Our Team

Art of Problem Solving was founded by Richard Rusczyk in 2003 to create interactive educational opportunities for avid math students. Richard is the author or a co-author of 7 AoPS textbooks and a past Director of the USA Mathematical Talent Search. He was a participant in National MATHCOUNTS, a three-time participant in the Math Olympiad Summer Program, and a USA Mathematical Olympiad winner (1989). He received the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions Paul Erdös Award in 2014. He graduated from Princeton University in 1993, and worked as a bond trader for D.E. Shaw & Company for four years. AoPS marks Richard's return to his vocation - educating motivated students.

In 2014, Glen founded a learning center in Morrisville, North Carolina, that two years later became the first AoPS Academy campus. Glen served as the National Director of AoPS Academy until his retirement in 2019. He has experience as a college math professor, statistician, and expert SAS programmer. He has been a professional math tutor for many years, and specializes in training academically-advanced and high-performing math students. Glen is a graduate of Duke University and holds a graduate degree in statistics from Boston University.

Katrina holds a master's degree in education and decades of experience working with teachers, students, parents, superintendents, and principals in public and private school settings. She started as a classroom teacher, then created her own business providing classroom management training to schools and districts all over the United States. She was attracted to AoPS because of its mission to discover, inspire, and train the great problem solvers of the next generation. When offered the opportunity to help launch AoPS Academy Santa Clara in 2019, and AoPS Academy Fremont in 2022, she could not resist, and has been with the company ever since. She loves AoPS students because of their dedication and enthusiasm for learning! She has a goofy sense of humor and tries to make learning fun, while still maintaining the very highest academic and behavioral standards for everyone on the AoPS Academy Fremont campus.

Sonia has a B.A. and M.A. in English literature as well as an A.A. in behavioral sciences. She has an extensive background in education that includes teaching composition and literature to college freshmen, working as an academic advisor, and consulting with educational start-ups. Her master’s thesis "The Voices of the Bhagavad Gita and Upanishad in T.S Eliot's The Waste Land” is published in The International Journal of Language and Literature. She found AoPS in 2020 and was very impressed with the curriculum. Moreover, she is inspired by the families at AoPS, especially by their love for education. She enjoys helping students make contemporary connections between what they learn in the classroom and how that will serve them in the real world. Sonia's teaching style is collaborative. She believes that the most effective way to learn is through discourse, therefore she creates a classroom culture that promotes participation and engaging dialogue.

Rubie has a passion for STEM education and has a BS in applied mathematics from UCLA. During her time as a Bruin, Rubie held the role of Head Learning Assistant for high-level math courses, fostering a growth mindset in students to ultimately encourage them to overcome math-related challenges. AoPS' mission of creating a supportive academic environment for students to thrive in aligns closely with her professional interests, as she is committed to making math accessible, engaging, and enjoyable for students of all levels. The aspect of working with students that Rubie loves the most is the expansion of her problem solving horizons - AoPS' innovative students teach her more diverse ways of thinking every day! In the classroom, she exhibits a balanced approach to pedagogy, fostering a relaxed and collaborative atmosphere while maintaining clear expectations.

Johne' earned her bachelor's degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from the University of California, Riverside. She has worked on many school campuses where she held an administrative position. Johne' has always enjoyed working with children and being a part of programs like AoPS that helped better the community. She loves being around the bright students and watching them reach their full potential.

Brittany has earned a bachelor’s degree in communication with a concentration in media production and multimedia journalism at CSU East Bay in Hayward. She has excelled during her academic career there, such as making the Dean’s List. What drew Brittany to AoPS was the familiarity with her previous experience working at her library college campus. Lending a hand to others in need is what she enjoys doing, especially, in an educational environment with teachers and students where she can assist and watch them succeed.

Macon is an undergraduate student at San Jose State university, majoring in electrical engineering. What drew him to AoPS is the educational environment. Macon has family that works in schools, so children's education is the type of environment he has always wanted to experience. Although he doesn't directly work with the students on an education level, Macon loves love being able to show students and families around our program and what AoPS has to offer!

