New York City Metro Area

New York City Faculty My Learning Springboard's faculty is comprised of top-notch educators at every level from private, public, and charter schools as well as colleges, universities, and subject matter experts in their respective industries. Our faculty is based in the NYC metro area, including parts of Westchester and Long Island. Other locations include Washington, DC metro area, Northwest DC, Bethesda, Chevy Chase, Potomac, and Rockville, Maryland; and Palm Beach County, Florida, including Boca Raton, Delray Beach, and Palm Beach. We are available for consultation, virtual tutoring and distance learning beyond these areas as well.

Liora Schulman

February 11, 2015

Liora Schulman has a passion for teaching and a wealth of knowledge of accounting topics. Liora graduated from the Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland with a double degree in Accounting and Information Systems. She then worked for Ernst & Young LLP in the audit department where she served clients in the Financial Services sector (Hedge Funds and Large Banks). Liora left EY to pursue her passion for accounting research and teaching and is completed her PhD in Accounting at The Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Pace teaching financial accounting.

Liora has had experience tutoring undergraduate and graduate level Financial and Managerial Accounting. Liora believes in making accounting enjoyable and applicable to students and uses her experiences from the work force to provide real life examples. Liora also believes that organization and financial planning are important for any age and enjoys talking to recent high school and college graduates about the importance of budgeting and planning ahead. Liora is also a wiz at preparing study schedules and properly managing time before exams; she believes organization builds confidence and confidence increases one’s ability to excel at school and in life.

In her free time Liora enjoys cooking, dancing and spending time at the beach in her native Florida.

Jennifer Epstein

January 16, 2015

Jennifer has an M.F.A. in fiction from Columbia University and a Masters of International Relations from Johns Hopkins SAIS. She did her undergraduate work at Amherst College, where she graduated magna cum laude with a double degree in English and Asian Studies.

She is the author of four acclaimed novels — The Painter from Shanghai, The Gods of Heavenly Punishment, Wunderland, and The Madwomen of Paris — which have been published internationally and recognized with awards and critical praise. In addition to her fiction, she has contributed to LitHub, BookRiot, Vogue, Mademoiselle, Self, McSweeney’s, Tablet, Knight-Ridder Financial News, The Wall Street Journal, The Asian Wall Street Journal, and The Nation (Thailand). She has also worked at the NBC and HBO networks—jobs that have taken her from Tokyo to Hong Kong to Bangkok to New York. A music lover, during her years in Japan was part of a bluegrass band in Kyoto and worked as a DJ in Osaka and Tokyo, experiences that deepened her interest in cross-cultural storytelling and creative communication.

Jennifer currently teaches undergraduate creative writing at Stony Brook University, and she has taught graduate-level fiction workshops at Columbia University as well as courses at Doshisha University in Kyoto, Japan. Beyond the university setting, she has worked extensively as a writing coach with students in primary school, middle school, high school, and college around the globe. She has also collaborated with organizations such as Girls Write Now and within the Brooklyn public school system, further broadening her experience with diverse students and learning environments.

At My Learning Springboard, Jennifer draws on her background as a novelist, journalist, and educator to help students strengthen their skills in reading, writing, and critical thinking as a private tutor. She takes a highly individualized approach, meeting students where they are, integrating personalized reading suggestion and writing exercises, and thoughtfully guiding them toward confidence and clarity in their written voice.

When not researching, writing, or teaching, Jennifer can usually be found reading, running (slowly, and usually to an audiobook), hiking with her daughters, or spending time with her husband and Mei, their sweet but highly distractible Springer Spaniel.

Lauren Kelleher

December 16, 2014

As a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the American College of Education, Lauren Kelleher has had the unique experience of both teaching a variety of age groups and has field experience in the area of music and performing arts. She began her professional career as an opera singer, performing internationally in both American and European cities. While performing is a great passion of Lauren’s, she has found her calling in education. Through her role as an educator and private tutor, Lauren is able to share her love of music and performance with her students, while helping them discover their own artistic talents and interests.

Over the past five years, she has taught music and general education classes in both suburban and urban school districts. She taught kindergarten and first grade at the John F. Kennedy German American School in Berlin, Germany where her talents for immersion instruction, dual language methods and classroom management were fully utilized in an early childhood classroom. She also served as the music specialist for kindergarten to fourth graders. In an encouraging and nurturing environment, Lauren Kelleher instructs her students through an exploration of musical concepts and diverse genres by playing instruments, practicing movement, creating song, and always celebrating the learning through performance. She also believes that music should be fun, it should be engaging, and it should stimulate another part of the brain that can create connections to ideas made from other areas of the child’s learning.

