Helena joined AoPS in 2022 after graduating from Harvard with a degree in computer science. She was introduced to math and puzzles at an early age, and her journey with AoPS began in middle school when she started using Alcumus for fun and to prepare for math competitions. Early in high school, she discovered computer science and was fascinated by the potential of computer science and programming to create new tools to help solve a variety of problems. In addition to math and computer science, Helena also has a lifelong love of music. She grew up playing the violin, singing, and composing, and was a member of several musical groups in college. In her spare time, she enjoys singing in choir, playing ultimate Frisbee, and taking walks in nature.

Jess gated from the University of Rochester with a degree in clinical and social psychology, and worked as a research coordinator prior to joining AoPS. Jess has a love for the scientific process, problem solving, statistics, and teaching/mentoring. Outside of work, she enjoys learning new songs on guitar and ukulele, taking care of her collection of plants, practicing ice skating and roller-skating maneuvers, finding new coffee shops and places to explore in San Diego, and taking online courses about everything from HTML to dog psychology.

Doga Ari is a graphic designer who was born in Turkey. After a few years of work experience as a professional graphic designer following her bachelor’s degree, she was awarded a scholarship to study in Milan Polytechnic University where she got a masters degree in communication design. After returning from Italy to Turkey, she began work as a teaching assistant. She is now living and working in San Diego. As a graphic designer, she finds her greatest joy in making artist's books, illustrating children’s books, collecting zines, and experimenting with DIY projects.

Kelsey graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelors in Quantitative Economics. She spent 4 years working for the Golden State Warriors before moving down to San Diego and working for an autonomous trucking startup. In her free time, she enjoys coaching and playing basketball, practicing yoga, and traveling!

Gizelle, a proud graduate of the University of California, earned her Bachelor's in Public Health with a minor in Psychology. She's all about giving back to her community and inspiring the next generation through her passion for helping others. In her free time, you can catch her hiking, exploring new spots in the city, or trying out different cuisines. Gizelle thrives on learning, soaking up knowledge from every corner of life. With her passion for helping others and her adventurous spirit, she's ready to make a meaningful impact in her role and continue spreading positivity wherever she goes.

Esme always loved math problems, puzzles, and games! She earned her bachelor’s degrees in math and computer science from the University of Chicago in 2019, and a PhD in math from UC Berkeley in 2024. During graduate school, she became passionate about math education and taught math for Mount Tamalpais College at San Quentin State Prison. Outside of math, Esme enjoys spending time outside with her dog Rio and anything to do with the ocean (scuba diving, surfing, etc.).

After earning her BA in Media and Communications at UC San Diego, Amie began her career in magazine publishing as a production manager. She transitioned into software when the first iPad was released and later returned to school to earn her MA in Ed Tech and Certificate in Project Management at San Diego State University. She has worked in customer service for over 15 years in various capacities (support, success, and experience) and has a passion for both solving problems and improving processes. In her free time, she enjoys baking, thrifting, and spending time with her husband, 2 kiddos, and 1 doggo.

Joseph joined AoPS in 2018 during his final semester studying software development at Western Governors University. He first picked up programming by learning to create computer games in elementary school. Since then, he has spent years creating bizarre game prototypes and practicing web development. Joseph also utilized his self-taught skills to lead game development teams at both Grossmont College and UC Berkeley. Prior to attending WGU, he spent a year away from academics, in the spirit of entrepreneurship, to develop and market his own desktop app for gaming live-streamers. Outside of programming, he enjoys digital art, karaoke, sushi, and Guitar Hero.

Dylan first interned at AoPS as a Software Engineering Intern in Summer 2023 before coming back to join us as a full-time Software Engineer. He graduated from UC San Diego, majoring in Computer Science and working as a tutor for the Computer Science & Engineering department, helping students in classes such as Intro to CS, Data Structures, and Software Engineering. Dylan got his start in software development by programming robots as a member of his high school’s FIRST Robotics Competition team. These days, he spends his free time reading books, playing too many video games, and volunteering at youth robotics events whenever he can find the time.

