Meet our dedicated team of educators, mathematicians, and business leaders
Want to join our team? Check out our open roles on our careers page!
Alex comes to National Math Stars with extensive experience in mathematics education and community advocacy. Born in California, Alex graduated from the University of California at Santa Cruz with a B.A. in Mathematics and a minor in STEM Education, later earning her M.A. in Mathematics from San Francisco State University. She completed her PhD in STEM Education at The University of Texas at Austin, where her research focused on the experiences of elementary Latino mathematics students and creating inclusive learning environments. Throughout her career, Alex has been dedicated to supporting diverse learners and families, drawing inspiration from her own family’s journey and her commitment to challenging barriers in education. Her work spans curriculum development, teacher training, and published research in mathematics education. In her spare time, Alexandra enjoys reading, hanging out with her pets, and crafting.
Marlee brings a decade of international education and math teaching experience to National Math Stars. She began her career as a Fulbright in Azerbaijan and later served as the president of Somaliland’s only women’s university, training future teachers. She holds an M.A. in Education from Stanford University, and a B.A. in International Relations and Plan II Honors from the University of Texas at Austin. Outside of work, you can find her training for her next marathon or hanging out with her two cats.
Zach comes to National Math Stars with over 18 years of experience in education. Born in Miami, Florida, Zach has always taken to helping people. After graduating from the University of Miami, he served as an education volunteer in the Americorps and later the Peace Corps. He has taught in both Austin and San Antonio, earning recognition from the Texas Education Agency as a “Master Teacher.” In his spare time, Zach enjoys reading, cooking, and hiking with his family.
Ambika is a first-generation immigrant who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria and Bangalore, India before moving to New York City for college. She has spent the last decade working in private and public charter schools as a mathematics educator and more recently as the Founder and Superintendent of Promesa Academy, a public charter school in San Antonio. She holds a B.A. in Mathematics and an M.A. in Mathematics Education from Columbia University.
Keith brings extensive experience in education and leadership, with his entire professional career dedicated to ensuring students receive outstanding instruction and equitable access to high-quality educational opportunities. Born and raised in Central Texas, Keith began his career as a middle school teacher in Austin, Texas before becoming a founding principal of Austin Achieve Elementary, a Title 1 public charter school. More recently, he led partnerships for a bilingual tutoring organization, expanding educational opportunities for Spanish-speaking students from low-income backgrounds. With a BA in Business Administration from Texas State University, Keith now leads Texas partnerships for National Math Stars, continuing the drive to advance equity in education.
With two decades of experience in education, Kayla has dedicated her career to fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments for K-12 students in foster care and juvenile detention centers. Starting as an instructional assistant, she rose through the ranks to become Head of Schools in non-traditional settings. Kayla holds an MBA, a Master’s in Educational Leadership, and most recently obtained her certification as an Educational Diagnostician. Beyond her passion for education, Kayla enjoys working out, spending time with her family, crafting, working out and exploring various vegan restaurants.
Teresa brings over two decades of teaching experience, spanning middle and high school, across diverse educational environments. Most recently, she worked for an educational technology start-up dedicated to providing high-quality online classes across the country. Teresa attended the North Carolina School of Science and Math, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for a degree in English Education, and UNC Wilmington for a degree in Curriculum and Supervision. She’s the mom of 4 kids- 3 are adults and off having adventures and one who’s in elementary school. When she’s not buried in a spreadsheet, she enjoys gardening, trying to tame animals in her backyard (so far, no success), reality TV, and reading.
A self-professed math nerd, Alex began his career as a 5th-grade STEM teacher in California before joining Edpuzzle, where he led curriculum development for schools nationwide. More recently, Alex ran an education nonprofit focused on expanding college access for first-generation, low-income students. Alex has a BA in Psychology and Education from Dartmouth College.
Al has worked in advanced math enrichment as an instructor, coach, and curriculum writer for several math camps and programs both in and out of schools. He loves designing new math activities to showcase the beauty and joy in studying advanced math. He holds a B.S. in Math from Iowa State, M. Ed. in Math Education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and a M.S. in Applied Math from UC Riverside. In his spare time, Al enjoys being active outdoors, playing board/video games, and hanging out with his two dogs.
