Sally D.

Sally began teaching and tutoring in 1983. In addition to supporting clients and their families, she homeschooled her own daughters resulting in an Honors College degree from Whittier College and a cum laude degree from Viterbi at USC.

Ellis S.

Dr. Ellis S. brings a unique combination of advanced mathematical training, engineering expertise, university teaching, and more than 25 years of experience teaching and tutoring mathematics.
Ellis began his professional career as an engineer and ultimately served as a Senior Principal Engineer at Raytheon Systems Company, where he specialized in the design and analysis of airborne radar systems. During his engineering career, he also developed and conducted technical training programs for engineers at Raytheon, various University Extension courses, and at Air Force and Navy bases throughout the continental United States, including training for a group from the Israeli Air Force. He holds a PhD in Engineering from UCLA.
Following his retirement from engineering, Ellis pursued his longstanding passion for mathematics education. He earned an MS in Applied Mathematics from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and went on to teach and tutor mathematics extensively. His teaching experience encompasses mathematics through Calculus, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, and Statistics. His most recent university teaching position was at California State University, Northridge.
Ellis particularly enjoys helping students who initially find mathematics challenging. His engineering and teaching backgrounds have taught him to approach difficult mathematical ideas from multiple perspectives and to explain them in clear, understandable terms. He emphasizes genuine understanding and problem-solving skills rather than simply memorizing formulas and procedures.
Now retired from full-time teaching, Ellis finds tutoring especially rewarding. He takes great satisfaction in seeing students gain confidence, overcome obstacles, and discover that mathematical concepts they once found intimidating can become understandable and manageable.
His combination of extensive mathematical knowledge, real-world engineering experience, university-level teaching, and a genuine passion for helping students makes Ellis a dedicated and an effective Mathematics tutor.

Renee W.

Renee, M.A., is a Board Certified Educational Therapist (BCET) who helps children and teens thrive—academically, emotionally, and socially. Based in Los Angeles, she partners closely with families to understand each learner’s strengths, challenges, and unique way of experiencing the world.

With a Master’s Degree in Marriage and Family Counseling and decades of experience supporting neurodiverse students—including those with ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Dyslexia, and executive functioning challenges—Renee brings a calm, compassionate, and highly individualized approach to every session. She blends evidence‑based academic remediation with practical tools for confidence, communication, and self‑advocacy.

Parents often describe Renee as someone who “sees the whole child.” Whether she’s strengthening reading skills, building study habits, supporting emotional regulation, or helping families navigate IEPs and 504 plans, her goal is always the same: to make learning feel possible, manageable, and meaningful.

Renee’s background as an English and Drama teacher, private educational therapist, and clinical practitioner allows her to bridge school, home, and therapeutic environments. She believes deeply in collaboration—and in celebrating every step of progress, big or small.

Danielle D.

Danielle is a Los Angeles native with a BA in Spanish and a MA in TESOL, as well as the CertTESOL Level 5 Certificate (the highest certificate for teaching English to speakers of other languages). English literature has been a source of fascination for Danielle ever since childhood, when she read hundreds of books, both scholastically and extracurricularly. In her travels to over 25 countries, Danielle has gained wisdom about the world, and studied abroad in both Chile and Greece for a total of 4.5 years. She has worked as a tutor since 2009, providing guidance to her pupils in ESL, English, Spanish, History, essay writing, grammar, reading comprehension, test preparation & more. Working with young learners and learners with difficulties are Danielle’s areas of expertise. She worked as a full-time K-12 teacher and tutor for over 16 years as well as a developmental speech therapist. Through creativity, gamification, the lexical approach, project-based learning and more, Danielle is always dreaming up novel ways to engage her learners. She is currently in the process of authoring her own original course books, and continues to enjoy her work as a tutor.

Denisse M.

Denisse is a passionate and energetic tutor with over 8 years of experience, specializing in K–5 education. She believes every child can succeed and strives to make learning fun, engaging, and confidence-building while encouraging students to do their very best.

She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan and an M.S. in Forensics & Criminal Investigation from National University. With a background in education, social services, and law enforcement, Denisse brings patience, encouragement, and a well-rounded approach to every tutoring session. She is also fluent in Spanish and enjoys helping students develop their Spanish language skills.

Outside of tutoring, Denisse enjoys spending time with family, traveling, trying new restaurants, and spoiling her two French Bulldogs, Ivy and Bree, who are often the stars of her tutoring stories! She looks forward to partnering with families to help students grow in confidence, achieve their goals, and discover the joy of learning.

Drew P.

Drew is an experienced tutor and teacher who is especially passionate about connecting with students one-on-one, and helping them achieve their goals. With an MFA in Playwriting from UT Austin, Drew has a particular expertise in writing and composition. He’s tutored in Math and English at elementary schools in the Los Angeles area, and taught writing-focused workshops at high schools and colleges around the country. In his spare time Drew loves experiencing immersive entertainment, and has worked in this field as a writer for companies such as Meow Wolf.

Scott E.

Mr. Essman has been teaching diverse groups of higher educational students in the Greater Los Angeles area since 1990 when he began as an English tutor. Since 2004, when he received his MA in education, he has taught business skills, mass media, filmmaking, film appreciation, screenwriting, directing, digital video editing, music business, art appreciation, advanced English composition, advanced English literature, and sociology at a group of colleges and universities, including The Art Institute of California—Orange County, California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, Pathways College, Pacific Oaks College, and Citrus College. Throughout the past 22 years, Mr. Essman has won ‘favorite instructor’ several times and received regular accolades from students and supervisors alike, often scoring in the top percentile for teacher effectiveness and appreciation.

Iniya K.

Iniya Kannan is a cum laude graduate from the University of California, Irvine, where she completed a B.A. in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance and management. During college, she was involved in the Accounting Association and the Undergraduate Finance Association, which greatly improved her ability to network with professionals and host events. Additionally, during her senior year of college, she was a Peer Academic Advisor for the Paul Merage School of Business, where she advised undergraduate students on planning their class schedule, transferring community college credits, adding a minor/double major, and applying for graduation. She can help your student in a variety of subjects, from APs such as AP Biology, AP Statistics, AP Calculus AB/BC, AP English Language, and AP World History. She can also help with business-related college-level subjects, career counseling, and college essays/applications. She hopes to help your student soon! Thank you!

Tong W.

Tong Wang is an experienced educator specializing in physics and mathematics, dedicated to fostering critical thinking and analytical problem-solving skills among students. With a strong academic foundation in the physical and mathematical sciences, Tong Wang has extensive experience teaching a rigorous curriculum, including AP Physics, AP Calculus, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calculus.

Val S.

Val Stulman started as an actor, then went into TV/Film production. Along the way she started writing. After she finished her TV/Film production career, she went back to school for a CA Secondary English and Drama Credential at CSUN and an MFA in Creative Writing/Writing for the Performing Arts at UCR. She taught Theatre and Writing at Mt. San Jacinto Community College, a film class at the University of LaVerne and then taught High School English, writing and drama for 8 years with Learn4Life schools, She is a screenwriter, playwright, and acting again. Val loves to work out and is an avid yoga practitioner. She tutored this past year and is thrilled to join the Prep Academy Tutor Team and meet YOU!