Justin is a Designer and Illustrator passionate about designing for social good. He has lived everywhere from the Philippines, Pennsylvania, and the Bay Area. He graduated from UCSD, and has lived in San Diego ever since. His past experiences include designing for local nonprofits, most notably the San Diego Asian Film Festival, and Classy + GoFundMe. In his free time, he loves going to concerts and events, watching films, reading books, going to the gym, and taking care of his plants.

Jason joined AoPS in 2010 to lead development of the Beast Academy series. Before joining AoPS, he taught math and coached some of the top students in North Carolina, coaching teams to multiple state MATHCOUNTS titles and numerous individual awards. While teaching, Jason wrote and published Competition Math for Middle School and developed AGMath.com. He is also a nationally competitive masters distance runner with a 2:38 personal best in the marathon. When he's not out running, Jason enjoys solving puzzles, skiing, and playing in the pool with his two favorite math beasts, Parker and Ada.

Jason graduated from Michigan Tech University with a degree in Computer Science. Jason moved to San Diego in 2008 and has held various roles within software engineering, ranging from individual contributor to management. He enjoys working across the full stack and ensuring that users are comfortable and understand how to accomplish their goals. Jason has two cats, an extensive LEGO collection, and enjoys watching football, playing video games, and participating in D&D.

Ashley is the West Regional Director for AoPS Academy. She has always been interested in mathematics education, earning a BS from Brigham Young University, an MS from Arizona State University (ASU) and is currently writing her dissertation to finish her PhD. She’s been teaching math since 2010. While teaching at ASU she was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award by the graduate and professional student association. She has a long history with math competitions, ranging from earning a perfect score in the Continental Math League in 6th grade, being the resident math expert on Scholastic Bowl, competing on her high school’s math team (which won state every year), to solving the problems on the current AMC for fun. She’s a Chicago native who loves reading, hosting game nights, playing volleyball, competing in trivia, and catching all the Pokémon.

Alex joined AoPS in 2020. She was born and raised in San Diego and spent four years living in the Bay area where she earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts for studying visual development from Academy of Art University. After graduating, she moved back to her hometown of San Diego and started working in the family tax business as a support staff member before joining AoPS. She has a passion for character concept art and creating her own character designs and artwork. In her free time Alex also enjoys playing video games (Animal Crossing mostly), watching animated shows, and reading. She has a cat named Maxine McSoftpaws (Max) and a dog named Rutabaga Ruettiger (Rudy). When she has the chance Alex loves to get out into nature. Some of her favorite places include Yosemite National Park and Lake Powell.

Noah is a life-long student of mathematics, earning a bachelor's degree at Lewis & Clark College where he double majored in physics and mathematics. His main mathematical interests are differential geometry, field theories and general relativity, where Noah has contributed published work on point particle initial data for Einstein's Field Equations. Noah has wide-ranging teaching experience with an emphasis on K-6 and AP mathematics and physics. When not sharing math with friends and students, Noah is often climbing, playing instruments, hiking, mountain biking, solving puzzles, skateboarding, surfing, juggling and generally recreating outdoors.

Mike’s love for math and computers started early, teaching himself how to program in BASIC on an Apple II in first grade. After graduating with a CS degree from Notre Dame, he spent the first decade of his career as a software engineer before transitioning into engineering leadership. Born the nerdiest member of a family of athletes, he enjoys chatting about a diverse set of topics: from sports to video games, cosmology to LLM’s, he’s always up to learn something new. As the son of educators and a father of five, Mike is thrilled to have the opportunity to support the AoPS mission as a part of this inspiring team!

Alivia previously worked at SeatGeek as a Benefits Analyst. She, her 2 girls, and her partner are brand new to San Diego and are excited to see what the city has to offer!

