A passionate lifelong student, teacher, and private tutor, Lois Nesbitt believes that learning is the core of a meaningful life. Much of what we learn comes from reading; discovering what we know comes through writing. Fascinated from an early age by the power of words, she believes that lively and engaging writing is always a joy to read—and to write!
Lois Nesbitt was educated at Sidwell Friends School, in Washington, D.C., and at topnotch public schools in Montgomery County, Maryland. At Sidwell Friends she benefited from learning among academically motivated classmates following a creative yet demanding curriculum. At public schools she experienced teachers accommodating a diverse student population while guiding her through rigorous AP courses. Both proved invaluable in her own teaching within and beyond formal academic settings.
A gifted middle-school professor provided Lois’s first rigorous training in expository writing, skills she has applied and shared with others throughout her life. Journalism courses at Stanford University trained her to hone each story down to its bare bones. She wrote a weekly column for The Stanford Daily and began freelance writing for Archetype, a cutting-edge architectural magazine.
Transferring to Harvard University in her junior year, Lois wrote for The Harvard Crimson and served on the Arts Board of The Harvard Advocate. Lois studied art history, literature, history, philosophy, history of science/epistemology, and social studies, graduating with a B.A., Magna cum laude.
Lois Nesbitt furthered her education at Princeton University. Entering the architecture department, she found herself drawn back to the liberal arts. A series of sympathetic mentors encouraged her to enroll in courses in literature, linguistics, philosophy, classics, and modern languages. The result was a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. Lois taught expository writing and American literature to Princeton undergraduates, working in small seminars and one-on-one sessions to equip struggling writers with the tools they needed and to expand the skills of more advanced writers. She brings this experience to all students, from middle school through to adults, who want to develop or refine their abilities to write powerfully and effectively.
Lois credits the extraordinarily gifted professors at these universities for modeling how complex ideas can be conveyed in simple terms and clear examples, as well as how to encourage students to think analytically and synthetically across a range of fields and disciplines.
Lois Nesbitt has worked as a freelance writer and editor in New York City. Her literary and book reviews and art/architecture criticism have appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Boston Phoenix, Princeton Alumni Weekly, Artforum, Artnews, Elle, and many books, catalogues, and other publications. Lois also edited and revised books for Princeton University Press, MIT Press, Rizzoli International, the Museum of Modern Art, and others. Going over texts line by line honed her ability to spot each writer’s strengths and weaknesses, from overall organization to stylistic grace and grammatical correctness.
For the past 25 years, Lois has met every challenge a teacher and private tutor can face while training countless students in her second love, yoga. Her passion to share what she knows led her to create dozens of yoga teacher-training programs worldwide. These 200-hour intensives require that Lois skillfully keep students awake(!) and engaged. She does so with varied formats, lively presentations, interactive exercises, and a healthy dose of light-hearted humor. Students learn yoga postures, anatomy, history, and philosophy, and the art of teaching itself: how to convey complex ideas through plain language, economical phrasing, precise diction, and classical rhetorical skills. Lois in turn brings these skills to aspiring writers in her tutoring sessions.
Lois’s other passions include art and design. Her artwork has been exhibited internationally. Most recently she has focused on graphic works, limited-edition objects, and custom-designed events for organizations including The Nature Conservancy, Harvard University, The Boston Harbor Association, Hoops for Hope, and The Group for the East End. She spends much of her playtime in, on, or close to her beloved Atlantic Ocean.
Andrea Simons is a writing consultant at Grace Church High School, where she helps students with academic essays,
Brad Hoffman, Educational Consultant and C0-Founder of 
Zachary Young grew up in New York City and graduated from the Brooklyn Technical High School. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Professional Writing at S.U.N.Y. Cortland. Then he completed his Master’s degree at Relay Graduate School of Education while simultaneously teaching full time with the New York City Department of Education. Zach also taught 6th grade writing at a charter school. Before teaching in New York City, Zach worked for the New Jersey Department of Education coaching public speaking and debate teams with middle and high school students. He ultimately left the classroom to focus full time on
Sage Haas is an elementary school teacher and private tutor with over a decade of experience. For as long as Sage can remember, she has always wanted to be a teacher and learning specialist. She graduated from SUNY Buffalo with a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences and a concentration in Education. Sage then completed a dual Master’s degree in childhood general and special education at Hunter College, as well as an advanced certificate in Gifted and Talented Education. While in graduate school at Hunter College, Sage was an Assistant Teacher at PS6 in Manhattan, where she developed a passion for a full inclusion model. She taught 3rd grade ICT at Brooklyn Arbor Elementary School (PS414) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn for 5 years until relocating to London, UK. Sage taught at The American School in London and worked in grades 2, 3 and 4. Although coming back to NYC was short lived, Sage taught in Brooklyn for one year before moving to Westchester. She is now teaching 4th grade ICT, and she is proud to say that she truly loves what she does.