Catharine holds a PhD in applied mathematics from UC Berkeley. She is an experienced math teacher of all levels from elementary to college mathematics. She first learned about AoPS while homeschooling her own two children and was drawn to the engaging and challenging curriculum. To put it simply: she loves working with students who are excited about math! Her teaching style centers students and their ideas. Her goal is to foster their creativity, persistence, and problem solving abilities.

Dnyati has bachelor's degree in electronic and telecommunications engineering from a renowned university from India. From her high-school and engineering days, she has helped many young students grasp and understand mathematical concepts. Over the last few years, while helping her children understand and finish their homework, her interest in math grew. Since then, she has developed a systematic approach in simplifying complex mathematical concepts with easy-to-understand chunks to inspire student curiosity and cement comprehension. Now, a fully passionate and resourceful math teacher with 5 years’ experience, she can’t wait to be part of your student's adventurous journey into the math world. She will impart information to the students via lectures, assigned readings, audio/visual presentations, demonstrations, role playing, and other means.

Richard has a Master of Science degree in computer science from the University of Pennsylvania. He also worked as a software engineer in Silicon Valley for more than 20 years. As a father of two, he started teaching math to his own children and later to middle and high school students in the tri-valley area. Richard likes AoPS because of its in-depth course materials and regular progress assessments through homework and tests. He enjoys working with students because witnessing their growth and progress over time is the most fulfilling aspect of his role as an educator. Richard believes in breaking down complex concepts into manageable parts, using real-life examples to make math more accessible and relatable. Richard now works as a math tutor at Dublin High School's Academic Resource Center.

Kirk earned a bachelor’s degree in film and television from NYU and taught English in Asia for many years. He was drawn to AoPS because of its well-planned curriculum. Even though he is the teacher, Kirk feels he learns a lot from his students, especially about the importance patience and understanding. Kirk describes his teaching style as fun and engaging, with a focus on learning and growth.

Maya earned her bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in creative writing from California State University, Eastbay. Since graduating, she has had 3 years experience educating and working closely with students. She was drawn to AoPS for our student-led approach to learning, and her love and passion for both English and the written word are what drive her to do the work she does. What Maya loves the most about teaching students is helping them grow, progress, and learn while learning something new herself along the way. She describes her teaching style as engaging, interactive, and fun. As a teacher, Maya believes that while guidance is important, it is also necessary to provide students with the tools and tricks they need to become self-sufficient learners.

Amy received her MFA in creative writing from Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga. She writes fiction, and her work has been featured in literary journals. She enjoys teaching the AoPS language arts curriculum that consists of reading lists and unit projects that easily engage students. Most of all, she loves being a part of the AoPS community! The most rewarding part of working with students is facilitating learning and witnessing how their writing styles develop through the academic year. In the classroom, Amy likes to encourage discussion and collaboration, to help students learn from and connect with their peers. She’s excited to bring her passion for creative writing to AoPS!

Hiromi previously worked for one of the world’s biggest investment banks on Wall Street in Tokyo and earned an MBA from the University of Michigan on scholarship. She has been teaching AoPS Prealgebra, Algebra and Geometry for over a decade to train “Mathletes” for competitions. Many of her students were awarded high placements in MathCounts, MathOlympiad, CML, and AMC 8-10. Hiromi is one of the longest and biggest fans of AoPS. Since early 2010’ when its first edition of Prealgebra book was published! AoPS textbooks have been the bible to train her “Mathletes” for competitions and the key to help them earn the top placements. Teaching is Hiromi's passion because she knows she is making a difference in the life of her students through teaching. The notion that they will carry their learnings for the rest of their life – AoPS’s way of critical thinking and problem-solving skills – is a gift! Hiromi's teaching style is positive and passionate and known to make the learning exciting and enlightening. Her personal approach is a product of her good knowledge of her students and helps her teaching meet each student’s specific needs.

Krista has been an educator for over 17 years and has worked with students from kindergarten through college. In addition to being an instructor at AoPS, she currently teaches English and History full-time at Walters Middle School in Fremont. She was really impressed by the rigor and creativity offered in AoPS curriculum and the core educational approach to leading students to solve their own problems and forge their own paths, under the guidance of instructors. What she loves most about working with students is seeing those "lightbulb moments" in students when they achieve a goal or have mastered a concept. Krista describes her teaching style as firm but fair and warm. She prides herself on the ability to build strong relationships with students and develop a rapport with every student.