After getting her bachelor’s degree in physics in 2017 from UC Santa Barbara, Iana began working at a small photonics research company that specialized in nano-scale tuneable infrared lasers. During her three years working there, her work transitioned from semiconductor test engineering toward project management. This transition inspired her to return to UCSB to pursue a master’s degree in technology management. After graduating in 2021, Iana joined AoPS! Outside of work and school, Iana has many different hobbies. She loves the outdoors, roller skating, skiing, and hiking. She is also very artistic and regularly spends her time painting, taking photos, sewing, and crafting. She also really enjoys dancing and used to participate in ballroom dance competitions during her undergrad years.

Tom resides in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in history at Mount St. Joseph University. With 17 years of experience in educational technology, Tom is excited to be apart of the Art of Problem Solving team as a Sales Executive. When he’s not spending time with his wife Jess and two sons, Tom loves to read and is passionate about music.

If it's related to software, Michael is probably interested in it! He is originally from Florida, has 2 cats, and likes taking trips to the desert.

Leah Buckley is thrilled to be joining Art of Problem Solving as Vice President of People! Leah brings over 15 years of experience in operations and HR leadership, with a passion for building strong, inclusive cultures and solving complex organizational challenges. Leah’s career began in operations at Target and Amazon, where she specialized in streamlining processes and leading large teams. Her interest in developing high-performing, engaged teams led her to pivot into HR, earning her MBA in HR while working at Amazon Lab126. From there, she took on HRBP roles supporting engineering teams and later led HRBP teams across Amazon Logistics. For the last few years, Leah has been in the startup space, helping scale advertising agency Digital Media Management from 100 to 250 employees, and fintech company Tegus from 250 to nearly 700 employees globally, and most recently supporting a group of freight forwarding companies with numerous acquisition & integration projects.

Sam is a California native who has returned to his home state after spending 15 years in the Philadelphia region. During his time there he picked up an affinity for Philadelphia's hockey team, The Flyers, but remains a Californian at heart. Sam loves sunny weather and being near the ocean. In his downtime, he enjoys reading, illustration, cooking, and trying the newest restaurants and cafes.

Kalin is thrilled to be developing curriculum with Art of Problem Solving. She previously taught and developed curriculum at a project-based charter school in San Diego. She has extensive experience teaching language arts and was the English teacher at a Spanish language elementary school in Mountain View, California. Prior to classroom teaching, Kalin used her passion for the creative arts as a children’s theatre director. Kalin earned her masters in education from Stanford University and bachelor's in theatre from the University of California San Diego.

Chris has worked in recruitment for about 5 years and loves making a difference in someone’s life by presenting new opportunities. She also believes in the power of education and has been a tutor, instructor, and teacher. Chris loves traveling, learning about new cultures, languages and history. She lived in South Korea for almost 6 years, where she obtained a master's in business administration by Dongguk University. She speaks English, Spanish, and some Korean. Chris also enjoys reading, watching documentaries (all kinds really, but history ranks very high), and restoring old furniture.

Marisa joined AoPS in 2021. She is a native San Diegan with a background in graphic design, marketing, customer service, and librarianship. Her nine years working in a library stemmed from not just a love of reading, but interest in research, reference, and working closely with her community to help parents and students find the necessary materials and tools they needed for their love of learning to thrive. Her interests leaned heavily towards children's programming, homework help, and creating fun and engaging crafts and projects for families, as well as encouraging creativity and early literacy in young readers. In her free time, Marisa enjoys making music, roller skating, and napping with her pets.

Emily Castner started working for AoPS in 2015 as thereisnotry54 and joined headquarters full-time as ecastner in 2020. A math major and music minor, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Mount Holyoke College after launching a student chapter of the Association for Women in Mathematics and earning numerous awards, including the Carol Loeb ’63 Fellowship in the Teaching of Mathematics. Her seven years competing in math contests culminated in her top-quartile score on the Putnam Competition. (She solved one problem!) Her paper "On the equivalence of Playfair's axiom to the parallel postulate" is published in Springer's Journal of Geometry and available on arXiv as well. (Ask her about the fugitive equilateral right triangle.) She also plays board games, dabbles in language creation, and holds the rank of shodan in Naginata, a Japanese weapons art.

