Orton-Gillingham based approaches, incl. Wilson and PAF Archives

Christie Alexander

July 17, 2020

Christie Alexander, a compassionate teacher and private tutor with a talent for building strong relationships with students and families, has filled multiple roles in early childhood education. Most recently, she taught kindergarten at PS 234 in Tribeca, where she successfully aided her students and their families in the transition to remote learning. It was during this time that she came to fully appreciate the value of connecting with her students through one-on-one online meetings. In a challenging new learning environment, Christie prevailed in providing her students with rich learning experiences, receiving much positive feedback from the parents of students in her class. Furthermore, she bolstered her students’ academic skills in reading and math through a variety of differentiated activities.

Previous to teaching at PS 234, Christie Alexander taught pre-k and kindergarten at Little Missionary’s Day Nursery, a private school in the East Village. In this role, Christie took great joy in creating a project-based curriculum which followed student interest and integrated learning across content areas.

Christie Alexander earned her B.A. from American University, double majoring in International Studies and Spanish Language. After earning an additional degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology, Christie worked in the private sector for several years. Christie’s diverse work experience has added to her robust skill set as an educator; along the way she has honed organization and management skills, problem solving skills, and the ability to coach young children through emotional learning. Christie has experience teaching Investigations, Teachers College Reading and Writing Units of Study, Fundations (an Orton-Gillingham based program), and Sounds in Motion.

Becoming a mother is what made Christie discover her passion for working with children and drove her to pursue a graduate degree in Early Childhood Education at Hunter College. After graduating, she entered the workforce and hasn’t looked back.

In her free time Christie enjoys traveling, reading, cooking and baking, kickboxing and exercising, and spending time with her family.

Marisa Krohn

April 6, 2018

By all accounts, Marisa Krohn was born to be an educator. Regularly buried behind a book and eager to share her understanding of the world with others, she enthusiastically announced she would be a teacher on a questionnaire in first grade and never looked back. Marisa brings this same enthusiasm and spirit for learning to her everyday work as a teacher and private tutor.

Marisa Krohn’s lifelong ambition to be a teacher was realized when she attended New York University to pursue a degree in Early Childhood Education, Special Education, and Psychology. At NYU, Marisa had the opportunity to student teach in diverse settings, from private specialized schools for students with learning disabilities to self-contained classrooms for students with Autism. This broad ranging experience allowed Marisa, from early in her career, to pull from multiple resources and disciplines to serve her students in an individualized and thoughtful manner. She obtained her Masters of Arts at Teachers College in Reading Specialization, and served as a practicum supervisor after completion, advising graduate students on their instructional strategies and clinical decision-making. She most recently completed an advanced graduate degree, a Masters of Education in Leadership for Educational Change from Bank Street College of Education.

Currently a School Building Leader in District 1 in Lower Manhattan, Marisa supervises instructional staff, leads educational programming and develops curriculum. Before that, Marisa worked for nearly a decade at PS 234 in TriBeCa, where she served as the school’s Special Education Liaison. Her role encompassed teacher coaching and professional development in addition to serving as an inclusion teacher and a K-5 academic interventionist. Over the course of her career at PS 234, Marisa served in many roles and grade placements from Kindergarten to Fifth grade. Prior to joining New York City Public Schools, she worked as a preschool teacher in a private school and a preschool SEIT.

Marisa is a Reading Specialist and an experienced literacy and math interventionist. She is trained in Orton-Gilingham methodology, including PAF, Wilson Fundations, Sounds in Motion, and Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills. As a classroom teacher, Marisa incorporated explicit phonics instruction into her literacy instruction, equipping students with both the tools they needed to access text and develop a lifelong love of reading. Her writing intervention training includes the implementation of SRSD methodology. Additionally, Marisa is an experienced math teacher skilled at implementing TERC Investigations and Contexts for Learning curriculum.

Marisa has presented professionally on a range of topics, including literacy and inclusion, to diverse audiences, including the PEN conference and to graduate students at Teachers College.

In her spare time, Marisa enjoys traveling, lounging at the beach, and spending time at home with her puppy and young daughter.

Evelyn Gmoser

October 28, 2017

Evelyn Gmoser earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education for grades 1-6, and her Master’s Degree in Special Education for grades 1-12. She is currently a self-contained, English Language Arts (ELA) teacher for 7^th and 8^th grades in the New York City Department of Education at IS125 in Woodside, Queens.