Oleg has a PhD in physics from the University of Utah. He works in the daytime as a data specialist for the State of California querying pharmacy data. He reads math books by Richard Rusczyk and fancied himself as able to teach that material in class. He learns from students as much as they learn from AoPS books. His teaching style is adaptive. He adapts to how much students can do by themselves.

Bhavana always had math as her favorite subject during her school years. She enjoys solving challenging math problems and considers this to be a stress buster. Sudoku is her favorite puzzle game. She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Engineering and Technology from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, India. She has been teaching math to kids in K-12 for the past many years both in-person and online. Other than work, she enjoys playing outdoor games with her two boys, going on walks, and cooking delicious food.

Traptilisa loves teaching mathematics and physics at a wide spectrum of levels, ranging from elementary school through college. Currently, she is working as a physics instructor at Foothill College, Los Altos, California. She earned her master's degree in physics from San Jose State University, California. She has been teaching at AoPS academy since 2020. She likes to teach at AoPS as it provides an amazing platform to share her knowledge and love for math and science to all students of different communities across the Bay Area. She loves working with students as she can see them learn, grow, and become more confident in school. Her teaching style is characterized by the creation of engaging learning environments that promote critical thinking and empower students to reach their academic potential.

Annie graduated from UC Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in pure mathematics and nutritional science, along with a single-subject math teaching credential. She is currently a high school math teacher. She loves how AoPS challenges students and helps them explore their math potential. She enjoys seeing and learning innovative perspectives from students to solve math problems. She believes that students learn the most through expressing their mathematical thoughts, and her role in the class is not only to serve as an instructor but also as a facilitator. In her class, she hopes to facilitate active class discussions to help students polish their critical thinking and skills in presenting and communicating their mathematical thoughts.

Felicia earned her associate's degree in math from Ohlone College and bachelor's degree in applied mathematics from UC Berkeley, along with a minor in bioengineering. She tutored math, biology, and chemistry at Ohlone College and worked as an undergraduate student instructor at UC Berkeley. She was intruigued by AoPS' mission to teach students to not just know how to solve specific types of problems, but instead to be able to analyze and solve any type of challenging problem. She loves to see students get excited about being able to solve difficult problems. Felicia's classes are energetic, interactive, and often a touch chaotic.

Kunal earned his Bachelor’s of Technology in computer science from IIT Delhi and has an MBA in analytical finance & economics from the University of Chicago. In over 25 years of professional experience as a technology consultant, software engineer, structured credit trader and, most recently, as a business leader at tech startups, he has applied mathematical concepts such as time-value, induction, statistics, probability, and Monte Carlo simulations extensively. He has enjoyed math ever since elementary school in India and won several math competitions from grades 5-10. He enjoys engaging with children in and outside the classroom, and has led and taught a middle-school summer camp in Palo Alto focusing on math and cryptography, was a substitute teacher in the Pleasanton school district, enjoys spending time with his two sons, and has coached his son’s team in their baseball, soccer and cricket leagues. The AoPS approach appealed to Kunal as a parent and encouraged him to join as an instructor. The curriculum and tools provided allow him to focus on what he enjoys most - helping students learn and master math skills! He loves seeing his students light up when they understand a difficult-to-grasp math concept. He tries to achieve this by fostering participation and idea generation in the class, as well as getting the students to collaborate with each other, as he believes students understand best from their peers and concepts get solidified when they have to explain them to others.

Deepa holds a bachelor's degree in engineering from MS Ramaiah Institute of Technology, She has taught junior high math and social studies at a private school. She was drawn to AoPS due to its reputation, popularity and curricula. She likes that students at AoPS are very enthusiastic about learning and enjoys teaching in an interactive environment while using our wonderful curriculum. Her teaching style is a blended style where she acts as a facilitator in her students' learning, emphasizing self-learning and critical thinking skills.