Dianne was born in the Philippines, but was raised in California. She received her bachelors of science in computer science from the University of San Diego in 2023. However, she found an interest in IT when she was working at the ITS Department at USD. She realized that she likes being in a profession that would allow her to be a person for others, using her skills and knowledge to help others with their individual needs. In her free time, she loves singing and playing guitar, playing video games, solving puzzles, and spending time in her church ministry.

Danielle has devoted her career to creating opportunities for children to achieve their highest potential. Whether it was in a classroom in Korea or overseeing the operations of a region of child care centers, Danielle’s passion for youth development and education fuels her. She graduated from MSU Denver in 2012 equipped with her Bachelor’s Degree and a spirit for adventure. Danielle and her wife, Meg, got married at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park in 2017 and have a 4 year old son, Milo. On the weekends you can find them at the beach, checking out a new restaurant, or (you guessed it!) at the zoo!

Rupsa recently moved to San Diego. She graduated with a Master's in Computer Science from Rutgers and is interested in all things data. Outside of work, she enjoys music and cinema.

Roger Chao is the Bay Area Regional Director for AoPS Academy. Roger holds a BA in English from the University at Buffalo and a PhD in English with a focus in Rhetoric and Composition from the University of Washington. He began his journey with AoPS as the Language Arts Associate Director at the Bellevue campus, and then as Campus Director there. Prior to joining the company, Roger was an assistant professor of writing at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. In his free time, Roger enjoys hiking, playing Magic the Gathering, and training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

Alondra joined AoPS in 2023. Prior to joining AoPS Alondra worked in staffing/recruiting, and retail banking. Alondra grew up in a small town called Imperial, CA. She moved to San Diego in 2013 and fell in love with the city. Her favorite things to do is go on hikes, practice yoga, and swim in the ocean. She enjoys reading personal development books. Alondra enjoys genuine conversations about life and she loves meeting new people. She is very passionate about her career goals and helping others. Alondra enjoys spending quality time with the people she loves. One fun fact about Alondra is she has an identical twin sister. Alondra is excited to work for AoPS and continue to learn and grow along the way.

Jefferson is a University of California, San Diego BSc. grad who has built a self-driving car, bitcoin mining chip, and ways to help people in need avoid scalpers. His current side project is a robot that mirrors hand movements and juggles, and he contributes to open source. In his free time you can find him fermenting kombucha and sourdough as well as playing DnD.

Channie joined AoPS in 2021 after working in the higher education field. She received her master's degree from the University of Pittsburgh and spent the past ten years in undergraduate admissions and recruitment. During her previous career, she enjoyed working with school counselors, students and parents, and held a passion for helping students find the best fit in education. She played significant roles in campus-wide initiatives to plan, establish, and deliver support services to student populations with specific needs. Channie became an AoPS parent before joining its professional team. Her daughter is delighted with the AoPS textbooks, teachers, and fellow students, and has made significant academic progress. Channie enjoys hiking in high mountains despite altitude sickness. She hopes to visit the Tibetan plateau again to explore more beauty of nature.

Jeremy joined AoPS in 2009. He earned his PhD in Mathematics from the University of Chicago in 2006 and was a C.L.E. Moore Instructor at MIT from 2006 to 2009. He once specialized in turning hard problems in geometry, algebra, and mathematical physics into easy problems in combinatorics and graph theory. Now he specializes in helping to redistribute mathematics from brilliant teachers to brilliant students. He gets his signs right 50 percent of the time, struggles with problems that lack symmetry, and secretly believes that every problem somehow reduces to the Chinese Remainder Theorem.

Jacob Cordeiro graduated from Harvey Mudd College in 2019 and has worked as a teacher and teaching assistant before joining AoPS in 2022. His lifelong passion for mathematics has introduced him to similar interests in music, game design, and education. In his free time, Jacob enjoys playing piano and a variety of games, creating his own games on and off the computer, and getting lost on Wikipedia.

