"Where STEM Begins with Math" 

Consultant

Hometown: Waterbury, Conn

Associate Degree: Mathematics & Computer Information Systems - Graphic Design

Bachelor Degree: Statistics & Applied Mathematics

After working for a number of years in multiple industries, Amare El Jamii enrolled in community college with the intent on pursuing a more fulfilling career. He obtained his associate degrees in both Mathematics and Computer Information Systems and his bachelor degrees in Statistics and Applied Mathematics from Norco College and UCLA respectfully.

Since graduating in 2013 he has worked in education, specifically with students from underrepresented communities. His work experience includes Non-profit organizations, Norco Community College, CSULB and UCLA. He is currently a partner in an educational consulting company named Cultivating Hope and also holds a position at Bridges Academic Center of Excellence as a Program Director where he oversees a number of college-bound based programs for local students in the Carson, Long Beach, South LA, Compton and the Watts communities.

Consultant

Barak has over 20 years of experience in public and private education. He has served as a tutor, teacher, vice principal and principal for grades 6 through 12 with a 100% four-year college acceptance rate for his graduating classes of black and brown students.  Barak consults in education with school districts throughout California in Oakland, Compton, Los Angeles, Long Beach and Riverside to improve educational outcomes for students of color. Numerous organizations have invited him to speak including the internationally acclaimed House of Blues Foundation.  Barak was awarded a commendation by the Mayor of Inglewood for his service to the city’s youth and also recognized with proclamations by California Senator Don Perata and former Mayor Jerry Brown for his educational leadership in his hometown East Oakland. 

Barak co-founded Unearth and Empower Communities, a 501 c3 non profit organization dedicated to mentoring and teaching literacy, entrepreneurship and arts education to K-12 students in Compton.  He is the visionary behind Cultivating Hope, an educational consulting company that coaches educators to build the whole village through Math Proficiency, Equity, Diversity & Race and Social Emotional Learning. Barak earned his Bachelor of Arts in English from Dartmouth College and his Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from San Jose State University, where he graduated with highest honors.  Barak is currently working on his Doctorate in Ministry to provide affordable resources to communities interested in building the whole person through education. Barak is married and is the father of two sons.

Consultant

Carol has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and is K-12 Math, 

K-8 Science certified. She as four years middle school and high school teaching experience, and over 30 years process engineering, quality engineering expertise in  Project Management/Team Leadership. Carol’s passion has always been to teach, and whether she’s working, supporting her family or involved in community service, her mantra has been “to help students see math and explain the basics involved and that will build the foundation for them to succeed!!!

Consultant

My passion for physics and math has allowed me to complete a B.S. in Physics at UC Santa Cruz and a M.S. in Physics at UC San Diego. My educational background therefore was highly math intensive and has given me wide knowledge and experience with advanced math subjects including Statistics, Calculus, Algebra, Complex Analysis, and many others.

During my four years at UC San Diego, I served as a teaching assistant, running the physics lab and giving lectures. That experience developed my ability to communicate complicated subject matter to students who felt uncomfortable with physics and math.

I also worked at the Cambridge Learning Center, JEI Learning Center and Sylvan Learning Center, helping K-12 students with all subjects. In these positions I helped students understand and conceptualize SAT/ACT/ISEE math, AP Statistics, AP Calculus, AP Physics, and all other standard math curricula including the Integrated Math 1, 2, and 3. 

Consultant

Selena Bui was born in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam and moved to Los Angeles,

California when she was 17. She graduated from California State Polytechnic

University, Pomona (CPP) with a M.S. in Mathematics. Selena was the co-author of

the book An Application of the Weighted Discrete Hardy Inequality, and she also

participated in the projects of Twin Totatives and Bijective Reflection of Polygons.

Previously, she taught different Math classes such as Business Calculus,

Trigonometry, and more at CPP. Selena earned more than 10 scholarships and gave

presentations about her projects during her college years. At Tilden, she teaches one-

to-one Math classes so she could tailor a unique lesson plan for each student and learn

with them in their own way.

