Meet Some of Our Expert Tutors

The promise of Summit comes to life every time one of our tutors walks through the door of a student’s home.

Alex Whittlesey

Alex graduated from McGill University with a B.Com. in Finance, and later earned an M.B.A. from the University of Connecticut. A Director of Finance & Accounting with Serendipity Labs, he began working for Summit in 2012 because he found it rewarding to help students succeed in achieving their college admissions goals. Fun, easy to relate to, and methodical, he likes to break concepts down for students so that they can get to the root of each question. Alex is a dad and is proficient in Portuguese.

Aubrey Elson

Aubrey Elson just finished her MFA in Theatre from Florida Atlantic University. With a BA in Theatre and a minor in International Relations from the University of Southern California, Aubrey has balanced her passion for teaching, kids, and academia with her love and interest in the arts. Because of her artistic background, Aubrey's teaching style is empathetic, fun, patient, supportive, and enthusiastic, and relies on tailoring her communication of ideas to fit each individual students' needs and learning style. With virtually perfect GPAs in high school, college, and graduate school, Aubrey understands and helps guide her students through learning and study techniques that ensure success. Outside of tutoring, she teaches speech, acting and voice at the collegiate level. Aubrey is a professional AEA actress who has performed in two national tours, over twenty-five regional shows, and even at Madison Square Garden. She is also finishing her Yoga Teaching Certification, her Restorative Yoga Teaching Certification, and is certified in Unarmed Stage Combat! College, degrees obtained: USC, BA, Theatre Florida Atlantic University, MFA

Benjamin Park

Ben Park graduated from MIT with dual degrees in physics and music. Since then he has focused on music composition and has completed his doctorate at the New England Conservatory. In addition to the eight plus years Ben has been tutoring for Summit, he also enjoys hiking and baking and teaching music theory at Boston College (though usually not all at the same time). College, degree obtained: MIT, BS, Physics MIT, BS, Music Hartt School of Music at the University of Hartford, Master of Music Composition New England Conservatory, Doctorate, Composition

Carol Margolis

Carol Margolis received a BA in English and American Literature from Harvard University, and an MAT in Secondary English Education from Washington University. She teaches English at Dedham High School, and has tutored for the SAT, ACT, SSAT, ISEE, and subject tests for Summit. In her free time, Carol enjoys traveling and going to the theater. College, degree obtained: Harvard, BA, English and American Literature Washington University, MA, Secondary English education

Dave Pyrch

Dave is a high school math teacher in Shelton, CT. He has taught a wide range of classes including algebra, geometry, precalc, calculus and statistics. In his free time, Dave volunteers with the Connecticut Hurricanes Drum and Bugle Corps and is an avid runner. He has run 5 marathons and is actively training for more. He is a 2013 graduate from UConn with a BS in Mathematics, BS in Math Education and MA in Curriculum and Instruction. College, degree obtained: UConn, BS Math, BS Math Ed., MA curriculum and instruction

Irene Eide

Irene earned her B.A. at Middlebury College, where she studied Political Science, Classics, and Italian. Since 2004, she has taught and tutored a wide range of subjects, including Italian, Biology, and Philosophy. Irene joined Summit in 2011 and employs a calm, straightforward, and adaptive teaching style. She is committed to helping students maximize their scores through a holistic and flexible approach to test-taking. In her spare time, Irene enjoys cooking, gardening, and exploring the Northeast with her husband and sons.

Jay Liu

Jay joined Summit in May 2022. He worked as a math teacher for 5 years, after earning a MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) from Brandeis University, and a BA from Bennington College. Jay is currently a Ph.D. student in the Integrated Applied Mathematics program at the University of New Hampshire. Jay enjoys working with students, independently or as a group. Outside of work, Jay enjoys spending time with his family, cooking, and working on small projects at home.

Josh Cunningham

Josh has been tutoring for over ten years, including three years with Summit. He's been primarily working with high school students preparing for the SAT and ACT as well as high school and college-level math. In his free time, he enjoys watching the Red Sox and playing board games. He graduated in 2013 from Stonehill College with a B.S. in Mathematics with a Computer Science minor.