Kathy joined AoPS in 2020 and has fifteen years of experience in mathematics education including coaching MATHCOUNTS teams, facilitating math circles, managing math competitions at UT Dallas, and working for a mathematics program. These experiences culminated in a book that Kathy co-authored in 2019, Awesome Math: Teaching Mathematics with Problem Based Learning for middle and high school teachers. Passionate about connecting ideas, people, and resources, Kathy has spent her career guiding generations of students and their families to get the most from their educational journeys.  Both of Kathy’s sons are AoPS alumni who have greatly benefited from the experience. For fun, Kathy loves strategy board games and spending time with her family. Kathy earned a BA in Communications and an MBA from the University of Rhode Island and Instructional Design Master Track Certification from the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign.

Tina has been with AoPS since 2007. If you have taken an AoPS class, you may know her as Ubermoderator. Tina graduated from the University of Nebraska with a masters degree in public administration. Tina learned to love the California weather when she was a United States Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, and couldn't wait to move back. She loves her fluffy dog Gizmo and bad vampire movies.

Mitch has more than 25 years’ experience working in IT. His career started in a computer store, then as a consultant for companies of all sizes, ranging up to the Fortune 100. His specialty at the time was all things Citrix, and all things Microsoft. Eventually, he settled in one place by moving into corporate IT, taking on ever-increasing roles and scope of IT management.Mitch is a San Diego native - born in SD, and living all his life here except for a few years while attending UCLA after high school. At UCLA he studied Mathematics. In later years Mitch earned his masters in IT Leadership and Project Management, and a PhD in Organizational Development & Leadership.

Emily grew up on the east coast and settled in San Diego over 20 years ago. She's worked in a wide variety of industries, from dog care to litigation. Through her experiences, she's developed a skillset tailor-made for team building and problem solving. She has a passion for helping others achieve their best, from the overall company to the individual. When she's not optimizing systems, Emily can be found giving peanut butter pretzels to her absurdly cute gaggle of senior dogs, and solving crossword puzzles with her partner Stephen.

Jessica found her passion for HR after receiving her Bachelors in Psychology. She began her HR journey in the hospitality industry. As an HR Professional, she loves helping others and furthering her HR knowledge. Jessica was born and raised in SD county, and in her spare time she enjoys being at the beach with her little one, trying new coffee shops, and spending time with her two English Bulldogs.

Grace joined AoPS in 2023 as a Software Engineer. She grew up in San Diego, surrounded by family and teachers that gave her a life-long love of learning and creating with others. She graduated from Duke University in 2022 where she studied biomedical engineering and found a passion for teaching. In college, she enjoyed taking diverse classes, developing her technical coding skills through computational epilepsy research, and playing flute in the marching and pep bands. Before joining AoPS, Grace worked as a STEM curriculum developer and engineered interactive websites for story-based online learning experiences. In her free time she loves playing any and all sports, running science workshops at the local library, and picking a new hobby every two weeks!

Katie Doles has been a fan of Art of Problem Solving since she started the curriculum in middle school. After earning her master's degree in mathematics from Wake Forest University, she immediately came back to work here, joining the company in 2017. Katie works in Talent Acquisition after having served as the Campus Director at the Morrisville AoPS Academy for five years. When she's not trying to convert everyone into a math person, she may be found spending time with her husband, singing, dancing, or learning a new skill.

Elizabeth's academic and teaching background is diverse, with graduate degree coursework in professional writing, music, mathematics, and education. She is K-12 music and secondary mathematics certified (and actually has taught every grade level K-12) and has been a college professor, tutor, and administrator since 2000. Liz is a proud recipient of the National Institute of Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Teaching Excellence Award. She also previously worked as an Associate Director for AoPS Academy Gaithersburg before making the move over to the AoPS Online School Staff team. Outside the classroom, Liz enjoys crocheting afghans, creating calligraphy keepsakes, and spending time with her friends, family, and four cats.

Deepika Dutta Bordoloi is an experienced data driven marketer with proven record of transforming strategies into tangible results driving growth for both startups and established companies. One of her key strengths is her ability to combine creativity with analytics. Her hobbies includes reading books, traveling, eating and cooking. She loves spending time outdoors with her family and friends.

