing to fellow students, tutored children in need of remedial help and conducted field research on immigrants from Darfur, Sudan living in Maine. Following her graduation, she wrote for a new media company in New York City and began moonlighting as an SAT tutor for a boutique agency. Since then she has accrued over two years of experience teaching the SAT as a classroom instructor and personal tutor and developed an SAT curriculum for a college prep center in Manhattan. Currently, she works as a freelance writer specializing in medical topics and volunteers as an English teacher for women who arrived in New York City as refugees. She is a dedicated reader of The Economist, an enthusiastic explorer of her East Village neighborhood and an eager but unseasoned cook.

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.

Adam Schneider

Adam Schneider graduated from NYU with a degree in Art History and Political Science. Following college he worked in the field of art insurance. He left insurance to attend the Bank Street College of Education and received an M.S. Ed in childhood education. He went on to teach second grade in a private school in Brooklyn, NY.

After working in education for a few years he decided to pursue his passion of photography. He now works as a commercial photographer in New York. He specializes in fashion and music photography and has been published in several national publications. However, he still continues to devote time to education and teaching.

Daniel Chertok

Daniel Chertok hails from Roslyn New York and graduated from Emory University with a degree in Political Science and a concentration in Globalization and Development.

Daniel's tutoring experience is comparable to none. He has tutored young refugee students at the International Community School in Atlanta, GA; he has taught a business entrepreneurship course to young adults in the urban slums of Cape Town, South Africa; and, he has trained over fifty women to start or grow their local village businesses using micro-loans in Jinja, Uganda with a curriculum that he developed himself! He is eager to channel his diverse teaching experiences into helping all of his students master the SAT with efficiency and ease.

Daniel recently graduated from the AmeriCorps Volunteer in Service to America Program (VISTA) as a founding member of NYC Service. While working for NYC's Department of Consumer Affairs, Dan was involved in and launched several volunteer campaigns, most notably the "Loan Buster's" campaign to help homeowner's avoid mortgage and foreclosure rescue scams. He also became a certified financial counselor and IRS certified tax preparer through his work with the agency.

With his experience and his innate ability to motivate people to learn and always do better, Daniel is a terrific asset to the A-List team.

David Newmark

David Newmark graduated from American University with a degree in International Relations and a concentration in Western Philosophy. A frequent traveler at one point, with a stint living abroad in London, much of his leisure time is now spent playing tennis and volleyball, and dreaming of dogs and lawns and greener pastures in the Pacific Northwest.

His love-hate relationship with the SAT began as a sophomore, teaching classes for a major test prep company. Since then, he's worked with thousands of students, from elementary-age to adult. Among the other tests and subjects he's taught include: LSAT, GRE, SHSAT; 11th grade English, Modern World History, United States History, and Algebra.

In the near future, he hopes to get another yellow lab; to visit his dad in New Zealand; and to complete a Saturday NY Times crossword. He'd also like to stop misspelling "receive."

Julia Lindpainter

Julia Lindpainter 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 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.

Lynn Strong

Lynn Strong was born and raised in South Florida and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Tufts University with degrees in Political Science and English with High Thesis Honors. She has lived in New York, Paris, Taipei, Boston and, most recently, New Orleans, teaching or tutoring in some capacity in each of these places. She has taught AP High School English in Florida, tutored basic communication skills to Taiwanese businessmen, and worked with struggling writing students in New Orleans' public schools. She ran track and cross-country throughout her adolescence and still runs daily, having completed five marathons in the past few years. When not tutoring or running, Lynn writes fiction and spends hours at the park with her newly acquired puppy, Seymour, trying fervently to teach him to fetch.

Nihal Parthasarathi

Nihal Parthasarathi is an entrepreneur and writer that grew up in Connecticut, and moved to New York to attend New York University's Stern School of Business, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude, majoring in Finance and Marketing while minoring in Creative Writing. While at school, he pursued an interest in education first as a peer tutor, then as a test-prep instructor for a nationally known company, and finally as a teaching assistant within the university itself. During his junior year, he attempted to start his first company, a website that helped students market themselves to colleges in a way that helped them stand out from their peers outside of their application alone.

