Our Team

Our specially trained math instructors will teach your child how to understand math in an individual setting; our unique approach enables us to explain concepts really well and lend a helping hand to every student. Our tutors foster a caring, encouraging environment that helps kids thrive and learn! Read below to learn more about our talented team:

Salma Taher, Center Director/Owner

Salma holds a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature and Psychology and has worked in the corporate world as a creative and technical writer, editor and online marketing specialist. Above all she enjoys her role as a mother, teacher and mentor to her three daughters. Salma strongly believes that the way forward for all children and adults alike lies in education. She knows from her own personal experience that the joy of learning is in the understanding, and the value of knowledge is in its application. Since she believes that imparting knowledge should involve flexibility, creativity and passion, it was only natural that she found Mathnasium the obvious choice. Her quest is to make kids overcome the "math dread" she encountered when teaching her friends/classmates, and the lack of truly engaging math resources available for kids even today. Salma is excited to share the same "aha" moments she experienced while getting trained in the Mathnasium method with her students. She feels it's just the thing kids will love because it relates to their innate curiosity, keeps them engaged, and addresses not just the rules but the reasons. Salma's pleasures include traveling, volunteering her time and family moments. With a passion for lifelong learning, she's excited about embarking on this new journey of her life in helping more kids succeed.

Brad Haber, Center Director/Owner

Brad Haber holds a Bachelor's degree in Information Technology from Roosevelt University and has been an embedded software programmer for the past 14 years. An engineer by profession, he realizes the importance of math in the real world. After years of tutoring kids at home, he discovered that teaching Math for him is a passion and seeing kids succeed is worth any number of hours and weekends. With unlimited patience, a love for numbers and a knack for teaching creatively, Brad has shown kids by example that no math problems or for that matter, life problems are too hard to overcome. An aviation enthusiast who loves to fly, Brad enjoys the exhilaration of taking to the skies. He gets the same high when he sees kids' faces light up when they "get it." His first students were, of course, his own children and their friends. After experiencing many "wow" moments during the training, Brad is really excited to bring Mathnasium to his community because he truly believes in its methodology and the way it explains concepts. Making kids enjoy math is something he truly wants to achieve, not just for his personal satisfaction, but because he knows it will open many doors for them. Brad is an avid reader, world traveler and outdoors enthusiast. He loves to spend time with his family, travel and writes programs for the iPhone as a hobby.

 Danny Ostrowski, Instructor

Hi, I'm Danny Ostrowski, working with Mathnasium of Palatine since 2016. I love working with kids because they are always full of new ideas and energy, and if that is focused into one subject, such as math, you can really see them grow wiser and develope new ways of thinking.

Math is interesting to me because even if we dont use all the math we have learned, math is still involved in all of our lives every day. Everything can be broken down into mathematics. At Mathnasium, we have learned, practiced, and continue discovering new and unique techniques to tackle math problems as well as teach them to our students so that they are easier to understand and relate to past topics they have learned.

There have been many times that I've heard something alone the lines of "Oh! I get it now!" or "That makes way more sense!" When I get this feedback from a student, it makes me enjoy what I do even more, knowing that I am making an impact on their life.

When the test scores come in and they have increased from when they started at mathnasium, it is just the icing on top.

On a free day, you would find me programming or playing video games, or spending time with friends and family.

Nergal Lazar, Instructor

Nergal lives in Rolling Meadows IL. He graduated from Roosevelt University with a BA in Mathematics and a minor in Education. He is a certified High School teacher, currently also working at Holy Family as a math teacher for middle school. Nergal is dedicated to helping students gain confidence in their mathematical skills and improve their grades. In his free time, Nergal likes to play piano, read, and spend time with family and friends. Nergal is dedicated to students' success and utilizes his free time finetuning his skills from Singapore math, Vedic concepts to Calculus.

 

 

Ali Ilyas Khan

 

Hi I'm Ali and have been working at Mathnasium since 2016. I like working with kids because I enjoy seeing them have these "aha" moments where they finally understand something they've been struggling with. I find math interesting because there's always a right and wrong answer, but multiple ways to get there.

 

Seeing students happy with themselves and confident in their math skills is a big motivator for me, plus I enjoy making them laugh.

 

I think my best moment at Mathnasium has been working with a student on a subject they found extremely confusing, and then having them come back the next week telling me they aced their test.

 

On a free day, you'd probably find me playing videogames, working on my car, or watching a movie. Fun fact: I like building computers.