Malcolm comes from teaching CS for 8 years at Thomas Jefferson High School in VA, where he had a chance to teach high school CS courses that don't frequently exist elsewhere (most notably a year-long AI course culminating in students writing and training neural networks themselves, no importing TensorFlow or the like). He has wanted for years to find ways to make curriculum that teaches those concepts accessible to learners outside that building and could not be more excited to do so at AoPS. He was a summer site director at BEAM for five years and has kept in touch with AoPS ever since. Outside of work, he's the delighted father of an impossibly bizarre 2-and-a-half-year-old toddler, Calico, who keeps him and his amazing wife Caitlin busy in increasingly unpredictable ways. He also loves epics of just about any flavor (video game or novel series or TV show or TTRPG), methodically listening to complete discographies of prolific bands, long hikes, and any kind of TV show featuring people thinking on their feet really well (Top Chef, Game Changer, Taskmaster, etc.)

Mark joined AoPS in 2018 after completing a PhD in Physics (focusing on physics education research) at the University of Maryland. There, he also prepped the U.S. Physics Team and attended IPhO as a coach. He has been teaching physics and astronomy classes since undergrad, and is always impressed by creativity and resilience students show when they have a great problem to work on. If you start explaining a proof to him and he happens to see how it works half way through, he'll spend the rest of the time flailing his arms around conducting the final steps like Willem Dafoe in Boondock Saints. On weekends you might find him exploring the miles of trails San Diego has to offer.

Nicole joined AoPS in 2019. Having graduated from UC Davis with a degree in anthropology and minors in education and English, Nicole is fascinated by the different methods with which people communicate their ideas and processes with the world. She has volunteered in classrooms, libraries, and other platforms that connect people with new concepts, and she can’t wait to expand on these experiences here. After transplanting from the Bay Area, she is enjoying her new life in Southern California immensely and is constantly delighted by how beautiful the landscape can be. In her spare time, Nicole writes with her friends for a self-published flash fiction magazine. She also enjoys reading, drawing, and museum-hopping.

Lauren is originally from Atlanta, Georgia, but later moved to Temecula, California with her family. In high school, she was part of the marching band and drumline and had always loved music. She attended UC San Diego, where she earned a degree in Psychology with a focus on Childhood Development while also working part time as a Behavior Therapist for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. She started as a recruiter for Behavior Therapists/Analysts, then moved into an agency recruitment position for tech startups across the country. She currently resides in San Diego with her boyfriend and their 2 dogs that they absolutely adore.

Madeleine joined AoPS in 2021 after 7 years with a Toronto based E-learning company. She graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from York University in 2016. Shortly after, Madeleine completed her Project Management Professional Certification in 2017. She has a passion for organizational behavior methodologies and theory - exhibited through her continued teaching of organizational behavior for CPHR Canada. In her time as a project manager, she has worked with diverse internal and external stakeholders to provide creative and efficient solutions to complex problems. In her previous position, Madeleine was instrumental in the development, implementation and monitoring of organizational policies and procedures. Madeleine is known for loving to travel (recently demonstrated through her move to San Diego), gaming with friends, and creating imaginative meals for anyone bold enough to try her latest creation.

Shayla is a passionate educator with a decade of experience teaching in the elementary classroom. Shayla has earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in Special Education. Shayla's learning environment allows students to feel confident in their abilities and comfortable with pushing boundaries of problem solving. Math has always been a passion for Shayla, as she drives to ensure all students are confident in their ability to be true mathematicians. In her free time, Shayla loves to spend time with her family, tackle new hobbies, and travel to every inch of the world possible.

Whitney grew up in Orange County, CA, moved to San Diego (the best city ever) for college, and now lives in Washington state (right across the river from Portland, OR). Whitney taught at AoPS for about three years at the Carmel Valley campus and then the virtual campus; it was her first job after graduating college. While teaching part-time for AoPS, Whitney also taught mathematics full-time at high schools in both San Diego and Washington. In 2023, she resigned from teaching in the classroom and to join AoPS full-time as an instructional coach. She's excited to continue contributing to education!