This failed to take off, and so after graduating, Nihal accepted a management and technology consulting position at a Capgemini, where he spent two years working for a major provider of test-preparation services. After working to develop the long term vision for the future of technology within the organization and then working hand-in-hand with software developers and designers to turn that vision into reality, Nihal left the firm to once again pursue his own educational company. Today, he is working to start and grow a company that uses the web to connect students and educators locally."

Peter Traverso

Peter has lived in many places including California, Hawaii, Japan, and Virginia. This nomadic lifestyle helped spur his curiosity for learning and gave him a true love of traveling. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia, he we went on to attend Columbia University receiving his B.S. in Applied Physics with a minor in East Asian Studies in 2010. Currently he is pursuing his Masters in Applied Physics at Columbia University. During his time at Columbia, he had the great opportunity to get involved in Engineers without Borders and has worked on multiple sustainable development projects in rural India. This experience along with his volunteer tutoring at the Missionaries of Charity in Harlem gave him a passion for teaching and giving back to the less fortunate. In addition to his volunteer tutoring experience, he has taught the SAT at the ACI Institute in Beijing where he ran workshops to prepare students to attend American Universities. He also has experience with teaching English and Physics both in a one-on-one and classroom setting.

Professional Advisors

Audrey Serel

Audrey Serel has been involved in the educational field for the last twenty-eight years. She received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from New York University in 1981 and earned her Master of Arts in Special Education in 1985. Upon graduation, she worked full time as a resource room teacher for The New York City Board of Education. The teacher to student ratio was 1:5; Audrey needed to individually assess each student to find their areas of strength and weakness, then address each students' individual learning styles to facilitate academic success. She worked for the Board of Education for fourteen years.

The next chapter of Audrey's life was spent dedicating herself to raising her two sons and volunteering in their schools and community. She has served as a member and chair person of various committees which included several years as a PTA board member. She won the Jenkins Award in 2001, which is given to distinguished individuals for years of service to children and youth.

She is a member of the Orton Society, The National Learning Disabled Society, and Ahead. She spent many years advocating for the rights of children with learning differences in her community. She referred parents to various specialists depending on their child's needs to address academic or socially related issues. Audrey also guided them in the evaluation process to make sure those students received proper services and accommodations in the school system.

Audrey began Options4You after raising her children and effectively completing the college process with them. Audrey is well versed in all different learning disciplines. Her own children had varied academic needs. Her eldest is academically gifted and her youngest struggled with learning disabilities from the age of 3. He is currently attending a top university, receives accommodations and is accomplishing his goals stupendously.

Due to Audrey's educational background and personal experiences, she is able to successfully work with all learning disciplines. Her adage is "I am an equal opportunity educator." Audrey's clientele is not limited to the learning disabled arena. Audrey has also successfully placed students into highly competitive universities.

She is a professional member of the following organizations: Independent Educational Consulting Association (IECA), National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and Higher Educational Counseling Association (HECA).

Barbara Kolb

Barbara Kolb has been involved in education for over forty years. She has worked in virtually every role within the school system from teacher, to administrator, to principal. For the last decade, her focus has been on college advising where she has met tremendous success and has helped countless students gain admission to their top-choice colleges. Throughout the duration of her professional career, she has employed her education and admissions consulting expertise to guide students and families through all aspects of the college admissions process. Ms. Kolb is one of the most highly regarded professionals in the college advising field.

Bonnie Snyder

Ms. Snyder grew up in New York City where she attended private school. She received a bachelor degree in English and Communications from Tulane University and earned her master's degree in Early and Elementary Education with honors from Hunter College. After graduation, she taught as a head teacher in preschool and elementary education schools in the private school system including: Studio Elementary School, Shari Tefila Nursery School, Columbia Grammar Preparatory School and the Claremont Children's School.

Ms. Snyder founded the kindergarten test preparation company, Competitive Edge Tutors, in 1990 to help students gain a competitive edge and overall test-taking confidence on standardized tests like the ERB, the Stanford Binet and The OLSAT/BSRA. She has been widely sought after and recognized for her expertise in this field since her company's inception, and has overseen all aspects of the company's growth while maintaining her commitment to individual students.

