Dr Jamie Rodriguez – President

Jamie is the owner and founder of JBG Educational Group. She began working for one of the leading tutoring companies in New York City and has been tutoring within school systems throughout Massachusetts for the past ten years. In addition to running JBG Educational Group, she is on the faculty at Lasell College and also consults with the Curry College PAL Program (specialty program for students with ADD/ADHD & language based learning disabilities), where she does diagnostic teaching and LD/educational assessments. She attended the honors program at University of Massachusetts Amherst for her undergraduate degree, Columbia University (degree in psychology with a focus on special education) for her Masters, and the College of William and Mary (degree in Counselor Education and Supervision with a focus on multicultural counseling) for her PhD. Jamie is responsible for all inner workings of the company. She handles all inquiries, initial assessments, and referrals of all students, and primarily does the majority of college & private school consulting. In her free time she enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband and toddler twins.

Stacy Padula – Program Director

Stacy grew up in Pembroke, Massachusetts. She earned a Bachelor of Science Degree at Wentworth, where she studied Architecture and Interior Design. Stacy was a Presidential Scholar and on Wentworth’s Dean’s List. She received the Academic Achievement Award for Miss Teen Southern New England and was in Who’s Who Among American High School Students and Cambridge Who’s Who 2010. As Program Director of JBG Educational Group, Stacy manages and trains the staff, while being in charge of company PR, networking, and marketing. She specializes in tutoring SSAT/ISEE/HSPT/SAT/ACT prep, college admissions essays, English, and Math. Stacy first began tutoring Algebra and English in high school and continued through college and after graduation. She then became a certified academic tutor through the International Tutor Association. Stacy is the author of Montgomery Lake High, a young adult fiction book series, published in 2010, that touches on the subjects of substance abuse, recovery, bullying, and self-acceptance. In her spare time, Stacy enjoys skiing, writing, bowling, traveling, spending time with her family & friends, and volunteering. Stacy believes strongly in encouraging others to use their gifts and talents to reach their full potential.

Melanie MacRae – Academic Coordinator

Melanie grew up in Norwell, Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Rhode Island where she studied Communications and Marketing. During her studies at URI, Melanie earned recognition in her academics as a dean’s list student. She was also published more than once in the University’s award winning newspaper. Through internships in volunteerism and non-profit organizations, Melanie discovered and cultivated a second passion: a deep interest in helping others, especially children in the pursuit of education. It was these experiences that served as the motivation behind what has been the next big step in Melanie’s career, to attain a graduate degree in Teaching and Special Education. As Academic Coordinator of JBG Educational Group, Melanie assists in managing, interviewing, and training all new staff. She specializes in tutoring the ISEE and SSAT, all general studies at the high school and collegiate levels, and writing support for college admissions essays. In her spare time, Melanie enjoys running, skiing, yoga and pilates, cooking, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.

Andrew Doleman – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Andrew grew up in Dartmouth, MA (where the beach meets the woods meets the farm) and graduated from Boston College in 2009 with a B.A. in Neuroscience and a minor in English. While at Boston College he worked as a research assistant and thesis student in the Interdisciplinary Affective Science Laboratory studying human emotion. He’s also been involved in various neuroimaging research projects at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Martinos Center. Outside of research, Andrew has worked at a YMCA summer camp, the Boys and Girls Club after school program, and on a psychiatric unit for children with autism and challenging behaviors. He enjoys tutoring science – specifically biology and chemistry. Presently, Andrew is a Masters student in Bioimaging at Boston University School of Medicine. In his spare time, Andrew enjoys going to local concerts, reading, traveling, playing tennis, and enjoying all that sandwiches and beaches have to offer.

Emily Levine – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Emily grew up in Holyoke, Massachusetts and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Politics from Bates College, where she began to tutor local students in Lewiston, ME.

During her junior year, Emily spent a semester in New York City taking courses at the Bank Street Graduate School of Education and teaching in a 7th grade math classroom, where she developed a passion for writing curriculum and designing fun, interesting educational projects to be used as tools for teaching effectively. She subsequently worked as a preschool teacher in Springfield, MA and helped to design and implement grants for an Education Non-Profit. In her free time she enjoys reading, exploring new places, and spending time with family. She is currently working towards a Master’s Degree in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Education, Policy and Management program.

