Ella Levine

Ella Levine began her math education as a young child, working closely with her grandfather, a math professor. She soon enrolled in the popular correspondence math course offered by Moscow State University and completed the 3 year program with honors. She won multiple awards in math olympiads during her high school years. She received her MS in applied mathematics from the Moscow Petrochemical University.

Her PhD program in math statistics was interrupted by immigration to the United States in 1991. While working in high-tech industry, Ella continued to teach math: as tutor for middle and high school students and as teacher at a Russian weekend school.

As part of a sabbatical she moved to Paris in 2007 where she studied French, Russian, and American math curriculums and teaching methods. She has used this research to develop her own techniques for teaching kids.

Ella founded the Firecracker Math program in 2012 to help children strengthen their math skills and confidence, and to further develop their aptitude and abilities in math. Firecracker Math students go beyond the school curriculum. They learn about other important fields of mathematics such as topology, logic, probability, and statistics. In her approach Ella employs anecdotes from the history of mathematics, math games and puzzles that spike children interest in math, and help them appreciate its beauty and power.

Ella believes that math, as the ultimate human science, develops a students’s abilities in reasoning and logical thinking, and gives them excellent tools to succeed later in their lives.

Svetlana Livdan

Svetlana graduated from Kharkov State University specializing in Romano-Germanic philology and interpreting. She then received her math teaching credentials from Mills College in Oakland, CA. During her educational career, Svetlana taught math for elementary and middle school kids.

Svetlana loves teaching children and enjoys sharing her passion for learning with her students. Svetlana brings her active personality and creative energy to Firecracker Math, and helps make our math program vibrant, intellectually engaging, and fun.

Amber DaVisio

Amber is the newest addition to the FireCracker Math team. Amber’s work and volunteer experiences are varied. She has organized events, managed employees and volunteers, and handled administrative duties throughout all her roles.

She has a degree in English and Mass Communications from the University of Southern Colorado. Her past positions include the Guest Relations Coordinator at an amusement park for several years in Colorado and then the Public and Employee Relations Coordinator for several years at a hospital in Nebraska. More recently, she spent the last 20 years raising and educating her children. During that time, she has been in various volunteer roles at her local church including the Small Group Director and on the women’s ministry planning committee. She looks forward to the new challenge of stepping into a role at FireCracker Math.

Amber is a proud wife and mother of 2 children, Kaitlyn and Nicholas. On top of that, she is celebrating over 25 years of marriage!

Ali Mansour

Ali Graduated from Carnegie Mellon University. His bachelor’s degree is in Applied Mathematics and Economics, and his master’s degree is in Mathematics. Ali’s 27 years of work in semiconductor manufacturing includes working with lasers for memory repair and redundancy, and to fine tune analog devices. 

Ali loves math. He taught different levels of math to his two daughters, including long distance lessons while travelling outside of the United States. Ali has been teaching at Firecracker Math since 2016. In his free time Ali reads history and studies classical music.

Jeffrey Kessel

Jeffrey studied math as an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, and has Master’s degrees in Physics (Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison) and Mechanical Engineering (UC Berkeley). He retired from UC Berkeley where he worked as an energy conservation engineer specializing in lighting.

His teaching experience includes math enrichment classes at Nystrom School, a public elementary school in Richmond. CA; as well as a GRE math preparation class for graduates of foreign colleges offered at Mills College in Oakland, CA.

He enjoys teaching children at all grade levels, and tries to make the experience enjoyable for the student. He has been known to use dinosaur hand puppets (Pterry and Bronto) as instructional aides.

Leslie Quantz

Leslie grew up in the Bay Area and has always had a love for math. She received her degree in Math Statistics from University of California Berkeley. She loves teaching children. Along with teaching at Firecracker Math she runs a Sunday School program for children through the sixth grade. She feels that math is fun and especially likes teaching math puzzles and games.