Prior to working with the New York City Department of Education, Evelyn worked in a Career Connections classroom with students with severe physical, emotional and cognitive disabilities. In all of her teaching settings, Evelyn worked with students to reinforce skills taught during daily lessons in small group and individual settings. As necessary, Evelyn has implemented behavior support plans and collected data on students through discrete trials. Evelyn has also integrated Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) methodologies within the classroom to help her provide appropriate behavioral interventions for all students.

Currently, as a self-contained special education teacher, Evelyn teaches students with various academic needs and abilities. She designs and implements differentiated lesson plans, activities, and assessments to ensure the success of a diverse group of students at a Title 1 school. She is experienced and skillful with differentiating instruction to accommodate all learning styles, strengths, and areas of need. Evelyn is trained in Really Great Reading’s Boost and Blitz phonics programs and has seen great success amongst her struggling readers; these are both Orton-Gillingham based approaches. She enhances and adapts instruction to maximize student engagement, motivation, and progress.

Evelyn is extremely passionate about teaching and enjoys finding ways to help students achieve academic success. She creates interactive lessons by integrating technology and hands-on activities with real-life application. Evelyn believes that using technology in the classroom is an effective way to get students excited about learning, while supporting various learning styles.

Evelyn is an outgoing and energetic person, with a love for education. She uses that energy and love to create engaging lessons that can nurture a classroom of lifelong learners.

Over the years, Evelyn has worked with students as a private tutor across all grade levels and subject areas, with particular focus in reading instruction. She works with students to provide them with skills and strategies for acquiring and comprehending new content as well as reinforcing previously learned information. Evelyn helps provide the students with studying and organizational skills to help them become stronger students. She feels it is crucial to help students identify their strengths, in addition to supporting their relative weaknesses, to give them the confidence they need to become successful students.

In her free time, Evelyn enjoys hiking, camping, and traveling with friends and family. She has had many wonderful traveling experiences and looks forward to continuing her explorations in the years to come.

Brad Hoffman

April 28, 2017

Brad Hoffman, Educational Consultant and C0-Founder of My Learning Springboard (MLS), has always loved working with students and their families. He believes in the power of collaboration and advocates for a holistic, 360-degree view of education that is grounded in sensibility and balance. Brad and his wife, Faya Hoffman, founded My Learning Springboard in 2009.

Brad and Faya partner with each family to provide an integrated and meaningful experience, which often includes collaboration with school faculty and related service professionals at a family’s request. Through their unique structure and individualized approach, they offer a wide range of services to students, families, and schools. They see learning as a lifelong journey, and their goal is to help students of all ages enjoy the ride, build confidence, and achieve success.

Brad and Faya are both Board Certified Educational Planners (a specialized type of Educational Consultant) and Learning Specialists. As a boutique multidisciplinary educational consulting firm and Learning Concierge® service, My Learning Springboard offers a wide range of educational consulting services at every level from nursery through college.

These services include:

Our school planning and placement expertise includes both day schools and boarding schools across mainstream, specialized, and therapeutic settings as well as virtual schools and homeschooling.

Professional Associations

Brad Hoffman is a Board Certified Educational Planner (AICEP) and Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) with specialty designations in mainstream day and boarding schools, specialized schools for students with learning disabilities, and therapeutic placements, including therapeutic boarding schools, residential treatment centers, and wilderness programs. He is also a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) as well as the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP).

My Learning Springboard is a member of ISAAGNY, a consortium of independent schools in and around New York City, and Brad Hoffman C0-Chairs the committee Friends of ISAAGNY, which includes educational consultants and community-based organizations. My Learning Springboard is also a member of The Enrollment Management Association (EMA, formerly SSATB) as well as WISER, the Washington Independent Services for Educational Resources (WISER), which is a network of professional leaders in the Washington, DC metro area.

Brad Hoffman’s Teaching Background

Over the past 25 years, Brad Hoffman has worked with students from pre-kindergarten through Fortune 500 executives as a classroom teacher, tutor, curriculum writer, human resources talent development specialist, and educational consultant. Brad graduated magna cum laude from Penn State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and then received a Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction at Hood College in Maryland graduating with honors. He is also an Elementary Math and Science Specialist and holds an Advanced Professional Teaching Certificate from the state of Maryland. Brad is trained in PAF Reading Intervention, an Orton-Gillingham based approach, Sounds In Motion, Read Naturally, Singapore Math, Everyday Math, and a variety of other programs and curriculum standards. In 2014, Brad was honored with the prestigious Penn State Alumni Achievement Award in honor of his significant contributions to the field of education.

