Meet the Team at Mathnasium of Layton

Liz Olsen

Liz is from Utah County and is currently a Senior at the University of Utah. Her all-time favorite subject is Calculus. Some of her other favorite classes she has taken are Foundation of Analysis 1, Foundations of Algebra, and Intro to Number Theory. In high school, her favorite math class was AP Calculus BC. In high school, Liz was on the Girls Golf Team. She has spent the last 8+ years working with kids, teaching them math, golf, tennis, basketball, and swim. Liz loves to ski, snowboard, and golf. She loves to watch football and basketball - she is a big fan of the Utah Utes and Utah Jazz.

Fun Fact: I love Star Wars. I can watch them all over and over again, and will never get sick of them.

Favorite Number: 7 - It has the highest probability of being rolled with two six-sided dice.

Education: Senior at the University of Utah studying Mathematics

Why I love Mathnasium: I am excited about Mathnasium! Two of my favorite things are math, and teaching kids new things. At Mathnasium, I'll get to do both of those things! I love when you are teaching a student math and you can see in their eyes when something has just clicked and they start to understand it. Math can be hard, and it is very rewarding when you figure certain problems out. I love helping students feel that. 

Kassidy Shumway

Kassidy Shumway grew up in Bountiful, Utah and graduated from Brigham Young University in 2011. While at BYU, Kassidy earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in Civil Engineering, was a TA in the math department, and also found time to be an All-American and a team captain and member of the BYU Women's Soccer Team. Kassidy has many years of experience coaching children of all ages in soccer. She has been helping students at Mathnasium since January 2013. Kassidy and her husband have two kids and two active dogs.

Fun Fact: Is in a video on YouTube with over 6 million views

Education:Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from BYU

Why I love Mathnasium: I love helping kids realize that math can be fun. My favorite part of my job is going into elementary schools and putting on Math Nights. Laughing and having fun with kids while we do math is so rewarding!

Reed Brown

Reed has always loved math and enjoys helping kids learn to love math and how to use math in their daily lives. Reed earned a BS of Electrical Engineering degree from Brigham Young University and a Masters of Business Administration degree at Boise State University. Reed has spent over 25 years as a successful engineering and operations executive at Hewlett Packard, Quantum, and Iomega. In 2004, he decided to test his entrepreneurial skills and created Matchbin (now Radiate Media), a successful internet software company. Over the last 10 years, Reed has been active in the Utah technology community. As a member of the Governor's Technology Initiative Advisory Board for the State of Utah, he has helped to grow funding for engineering programs at Utah Universities and Colleges. Reed and his team is committed to helping children grow their interest and confidence in math and prepare them for a successful college education and career in technology, business, finance, medical, manufacturing, science, biology, or other fields that require strong math skills.

Fun Fact: Decided to become an Electrical Engineer because of 8th grade shop project making a DC motor

Education: Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from BYU and Masters of Business Administration degree from Boise State University

Justin Bell

I took AP Calculus in high school and completed the rest of the calculus string at WSU. At WSU I've also complete a hand full of other upper-divisional math classes, my favorites being Number Theory and Ordinary Differential Equation. I lettered in football in high school and I work as a Paraprofessional for the 2022-2023 school year. I like to golf, play basketball, and paddleboard.

Fun Fact: I once shaved my head on a dare. Bad decision.

Favorite Number: 81, because I scored my first touchdown wearing that number.

Education: I am a Math Teaching major with a Sports Coaching minor at Weber State University. I am in my junior year and will graduate in 2026

Why I love Mathnasium: I am very passionate about education, specifically math education, and so is Mathnasium. Working here is also a great way for me to improve as an educator.

Rin Houghton

I have taken Secondary Math 1 and 2. I am currently in Secondary Math 3. I am part of Game Club, where I play D&D, and am part of National Honors Society. I enjoy playing Dungeons and Dragons, sewing, and baking.

Fun Fact: A fun fact about me is that I have a dog and a cat.

Favorite Number: My favorite number is square root of 2 because it is the first irrational number that I found on my own.

Education: I go to NUAMES and am currently a sophomore. I hope to earn my Associates Degree from Weber State in Computer Science.

Why I love Mathnasium: I like working at Mathnasium because Math is my favorite subject and I love helping others understand it better.

Amber Deamer

I have taken College level past Calculus 3, currently taking Probability and Statistics and Real Analysis. I was also a personal tutor for 3 years, a special education paraprofessional, and am currently a substitute teacher. I love teaching my cat tricks! He's leash/harness trained and loves giving high fives.

Fun Fact: I can play video games with my feet.

Favorite Number: Perfect numbers because they're numbers that are the sum of its own factors (other than itself). For example, 6 is a perfect number because its factors (other than itself) are 1, 2, and 3, and 1+2+3=6! Next it's 28 (1+2+4+7+14); 428; 8,128; then 33,550,336!

Education: Junior at Weber State University, I will be graduating in 2026 with a degree in Secondary Math Teaching. I graduated high school in 2016 with a 5 on the AP Calculus test!

Why I love Mathnasium: At Mathnasium, I get to teach math in ways that not only make sense, but are instinctual and effective. There's nothing more fun than working on a hard problem with a student and watching as they utilize the techniques they've learned to find an answer they're confident in.

Henry Bell

I have taken AP BC Calculus, Honors Secondary 3, and currently taking AP Statistics. I have played high school tennis since 9th grade and I am currently a Student Body Officer at Clearfield High School! I love music, hanging out with friends, and rope swinging at Holmes Reservoir.

Fun Fact: I am in a band with my two best friends.

Favorite Number: My favorite number is 4. This has been my favorite number since I was a little kid and I have worn it on many of my jersey's

Education: I am a senior at Clearfield High School and will graduate in the spring of 2025.

Why I love Mathnasium: I have always loved math and I hope to share that love of math with other kids. My goal is to help them discover the beauty of math!

Ariana Soto

I have taken math classes all the way from College Algebra/College Trigonometry up to Calculus 3. I've also taken calculus-based physics and I'm currently in Math 3410. I have had internships at HAFB with their software engineering group, and I currently have an internship with Northrop Grumman. I also attended West Point SLE over the summer. I also like to sleep and eat :)

Fun Fact: I once had to go to the hospital and have surgery on my eye because I ate too much cheese. 

Favorite Number? Why? 5, because there are 5 people in my family (if you include my dog). 

Education: I'm a senior at NUAMES and I also attend Weber State University. I'll graduate from both in 2025 with an associate's degree in math and I plan to major in mechanical engineering. 

Why I like working at Mathnasium: I like math and I think it's nice to help other people understand math. 

Josie Ertel

I've taken AP Calculus BC and am currently taking AP Statistics. I also do musical theatre at my high school and have worked with kids at an Elementary After School Program. I love to sing, read, shop, and play the piano. 

Fun Fact: I always wear matching socks. 

Education: I'm currently a senior at Clearfield High School. 

Favorite Number, Why: My favorite number is 17, because it's my birthday and my age at the moment. 

Why I Like Mathnasium: I love working with kids and I've always loved math so working here just makes sense. 

Erin Bott

The highest level math that I am taking is AP Calculus BC. I play soccer for Syracuse High school and for my competition team. I also have a 4.0 GPA. I enjoy art, sports and hanging out with my friends. 

Fun Fact: I am the middle child of 5 girls. 

Education: I am a junior at Syracuse High School and will graduate in 2026. 

Favorite Number, Why?: My favorite number is 7 because it was my first number in soccer. 

Why I love Mathnasium: I love Mathnasium because I get to work with kids everyday.