Eli Zarrindast

Eli received both her BA and MA in Pure Mathematics from Hunter College CUNY in Manhattan, and was subsequently sponsored by the American Mathematical Society to study at the IUM in Moscow. She currently works as a freelance data scientist in the SF Bay (see: zarrindast.wordpress.com for her data blog) and has over ten years of teaching and tutoring experience in mathematics at all levels, including UC Boulder’s Upward Bound program, UC Davis’s STEM Cafe, and UC Davis’s pilot program Tutors for the Incarcerated, where she developed the mathematics curriculum and served on the steering committee. Her primary research interest is network theory as applied to school and workplace violence prevention.

Robert Sulman

Robert studied math at S.U.N.Y. College at New Paltz (BA degree), then continued his studies at the University of Oklahoma where he received his PhD in math. He taught at Penn State Beaver in Western PA, and then as an Assistant Professor at Central Methodist University in Fayette, MO. Since 2010 Robert has been teaching math at SUNY Oneonta.

Robert has taught various summer math programs: Marist College’s Upward Bound program in Poughkeepsie, NY for twelve nearly consecutive summers, and Number Theory immersion summer courses for Johns Hopkins CTY program for ten summers.

Robert composed a couple of math songs: one about Fermat’s Little Theorem (sung to the tune of “Doe a Deer” – Julie Andrews, Sound of Music), and another about Parenthesis (sung to “The Garden Song” by Pete Seeger).

Sage Moore

Sage comes to teaching mathematics as a second career.  While earning a degree in Formal Linguistics from the University of Victoria, Canada, she studied mathematics and computer science.  This led her to work in various aspects of Information Technology supporting academia and private industry eventually specializing in Network Engineering. Fifteen years ago, Sage had the opportunity to follow her vocation, teaching mathematics.  She received her credential in mathematic education from Mills College and completed her master’s degree in education. In 2007, Sage had the great fortune to attend a summer workshop with the Bay Area Circle for Teachers, an organization that promotes and studies math circle pedagogy and activities.  Inspired by the potential and delight of this form of mathematics education, she has become a committed member of the math circle community in the Bay Area, bringing math circles to several public schools in the Oakland area and collaborating with other teachers and mathematicians.  She is an advocate for Math Circles and mathematics enrichment programs as it gives students the opportunity to be exposed to a beauty and rigor in mathematics that is rarely part of the school curriculum.

Eli Lebow

Dr. Eli Lebow did his undergraduate work at Harvard University in mathematics and physics, and his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley in mathematics.

In addition to teaching elementary and middles school students at Firecracker Math for the past 10 years, Eli’s teaching experience includes teaching mathematics to biology graduate students at the National Center for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India, to middle school students at the Academic Talent Development Program in Berkeley, and to Merritt College students.

He always adapts his teaching methodology to the needs of the students in each class, but generally favors a conceptual approach to the mathematics, with students learning cooperatively and actively.

Ann Hotta

Ann Hotta became more aware of math after she got a “D” on her Chapter 1 algebra test in 9th grade; after that, she discovered that math is absorbing and beautiful. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from UC Davis, but upon graduation, she embarked upon a decades-long career as a professional librarian, even earning a Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in Library and Information Science. She may have helped you in the Children’s Room at Berkeley Public Library, where she has worked with families and kids of all ages.

Ann’s natural love of teaching has found many ways to express itself through the years. She has been a teacher at preschools and graduate schools. She has designed workshops, given presentations, and led book clubs. Ann learned a lot (the hard way) by helping her child with math; this experience reimmersed her in the mathematical universe and ignited an interest in understanding how kids learn math.

Patrick Rayan

Patrick did his undergraduate work at Harvard University in mathematics. He is currently completing a Ph.D. in Philosophy at UC Berkeley, specializing in the philosophy of mathematics and the philosophy of physics.

He has served as a Graduate Student Instructor at Berkeley for five years. While at Harvard, he was a teaching assistant for upper division mathematics courses as well as an instructor in the MIT PRIMES circle.

He is especially excited to convey to students how in mathematics seemingly unrelated concepts bear striking and fascinating connections to one another.