My Learning Springboard | Company Overview

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During his undergraduate career, Brad Hoffman was an Assistant Teacher at Penn State’s Bennett Family Center (formerly called the Penn State Child Care Center) during all four years of college. He worked with children ages birth through 5 and participated in the center’s accreditation process with NAEYC. During his senior year of college, Brad was a Teacher Intern in England while studying at University of Chichester. There he taught a Year 2 class (ages 6/7) at an Infant School in all areas of the curriculum, including literacy, numeracy, technology, science, religion, history, PE, and Art. Upon graduation, Brad accepted a full-time lead teaching position in Frederick County, Maryland in a fully inclusive public school setting located in a rural part of the county. Children with both learning differences and physical disabilities were fully integrated in the regular classroom. One-third of Brad’s students had dyslexia and received specialized intervention, and two of his students were children with autism.

“While it was really challenging, I learned so much about how to differentiate classroom instruction for all types of learners, which is critical for any productive learning to occur.”

Brad played an integral part in facilitating his students’ Individualized Education Programs (IEP), a documented plan to help meet the unique needs of an individual learner with a learning disability. This assistance often required a team of related services experts to meet, ranging from the speech language specialist and school psychologist, to the parents, principal, and teacher(s). Working collaboratively always led to increased professionalism and greater student success.

In 2001, Brad relocated to Bethesda, Maryland to pursue a teaching position with Montgomery County Public Schools, one of the leading public school systems in the United States. He taught first and fourth grades at Somerset Elementary School in Chevy Chase, Maryland for five years, differentiating instruction for students at, below, or above grade level in addition to working with students identified as gifted and talented. Somerset is an internationally diverse community and one of the highest ranked elementary schools in Maryland; it is also a model Inclusion Program school. During this time, Brad earned his Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction and partnered with the Somerset Educational Foundation, school faculty, and the school counselor to develop K-5 Service Learning curricula. Brad presented his curriculum work at both the county and state departments of education and was named a Maryland Service-Learning Fellow.

Brad Hoffman’s Corporate Background

In 2006, Brad Hoffman moved to New York City to start his second career in Human Resources with Time Inc., a Fortune 100 Media Company. As an educator, Brad brought a unique perspective to Corporate America and focused on Talent Development. He worked with clients across locations, divisions, and countries – over 5,000 employees – to design and implement customized learning solutions and strategic recruiting efforts to attract, develop, and retain talented employees. Brad also designed and managed summer internship programs for college and MBA students interested in media, general management, finance, and marketing career paths. These programs were designed as 10-week projects so that management could assess intern performance on authentic, thoughtful, and substantive tasks, while interns were also able to assess the company as a good fit for starting their careers.

Brad Hoffman’s LinkedIn profile

Brad Hoffman

My Learning Springboard, Inc.

Board Certified Educational Planner

A multidisciplinary educational consulting firm specializing in school planning, academic tutoring, and test preparation.

Upper West Side

New York,NY

10024

brad@mylearningspringboard.com

Phone: +1 (646) 580-9794

Last edited Sep 7, 2025 @ 10:23 am

Nicole DeMartino

July 20, 2015

Nicole DeMartino wanted to become a teacher since she was a child and gets to live out her dreams every day as a classroom teacher at PS 172 in Brooklyn, a model inclusion school, where she joined the faculty in 2013. In additional to her full time work with the NYC DOE, Nicole is also a part-time Director and Curriculum and Instruction Specialist with My Learning Springboard. She previously taught at the Parkside School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She received her B.A. at the University of Miami in 2009, with a double major in elementary education and Spanish language, and continued her education at NYU, earning her Master’s degree in Childhood Special Education.

Nicole DeMartino has experience teaching and tutoring a diverse group of students from many backgrounds and with varying abilities. In Miami, she completed her student teaching experience in a 2nd grade general education classroom and assumed all roles and responsibilities of the classroom teacher. While studying at NYU, Nicole did her student teaching in a 1st grade CTT classroom at P.S. 261 in Brooklyn and in a 5th grade self-contained classroom at The Parkside School on the Upper West Side. After developing a strong, positive relationship with Parkside, Nicole was offered a full-time teaching position as a 2nd grade teacher. She believes that all students learn differently and, therefore, she uses a variety of materials, methodologies, and targeted support to differentiate her instruction.

In her free time, Nicole enjoys traveling, reading, cooking, seeing movies, and spending time with family and friends in NYC and on Long Island.

Christie Alexander

Marisa Krohn

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School Planning

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