​

Selena first “tutored” her brother in her third grade and later in high school, she

helped her friends with Math, Chemistry, Biology, and English with basic concepts,

formulas, and important techniques in general. She enjoyed helping people and loved

sharing her knowledge with others. She has been officially tutoring for 9 years now

and her tutoring experiences vary from K-12 to college level. Selena also prepared

students for SAT/ACT/ISEE, AMC and Olympiad contest, and AP Calculus.

​

Selena used to have problems understanding Math when she was young and she had

to struggle a lot with it to figure out the way to "absorb" Math. Thus, she wants to

help as many students as possible to learn Math and have fun with it too because we

all deserve a chance to get the best education we could achieve.

Consultant

Ken Collins was born in the Kenilworth Projects of Washington, DC, raised in Louisiana, and attended high school in New York City. He moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics/Sociology, and later a Masters of Education from the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information, where my undergraduate and graduate course work included courses in Mathematics, Sociology, Naval Science, Russian Literature and Language, Finance, Accounting, Economics, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, and Secondary Education. Prior to his teaching career, Mr. Collins served as a Naval Cryptologist (CTI), working throughout North Africa, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. His classroom teaching career includes 30 years of service with Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD), Green Dot Charter Schools, and the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese where he served as Department Chair, Director of Curriculum, and Instructional Coach.

Mr. Collins’ respect and passion for mathematics, including the beauty and power imbedded in it, led him to create a tutorial company, Intense Algebra, LLC, which provides math, language, science and life-skills to underserved students and their families. Since its inception in 2013, his vision resulted in over 500 students being mentored and led to acceptances at colleges and universities to include: Columbia, Georgetown, George Washington University, Harvard, Indiana, John Hopkins, Loyola (Chicago), MIT, Notre Dame, Stanford, Tulane, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UC Los Angeles, University of Pennsylvania, US Naval Academy, USC, Yale, and a host of others. At the middle school level, Mr. Collins, personally, implemented and monitored common core curriculum for public, parochial, and private school systems and prepared students for the Mathematics portion of the Los Angeles Archdiocese's annual Academic Decathlon (ACADECA) competition. My students almost always received their first choices for high school to include: Archer, Bishop Montgomery, CAMS, Chadwick, Crossroads, Harvard-Westlake, Immaculate Heart, Loyola, Mayfield, Notre Dame, Orange Lutheran, Providence, Ribet, Rolling Hills Prep, Saint John Bosco, and countless more. In all the above, I set high standards for my students with a casual but focused (intense) attitude, regardless of their starting point!

Consultant

​

Dr. Stewart obtained his undergraduate degree in Physics from the University of

Delaware. Upon completion, he joined the Interior Ballistics with the United States Army

(and two groundbreaking ballistics reports later) he turned his attention to teaching. He

began teaching secondary school science in the Christina School District (Delaware). He

then brought his passion to Los Angeles, where he taught physics, math, and other

academic subjects. While teaching, Dr. Stewart earned a Master’s in Education and

Administrative Policy Studies as well as a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from

UCLA.

For over 5 years Dr. Stewart served as a Secondary Principal in South Los

Angeles. At present, he currently serves as Faculty Advisor for the CalStateTEACH and

Los Angeles Urban Teacher Residency (LAUTR) programs, housed at California State

University, Fresno and California State University, Los Angeles, respectively. In

addition, he serves as Program Director for Project Youth California which is a non-profit

organization designed to provide additional educational services to underserved youth of

the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. At present he coaches budding administrators,

provides educational consulting services while consistently mentoring youth.

​

An educator for nearly 30 years, Dr. Stewart is passionate about identifying the

opportunity gaps in science, urban education, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and the

preschool to prison pipeline. In 2017 Dr. Stewart released Thoughts of a Ghetto

Scatterbrain: The EP – a text using the intersection of science fiction and critical race to

jump start the minds of educators (teachers, administrators, parents, family, and

community members) to dream of possibilities not always considered. In the same year

he released a book of poetry, Penumbra: Me, My Shadow, and the Artificial Light

Source.

​

As a teacher educator, Dr. Stewart stresses a humanizing pedagogy.