Hannah has spent the past 15 years in education—as a high school math teacher, coach, instructional leader, and school founder—and was recognized as a Master Teacher for excellence in the classroom. Most recently at Schoolhouse.world, she built programs that helped thousands of students, especially those furthest from opportunity, access high-quality, free support in both math and the college admissions process. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Michigan and a Master of Arts in Teaching Secondary Math from American University. When she’s not at work, you can find her chasing down the best pizza in Brooklyn with her family, hiking a new national park (she’s hit three this year), going to see shows on Broadway, trying out a new recipe, or (slowly) training for her first triathlon.
Born in Santa Ana, California, José graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in Applied Mathematics with minors in Education and Computer Science. In the past, José has worked as both a Teaching and Research Assistant with the aim of making math more enjoyable for students as well as helping first-generation, low-income, and undocumented students. He joined National Math Stars as a part-time Math Mentor in 2024 and transitioned to the full-time Family Advisor role in 2025. In his spare time, José enjoys playing video/board games, watching basketball, and jumping rope.
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and raised in Houston, Texas, Mohammed brings a background in education, consulting, and engineering to National Math Stars. A second-generation Lebanese immigrant, he graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. Mohammed began his professional journey as a Management Consultant at Oliver Wyman. After a brief but enjoyable stint as a barista, he transitioned into education, teaching math and coaching basketball in Southeast Houston, deepening his commitment to student growth. Outside of work, Mohammed enjoys running, playing chess, and spending quality time annoying his cat, Ube.
Meg brings over a decade of experience in education to National Math Stars. She began her career as a Teach For America corps member in rural Louisiana and went on to teach and lead at high-performing charter schools in New Orleans and Nashville. More recently, she served as an educational consultant in EdTech, supporting school and district teams across the country in using data and curriculum tools to drive student success. Meg holds an M.Ed. in Child Studies from Vanderbilt University and a B.A. in Psychology and Comparative Human Development from the University of Chicago. She currently lives with her family and three cats in Green Bay, WI. Outside of work, Meg loves to read, play tennis, and travel with her family.
Troy is an experienced educator with a background in classroom teaching, tutoring, and educational technology. Passionate about K-12 student success, he has dedicated his career to supporting educators and district leaders nationwide. Originally from southern Ohio, he remains a Buckeye at heart while building lasting partnerships across the country. He holds a BBA in Marketing from Marshall University and a MAT from Morehead State University. Outside of work, Troy enjoys bodybuilding, powerlifting, playing basketball, and cheering on Ohio State football — Go Bucks!
Bilqis brings a blend of experience in education and technology to National Math Stars. She began her career in Dubai, developing and teaching a tech-integrated curriculum at a startup school. Upon returning to the U.S., Bilqis gained experience as an educator and administrator in both in-person and online public charter schools. She has also worked in the technology and business sectors. Bilqis holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Arabic with a minor in International Studies from Dartmouth College.
Ilana founded National Math Stars in 2023. Prior to that, she worked as a management consultant for Bain & Company, advising for- and non-profits in education, climate, and manufacturing. She started her career as a Product Manager at Yahoo!. She holds a B.S. in Engineering from Olin, an M.Phil. in European Literature from Cambridge, and an MBA from Stanford. In her spare time, you’ll find Ilana attending the theater, reading novels, petting her two cats, and solving all sorts of puzzles.
Alex has worked in many different math enrichment spaces, from teaching K-12 electives to creating the Brown University Math Circle program. She especially loves teaching discrete topics like graph theory and number theory. Before joining National Math Stars, Alex taught high school math in Providence, Rhode Island. Alex holds a B.A. in Mathematics, Literary Arts, and French Studies from Brown University. Outside of math, she loves writing poetry and playing music around Providence.
Fatima is a graduate student at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Originally from Pakistan, she graduated from MIT with a double major in mathematics and physics, and a minor in creative writing. In addition to TAing math and astronomy courses at MIT, she was a teaching assistant for the Summer Science Program in Astrophysics. She hopes to contribute to improving the quality and accessibility of science education at all levels.
Rose received her MS in mathematics at Drexel University in 2022 and her BA in mathematics (along with a BS in Secondary Education) at La Salle University in 2020. Since then, Rose has worked as a math instructor in high school and university settings in Philadelphia, PA, and currently is a high school math teacher in Portland, OR. In her free time, Rose enjoys playing volleyball and kickball, reading, playing with her cat Agnes, and working on home renovations.
