ABOUT US:
PHILOSOPHY
Exponential Academics is founded on the idea that true learning takes place when it is approached from all sides, with a tutor who can nimbly adapt teaching styles to match each individual student's learning needs. Rather than strictly teaching whichever methodology is currently en vogue, we meet the student where he or she is at, framing the material in a way that they can understand, connecting it holistically to foundations that are already in place. The key is always getting the student to UNDERSTAND, rather than memorize.
FOUNDER
Our Founder, Adam Arian, has worked as a private tutor for over 24 years, teaching students at the best schools in NYC and LA, including Nightingale, Dalton, Ethical Culture, Fieldston, Spence, Collegiate, Horace Mann, Riverdale, Friends Seminary, Berkeley Carrol, Packer, Basis, Trevor, Ramaz, Heschel, and many more. He works with students from 2nd grade through 12th, on almost every academic subject as well as general homework help, and test prep for the ISEE, SSAT, PSAT, and SAT. He has his BA from Brown University, and his MFA from UC San Diego.
TUTORS
DAN O'NEILL
Dan O'Neil is an educator, tutor, and professional writer with an MFA in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. He's taught writing workshops to 11-18 year olds in the Pittsburgh public schools as well as taught at the collegiate level at Carnegie Mellon for two years, taught master classes while in residence at Newman University, and has been commissioned to write for young voices and provide mentorship to high-school-aged students through Stella Adler's Summer Intensive the past two years. When he's not teaching, he also works as the Theater Editor at Culturebot (an online performance journal), the co-founder of Designated Movement Co., and as a
freelance writer.
JIHO KANG
Jiho Kang is a tutor based in Brooklyn. He has over 8 years of tutoring experience, working with middle and high school students from schools such as Hunter, Dwight, Stuyvesant, and Spence. His core subjects include mathematics and standardized test preparation (SAT, ACT). In addition, he has also worked alongside professors as a teaching assistant for applied mathematics and mathematics courses at Harvard.
Jiho attended Harvard University and received a degree in Applied Mathematics with Honors. He has worked in a wide range of industries, ranging from working in analytics to performing on a stage. In his free time, Jiho enjoys doing yoga and spending time with his friends and family.
ARIEL STESS
Ariel is an adjunct lecturer in the Department of Arts and Sciences at New York University and the English Department at Brooklyn College. Ariel grew up in Santa Fe where she graduated high school with honors. She went on to do her undergraduate work at Bard College and received her MFA in Playwriting from Brooklyn College. Ariel specializes in tutoring reading comprehension, writing, organizational work, and study skills and has years of experience teaching in New York City. Ariel Stess is also a playwright and director, is under commission by Playwrights Horizons, and has had productions of her work in New York City and Brooklyn.
KAYLEY GIORGINI
Kayley Giorgini studied Art Therapy at the School of Visual Arts and completed a Masters of Professional Studies in 2020. She has extensive experience working with young children, some with developmental disabilities, in a school setting. She focuses on creating a safe learning environment for children that have difficulty self-regulating, concentrating, and/or experience low frustration tolerance. Kayley is passionate about supporting young people using coping skills, mindfulness techniques, and soothing teaching methods. Due to her unique background as a therapist, Kayley can support your child through a holistic approach to learning and bring creativity and cohesive energy to the learning environment. Kayley also has over 15 years of experience with childcare services.
IAN NACHT
Ian is a private tutor specializing in upper level mathematics, and science, with years of experience prepping students for advanced testing. Areas of expertise include calculus, physics, chemistry, the SAT, ACT, LSAT, GRE and GMAT. But don't Ian's upper level bonafides fool you, he also has many years of experience with younger kids doing general academic coaching, math, science, English and history at all levels, and teaching the new math of the common core curriculum. Ian attended Amherst College.
KATE VOS
Kate is a graduate of Boston College and Harvard University. She specializes in the ISEE, SSAT, ERB, SAT, and SAT II subject tests (Math, US History, Lit). She also has experience tutoring most academic subjects in high school, including math, science, writing, and history. Kate loves helping students with their daily academic work and coaching them through subjects they find difficult. She has devised a writing tutoring curriculum to help students learn how to master the traditional five paragraph thesis essay in their transition from middle to high school. Kate loves working with kids and young adults, equally, bringing her warm and approachable energy to every tutoring session.