Chris Adamcik – Academic Tutor

Chris grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts and attended Northeastern University, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and minor in Cinema Studies. While at Northeastern, Chris worked in the university daycare, was in the college a capella group, and spent a lot of time in the vertebrate zoology laboratory. He also utilized the cooperative learning program and was able to work at Bayer Healthcare developing and optimizing assays for cancer detection. After graduating in 2006, he went to work for another major biotech company testing clinical samples. Currently, Chris works as an Associate Product Manager at a worldwide biotech company. Chris also works as a freelance film reviewer and publishes his articles in local newspapers. Chris is very involved with sustainability and looks forward to bringing that issue into his career. Chris currently resides in Somerville. He enjoys reading, watching films, seeing live music, traveling, and spending time with friends. Some of Chris’ favorite intellectuals are Noam Chomsky, Alan Moore, and Arundhati Roy.

Adam Almozlino – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Adam grew up in Newton, MA, and started tutoring during high school. He continued tutoring through college at Brandeis University, graduating with a degree in Biochemistry. After college Adam attended Boston University School of Medicine, recently graduating with a Masters in Biomedical Science. Aside from tutoring, Adam conducts research in dynamical systems in mosquito control at the Harvard School of Public health. His future plans include research in Complexity sciences and Computational Social Science. In his free time he enjoys reading, making electronic music, and cooking.

Adam has tutored students as young as elementary school and as old as graduate school, in subjects ranging from Physics, Organic Chemistry, and Physiology, to Medical School Admissions Exam preparation and Verbal reasoning. He tries to emphasize having fun with learning, keeping it practical, and helping students build their own unique, formalized approaches to material.

Gary Reynolds – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Gary was born in Kilkenny, Ireland and grew up in Greenwich, CT. After graduating from the University of Connecticut with a Bachelor of Science in Finance, he worked for Smith Barney and Merrill Lynch assisting and trading for broker’s clients. Unfulfilled, he became a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua and affirmed his love for teaching. Since then, he has completed a B.S in History from the University of Connecticut, a master’s in education from Boston College as a Donovan Scholar, and has begun perusing a master’s in history.

Currently, he is employed at Salem High School and teaches U.S. History. Prior to this he has taught Comparative Government and Politics, History in the 20th Century, and was a live-in mentor to individuals with special needs. Gary is an avid runner and cyclist who is also a rugby enthusiast. He loves to read, volunteer, and drink coffee.

Patty Yanes – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Patty Yanes grew up in Franklin, MA and graduated cum laude from Boston College in 2010. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Management concentrating in Marketing and Finance. She began tutoring in high school as a member of the National Honors Society and as a French and Math tutor. While at BC, she was an active peer mentor and adviser to a number of underclassmen. She also worked as a teacher’s assistant for a number of years in management level class. While on campus, she volunteered as a pen-pal mentor and campus greeter/outreach volunteer. She now works full-time as a Market Research Analyst for a small marketing and consulting firm in Waltham, MA where she works with a number of clients in varied industries. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, reading, rooting on her Boston and BC sports teams, hanging out with friends and family, and knowing all things pop culture.

Curt Shonkwiler – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Curt is from Colorado. He got his B.A. in modern languages from Kenyon College and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in comparative literature at Harvard. He has been teaching or tutoring in some capacity almost as long as he’s been in the university system. He worked as an apprentice teacher and tutor in the Dept. of Modern Languages at Kenyon and he served as a TA at Harvard. He also spent a year and a half teaching English at universities in China. He loves writing, travel, podcasting and mountain sports.

Courtney Kelleher – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Courtney grew up in Needham, Massachusetts and earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English from Boston College. After graduation, Courtney worked in a bilingual position as a registration clerk at a busy medical clinic in Cambridge, MA. Although she loves Boston, she decided to take on New York City for a change of pace and worked as an intranet editor for a top financial firm in Manhattan. After five years, she decided to return home to pursue her longtime interest in education. She recently received her Master’s Degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the Human Development & Psychology Program and hopes to become a secondary English teacher in the near future. In her free time she enjoys writing, reading, dancing, traveling, watching football, and spending time with family and friends. Her tutoring interests include anything related to English (especially college admissions essays), Biology, and Spanish.