​

Consultant

Consultant

Aaron Galaif

Consultant

Aaron Galaif is a native of Southern California. He grew up loving sports, in particular basketball and played on teams all over Los Angeles. While playing basketball he was able to connect with a variety of cultures, which he credits for helping him connect to children in culturally diverse communities, in culturally responsive ways. To this day, Aaron utilizes and leverages things he learned on the court to develop human, heartfelt connections with the students he serves.

Mr. Galaif is a graduate from the University of Washington and obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics and a Minor in Applied Mathematics.

Upon the completion of college, he began his career working for Mathnasium, a math tutoring company focused on STEM subjects and quickly exceled from Instructor to Lead Math Instructor in less than three months. It was at Mathnasium that he found his love for teaching. Being able to present math concepts in fun and engaging ways that empowered student growth, provided him with the fuel and energy to make teaching a fulltime career.  His experience in math both inside and outside of the classroom, enabled him to persevere to expertise in Mathematics.

After leaving Mathnasium, Aaron started his own company as a private math tutor where he provided expert in-home and on-line tutoring for children and youth ranging from elementary school students to college students. Mr. Galaif taught all levels of Math as well as helping to prepare students for the standardized tests to include ISEE, CAHSEE, SAT, and ACT.  

Mr. Galiaf is most proud of the work he did to help raise math grades for all the students he tutored who were below average, raising them up by a whole letter grade. Additionally, he had great success in that 95% of the students he tutored, showed an increase of 20+ percent after working with him in Math.

While running his tutoring company, he successfully passed the Probability and Fanatical Mathematic Actuarial exams.  He passed the Probability exam in September of 2019 and the Fanatical Mathematic Actuarial exam in 2020.

AMBER ALIM

Consultant

Ambar Alim will be completing her B.S. in Mathematics and Applied Life Sciences from (UCLA) University of Los Angeles, California in the Spring of 2022. Although her specific field of study is mathematics, her educational background is diverse. Ms. Alim worked tirelessly to gain expertise in many STEM subjects that include honors abstract linear algebra, engineering, physics, human biology, C++ coding, biochemistry just to name a few.

Finding that her passion lies in helping others, Ambar obtained a Supplemental Instructor for General Chemistry role at Mount San Antonio College. During her time there, she had the privilege of conducting lectures for 25-30 students. Additionally, she was able to tutor students one on one while assisting the professor during lectures. Working at Mount San Antonio enabled her to work with students from various backgrounds. Some students were older, some with children, some from other cities, states, and countries. This diversity required her to adjust her pedagogical practice to appeal to each demographic in culturally relevant ways. In addition, she was able to create safe spaces and fun learning environments that fit the diverse needs of every student. Today Ms. Alim continues to explore her passion to ensure that every student regardless of their background or socio-economic status, has an opportunity to learn and thrive during their educational journey. 

From there, her perseverance led her to engage with local schools, working alongside many of her former teachers, mentored struggling elementary students and organizing specific tutoring sessions that ensured each student would be able to learn comfortably. Her services with elementary school learners allowed her to network with more students and their parents resulting in increased clientele based on the positive outcomes she was able to achieve with her learners. Ms. Alim went on to tutor students ranging from ages 9 to 20 for 5 years.

Now having a strong foundation in mathematics and other STEM subjects, her next goal is to make sure that every learner’s education is tailormade specifically for them.

She is hopeful that her help, support and encouraging students to excel in STEM will lead them to 21st Century STEM/STEAM careers.  

CHARLENE PARRALES

Consultant

Charlene Parrales is a native of Southern California and was born in North Hollywood. She has been an educator for 6 years.

Ms. Parrales found her love of math early in life and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a Minor in Family Studies from California State University, Northridge.

Charlene has always excelled in math and started tutoring in college where she was an Honor Student and made the Dean’s List many semesters.  In addition, she was a Supplemental Math Instructor at Moorpark College while obtaining her Associates Degree in Mathematics.  Ms. Parrales taught and tutored courses ranging from pre-algebra up to linear algebra and differential equations. During her time at John Muir, she realized that she wanted to help make an impact with students in STEM. Her goal is to help students obtain the mathematical skills and confidence needed to be successful in math, while also leading them to STEM careers.

