Our staff is built to teach each student individually, to develop the skills they need to thrive in mathematics, and to foster a love of learning.

Ira Porwal

Owner & Managing Director
Ira is the owner and Managing Director of Mathnasium of Maple Valley. Prior to opening her own center, she had been part of the larger Mathnasium family ever since she enrolled her son in Mathnasium to challenge him. Ira has previously worked as a Software Engineer Consultant with Microsoft. She has a Masters degree in Computer Science and Bachelors (Honors) in Statistics, and has forayed into Actuarial Science as well. Having been a math student for long she understands its importance in life and work, no matter what field one chooses. She is committed to bringing the Mathnasium Method and is enthusiastic about helping every child in the community love math by teaching it in ways that make sense to them. She is a true believer that no child hates math, what they hate is being confused. Ira is happily married, has two loving kids, a boy and a girl, and a gorgeous Samoyed.

Aiden

Asst Center Director
Aiden is an undergraduate student at the University of Washington hoping to double degree in Biology and Law, Societies, and Justice, with a minor in Bioethics. He has always loved learning and plans to be a lifelong learner and go to medical school. He has taken a variety of upper lesson Math classes throughout High School and College and believes that anyone can succeed and enjoys spreading knowledge while support people along their educational journey. He loves all types of math, but especially helping students tackle more advanced or nuanced mathematics.

Brendan

Lead Instructor
Brendan studied mathematics education at Pacific Lutheran University. He likes to spend his free time playing board games with friends and family and reading. His favorite type of math are math puzzles because they require thinking creatively about how to use different math topics.

Ryan

Lead Instructor
Ryan is a first year at Green River College studying mechanical engineering. He took multiple college classes in High School. Math has always been Ryan’s best subject and he understands the Mathnasium strategies that make math easier. He enjoys playing tennis, video games, and board games. Ryan’s favorite type of math is geometry because he likes problems that involve angles and geometry is more puzzle solving than traditional math.

Sabrina

Instructor
Sabrina is currently a sophomore at Tahoma High School. She will do Running Start her junior and senior year, and plans to go to university for computational mathematics. She has lived in Washington for 4 years, after moving from New Jersey. In her free time, she enjoys reading and playing video games. Sabrina’s favorite type of math is algebra because the problems are fun to solve, and her favorite number is 2, because it’s so versatile.

Sadie

Instructor
Sadie will be going into her Senior year at Tahoma High School and attending another year of running start at Green River College. She plans to go on to college to study law after that! She enjoys playing card games with her family and spending free time with friends. Sadie's favorite type of math is algebra because of how easy it is to apply equations to real life situations.

Ethan

Instructor
Ethan is a junior at Kentridge High School and is doing full time running start at Green River College studying to become Mechanical Engineer. He plans to study engineering in university. His favorite type of math is logic questions because they make him think. He spends his free time going on walks with his dog and playing video games.

Our Mathnasium Mission

Teach children math so they understand it, master it, and love it. Math can change their lives, and they can change the world.

What I love about Mathnasium is the ability to teach problem-solving skills and make math make sense, while also making a student smile.
Amber W., Mathnasium Instructor

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