Our Team

We are excited to announce several new staff members. Please watch for their bios to be added shortly!

Welcome our new instructors: Mr. Dan King, Mr. John Nations, and Mr. Scott Thompson. Also, joining us very shortly: Ms. Kristen Slamar.

Welcome our teaching aides: Irina Bajic, Dan Moore and Kaitlin Sontag.

We are sad to announce that Ms. Ellen S. will be leaving us at the end of this month as she is relocating from the area. We wish Ms. Ellen the best of luck with her move. She will be greatly missed at Mathnasium!

Steve graduated from DePaul University from the Honors Accounting Program with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and later received his law degree from DePaul. Before starting his own business as a real estate legal consultant to government agencies, he worked as a CPA for a public accounting firm and was the Property Management Divisional Controller for a national real estate firm. One of Steve’s main passions in life is teaching children. He has been a little league baseball coach since college and is currently coaching his own two boys in the Wilmette Baseball program. Steve brings that passion to Mathnasium – hoping to influence and enrich the lives of children through nurturing a passion and appreciation for math. Most students simply need more focused instruction in order to excel. “The Mathnasium method achieves this and much more, due to the richness and breadth of the Mathnasium curriculum. It is the ideal adjunct for a student’s daily classroom instruction, whether the child is struggling or advanced.” Through Mathnasium, Steve is excited about being able to teach math to children in a way that makes sense to them. He also looks forward to teaching children the importance of strong study skills, which will serve them in subjects beyond math as they make their way through high school and on to college. Steve and his wife, Karen, are members of the north suburban community of Chicago where they are raising two sons, Austin and Dylan, in Wilmette. They look forward to serving your family!

Karen graduated from Western Illinois University with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education with an emphasis in Athletic Training. She has a Master of Science from Northeastern Illinois University in Exercise Science and Cardiac Rehabilitation. Before starting a family Karen worked as an Athletic Trainer for Illinois Sportsmedicine and Addison Trail High School. She then taught physical education and was the Head Athletic Trainer at Stevenson High School. While raising their two boys Karen has taught PE part-time, coaches her sons' sports teams, is a substitute teacher, and volunteers her time in boy scouting and at St. Joseph school. Karen loves working with children, and is excited about opening Mathnasium!! She has always been a strong advocate for developing fitness in children, and knows how important math skills are to the overall educational development of a child. " I've always been a firm believer in teaching kids in a way they can understand. This allows for a love of learning whatever the subject!! The Mathnasium method does this so well, and allows kids to "work out" their minds!"

Betty graduated from New Trier High School and obtained her Bachelor of Science from Northwestern University in Biomechanical Engineering. She is a certified Teacher of English as a Second Language and worked as a software programmer before joining the Mathnasium team. Mathnasium's philosophy on learning and teaching resonated with Betty's belief that learning is at its best when it occurs in a nurturing environment where students can cast aside their fear and frustration. "Mathnasium offers an unique learning environment and individualized learning plans to helps students make sense of Math. It really makes math fun!" At Mathnasium, Betty hopes to help students develop their minds and have fun working out their math muscles.

Bob graduated from University of Miami (Florida) with a Bachelor in Business Administration / Accounting degree. He and his wife have a son attending nursing school at Lewis University and a daughter attending DePaul University, majoring in Political Science, with intentions of attending Law School. Bob was an assistant scout master with the boy scouts for six years while his son was a member of the scouts. After working in the accounting field for two years, he received his appointment as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During his career, Bob investigated property crimes and violent crimes, audited undercover operations, and served as the Assistant Legal Attaché in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2005. Upon retiring from the FBI in 2007, Bob served as an instructor and advisor with the U.S. Army in both the United States and Iraq. For the past three years, he has been employed with High School District 214 as a substitute teacher, part time security person, and guest speaker for topics such as Islamic culture and the Afghan and Iraq wars. Bob currently volunteers two nights per week teaching English to recent immigrants through Oakton Community College and is employed part time at a fitness facility in Mount Prospect, where he has resided with his wife for the past 30 years. Through his life experiences, Bob has learned that most of the middle and high school math is especially necessary in today’s competitive, technologically driven world. To help our young students to better understand math and appreciate its practical and theoretical value, combined with my personal life-long passion for math, a strong desire to teach, and an understanding of the teaching techniques established by Mathnasium, Bob looks forward to helping students appreciate the value of math at Mathnasium of the Glen.

Ellen was raised in Carol Stream and Palatine. When she was younger she always liked Math, but always seemed to be more focused on sports. It wasn't until high school that she realized, after having a great Calculus teacher, she wanted to study it. Ellen attended Lewis University and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, with a minor in Physics. While at Lewis, she was inducted into Kappa Mu Epsilon (Mathematics Honor Society). After that, she took a year off and worked as a preschool aide. But after realizing her passion for Math, she decided to go back to school. Ellen went to Loyola University and earned a Master’s degree in Mathematics. As part of her assistantship, she worked in the tutoring center. Working there led her to realize that she enjoyed being able to help people understand and apply math to everyday life. Currently she is a math instructor for Robert Morris University at the Elgin, Bensenville, and Aurora campuses. Though she is often driving in complete opposite directions, it is worth it! She hopes for that to continue.