While obtaining her bachelors, Ms. Parrales worked as an Instructional Assistant with special education students at John Muir Middle School in Burbank CA.  Additionally while working at John Muir, she was a Consultant for a private company where she provided instructional coaching in math and physics.

Ms. Parrales is currently pursuing her graduate degree at California State University, Northridge where she is working towards her Master’s in Mathematics with an emphasis in Statistics. Since her first semester in grad school, she has been a Teaching Associate for the math department.

Eric Johnson-Greer

Consultant

Eric Johnson-Greer is a native of Los Angeles, California. Since childhood, Eric has been described as gifted, social, amiable, empathetic, and scientifically minded. These attributes and qualities have been the guiding force that’s propelled his growth and accomplishments in school and business. 

Eric is a graduate of Pepperdine University’s Seaver College and earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics and a minor in Chemistry. His undergraduate highlights include, studying abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, singing Bass/Baritone in the Pepperdine Pickups Men’s Acapella group, conducting research in the theoretical physics topic of quantum gravity using graph theory, serving as a Harambee mentor in the Black Student Association, and leading as the Chapter President of the Upsilon Chi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. as well as the Assistant District Director for the Southern California District. Eric believes these accomplishments not to be trophies, but rather testaments to his personal and professional growth, his eruditeness, his faith, and his maxim of “I can, and I will.”

Currently, Eric owns and operates a tutoring business independently where he specializes in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. He believes that responding to the needs of students during the pandemic who were struggling with virtual learning has enabled him to bridge the learning gaps in math and science for the students he’s served.  Eric has consulted and taught over 30 students over the past year alone in subjects ranging from arithmetic, organic chemistry, AP physics, college statistics, linear algebra, AP chemistry, and honors geometry to name a few. Eric has also received high praise for his profound conceptual understanding of topics spanning chemical equilibria, conservation laws, the theorems of calculus, and other fundamentals that are integral to his teaching style and pedagogic approach. 

Additionally, Eric has recently been selected to partake in a research group at Brown University in theoretical supersymmetry where he studies graphical representations of supersymmetric algebras known as “adinkras.” He was also selected by a multi-institutional research group composed of graduate students, doctoral students, and a professor of Physics at the university. Eric feels confident that he can make meaningful contributions to the group.

Eric believes that with his years of tutoring and teaching experience at the university, managing his own business, as well as mentoring the young men and women in his years serving his fraternity as well as other service organizations, he instills a strong sense of confidence and competence in his students and prepares them for success in 21st century STEM careers. Most importantly, it brings him joy to see the smiles from all the students he serves.

Adam Joseph Porpora

Consultant

Adam Joseph Porpora was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania years after the steel mills closed

and economic opportunity were scarce. After graduating from Gateway Senior High School, he

moved to California to attend The University of La Verne.

Adam always had the unique gift of taking complex concepts and simplifying them for anyone to

understand. It was this skill and his love of empowering others that led him to study the art of

teaching. Adam majored in Education and earned a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential at the

University.

While completing his Teaching Credential, Adam accepted a position teaching all subjects for

Countrywood Middle School in Chino, CA. Adam worked there for almost 15 years. It was at

Countrywood that Adam discovered the anxiety students experienced when doing math. Adam

realized math was the one subject that student’s thought was an inherent skill. Most people

believe that a person is born with the math gene and can be successful in math. For most, math

is a skill that one must cultivate to proficiency. To help students build their math skills, Adam

and his students created an eighth-grade business. The student’s goal was to raise $5000 per

year to go on a year end, week-long field trip. Adam’s students eventually owned and operated

several businesses. They started a school site convenience store selling snacks and school

supplies, then opened a movie theater showing outdoor movies and selling concessions

throughout the community. Additionally, they started a restaurant where they would hold weekly

fundraisers and provide lunches for students, faculty, and parents. Students learned to work

with budget constraints, determine pricing, and calculate profit margins. Students began to see

“math” problems as “life” problems. Not only did their anxiety levels decline, but math scores

soared! The students' arduous work and success in mathematics enabled them to travel to

places like, The Grand Canyon, Mammoth Mountain, Utah, Sacramento, The Giant Forest, Muir

Woods, and many other locations. Adam views this as one of his most important educational

successes of his career. Adam was not only teaching them how to find their love of math, but he

was also teaching them financial economics, business skills and how to win in this game called

“Life”. His motto is, “Teach kids how to fish, and he can eat for a lifetime.”