Leopoldina “Leo” Guimarães

Leo transferred from City College of San Francisco (CCSF) to San Francisco State University (SFSU) where she graduated with a B.S. in Applied Mathematics emphasizing in Statistics. While at CCSF, she tutored Calculus at the Learning Assistance Center where she learned to apply different styles and strategies to benefit each student’s learning style. She’s been with Firecracker Math since Fall 2019 and has taught classes ranging from kindergarten to 6^th grade.

Her love for math started in secondary school where she enjoyed participating in math competitions against other schools in collaboration with her classmates.

When Leo’s not teaching, she enjoys using data to solve real-world problems. Her other love is for salsa dancing, for which she recently committed to attend some of the best dance festivals around the world to further grow her experience. Besides English, she also speaks French, Portuguese and Spanish.

James Reischutz

James has a degree of Mechanical Engineering from the MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). He has tutored students of ages 6-14 in many  different aspects of math. In his early career he has been a teaching assistant in both public and  private schools. James works with the American Math Competition and with Wes Carroll private tutoring. James has been teaching classes at Firecracker Math for the past 7 years.

As a parent of three children, he is passionate about  helping kids grow to love mathematics. He favors an active, challenging, team  based approach in the classroom. Some of his favorite topics to share include  nets, logic, and base shifting numbers.

Lia (Liting Shang)

Lia (Liting Shang) went to East Los Angeles College in 2016 in mathematics major and transferred to UC Berkeley in Fall, 2018. She graduated from UC Berkeley in May 2020 as an Applied Mathematics major, and completed her Master’s degree in 2022.

Lia has over 7 years of teaching experience which, apart from Firecracker Math, includes teaching Trigonometry and Calculus 1 at the East Los Angeles College (ELAC); teaching at the UC Berkeley Afterschool University; volunteering at Boys& Girls Club and helping elementary students with their math, science, and English Homework, and most recently, teaching Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 at Alameda Community Center to 9th and 11th graders. These experiences familiarized her with how students think about and approached problems, and helped her make effective personal study guides for each of her students. One of her students, who failed Trigonometry twice, eventually received an A because of the effective study plan she made for him; 

Lia enjoys different kinds of tea, music, hiking, and reading. Lia considers herself a positive, careful, patient, and caring character. Another very important thing that Lia would like to share with you is she got baptized online on Easter day of 2020.

Berkeley Everett

Berkeley is a 1^st grade math specialist who received his B.A. in Ethnomusicology from UCLA, and his M.A.T. from the Relay Graduate School of Education. 

His love for math education began in high school when his teachers piloted a “new” math curriculum that allowed students to (among other things) investigate crime scenes and create their own algebraic expressions to represent a situation.  Ever since then, Berkeley has seen math as a collaborative activity that relies upon each person’s unique perspective to bring about a deeper understanding as a group. Berkeley believes that curiosity and wonder should be at the center of math learning, and is always looking for new ways to perplex his students while also making them smile.

Laura Pierson

Laura graduated with a BS in Applied Math from Harvard University with a minor in educational studies. She has been involved with the Berkeley Math Circle as both a student and instructor, mentors at the Girls’ Angle math club and Cambridge Math Circle, and tutors middle and high school students in math. She has attended Canada/USA Mathcamp and the Math Olympiad Summer Program, and she won 6th prize in the Regeneron Science Talent Search for a math research project she did through PRIMES-USA. Laura loves teaching and enjoys sharing her passion for mathematical discovery with others. When not teaching math, she enjoys watercolor painting, social dance, theater, playing with her dog, and trying to play piano and ukulele.

Daniel Kalafat

Daniel Kalafat attended the University of Arizona and graduated with a degree in Applied Mathematics in 2012.  Since then, he has been tutoring and teaching all levels of math, first at AJ Tutoring and then privately for the past five years.  He is especially interested in inquiry-based curriculum design and experiential learning and is driven by a passion for helping students understand mathematics as an interconnected web of concepts.

Daniel enjoys playing the guitar and piano in his free time, hiking with his wife, and spending time with his cat Dade.

Natalia Kourjanskaia

Natalia graduated from Moscow State University with a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer science. She has been working as a math teacher and a tutor for over 15 years after she made a career change from research and development position at UC Berkeley. Natalia loves math and loves teaching it to children. In her free time she enjoys reading, travelling, and spending time with her family.

