MEET OUR STAFF
BILL AMES: Since graduating from Columbia, Bill has served in the Peace Corps, taught high school, and created a non-profit company that provided leadership and success skills seminars for high school and college students throughout the country. He founded Ames Seminars in 1993. With over 35 years experience tutoring and mentoring students and parents, Bill has empowered thousands of teens to reach their goals.
TEACHERS
JANE ADAMS: Jane earned a B.A. at Harvard and was an award-winning reporter at the Boston Globe. She earned both an M.A. in English and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing at San Francisco State. She is a published author of non-fiction and essays which have appeared in O: The Oprah Magazine, San Francisco and Health. Jane has taught news and feature writing at San Francisco State.
MAGGIE BERTERA: Maggie is a graduate of UC Berkeley with a degree in Biochemistry. She has years of experience tutoring math and science. Besides teaching our classes, Maggie stays busy with her young family.
KIM CABOT: A National Merit Finalist Scholarship recipient with a B.A. in Cognitive Psychology from UCSD, Kimberly has tutored PSAT, SAT, GMAT and LSAT test prep. Currently Managing Director of a local consumer products manufacturing company, Kimberly enjoys bringing a focus on proactive learning, positive goal setting, and problem solving to teaching our PSAT and SAT Prep Seminars.
CHRISTIE CLARK: A University of Oregon graduate, Christie has taught Math, Science, Reading, and Writing for seven years. She has been teaching SAT prep courses at Ames Seminars since 2000. A gifted teacher, Christie has helped us write our SAT curriculum.
KATHRYN CLAYTON: A graduate of Ohio University, Kathyrn has taught at Olney Friends Boarding School in Ohio, and has worked as a staff writer for several news publications.
MEGAN deVRIES: Since completing her B.S. at UC Davis, Megan has spent time teaching K-12, working in the business world, and being a whitewater river guide. After a stint as director of a tutoring company, she began her own tutoring business. She teaches our SAT and Act Prep Seminars.
THOMAS DUFFY: Thomas has a B.A. in Political Science and M.A. in English Literature and Composition. Currently an English and Journalism teacher at Campolindo High School, he brings his passion for the written word to our PSAT and SAT Prep Seminars.
KRISTEN EDWARDS: After graduating from Brigham Young University with Honors in Economics, Kristen worked as a programmer for a market research firm. She stays active in the community as a math tutor, youth director at her church, and a volunteer for an economic development campaign. Kristen teaches our SAT and PSAT prep classes.
JOHN FAGGI: John has degrees from Princeton and Harvard. He has taught English and writing for the past 18 years at the College Preparatory School and previously taught at Andover, Choate-Rosemary Hall, and Athenian. John has taught our PSAT Seminar and our Summer Writing Program.
HEATHER FEENEY: Heather currently teaches writing at John F. Kennedy University and enjoys tutoring students in all subjects relating to language and the written word. She hails from Albuquerque NM. After high school, her college choice brought her to California, where she earned degrees from Sonoma State and the California College of the Arts.
PATRICIA HIERRO: Patricia has been a high school and junior high teacher since 1986. She earned her B.A. from Thomas Aquinas College, her teaching credential from Cal State Dominguez Hills, and her M.A. in Theology from the Dominican School of Philosophy and Theology. At Salesian High School, she was chair of the Math Department. Patricia has taught with Ames since 1998.
HELEN INGERSON: A graduate of Harvard who holds both high school and K-8 California teaching credential, Helen has taught critical reading, writing, and social studies at private and public schools, and as a private tutor. She also holds an MBA, having attended Columbia Law School before deciding to pursue a business career, so she has extensive experience with standardized testing. Prior to becoming a private tutor and teaching our PSAT and SAT Prep Seminars, Helen worked in the venture capital field.
ERIC KRIEGER: Having grown up in Berkeley, Eric Krieger returned home to the Bay Area after graduating from Pomona College with a B.A. in Mathematics. Due to his unique fondness for standardized tests, Eric has been sharing his expertise with college entrance exams for the last several years. He teaches our PSAT and SAT Prep Seminars.
JEANIE LERNER: Jeanie earned a BA in English from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and an MA in linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley. She holds two Clear California Teaching Credentials: Multiple Subject and English. While her primary love is language, she considers that to include math; she often quotes Mrs. Boswell, her high school algebra teacher, Math is the universal language. Jeanie teaches both our PSAT and SAT Prep Seminars.
JOHN MCPEAK: John has a B.S.E.E. from UC Santa Barbara and a Math Teaching Credential from Cal State East Bay. He has taught all levels of math at Northgate High School for twenty years and most recently, he developed and taught Northgate's AP Statistics program. His students have consistently exceeded national results on the AP Exam.