Most recently, Lauren spent the year teaching integrated performing arts for the Middle Years Program at the Lincoln Community School in Accra, Ghana. Through this experience, she offered students an expanded experience in performing techniques in music, drama and movement. She taught students about the elements of music, dance and drama and facilitated opportunities for students to experience and create performances in different forms. Additionally, with passion, she directed the middle school musical Into the Woods, with a West African twist.

Lauren’s educational philosophy stems from a progressive, and hands-on approach to learning that develops the whole child through self-exploration, curiosity and wonderment. Throughout all of Lauren’s teaching experiences, she believes that at the core of her educational philosophy is a growth mindset, where every child can come to learn with a belief in themselves and the comfort of being vulnerable when exploring all aspects of education.

David Edelman

November 20, 2014

David Edelman has been teaching and privately tutoring Social Studies, including US History, Government, Economics and Global History in New York since 2007, first on Long Island and most recently in New York City. David graduated from The University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, received his Master’s in Social Studies Education from Hofstra University, and is certified to teach AP US History by the College Board. As a Social Studies teacher, David takes the most pride in helping his students excel on the NYS Regents exams, meeting their goals through individualized learning plans and fostering curiosity through inquiry-based learning that links concepts to current events.

Before pursuing his career in teaching, David spent two years working as a market research analyst and served in AmeriCorps NCCC, a yearlong national community service program that responds to disaster relief, environmental projects and education improvement programs across the US. During his time in AmeriCorps, David was a counselor for children with special needs at an Easter Seals’ camp in Des Moines, IA, taught educational youth programs at public housing sites in Minneapolis, MN, built houses for low income families with Habitat For Humanity in Miami, FL and performed in a Social Studies theater troupe with Learn & Serve at schools across Colorado. In 2007, David was invited by Councilwoman Carolyn McCarthy to testify in front of Congress about the importance of Service Learning in order to help reauthorize AmeriCorps funding. Ultimately, his experience in AmeriCorps, along with his desire to foster academic curiosity and a love of learning in others, inspired him to become a teacher.

In 2012, David was accepted into the Common Core Fellows Program and has been collaborating with teachers across NYC to develop academically engaging and challenging curricula aligned to the Common Core Learning Standards. In 2014, David accepted the position of Teacher Team Leader with the NYC Department of Education and is currently working to help implement new Teacher Career Pathways for individuals identified as Master and Model Teachers by providing coaching and collaboration with school leaders. The two books that most influenced his views on education are The Smartest Kids In The World & How They Got That Way and How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character. David believes that the most important ingredients to a strong education are skilled teachers and purposeful instruction; lessons should be rigorous, skill-oriented and applicable to real life. David has served as a Delegate To The United Federation Of Teachers and is a featured member of Educators 4 Excellence.

David is passionate about traveling and to date has visited over 30+ countries. He has already visited every state in the continental US and has aspirations to drive to Alaska and someday pilot a boat to Hawaii. During the summer of 2014, David was invited to Japan as a Keizai Koho Fellow, visiting schools and collaborating with Japanese teachers. He has also developed Social Studies curricula for The National Endowment For The Humanities and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In addition to traveling, David loves audiobooks, NPR, and foraging, and is actually able to identify over 40 species of eatable planting in and around NYC.

Amy Gross

November 18, 2014

Amy Gross, the founder of Little Hearts CPR, has held American Heart Association teacher certification since 1996 and Child Passenger Safety Technician certification (carseats) since 2005. A New York mom, she is passionate about child safety, and she devotes her professional life to advocating and teaching on the subject. Visit the Testimonials section of Little Hearts CPR for reviews from parents and physicians–including some who are both!

So that she is certain that everyone who attends a Little Hearts CPR class receives consistent, committed, heartfelt, and experienced instruction, Amy Gross teaches each and every session herself.

Little Hearts CPR office is centrally located at 7th Avenue and 33rd St., a quick zip from anywhere. The 1/2/3 trains are in the building. Amy is right across from Penn Station, and the A/C/E/B/D/F/N/Q/R and PATH trains, as well as the now-fast M34 crosstown bus.

Amy Gross also teaches monthly at the Mt. Sinai Brooklyn Heights Pediatric Practice at 300 Cadman Plaza West, which is 2 blocks from Borough Hall.

New York City Metro Area

Liora Schulman

Jennifer Epstein

Amy Gross

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