Patrick Wyrod

Patrick completed a BS in Mathematics from the University of Alberta and an MS in Applied Mathematics from the University of Washington. His primary interests are the mathematical underpinnings of machine learning, in which he intends to pursue a PhD in the near future. In addition to teaching at Firecracker Math, he tutores calculus and numerical analysis. 

Outside of math, Patrick enjoys snowboarding and mountain biking.

Anna Rafalovich

Anna is a graduate of Lowell High School and the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she graduated from the college honors program with a double major in Psychology and Linguistics.  After working in non-profits in the San Francisco Bay Area, Anna went on to earn two masters’ degrees in Education from Harvard University and Johns Hopkins University. She has taught high school mathematics in Baltimore, MD and San Jose, CA, and currently tutors students through Campanile College Counseling to prepare them for high school coursework and college admissions tests. Having been exposed to both Russian and (multiple) American styles of teaching math, Anna believes that the most important aspect of teaching is meeting students wherever they may be on their math journeys, and helping them see how far they can go. 

In addition to growing in her teaching career, Anna is passionate about both learning and teaching dance such as jazz, modern, hip hop, ballet, and modern Israeli Folk Dance. She has taught and coached in multiple styles since graduating from the program, and choreographed award-winning Israeli dances for the JCC Maccabi Games.

Allison (Ali) Myhelic

Allison received her Masters in Mathematics from the University of Illinois, Chicago. She has three years of experience teaching math to kids K through high school.

Ali helps kids understand math concepts and getting them to be confident in their abilities. She has a lot of patience and develops a great rapport with her students.

Currently Allison is teaching math at Wood Rose Academy and is tutoring private students for Firecracker Math.  

Jeanne Arozqueta

I have been passionate about learning my whole life and fell in love with teaching when I was 9 years old. I studied Elementary Education at Purdue University and have taught 1st and 2nd grade at private schools on the SF Bay Peninsula. Math has always been my favorite subject. In middle school, I found a math puzzle book in the library and solved all the problems in it. As a teacher, I try to challenge the students with inquiries that teach problem-solving.

When I am not at school, I like to relax in my backyard with a book or strategy game. My husband is an engineer, and we have two sons, a dog, and 3 cats. One son loves mountain biking and the other is a soccer star.

George Kripac

“George graduated from UC Santa Barbara as a Mathematics and Computer Science major. There, he spent a year as an undergraduate teaching assistant for the computer science department. George’s teaching experience began in high school where he tutored other students in Geometry and Algebra. In the past five years, George has been tutoring math and computer science to the students of different ages and levels, and is currently teaching groups and private students at Firecracker Math. George is driven by a strong desire to help students learn concepts their own way. In his free time, George enjoys hiking, sailing, and playing the piano.”

Doan Ta

Doan Ta received his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Davis.  Doan’s Master’s degree is in Applied Mathematics with an emphasis in Graph Theory, Abstract Algebra, Linear Algebra & Linear Optimization, Data Science, and Advanced Probability Theory.   

Doan worked at several high-tech companies as a software engineer and developer. While completing his graduate studies, Doan held a teaching position at the California State University of the East Bay. He was involved in developing syllabi for various math courses. Doan has been teaching kids at Firecracker Math since 2019.

In his free time, Doan studies new technology trends and investment strategies. Doan is raising a family of 4 kids including his 3-year-old twins Filbert and Gilbert. They enjoy outdoor activities and are members of Children’s Fairyland, Oakland Zoo, Bay Area Discovery Museum, and Long Beach Pacific Aquarium.  

Sherri Hansell, Outreach Manager

Over 10+ years of total experience in Outreach, Program Management, Marketing, Branding, Corporate Identity, In-store development, and Customer Service. Resourceful and highly strategic professional with an intense drive for personal, team, and company success and passion for education gained through progressive experience and strong educational background. Unique combination of strong problem-solving abilities, creative thinking, decision-making, detail orientation, and follow-through capabilities to get the job done, earning a solid reputation for bringing fresh spirit, positive thinking, and innovation.