Pam graduated from Illinois State University with a Bachelors degree in Applied Computer Science. She worked for many years in the Information Technology field and earned a Masters of Management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. A few years ago, Pam decided to change careers and pursue her childhood dream of teaching elementary school. She recently earned a Master of Arts in Elementary Education at National Louis University. Pam is a certified teacher and is currently working as an Education Associate at Attea Middle School in Glenview. Her second passion is animal conservation and education. Pam has worked as a docent at both the Oklahoma City Zoo and Brookfield Zoo. Pam has always loved math and problem-solving. As an Information Technology professional, she used problem-solving skills on a daily basis. She looks forward to helping students build their math muscles at Mathnasium of the Glen.

Barbara graduated from University of Northern Colorado with a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education. She went from accounting at an advertising agency to preschool teacher to junior high math and geometry teacher to marketing for a learning materials company. Then came the years of her real passion: being a mother. At times during that period, Barbara tutored math as well as coordinated math programs with tutors and students. When the kids were all in school, she became a part time teacher in a movement oriented preschool. After 16 years there, Barbara needed a change. She currently volunteers at The Art Institute, under the umbrella of the docent program, as a greeter for school groups. Her other volunteer opportunity and passion is cuddling at The Cradle. Mathnasium’s program caught Barbara’s attention as a terrific approach to helping kids understand and therefore enjoy maybe even love math! Tutoring here is a wonderful addition to Barbara’s child-centered activities.

David graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor in Mathematics Education. He is also a graduate of the LEAD Scholars program at the University of Central Florida, which is designed to help build and excel leaders in the real world. He taught Junior Achievement in Elementary classes for three years and is now currently a Teacher Assistant at Culver Elementary in Niles. David found his passion for teaching after years of struggling to understand math. After the subject was brought to him in a fun and uplifting way, he saw that math didn’t have to be a challenging subject and has since taken it upon himself to make sure that the way he presents math to others that they will see the joy that can come from learning and doing math the right way. David is very excited to be an instructor at Mathnasium because it allows him the opportunity to teach students math in a context that is both uplifting and rewarding which in turn will allow students to gain the confidence to be bold in the classroom.

Patti graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, specializing in Management Information Systems. She worked as a management consultant for Accenture (previously Andersen Consulting) for sixteen years. She then decided to stay home full time. As a full time mom she found numerous ways to volunteer at her children’s school, doing everything from running the parent organization, to helping out in the classroom, to volunteering as a teacher in the library. It was especially during her volunteer time as a Cub Scout leader and library teacher that she realized her enjoyment in teaching children and helping them to learn and grow. She has seen firsthand how students who enjoy learning can apply that joy to so many other aspects of their lives. Patti is excited about working at Mathnasium, where she can combine her personal love of math with her love of nurturing children. Patti lives in suburban Chicago with her husband, Rick, and three children, Brian, Kevin and Maggie.

Since graduating from New Trier High School, John is currently working on his Bachelor’s Degree from Wake Forest University in Economics. At an early age, he became very interested in math and problem solving. His other passion has been working with children. He has worked as an assistant soccer coach and spent many summers teaching tennis at Old Willow Club here in Glenview. John is looking forward to sharing his passion for math with students and teaching them fun, creative ways to solve problems.

Katie was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio. She attended Western Kentucky University (WKU) and received her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Public Relations. She worked in the field for about three years but then realized her passion for working with children. She went back to WKU and earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Elementary Education. She taught first grade in Kentucky before relocating with her husband, Hunter, and dog, Bella, to Evanston, IL. Katie loved math throughout school and was the academic team math coach at her last elementary school. She looks forward to passing along her joy for math and helping each Mathnasium student gain the knowledge and understanding they need to continue to excel in math.

Scott attended high school in Wentzville, MO (a suburb of St. Louis). After graduating with a 4.0, he was given a scholarship by the US Navy to attend the University of Illinois. While attending U of I, Scott obtained his pilot’s license. After attending U of I, Scott joined the Navy for two years as an Information Systems Technician. After completing his service in the Navy, he moved to Chicago with his wife. Here he attended Northeastern Illinois and received a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. Scott is certified to teach both Physics and Math. Scott was drawn to Mathnasium for the opportunity to work with small groups at a time in order to personalize their instruction and foster a fun and safe environment where students can learn math skills they will use for the rest of their life.

After graduating from the Chicago Academy for the Arts as a Music Major, Kristen received her Bachelor's degree in Economics with a minor in Mathematics from Illinois Wesleyan University. She then completed Post-Baccalaureate Studies in Mathematics at University of Pennsylvania. Kristen has always loved Math and enjoys sharing that enthusiasm while working with kids. She looks forward to bringing the excitement of understanding Mathematics to students at Mathnasium of the Glen.

Jodi grew up in Glencoe, and graduated from Sophie Newcomb College. After two years, she headed out west to finish her Psychology degree at Stanford University, spending two quarters studying French intensively at Stanford’s program in Tours, France. Jodi wanted to start her own environmental consulting firm, but felt the need for further education. She was given a full ride to the University of Chicago’s Public Policy program and received a joint MBA and MA degree from there. Jodi has three grown children ages 19, 23 and 26; as a part-time stay at home mother, she volunteered in her children’s schools and realized her love of teaching. She pursued a Master’s in Teaching in Elementary Education at National Louis University’s accelerated program, and began her teaching career as a Title I Math teacher for grades K-8 at two Chicago west side schools. She later moved on to teach 6th grade Math, Science and Social Studies at Highcrest Middle School in Wilmette, and 6th grade Science at Lake Bluff Middle School. Jodi’s love of teaching children and Math, and her interest in more of a one-on-one experience, has led her here to the Mathnasium!