Matt Taylor – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Matt grew up in Westborough, Massachusetts and currently resides in North Weymouth. He graduated from Gordon College in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education. In 2010, Matt graduated with honors from Salem State University with a Masters of Education in Reading Specialist Instruction (K-12). With a licensure in Early Childhood Education K-2: Students with and without disabilities, Matt has been teaching elementary school in Whitman, Massachusetts since his graduation from Gordon College. Specifically, he has been teaching special education to students in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade with cognitive and social disabilities (including students with Down syndrome, Autism, and severe behavior disabilities). Now entering his sixth year of teaching, Matt has changed positions to work primarily as an inclusion kindergarten teacher. He enjoys working with students of all ages, as he is an active participant in the community by volunteering to assist coaching of the JV Girls Soccer team at the Whitman-Hanson Regional High School. Matt enjoys teaching everyday, as the career provides consistent learning opportunities and challenges.

Aliza Zenilman – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Aliza grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and graduated from Brown University in 2009 with a BA in Comparative Literature. In college, she enjoyed leading backpacking trips, teaching outdoor education, and eating lots of Italian food. She spent her summers working in a Johns Hopkins research lab, interning for the New York City of Department of Public Health, and working as a ropes course counselor. After working as a camp counselor, Aliza realized her true calling was to work with children. Upon graduation, she made her way up north to Boston to complete the Boston Teacher Residency. She earned a Masters in Education from UMass Boston in Summer 2010, becoming dually certified to teach Biology and Moderate Special Education. She now teaches Biology at a private high school in Boston. Aliza enjoys tutoring the SATs, Biology, English (particularly writing), and High School Math. In her free time Aliza likes to hike, rock climb, swim, cook, read and watch reality television.

Rick Ralphson – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Born in Chicago, and a Bears fan through thick and thin, Rick has lived throughout the United States and Latin America. With a BA in Psychology and Masters Degrees in Philosophy and Theology, he has taught high school for four academic years and has tutoring experience that spans eighteen years. Whether it has been accompanying Lakota children on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, facilitating annual immersion experiences for teenagers in the Dominican Republic, serving as a chaplain at a West Coast Children’s Hospital, guiding families through Ropes Course adventures, or tutoring your daughter, son, or student; Rick delights in opportunities to learn from others and enthusiastically yet humbly share his gifts.

His educational philosophy emphasizes the vital importance of respect, encouragement, diligence, compassion, and patience; and Rick tries to live the following: In all things, love and serve. His primary tutoring expertise lies both in the Humanities, especially English, Spanish and Psychology, and academic coaching, most notably with students wanting to improve their writing and organizational skills. Rick’s hobbies include all types of exercise, flag football, reading poetry, and delighting in the diversity of creation.

Mary Whitcomb – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Mary grew up in Hanover, New Hampshire and attended Hanover High School. After high school, she attended Hobart and William Smith Colleges, where she participated in volunteer programs designed to build reading and writing skills in schoolchildren in the surrounding communities. She subsequently transferred to the University of Vermont and graduated from that institution in 2004, with a B.A. in English She minored in Studio Art and enjoys painting and drawing to this day. After graduating from college, she lived and worked in Burlington, Vermont for a few years and spent a month hiking the Appalachian Trail during the summer of 2008. Immediately after that, she relocated to Boston to attend Suffolk University Law School. She graduated from law school, and received her Juris Doctor degree in May, 2011. She tutors English and writing for all ages. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, reading and spending time with her adorable chocolate lab.

Peter Nelson – Life Coach

Peter grew up in Dover, Massachusetts and studies Social Sciences at Boston College. During his studies at BC, Peter earned recognition in his academics as a dean’s list student. Through his volunteer work with leading rehabilitation centers in the Berkshires Peter discovered and cultivated a second passion: a deep interest in helping others through his work as a life coach. When Peter is not working he enjoys reading, exercising, reflection, and spending time with family and friends.