Lauren Doolan

Lauren is from Peabody, Massachusetts, and she earned her BA in Writing, Literature, and Publishing form Emerson College, as well as an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. She has worked for Summit since 2012 as a tutor, a Program Director, a trainer, and she has helped write and edit content for our coursebooks. Over her career as a Summit tutor, Lauren has worked with students on both the math and verbal portions of test prep, and has experience as an academic English tutor as well. Outside of Summit, Lauren has spent the last decade in after school programs and conducting adult education classes, doing everything from teaching grammar and punctuation to ESL students to showing seventh graders how to make tacos. Lauren’s style is patient, encouraging, and positive. In her free time, she enjoys reading, cooking, and traveling. College, degree obtained: Emerson, BA, Writing, Literature, and Publishing Sarah Lawrence, MFA, Fiction writing

Leslie Greene

Leslie Greene earned her BA in English from Williams College, her JD from the University of Chicago Law School, and a Masters in Secondary Education (English) from Fairfield University. She began her career as an attorney in Chicago, moved to CT and raised her family, and then turned to teaching and tutoring. At Summit since 2016, Leslie tutors the SAT, ACT, SSAT and ISEE tests. She is a good-natured teacher who builds confidence in her students as they master the skills and strategies for the test. Leslie enjoys cooking, reading with her two book groups (one contemporary fiction and the other early American history non fiction), going to the theater and to art museums and concerts, and spending time with her three grown daughters who live in NYC. College, degree obtained: Williams College, BA, English University of Chicago Law School, JD Fairfield University, MA Education, English

Lily Gordon

Lily Gordon graduated with a B.A. in Literature from Williams College. She has four years of tutoring experience and loves to get to know the people she tutors. Lily has a knack for making each student feel comfortable with her gentle, supportive teaching style while also pushing them to access their unlimited ability to learn and grow. She is a Spanish-speaker and hopes to make her career working with bilingual kids. In her free time she lets her creative spirit run wild making art, dancing, and reading lots and lots of books. College, degree obtained: Williams College, BA, Literature

Luke Holtzman

Luke is currently studying Materials Science and Engineering as a second-year PhD student at Columbia University, and has worked at Summit as a test prep, physics, chemistry, and math tutor since July of 2020. Prior to Columbia and Summit, he graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Chemistry and Physics from SUNY Geneseo. He has worked as an online tutor in science and math at levels ranging from middle school to college since 2016, and began tutoring middle and high school math in 2013. He has an extensive track record of helping students improve test prep scores and academic grades. His approach to tutoring involves fully explaining concepts to provide context for students as well as providing easy tips and tricks for test prep and academic subjects. By providing backstory and motivation for equations and incorporating problem solving methodologies, Luke strives to help students develop ways to solve numerous types of problems, including and especially those the student hasn't seen before.

Michael Singer

Michael joined Summit in 2015 and has happily tutored many one-on-one and classroom programs since then. Throughout his multi-decade teaching career, Michael has taught reading to children and adults of all ages, religious school to children and teens, ESL/ELL to undergraduate and graduate students of all ages, and biblical studies to adults. He holds a BA in History from Franklin & Marshall College (go Dips!), an MA from Brandeis University, and has completed work toward a PhD, also at Brandeis. When not sharing his love of learning with people of all abilities and ages, Michael enjoys spending time with his family, reading, cooking, listening to podcasts, classic video gaming, and playing sports.

Mike Rogers

Mike graduated Phi Beta Kappa with honors from Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in sociocultural anthropology. He has been a Summit tutor and teacher since 2016 and has extensive experience tutoring standardized admissions tests and a wide range of AP exams and academic subjects. He has a patient, supportive style and aims to help all of his students develop strong metacognitive awareness and logical reasoning skills. Outside of tutoring, he reads widely, is an obsessive crossword puzzler, enjoys studying languages and math, and spends as much time as he can biking and hiking. Prior to joining Summit, he worked in community organizing and developing and researching community-based public health programs.

Minnie Jordan

Minnie Jordan earned her B.M. in Violin Performance from Berklee College of Music, and is currently finishing her M.M. in Contemporary Jazz Performance on full scholarship at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. She aims to bring listening, laughter, enthusiasm, and down-to-earth examples to every subject. In addition to tutoring, Minnie is a professional violinist and composer, and also restores vintage clothing. In her free time she enjoys riding and training horses, riding and fixing bicycles, reading everything she can get her hands on, sewing, drawing, and all things outdoors. College, degree obtained: Berklee College of Music, B.M., Violin Performance Berklee Global Jazz Institute, M.M., Contemporary Jazz Performance

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