Adam currently resides in Pomona, CA and holds the positions of Program Director & Academic

Lead for The Youth & Family Club of Pomona Valley where he still fosters and mentors

mathematical competency to students at all grade levels.

Matt McGaw

Consultant

Born and raised in Southern California, Matt loved reading, playing soccer, going to Disneyland, In & Out Burger and taking family road trips. Through middle school and high school, Math was always his best subject and the one he found easiest to master. Because of his strong math aptitude, Matt was extended an offer to work as a grant assistant for the Linked Learning Program, a grant-funded program aimed at preparing teaching candidates to better engage their students with real-world applications to include Math, Science, Engineering, Business, and many other disciplines.

​

He attended Long Beach City College before transferring to UCLA. He earned his Bachelor’s in English (American Literature & Culture) in 2012 and was lucky enough to participate in a summer Study Abroad program studying Shakespeare in London and Stratford-Upon-Avon. Upon graduation, he began his teacher training in New York City, where he taught high school English at a Performing Arts high school.

​

He ultimately returned to his California roots where he pursued his Masters in English at CSULB.

After earning his MA in 2016, he was hired as an adjunct professor at Long Beach City College and eventually acquired a position at Cerritos College in 2019, as well. He simultaneously worked as a substitute teacher in the Downey Unified School District, working in classrooms of all grade levels, but primarily high schools. This allowed him to stay positioned within the threshold between high school and college, which is a critical time for any student. Maintaining positions in both secondary schools and colleges helped him better address the areas where students struggled most frequently which is math, work-life balance, adapting to college culture, professionalism, and time management skills.

As an adjunct professor, he’s had the opportunity to explore other industries in concurrence with teaching. For the last few years, he’s been exploring and researching within the financial industry with the help of a financial advisor. In the last year, he’s earned his California Insurance License (Life, Accident, & Health) and he’s currently studying to acquire his Securities License (Series 65). He’s also been working with a non-profit called Young Money Savvy to run workshops and summer camp programs to better equip high school and college students with financial literacy skills.

Nnamdi Agude

Consultant

Nnamdi Agude a graduate of Cal State University, Sacramento joins the STEMulate Learning team with a passion to help students overcome their fear of math by integrating SEL and trauma-informed instructional practices into the lesson plans, creating “Lesson Experiences”.

Working at New Alternatives CRF since 2017, he knows all too well the adversity young boys endure on a regular basis as he supports teenagers between 13-17 years old. New Alternative, a trauma-informed clinical rehabilitation center served as the catalyst to helping him find his passion and purpose in helping the underserved communities of “At Risk” youth particularly males who need to know that their lives matter. Not only were many of the young men exposed to difficult circumstances early in life, but they also suffered even more during Covid with a myriad of escalations that continue to challenge them daily.

​

As a professional football player, Nnamdi leverages his travels to faraway places to include Germany, Finland and Japan which enable him to share the richness of other ethnic cultures with the students through music, art, games that show them we all have commonalities which promotes racial healing.

​

Nnamdi certainly sees the value in using all his skills to help children find their love of math in and off the field. Nnamdi integrates sports, community healing circles, team activities and meditation into his practice which sets the tone for students to learn math in a variety of ways; visually, auditorily, reading, and kinetically. He believes that teaching math one-way as seen in many classrooms today, doesn’t ignite learning in 21st Century scholars. He believes that SEL work outside enables the students and teachers to enjoy the benefits of vitamin D and helps them obtain higher vibrational energy derived from the sun and is also very therapeutic for the children and teachers. He gets great pleasure in seeing teachers enjoy math while practicing self-care. Because of his good work, we believe that this could be a great model to retain good teachers who practice self-care daily alongside their students.  We already see the benefits in the pre-post math assessments.