Evan Coleman – Academic Tutor

Evan grew up in Plymouth, MA, but attended The Rivers School in Weston. He graduated from Wesleyan University in 2009 with a BA in Psychology. There he volunteered as a tutor and mentor at an after school program for youth in the nearby town. After graduating he soon served a year as an AmeriCorps member with an after school program, which focused on teaching inner city kids literacy skills and the game of tennis. Last year he worked at an elementary school in Newton as instructional support staff. He currently attends the University of Connecticut School of Law. In his free time he enjoys working out, playing sports, and movie nights.

Kayleigh MacRae – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Kayleigh grew up in Norwell, Massachusetts and recently graduated from the University of Connecticut. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutritional Sciences, with a minor in English. Kayleigh was a member of the Order of Omega National Honor Society and is a sister of the Delta Zeta Sorority. It was through her involvement in Delta Zeta that Kayleigh found her passion for community service. Kayleigh led several Alternative Spring Break Trips traveling to both New Orleans and Florida where she worked with members of the community tutoring, and providing disaster relief. Kayleigh is currently working with an HR consulting company as a benefits coordinator. Her hobbies include baking, watching UCONN sports, and spending time with family and friends.

Ivyrose Hess – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Ivyrose was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan and graduated with her B.S. from Alma College where she majored in Biology and minored in Chemistry and Photography. Ivyrose is a graduate from the Boston Teacher Residency program where she earned a Masters in Education from UMass Boston in the summer of 2010. Through this program Ivyrose became dually certified to teach Biology and Moderate Special Education. She is in her second year teaching Biology and Chemistry for Boston Public Schools. Along with her passion for teaching, Ivyrose enjoys traveling, camping, running, soccer, photography, cooking and relaxing with friends.

Amanda Sacilotto – Academic Tutor

Amanda is a lifelong Bostonian. She graduated cum laude from Boston College with a B.A. in History in 2010. Focusing on the Renaissance, she wrote an honors thesis on the topic of King Richard III and was a member of the Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society. While at BC, Amanda gained experience as a penpal mentor, campus greeter/outreach volunteer, and Undergraduate Government director. She is currently going back to BC for a Master’s in Early Modern European History and eventually would like to be a high school teacher. Horses are her non-academic passion, and she spends most of her free time riding and showing.

Amy Calhoun – Academic Tutor

Amy grew up in Bristol, CT and graduated from Boston College with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 2010 and moved to Boston after graduation. She worked in a graduate student research lab for two years while at BC, where she worked on multiple projects in nucleotide biochemistry and was a coauthor on three journal publication articles. Now she works full time as a chemist for a small but expanding biotechnology company in Waltham, MA, that is working in cancer research. Her research is working in medicinal chemistry trying to find potential drug candidates for preventing/curing breast cancer. In her free time, she really enjoys following and watching basically all sports especially football, hockey, and soccer, and forcing her roommates to watch Sportscenter every morning. She cheers for the Bruins, Patriots, and Red Sox, Manchester United English soccer team, and has a diehard love for her BC Eagles.

Caila Nikitas – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Caila grew up in Lancaster, Massachusetts. She graduated from Wellesley College in 2011 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biological Sciences and a minor in Religion. While at Wellesley she was actively involved in College Government acting as a liaison between student organizations and the college administration. In addition to politics, she was also able to express her passion for music by playing the trombone in Wellesley’s women only jazz ensemble. Caila developed her interest in the sciences beginning her first year of college through an internship at an Alzheimer’s disease research lab. In 2008 she was given the opportunity to present her Alzheimer’s research at the annual Society for Neuroscience’s convention in Washington D.C. In college, Caila began tutoring college level biology and chemistry. She is excited to continue tutoring at JBG Educational Group. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, reading, spending time with family and friends, cooking, and playing with her Goldendoodle, Bella.

Jessica Arconti – Academic Tutor

Jessica is a George Washington University graduate of 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. She graduated Cum Laude with Special Honors, won an individual award for outstanding biological research, has conducted stem cell/reprogramming research through Harvard Medical School, and was a Teacher’s Assistant in college for Human Physiology. An avid writer, Jessica also writes a music blog and volunteers for COMACO, a wildlife conservation organization based in Zambia. Learning to play instruments, cooking, yoga, hiking, and playing sports are a few of Jessica’s favorite hobbies. Jessica will be specializing in tutoring biology, chemistry, writing, history, and English. Hoping that her love of learning will be contagious for her students, Jessica truly looks forward to teaching and supporting her future pupils.