Industry knowledge: Education K – Graduate Level, Education Training Programs, Retail, Finance, Software, and Food. Prior experience in Branding, In-store Development, and Corporate Identity for Mervyns/Target. Six years of virtual work experience.

Adrian Weitzer

Adrian graduated from the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara with a B.S. in Mathematics. While completing his degree requirements he also took graduate-level courses and participated in a research internship focused on Linear Algebra. Adrian views math as the world’s largest and most mysterious puzzle. He is particularly interested in the parts of the puzzle involving Number Theory and Diophantine Geometry. Adrian has worked with Firecracker as a counselor and instructor since 2022 and loves introducing students to new concepts in math. When not doing math he likes drawing, reading, and hanging out with his cat.

Michael Tsirklin

Michael has over 15 years experience teaching math. He has taught pre-algebra to calculus and feels extremely comfortable teaching any level of math. He is currently teaching 8th grade math in South Los Angeles and math summer classes at Firecracker Math summer camps. Michael has a Clear single subject math credential in California and permanent teaching credential in New York. He has a Masters in Math Education from Lehman College(NY) and a BA in Math from the University at Albany(NY).

Vadim Shilov

Vadim has 20 years of experience teaching mathematics to kids of all age groups. He taught for the CTY Center of Talented Youth, JHU program. He has been teaching statistics, and mathematics courses at the Department of Mathematics at Towson University, Stevenson University, Howard Community College, Prince George Community College, Loyola University, and Community College of Baltimore County. Being an educator allows Vadim to combine his love for mathematics and his passion to teach kids.

Vadim has been teaching at Firecracker Math since summer 2023.

Vadim graduated from Baltic State Technical University, St Petersburg, Russia with a diploma in Radio Electronics Engineering. Vadim obtained his MBA from Stayer University, Washington DC, and Master of Science in Information Systems from Strayer University, Arlington, VA. Vadim did research on International HR Management for his MBA diploma project and an essential portion of his project was devoted to a comparative study of Asian, European, and American educational systems.

Vadim received an award from the division of McGraw Hill Companies for revision of the textbook by Lind, Marchal, and Wathen, Basic Statistics for Business and Economics Fourth Edition, The McGraw-Hill /Irwin -Higher Education, 2003.

Vadim accomplished national recognition as a WHO’S WHO member. He is Included in the 2000 edition of WHO’S WHO AMONG STUDENTS IN AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES and in the 11th edition of WHO’S WHO AMONG AMERICAN TEACHERS AND EDUCATORS, 2006-2007.

Leonardo Bardomero

Leonardo obtained his B.S. in mathematics from the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI). He has completed an M.A. in Mathematics at San Francisco State University (SFSU). He co-authored a paper published by the American Mathematical Monthly in 2020.

He is currently teaching mathematics for OUSD and math classes at the Firecracker Math.

Benjamin Bewick

Prior to coming to Firecracker Math, Ben spent five years tutoring students from private schools in San Francisco and public schools in Menlo Park. In addition to tutoring academic math, he also coached students on AP exams. Ben enjoy helping students learn new concepts.  He understands that each student approaches the material in a different way, and it’s important to him to adapt to each student’s learning style and goals to help them achieve success.

Ben received his BA from University of Pennsylvania where he studied economics and American history. After graduating from Penn, he completed most of a second bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Boston University. Having moved to the Bay Area to work with an economist at Stanford on his consulting practice, he began taking advanced math courses at UC Berkeley in order to complete prerequisites for graduate school in economics.

Tianyang Chen

Tianyang is an experienced math tutor with a passion for making math accessible and enjoyable. With a B.S. in Statistics from UC Riverside, Tianyang brings a solid academic foundation and 8+ years of math tutoring experience. Tianyang tailors tutoring to each student’s unique style, using real-world examples and a patient demeanor to demystify concepts. Tianyang takes pride in guiding students to improved grades and fostering a genuine interest in math.

Tianyang has strong skills in communication, tech proficiency, and bilingual in Chinese. Excited about contributing to students’ success, Tianyang invites you to embark on a journey of discovery and learning together.