Jennifer holds an education specialist degree along with an MS in curriculum and instruction as well as a BS in counseling psychology. She is currently working towards her PhD in educational psychology. She was drawn to AoPS because of the engaging and well-structured curriculum design in its language arts program that not only guides students to think autonomously, but provides higher order thinking skills in the process. She enjoys reading students work as it allows her to get a glimpse of their uniqueness and creativity and allows her to guide them to become strong and confident writers. Her teaching style is foundational in constructivism that actively incorporates a student's knowledge, learning, and engagement that supports motivation in a learning environment. One of the best responses in her classes is seeing several hands raised and student responses that begin with "I believe...", knowing that the answers that follow stem from what they have acquired in their learning.

John has a master's degree and is currently finishing his PhD in mathematics at UC Santa Cruz, where he is also currently and has been teaching various courses in mathematics. Being also a researcher, he is interested in solving challenging problems and finding different creative ways to attack a problem, which are two skills that students experience in AoPS classes. He enjoys having students share their own problem-solving strategies, as it also adds to his arsenal of strategies. But what he loves the most is when he sees students' faces lighting up when they realize the crucial step in solving a tough problem. As an instructor, John likes to use geometric and visual reasoning to motivate and explain concepts, and also analogies, humor, and technology to keep his classes engaging.

With a Bachelor of Science in computer science, a Master of Arts in teaching mathematics, and over 10 years of teaching experience, Madeline has the background to help her students build their academic and life skills through the problem-solving learned in her classes. Her teaching philosophy centers around making learning meaningful which naturally led her to AoPS. As an educator, She enjoys sharing in the journey her students take to wonder, explore, and discover all things math! Madeline’s teaching style is to be a facilitator of discussions where students are challenged to build on what they know, make connections and discover new methods or perspectives in problem solving.

Joy holds a BA in mathematics from Wheaton College, and an MS in applied mathematics from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Early in her career, Joy was an actuary (a mathematical predictor). She later became an avid PTA volunteer, which led to becoming an elementary school music teacher. She finds the curriculum at AoPS to be world class; it uses stories, puzzles, and games to teach students that there are many approaches to solving problems. She loves working with AoPS students, who are highly engaged in learning and excited to come to class. Joy has great respect for each student and believes that listening to their ideas and teaching them to clearly articulate their thoughts will lead to their own love of mathematics. Employing a student-centered, facilitator teaching style, Joy actively listens, while training students to articulate their approach to solving problems. Her aim is to ignite within each student a passion for learning and a love of mathematics.

Jaya earned her bachelor’s degree in engineering from BITS Pilani, India and worked as a software engineer. After moving to the Bay Area, Jaya started volunteering at the Girls Who Code club at a local middle school. She was impressed by the AoPS curriculum and the student-driven teaching methodology, and has been teaching math at AoPS Santa Clara since it opened in 2019 and continues to teach at several Bay Area campuses. She believes in building strong foundations to equip her students to become creative problem solvers and lifelong learners. Jaya adopts a facilitator style of teaching by encouraging students to ask questions and try different approaches to problem solving. Students in her classroom learn by making mistakes, leading to a deeper understanding of the material.

Jackson received his BS in liberal studies with a minor in math education at California State University Fullerton. He went on to teach 6th-9th grade math at Vista Unified School District for 5 years. Afterwards, he decided to pursue an education in the field of computer science. What drew him to AoPS was a need to learn more about the growing field of EdTech and how it is a beneficial learning program for the next generation of students. What he loves most about working with students is guiding their curiosity in an environment that allows them to critically think and ask thoughtful questions. Jackson has been told he has an empathetic teaching style and always tries to create a safe space for all of his students.

Leander earned an associate's degree in mathematics at Foothill College and a bachelor's degree in pure mathematics from UC Berkeley. He has tutored statistics and calculus and has worked at the San Jose Math Circle, pitting talented students (and himself) against the toughest problems that pre-college math has to offer. Leander is fascinated by problem solving and was drawn to the AoPS curriculum by the problem-based teaching style. He believes doing something as directly as possible is the best way to learn, and this applies to math too! Leander loves the energy and enthusiasm that students can bring to the classroom and enjoys channeling that energy to help students achieve understanding. Leander aims to run classes like a freeform conversation between himself and the students. He hopes to allow students to explore math topics beyond the bounds of the curriculum when they are relevant and interesting.