Renee Procopio – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Renee grew up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and graduated from Temple University in 2007 with a B.A. in Psychology, with a strong foundation in the sciences. While at Temple University, Renee worked as a research assistant in a cognitive neuroscience laboratory investigating Alzheimer’s Disease. In addition to her love of science, Renee has a passion for helping others and spent time as an academic tutor to children ages 6-14 while in Philadelphia. Upon graduation, Renee moved to Boston to begin her career in the biotech industry and continued tutoring, focusing on assisting first year college students with their Biology and Chemistry courses. Currently, Renee works as a biologist at a biotech company in the metro area, and also volunteers at a women’s center in Cambridge. Her hobbies include cooking, anything related to Boston sports, spending time in Italy, and playing with her 100lb puppy, Bruno.

Jen Kozin – Academic & Test Prep Tutor

Jen grew up in Lexington, MA, and recently moved back to town. She graduated from Duke University in 2010 with a degree in Public Policy and Documentary Studies. While at Duke, she was vice president of her sorority, and got involved in lots of philanthropic activities such as teaching photography to local 4th graders, and volunteering as an English teacher in Peru for a summer. After graduating, she moved to Memphis, TN, and taught Algebra II in a striving school in a low-income area. While teaching, she also started an after-school college prep and ACT tutoring course for her students and others at the school. In addition to teaching, her other passion in life is photography. She is currently working as a freelance photographer in the greater Boston area shooting weddings, events, portraits, and food. In her free time, she loves skiing, tennis, volleyball, and taking lots and lots of pictures!

Camilla Nurkhanov – Academic Tutor

Camilla is from Needham, MA and graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2010. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics and Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance. She began tutoring in high school where she taught English to the Russian elderly community living in Needham. She has also worked as teacher’s assistant for a calculus course at UMass Amherst. In her free time, she likes to travel, read books, train for 5Ks or half marathons.

Dana Lindauer – Academic Tutor

Dana grew up in Needham, Massachusetts and graduated from Bates College in 2011 with a B.A. in Classical and Medieval Studies and a minor in Latin. She enjoys studying the world of the ancient Greeks, translating their ancient texts and understanding their mythology. Dana was a peer writing tutor and Ancient Greek tutor at Bates and continues to tutor writing at a local college. In addition to tutoring, Dana has worked as a camp counselor, a special education aide, volunteer ESL teacher and a program presenter at the Museum of Science. She enjoys working with students across a variety of disciplines, including the humanities, math, science, writing and preparation for standardized tests. Outside of educational pursuits, Dana was a track athlete throughout high school and college. She has a genuine joy of learning, running, hiking, reading and spending time in the great outdoors.

Stuart Honenberger – Financial Consultant

Stuart Honenberger is originally from Orange, Virginia, and graduated from The College of William and Mary. He began his career in financial planning with Legg Mason. He has spent the last four years with Legg Mason and Smith Barney as a financial advisor and financial planning specialist. He went on and opened an independent firm, The Overy Honenberger Group, which is associated with Raymond James.

At Smith Barney, as a Financial Advisor, Financial Planner and Guided Portfolio Manager, Stuart specialized in financial planning and portfolio construction. What he loves most is assisting families with wealth management, education planning, and retirement planning. He currently works with 250 households in 15 states and 3 countries.

Stuart lives in Williamsburg with his wife, Elizabeth. They were married in June of 2006.

Nancie Finck – Business Manager

Nancie Finck is our business consultant. She graduated from Boston University with a business degree. She brings to JBG Educational Group a tremendous amount of experience having worked with a variety of small business in the set-up stages as well as maintaining the strength of the bottom line. Her strengths are marketing, advertising, billing and developing the future path of companies.

Geno Rodriguez – IT Coordinator

Geno Rodriguez is our IT Coordinator. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a B.B.A. in Operations Management. Geno was a lab instructor for an Introductory course on Business Information Systems while earning his undergraduate Business degree at UMASS. Geno spent two years working for a Fortune 500 Company as a Marketing Coordinator and prior to that, worked as an Assistant Director at a leading educational center in New York.