Stephanie graduated from Otis College of Art and Design in 2025 with a major in Toy Design (yes, toys!) and a minor in Art and Design Education. Most of the math she learned was outside of school, and she spent two of her summers doing geometry research with different universities. This academic year, she’s excited to 1) move to the Boston area to start as a student in representation theory and 2) start as a Math Mentor for National Math Stars! In case anyone’s wondering, her favorite toy is her octocat plushie Mona.
Caleb has been a math and computer science instructor for 3 years, and currently teaches Python and AMC courses and mentors students at Art of Problem Solving. Before transitioning into education he worked on projects ranging from running Fourier transforms to track shark tailbeat frequency to analyzing international development aid flows. He has a passion for making math and computer science exciting and accessible for students from underserved backgrounds, as well as fostering a collaborative atmosphere where students feel empowered to share ideas and tackle complex problems. Outside of teaching, Caleb’s passions include reading and writing science fiction and caring for his pet mice Dijkstra and Vertex, who are as clever and industrious as their names suggest.
As a lifelong math lover, Meena found her passion in teaching mathematics. Meena was on the mathematics faculty at Boston’s Commonwealth School, teaching advanced courses spanning calculus, statistics, and computer science. Having found herself in the minority at national competitions as a student, Meena now works with the Math Prize for Girls competition. Meena earned her Ed.M. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and her A.B. in computer science from Harvard College.
Caroline is a PhD student at UC Irvine studying computational biology. She is a lifelong math lover and grew up competing in the AMC and MATHCOUNTS, and she has coached students in recreational math for several years. She is very passionate about exploring math topics and extending them to study real life conundrums. Her favorite number is 8. Caroline holds a BS in bioengineering and applied math from the University of Washington.
In addition to joining National Math Stars as a Math Mentor, Madeleine is currently pursuing a Physics PhD at the University of Washington, looking for a hypothetical dark matter particle called the axion. She recently graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in Physics and a minor in Music Theory and is passionate about supporting underrepresented students in STEM. Outside of math and physics, Madeleine enjoys making oboe reeds, stone fruit, and swimming in cold lakes.
Riley is currently a Statistics PhD student at Columbia University, after having earned a B.S. in Applied/Computational Mathematics from the University of Southern California. They have been a TA for various college classes, as well as grade-school math enrichment camps. Riley enjoys playing board games, growing their CD collection, and performing in the Columbia pep band.
Teena got her PhD in Mathematics at Georgia Tech and a MS in math from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where she studied combinatorics and graph theory. She is now a full professor at Emory & Henry University, a small liberal arts college in Southwest Virginia. She and her husband are raising two math whizzes as well as two hounds. In her spare time she likes to play board games, read books, and find ways to make ordinary life more of an adventure.
Fan Chen is a dedicated Mathematics Professor and faculty advisor for students majoring in mathematics and engineering at El Paso Community College. She holds a BS in Mechanical Design and Manufacturing from Hefei University of Technology, China and an MS in Teaching Mathematics from the University of Texas at El Paso, where she is also pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering. Fan founded the El Paso Math Teachers’ Circle to build connections among educators and inspire joyful learning in math. A recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the AMATYC Teaching Excellence Award, she is passionate about mentoring students and educators and inspiring a lifelong love of learning. When she isn’t teaching or serving on nonprofit boards, she loves practicing hot yoga, caring for her rescue animals, and spending time with her dog and cats.
Jacob Cohen is a Stanford student, New York Times-published puzzle constructor, and veteran math camp counselor. While attending Proof School in San Francisco (where he did 2 hours of math every afternoon), he presented his own independent number theory research in a YouTube video titled “is 69 unique?!? the search for nice numbers (mathematically),” which received over 28,000 views. As a summer camp counselor, he once ran an activity called “Jacob Lies to Campers.” In his spare time, he studies technical AI safety (basically, the math of AIs not killing us), goes on long bike rides, and writes short bios in the third person.
Henry has over ten years of experience working with students from elementary school through college, helping them grow in both confidence and curiosity. Drawing on his own background in math competitions, he enjoys coaching students for contests like the AMC, while inspiring them to see the beauty and creativity in problem-solving. He believes every student can excel in math and science with the right support, and he strives to make learning engaging, joyful, and connected across different fields. His own education reflects a lifelong curiosity that has led him to explore a wide range of subjects, from mathematics and management to political science, technology, education, physical sciences, and computer science. Along the way, he has earned a variety of degrees and certificates that give him a broad, interdisciplinary perspective to share with his students. Outside of teaching and studying, Henry enjoys running, dancing, drawing, playing musical instruments, photography, and tackling all kinds of puzzles.
