Award-Winning Executive Functioning Tutors
serving Long Beach, CA

I hold a Bachelor's degree in Cognitive Neuroscience from Brown University and am currently completing a PhD in Psychology. My tutoring style is structured, supportive, and warm. I focus on breaking big goals into manageable steps, building realistic study routines, and helping students develop systems they can actually maintain. I emphasize executive function skills such as planning, time management, task initiation, and follow-through, while integrating mindfulness-based strategies to support focus, reduce anxiety, and improve confidence. Whether working with a younger student or an adult learner, my goal is to help students feel capable, organized, and increasingly independent in their learning.

I have over 20 years of experience in the education field and specialize in ELA for all grade levels including AP/Honors, college, ESL/ELL, special education and test prep. I also enjoy additional subject areas: assisting students with college applications and essay writing/editing, general homework in all subjects, executive functioning and preparing students for entrance exams (private school, ISEE, TEAS, or ELA section of the PSAT/SAT), college applications including essays and college or scholarship interviews. I hold a BA, M.Ed. degrees, certifications in teaching, Academic Coaching, and Tutoring. In addition, I have extensive training on working with students on IEP's or other educational plans. I focus on building skills through customized sessions. Thank you for viewing my profile, I look forward to working with your student!

Planning, time management, task initiation, emotional regulation — executive functioning deficits show up differently in every student, and Mati's doctoral training in learning disabilities means she can pinpoint which skills are lagging and why. She builds individualized systems like visual schedules, chunked assignments, and self-monitoring checklists that students actually use because they're designed around how each person's brain works, not a generic planner template.

Five years working specifically with students with learning differences taught Sydney where the real sticking points are — the student who knows what the assignment says but can't figure out where to start, or the one who chronically underestimates how long a reading response will take. She ties executive functioning strategies like task breakdown and self-monitoring directly to the English and Spanish coursework she also tutors, so students practice these skills on actual assignments rather than in isolation. Rated 4.9 by clients.

Planning, prioritizing, managing time, and shifting between tasks — these executive functioning skills underpin academic success but rarely get taught explicitly. Derek tackles them as teachable skills, building concrete systems like task checklists, color-coded planners, and structured routines that students internalize over time. His doctorate focused on how curriculum design shapes learning behavior, which gives him a research-grounded toolkit for strengthening these cognitive habits.

I am persuasive and capable of developing rapport and trust, as well as experienced in influencing the attitudes and ideas of others.

Kenneth's cognitive neuroscience degree means he understands the brain science behind why some students struggle to initiate tasks, regulate attention, or hold a plan in working memory — and that understanding shapes how he teaches these skills rather than just assigning them. He connects executive functioning strategies like sequencing and self-monitoring directly to the academic work students bring in, whether that's structuring a college essay or mapping out a study plan for chemistry.

Jennifer's teaching spans everything from elementary math to college essays to business courses, which means she's constantly adapting how she structures sessions for students at very different developmental stages — a skill that translates directly into coaching executive functioning. She zeroes in on the specific habits a student is missing, whether that's learning to estimate how long a reading assignment will actually take or building a consistent workflow for managing multiple classes at once. Her background in study skills and organization gives her concrete strategies rather than vague advice about "trying harder."

I currently work for an afterschool enrichment program (Best Brains) tutoring elementary English and math, and I have 4+ years of experience as a private ESL tutor for both children and adults. I am working toward my Masters of Science in Secondary English Education and ESL at the University of Wisconsin- Madison. I graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor of Arts in Comparative World Literature and Japanese, and from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Master of Arts in Japanese Language and Literature. I began tutoring while I was in high school, assisting with algebra homework. In college, I volunteered as a kindergarten reading assistant through a program called Start Making a Reader Today. I later volunteered while in graduate school at a local high school tutoring students in beginner Japanese. I have also been employed by the University of Wisconsin as a Teaching Assistant, and taught in Religious Studies and East Asian Studies. In all cases, it has been a pleasure watching students progress in their academics and to see them grow as young scholars. I especially enjoy teaching language arts because of the feeling of connection that language can bring. My favorite part of teaching is seeing the smiling face of someone the moment that they finally "get" something they've been struggling with and watching their confidence boost. In my free time, I host a small book club, pen pal with friends around the world, and try my hand at new recipes.

The best part of tutoring is promoting students' long-term success through mastery of reading, writing, math, study skills, organization, and critical thinking. In particular, I enjoy helping students build test-taking strategies and core skills for the ACT, SAT, and other admissions tests. I also support pre-K and K-12 students learning math and ELA. Before joining Varsity, I tutored in a Reading and Writing Lab for university students with learning disabilities where I earned a College Reading and Learning Association (CRLA) certification. Since joining Varsity, I have completed continuing education through the Lastinger Center for Learning. I graduated from the University of Arizona in 2021 with a BA in Cultural Anthropology. In addition to tutoring, I have worked as an instructional aide for an art program, an applied anthropology researcher, and a nonprofit program coordinator. Out of all these experiences, I enjoy tutoring the most. I look forward to working with you!

Planning, prioritizing, starting tasks, managing time — executive functioning skills don't come naturally to every student, and they're rarely taught explicitly in school. Hannah's Special Education program at Purdue trained her in scaffolding these skills through structured routines, visual organizers, and self-regulation strategies. She builds systems that students internalize gradually rather than depend on forever.

Graduate training in school counseling means Katherine spends her days learning exactly how students get stuck — not on content, but on the invisible skills like task initiation, planning, and self-regulation that determine whether homework actually gets done. She connects those counseling frameworks to the real academic work students bring in, whether it's a stalled college essay or a psychology reading they keep putting off. Her background across subjects like writing, human development, and AP psychology gives her concrete material to anchor organizational strategies to.