NANCY MOLAY: A Literature and Journalism graduate of Boston University, Jeanie tutors students for the PSAT, SAT, A.P. U.S. History and Writing. Nancy also tutors writing (freshman and junior history) at Acalanes High School through the Writing for Mastery program. Nancy teaches our U.S. History Subject Test Seminar.
ADAM NILSEN: Adam is a graduate of Stanford University (B.A.) and New York University (M.A.), where he studied cultural anthropology and linguistics. A speaker of four languages, his teaching experience includes college-level instruction as well as private tutoring in math, writing, and foreign language. Currently a history researcher at the Oakland Museum of California, Adam teaches our PSAT and SAT Prep Seminars.
JENNIFER NOACK-SMITH: Jennifer graduated with honors from Claremont-McKenna College and earned her teaching credential in Math at Chapman University. A high school teacher, she has taught Pre-Algebra, Algebra, and Algebra II. In addition, she's coached the girls' and boys' volleyball and girls' basketball teams. She teaches the math classes for our PSAT and SAT Prep Seminars.
PERTRO PETREAS: Petro earned both his BA in Mathematics and MA in Education from UCSD. Currently a high school math teacher, he has taught Algebra, Algebra II and Algebra II/Trig for many years. Petro enjoys teaching the math portion of our SAT Prep Seminars.
ZACH PINKERTON: Zach graduated from Colorado State University with a B.A. in both English and Political Science. He received his teaching credential in Secondary Education from Saint Mary's College of California and teaches English at San Ramon Valley High School. He's an experienced ropes course leader and tutor.
PAUL ROGERS: A Santa Clara University graduate with a B.A. in Theater Arts, Paul has taught in private schools for the last 26 years in grades 1 - 12, including 10 summers teaching an SAT Prep class at Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory in San Francisco. He has taught math in grades 6 - 11, English to grades 6-10, and directs the high school drama at Trinity Grammar and Prep in Napa. Paul teaches our PSAT and SAT Seminars.
STACY SANDERS: Stacy earned a B.S. in Mathematics from Harvey Mudd College and an M.S. in Engineering from Stanford University. A proud graduate of Ames Seminars SAT Prep, Stacy is thrilled to pass on her enthusiasm and knowledge from 10 years of teaching experience. When not at Ames, you might find Stacy working as a business consultant, teaching art, or dancing or singing her way across the stage of the Regional Center in Walnut Creek!
TOM SCHUMANN: An experienced and gifted math teacher at Campolindo High School, Tom uses his approachable style to great advantage in our Math Subject Test Seminars, Algebra and Geometry Seminars and SAT Prep Seminars. He has a B.S. in Mathematics from Cal State Hayward.
ROBIN SPRING: Robin graduated with distinction and departmental honors from Stanford with a B.A. in English and a minor in Communications. She earned an M.A. in Journalism from the University of California, Berkeley. She has had careers as a free-lance writer and then as a marketing executive working on Visa's Olympic sponsorship. In addition to teaching our PSAT and SAT classes, Robin currently teaches Honors and regular English at Northgate High School.
KRISTA SWEET: Krista graduated with honors from St. Mary's College with an M.Ed. in Education. A three-time winner of the Excellence in Teaching Award from UCSD, she teaches English at Northgate High School and is currently the Leadership Advisor. In 2001, she developed Academic Success, a new class for the Mt. Diablo School District. In addition to teaching our SAT Prep Seminars, she has developed and taught humane education classes at Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation. You can often see her in class with her trusty sidekick, her therapy dog Kona.
OFFICE STAFF
BONNIE BROOKHART: After graduating from Saint Xavier College in Chicago, Bonnie became copywriter and assistant ad manager for Speigel catalog. Heading west to California, she worked as special events coordinator for Meryvn's, and as a partner in an Emeryville printing company. Currently our Marketing Manager, she lives the busy life of soccer mom to three kids, the eldest of whom will soon be on the college hunt.
BETH FALKSON: Beth has a degree in Education from the University of Colorado. She had many years of experience in schools and community-based organizations before joining the office staff at Ames Seminars. With a son in college, she brings recent personal experience of the college application process, and empathy for and understanding of students and parents preparing for college.
JESSICA HAUN: Jessica graduated cum laude from CSU, Chico, earning her BFA with an emphasis in Early American Puritan Literature and Rhetoric. She has completed her Master's coursework at CSU, and plans to write her thesis in Fall of 2007. As a recent college graduate, she not only brings her first-hand experience with multiple application processes, but fresh insights into the college experience.