Kieran has taught for 14 years – first middle and high school and now college. Kieran loves helping students see the importance of and find joy in thinking mathematically. In his free time, Kieran is either walking around and looking at things, talking with those he cares about, or reading a book or article with muted sports on the TV.
Mark is an experienced tutor, with multiple years spent tutoring math at a college level. He completed his B.S. in applied mathematics at Montana State University, and recently graduated with his M.S. in mathematics, again at MSU. In his spare time, Mark enjoys mathematical puzzles and computer games.
Steve, whose lifelong dream is to share the joy of mathematical discovery with children, followed a non-linear path. He earned his PhD in Computer Science from MIT and contributed to early supercomputing at Thinking Machines before advancing parallel computing research at Sun Microsystems. He then led research labs prior to pivoting to education, becoming the math curriculum developer and lead instructor at Einstein’s Workshop, and later a facilitator and trainer at the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival. Steve is passionate about teaching math through interactive puzzles and games, aiming to combine fun with learning while introducing abstract concepts to students.
Amanda has a BS in Mathematics from Colorado State University and has been teaching or tutoring math for the last 12 years. She loves logic puzzles and looking for patterns in things. She has also taught English in both South Korea and Poland. She now lives in Connecticut with her husband, 2 children, and adorable dog. In her free time she likes traveling with her family, reading, and interior design.
Marina Kopylova brings over 20 years of tutoring and mentoring experience in math, working with learners of all ages and backgrounds. She is passionate about making math accessible, engaging, and fun for every student. Marina is an active volunteer with the Julia Robinson Mathematics Festival (JRMF) online math circle. Outside of the world of logic, she enjoys camping, stand-up paddling, and exploring yarn crafts. Marina is glad to bring her experience to National Math Stars and connect with fellow mentors and students.
Don started participating in math enrichment programs in 2nd grade, and has now been teaching at a number of them for the past 15 years. He holds a BS in Mathematics from the University of Chicago, and a PhD in Mathematics from UCLA. When he’s not doing math, he loves cooking, solving and writing puzzles, and playing games of all varieties.
Julianne is an Industrial Engineering at Georgia Tech with a passion for making mathematical problem solving gratifying and confidence-building. She has experience as a tutor and curriculum intern at Art of Problem Solving, and at Tech, she volunteers with local STEM clubs and performs engineering education research. In her free time, she loves baking cookies and spending time with her cats.
Misha has been teaching at math circles, coaching math teams, and working at math summer programs since 2012, alongside a research career in graph theory. He is fond of puzzles, games, and turning mathematical puzzles into games, and almost always wins games of tic-tac-toe on an affine plane of order 4. Misha likes learning new languages, trying new kinds of tea, and inflicting new kinds of tea on his wife, Elizabeth.
Olivia is a current undergraduate student at Harvey Mudd College studying Computer Science and Mathematics. She is passionate about mathematics and especially about combinatorics and number theory, having been a past participant of the Ross Mathematics Program. At Mudd, she is working on computer vision research and leads the mentorship program at the Society of Women Engineers. In her free time, she loves making art, ballroom dance, and learning new things.
A lifelong math lover, Rachana found her passion in teaching mathematics through outreach and mentorship. She has worked with programs like the Julia Robinson Math Festival, MIT PRIMES Circle, and local math circles to help students explore problem solving in creative, collaborative ways. As an undergraduate, she earned dual bachelor’s degrees in Mathematics and Electrical Engineering & Computer Science from MIT. Now a PhD student in EECS at MIT, Rachana spends her free time hiking and making pottery.
Al teaches bilingual middle school math in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and has experience working with math camps, circles, and education equity research projects. She loves the history of mathematics and exploring how math is shaped by different cultures across time and place. To her, math isn’t just numbers and formulas—it’s a creative, human endeavor that connects us all. Al holds a BA in mathematics with a minor in history, and she’s always eager to keep learning. She loves being outdoors, swimming, and baking elaborate cakes.