SAM METZENBERG
Sam Metzenberg is an alumnus of Middlebury College where he majored in English and minored in Spanish, graduating Cum Laude with departmental honors. Upon graduating from Middlebury, Sam spent a decade working in the tech industry before switching his focus to private tutoring and test prep. As a New York native and graduate of Stuyvesant High School, Sam has a deep understanding of the skills necessary for young New Yorkers to excel in demanding scholastic environments and achieve their academic goals.
MORGAN GREEN
Morgan Claire Green is an experienced tutor living in Brooklyn. She graduated from Bard College in 2012 where she studied Theater and Human Rights. She is a co-founder of New Saloon Theater Company, currently in residence at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council working where she is directing a production of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. As a tutor, she specializes in the Reading and Writing sections of the ACT and SAT, homework help, and creative and academic writing support.
EVAN POWELL
Evan has been an academic tutor and college success strategist for over 10 years, helping his students with general coursework and standardized tests. He has several years of experience teaching the ISEE, SSAT, PSAT, SAT, and ACT tests. Evan also teaches Speech and Rhetorical Skills to students of all ages. He has developed a specialized curriculum for international students entering U.S. universities. Evan has also worked with younger kids as the program coordinator for the Creative Arts summer program at Tufts University for children. aged were 6-11 years old. Evan holds a BA from Boston College and a MFA from University of California, San Diego.
DAVID RICE
David Rice graduated from Harvard in 2010, where he studied film and literature, and won a Hoopes Prize for his senior thesis on the woods in German literature. After a year on a writing fellowship in Berlin, he returned to work as an animation teaching assistant at Harvard, before moving to New York in 2013. He's been tutoring multiple subjects since 2012, and currently teaches at the Gotham Writers Workshop. His stories and essays have appeared in numerous journals, and his first novel is coming out in 2016
AMANDA MILLER
Amanda Miller is an educator, yoga instructor, writer, and actor who holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School and a BFA in Acting from NYU. She has over a decade of experience working with students ages 0 to 17 in a variety of settings. She has taught writing, literacy, theater, improvisation, yoga, and more. Amanda trained as a teaching artist with Community Word Project, where she interned as a 2nd grade creative writing teacher, and has been educating young children in various settings for the last decade. She taught yoga, drama, and religious school to children ages three to ten at JCC Manhattan and Sprout Brooklyn Day Camps, in religious school for Pre-K, Kindergarten and Second Grade Students. Additionally Amanda has run holiday programs for children ages 0-5 and their parents at Union Temple. She also spent a summer working as a nanny for two 5-year-olds.
NIKITA NAYYAR
Nikita is a practicing anesthesiologist at NYU Langone. Once in a while she finds time for tutoring in upper level math and sciences, SAT prep and MCAT prep. She has years of experience as a private tutor.
AMANDA THICKPENNY
Amanda is an educator with a wide range of experience in the humanities. She reads incoming plays for several playwrighting competitions and theaters across the US and the UK. She's lectured on theatre and theatre history at the collegiate level. She toured all over the South Eastern US with a children's theater company dedicated to staging classic literature. She was a teaching assistant during her college career at American University in Washington, DC (which she attended on a full academic scholarship). She has a Master's degree in text and performance from The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and Birkbeck, University of London. She is certified to teach english as a second language.
GREG TAUBMAN
Greg Taubman is a theater artist and educator with over a decade of experience teaching and tutoring. A product of New York City's private schools himself (graduating from Fieldston in 2002), Greg brings an insider's knowledge to the city's elite institutions. Greg graduated Summa Cum Laude in Classics from Princeton and holds an MFA in Directing from Columbia University. He has taught and directed for Columbia, LIU Post, Union College, and Stanford University. Bringing his experience with neurodiverse loved ones to bear, Greg focuses on each student's individual learning style. Though he loves History, languages (French, Latin, Greek) and Literature, Greg is at home tutoring Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, and all standardized tests from the ISEE/SSAT/SHSAT up through the LSAT and GRE.
LISA GENARO
Lisa Genaro is a classroom teacher with over 10 years of experience. Lisa holds a degree in Psychology from Saint Francis College and is completing her master’s in early childhood education. Lisa has worked with children ages 2- 15 in a variety of different settings. She specializes in the Orton Gillingham multi-sensory approach, executive functioning, study strategies, and applied behavior analysis. Lisa has prepared many students for private school entrance exams such as the ISEE and others. She is also is certified in handwriting without tears and has helped many students improve their handwriting. She believes that learning should be fun and differentiated based on her student’s individual needs. When Lisa is not working you can find her reading her favorite book or walking her dogs in central park!