Meet The Team
Ananya
Ananya is a student at UC Berkeley studying Molecular and Cellular Biology, Integrative Biology, and Chemistry. She tutors chemistry and biology, and she loves to bake, sing, swim, and spend time with her friends.
Ariel
Ariel graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Sociology and Spanish Language & Literature. She is a college consultant for Study Smarter and has worked on undergraduate admission teams at multiple universities. When she is not providing academic and strategic support to her students, Ariel enjoys hiking around San Francisco with her husband and daughter.
Booth
After graduating from Wesleyan University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Booth worked as a university professor in China before coming to Study Smarter, where he tutors the SAT and humanities. He enjoys playing chess, sampling Chinese teas, and attending any screening of a silent film in the Bay Area.
Brenden
Brenden is studying Bioengineering and Chemistry at UC Berkeley. He tutors chemistry and biology and enjoys testing out new recipes, hiking (especially to a sunset view), and hitting the gym with friends in his free time.
Daniel
Daniel graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a BA in American Studies. He tutors math, English, and study skills. In his spare time, he enjoys backpacking and rock-climbing and also enjoys learning about astronomy and space exploration.
Dre
Dre graduated from UC Berkeley and works as an SAT/ACT tutor, a college essay coach, an ISEE/HSPT/SSAT tutor, and a math and AP Calculus tutor. She is originally from Southern California and loves going home to visit her little niece Amelie. She also loves playing soccer and is currently on a co-ed team.
Emily
Emily graduated from UC Berkeley. She started working for Study Smarter as an SAT and ACT tutor but is now our Managing Director. In her free time, she enjoys music, dance and yoga.
Emma
Emma is a student at UC Berkeley studying Bioengineering. She tutors chemistry and biology, and she loves to cook, play the piano, and spend time with her family and friends.
Jake
As a UC San Diego graduate in both Applied Math and Computational Physics, Jake tutors all levels of math and physics for Study Smarter. In his free time, Jake loves to play soccer and surf.
Jamey
Jamey graduated from UC Davis, studying pure mathematics. He tutors academic math as well as the SAT, ACT, ISEE, HSPT, and SSAT. He loves solving puzzles, playing board games with friends, and walking a dog around town.
Joel
Joel has always had a passion for tutoring and coaching and founded Study Smarter in 1997 after graduating from UCSD with degrees in Economics and Psychology. When he is not talking with families about test prep, academic tutoring, or the college application process, he enjoys spending time with his wife, Sara, and two boys, Jake and Charlie.
Karen
Karen's experience as a college professor and a coach—combined with her nerdy love of data—led her to be Study Smarter’s Director of College Consulting. She holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame, a MS from the University of Texas at Austin, and a postgraduate diploma from Birkbeck College, University of London. So whether you’re looking for an elite private school, a large public university, or an international college experience, Karen has been there. In her free time, she can be found marathon running, reading, backfloating, and playing the tuba—though not all at the same time!
Mel
Mel is a graduate of Wellesley College and a former 9th grade English teacher. She provides support for the ACT, the independent school admission tests, college essay writing, study skills, and a variety of classes. In her free time, she writes songs about dinosaurs and creates stop motion science videos. You can always find her with a notebook in hand and rocks in her pockets!
Nick
Nick is a graduate of UC Berkeley and a tutor of the SAT, the ACT, the independent school admission tests, physics, and math. He's a board game and trivia lover and occasionally manages to hit some tennis balls over the net. In about ten years he also plans to tour the world as a harmonica virtuoso.
Nisha
Nisha graduated from UCLA with a degree in Psychobiology on the pre-med track. She tutors math, biology, humanities and study skills. In her free time, she enjoys reading, playing the piano, and going to the beach.
Stephen
Stephen graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA in Philosophy & French and an MSt in Ancient Philosophy. As a speaker of five languages, Stephen focuses on tutoring Spanish and French, seeing language as a way of connecting worlds. An artist and poet, he enjoys making music, singing and exploring the beautiful nature of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Will
Will graduated from UC San Diego, majoring in computational physics. He tutors physics with Study Smarter. In his free time, he enjoys tormenting his twin brother, playing soccer, and making his friends question why they agreed to a friendly game of ping pong.