As an early undergraduate Jake realized that math was much more than algorithms and computations – it is an interconnected web of concepts with an abundance of challenging questions to ask and solve. Jake received his MS in Mathematics from Missouri State University and is currently an instructor there. In addition, he has taught and written curriculum for Art of Problem Solving and has helped coach a local math competition team. In his free time he is likely playing music or studying music theory, practicing to become a better computer programmer, or hanging out with his wife and their three cats.
Connor is a PhD student in mathematics at the University of Georgia, where he studies low-dimensional topology. He graduated from the University of Michigan in 2023 with a degree in math, where he played saxophone in the marching band. He really enjoys organizing the local math circle and teaching precalculus and calculus at UGA. Outside of school, Connor loves to hike, trail run, rock climb, and play music.
Cat Pierro brings more than 15 years of teaching experience to National Math Stars. She grew up in the Boston area, majored in philosophy at Grinnell College in Iowa, and has been working as a one-on-one math tutor in New York City ever since she moved there in 2010. For the past three summers, she has attended PROMYS for Teachers, where she works as a “T squared” (Teacher of Teachers), guiding middle and high school math teachers through a challenging Number Theory curriculum and helping them strengthen the same mathematical habits of mind that NMS fosters in its Stars. On top of her passion for building exciting math activities for students, Cat loves reading groups, history podcasts, and musical instruments of all kinds.
Phil spent his career studying cryptography, which is the art and science of secure communication. He did his undergrad at UCB, his Ph.D. at MIT, then took a professor position at the University of California, Davis. There he taught courses in both theoretical computer science and in ethics. Yet Phil managed to spend about half his time abroad, in too many countries to remember. Nowadays Phil spends most of his time worrying about the alarming state of the planet. Sometimes he stops worrying long enough to support his son’s obsessive rock climbing.
Benite is a continuing student at the University of California, Los Angeles majoring in computer science. As she finishes up her classes, she wants to give back to kids interested in STEM like she was. Currently, she tutors students in concepts anywhere from simple arithmetic to calculus. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys watching TV with her cat Varda, going to museums, spending time with family and friends, and trying new food!
Joy Shi has a lifelong passion for problem-solving and teaching, with over seven years of experience tutoring students of all ages. She is most known for founding and leading INTEGIRLS, a global non-profit dedicated to bridging the gender gap in competitive problem solving, supporting students in over sixty countries since its inception in 2018. She has taught at the UCLA Math Circle as an AIME instructor, and graduated from Caltech (BS Computer Science 2024) and Tsinghua University (Schwarzman Scholars 2025). She is especially excited to inspire a love for math through creative teaching methods!
Garrett grew up in the Pacific Northwest and has been involved in teaching and tutoring math for twelve years, most recently as Head Counselor at Campersand math camp and as a graduate student at the University of New Mexico. He really enjoys working with kids on math not taught in a typical K-12 curriculum and seeing all the creative ways they try to solve problems. Mathematically, he’s interested in commutative algebra and metamathematics. Nonmathematically, he loves to explore the mountains and deserts of the Southwest and ride his bike. This year, in addition to being a math mentor, he will be teaching at UNM.
Avi received his PhD in mathematics at Purdue University in 2019 and his BA in mathematics (and a minor in physics!) at Lawrence University in 2012. Since then, he has worked as a mathematician in Canada and Germany, and is now living in the Chicago area. Outside of math, Avi is an avid cellist and board game enthusiast.
Andrew Sylvester was raised in math circles and math camps including Epsilon Camp, MathPath, and Canada/USA MathCamp. Now, he teaches at math circles and is a counselor at the Math in the Mountains summer camp. His love for math has since brought him to UC Santa Barbara’s College of Creative Studies program, where he is majoring in mathematics. In math, he is interested in knot theory, low-dimensional topology, and number theory. Outside of math, he likes to dress like and play the songs of 70’s rock and folk musicians, as well as read, doodle, and dance ballet. His favorite shape is the torus!
Sophia (she/her) is a mathematician and artist exploring intersections of art, music, nature, creative coding, and mathematics. She has worked as a systems engineer for satellites, as a Senior Producer for Brilliant.org, Co-Editor for NCTM’s MTLT journal, and as a Math Specialist for a charter School. Playing with origami, fiber, digital art, Oulipo and procedural art in p5.js are just a few ways she explores.
President, Carina Initiatives
President, Polynera Fund
Advisor, Weiss Asset Management
Professor, Stanford University
President, American Mathematical Society
Founder and CEO, National Math Stars