As its President, she has expanded Competitive Edge's programs to include test preparation for all preschool through 6th grade tests including the New York State ELA and Math exams, the ISEE/SSAT, and additional specialty school exams. She has also extended her services to include assessments, school play-date coaching, school admission coaching, school essay and writing support, weekly homework and skill-work assistance and help strengthening students' specific skill subsets such as reading, writing or mathematics.

Ms. Snyder has also found success working on students' emotional issues, reducing anxiety in the classroom to create more confident, motivated learners. She works with students to fine tune a precise set of learning skills as she believes that test taking and academic success can be achieved through practice. Ms. Snyder adheres to an individually tailored program to help students improve their test scores and grades, but sees the core of the process being about helping students to have fun, feel good about themselves and get excited about learning.

Dr. Odey Raviv

Dr. Odey Raviv is a learning specialist and educational consultant who has worked for over 30 years with students facing academic challenges. He has always been fascinated with helping students of all ages learn and thrive. Since his first experiences as a teenager working with children, he has known that becoming an educator was his destiny.

Dr. Raviv began his career by teaching in the toughest neighborhoods of New York City. He then pursued a doctoral degree in the education of exceptional students at the University of Florida where he he was granted a doctoral fellowship to research learning differences and social acceptance. After receiving his Ph.D., Dr. Raviv resumed and broadened his work in education by developing a career which encompasses being a learning specialist, professor, administrator, consultant, advisor, mentor, educational therapist, and coach throughout New York City and Long Island.

Focusing his work on students encountering learning differences, attention deficits, inconsistent motivation, and memory weaknesses, Dr. Raviv demystifies the learning process by teaching alternative strategies. He stimulates each client's awareness of his or hers particular strengths so those strengths can be put to use to overcome or compensate for areas of weakness. By developing an individualized program to teach critical thinking skills, alternative learning and study approaches, and reading strategies, students build skills that can positively impact their high school performance and prepare them for their college studies.

Dr. Raviv specializes in counseling and advising special needs students and those with accommodations in choosing the right college that will address their needs and support them as they reach their academic potential. In examining the student's unique learning approaches, individual abilities, and career goals, Dr. Raviv, together with the student and his/her family, pinpoints the colleges that best meet the particular needs of the student.

Jamie L. Reich

Jamie, a native of Long Island, holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, Sociology and Education from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., a Master of Science in Education with a specialization in Counselor Education from Hofstra University in Uniondale, New York as well as New York State Public School Teacher Permanent Certification in School Counseling. In addition, Jamie holds a Professional Diploma in Marriage and Family Therapy from Hofstra University.

Jamie was the co-founder and ten-year President of Cancer Cured Kids, a not-for-profit national charity that has provided school personnel with the means to address the emotional, psychological and educational issues surrounding childhood cancer as it pertains to the school reintegration process. Through a multi-faceted psycho-educational intervention model, this program has gained national recognition and has been distributed within school systems, hospitals and cancer related organizations. She was named to the "Women's Roll of Honor" in the Town of North Hempstead and awarded the "Blue Ribbon Education Award" by Cancer Care, Inc. of Long Island. Over the years, she has successfully guided many students though the college application process.

Rachel Fass

Rachel is a graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, with a degree in the Biological Basis of Behavior. She has worked in the client services industry for the past thirteen years. As the chairperson of the Secondary School Committee for the University of Pennsylvania for the past eleven years, she has interviewed hundreds of prospective applicants and has worked closely with admissions personnel. As an educational consultant, Ms. Fass has successfully guided students into realizing their college aspirations. Her expertise includes school selection, essay assistance, application navigation and overall admissions strategy. She has served as a board member of the Dysautonomia Foundation from 1996-2006 and has served as a board member for the Alpine Learning Group. Prior to working with students in an advising capacity, Ms. Fass was a healthcare management strategic planning consultant for a big four accounting and consulting firm.