Rose enjoys any excuse to get outside, including hiking, gardening, and playing ultimate frisbee. She is an avid coffee drinker and loves spending time with her husband Jake and their dog Peanut. Rose loves learning and sharing what she knows about a wide variety of topics, and her education has spanned majors from firefighting to mathematics to business.

Jennifer became a part of the AoPS finance team in 2023, taking on the role of Payroll Manager. She graduated from the University of San Diego with dual degrees in business administration and marketing. In her free time, Jennifer enjoys beach days with family and friends as well as exploring new places and flavors.

Aaron fell in love with problem solving at a young age when he would sneak out of basketball practice in middle school to "work out" with the math team instead. He carried this enthusiasm with him into high school, where he captained the math team, leading them to 2 sectional titles. Likely, it was all this extracurricular problem solving that got him admitted into MIT, where he would graduate with bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science and engineering. He spent the early part of his career working his way through the software engineering ranks, most recently as a Principal SwE with AttackIQ, before embarking down the management path. Several years after being named manager at AttackIQ, he took on a new role as Domain Lead at Viasat, where he managed 2 engineering teams in the Commercial Mobility division. Aaron has 3 children and spends most of his time outside of work transporting them to their various activities. Sadly, none of these activities involve math, but he has managed to atone for his delinquency in middle school by coaching his son's middle school basketball team to a league title.

Erica was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. She earned her BA in Education from Temple University and spent the start of her career as an elementary school teacher in Philly. She later relocated to sunny San Diego, CA to put her snow shoveling days behind her. Erica had a blast teaching and was able to use all she learned from her educational career when she transitioned into the field of Talent Acquisition. Erica truly found her calling and is passionate about all things TA! Since 2018, San Diego has been her home and she shares it with Bear, her 2-year-old yellow-lab. Outside of work her interests include visiting national parks, long walks with Bear, enjoying the beach, practicing Pilates, and savoring a good cup of coffee.

Before joining AoPS in 2020, Brad taught math and coached quizbowl at Keith Country Day School and wrote quizbowl questions for almost every tournament imaginable. His favorite lesson to teach is the Saint Petersburg Paradox, and a staggering percentage of his favorite questions in his old exams were lovingly borrowed from AoPS. Brad earned his BS in Mathematics from Northern Illinois University in 2010. In his free time, he enjoys solving logic puzzles, listening to the Beatles, rooting for the Chicago Cubs, and teaching his daughter probability through card games.

Laura was born and raised in Monterey, California and spent four years living in the Los Angeles area where she earned a bachelor’s degree in History from Pomona College. She realized education was her passion and returned to school for a Master of Education from the University of San Diego. Laura then combined this passion with her other love of travel and moved overseas to work as an international teacher, living in China, the United Arab Emirates, and Chile. After over a decade in the classroom, she is excited to move into a new role with AoPS and become reacquainted with San Diego. In her free time, Laura loves reading, running, exploring the city, and spending quality time with her family and cat.

Born and bred in the dull town of Escondido, Kat manages to distract herself from boredom – whether it's watching too many films, cartoons and anime, or listening to too much music, they inspire the creation of her own world through too much daydreaming. Although she isn't a math wiz, she has an obsession with Lewis Carroll's works, art, crafts and making comics. She also enjoys learning about cultures, trying and cooking new cuisine, and writing poetry and stories. She's a collector of oddities and teacups, but nothing beats annoying and pampering her fluffy kitten: Butters Panchon. Coyoacán (in México City) is her home away from home, where she stays with her rather extensive family for long periods of time. Kat plans a career in education and arts for children and teenagers.

Samuel stumbled into coding in 2008 to build games on Roblox. The joy of programming grew into freelancing as a web developer for 5 years, graduating from Cal Poly Pomona with a BS in Computer Science, and building interfaces at Google, Microsoft, and Vercel. At Cal Poly Pomona he started and ran the Software Engineering Association with fellow AoPS engineer Kiana Ziglari to sharpen the skills of students. He is passionate about user experience, cooking, running, lifting, teaching, and learning.

James joined AoPS in 2012. He received a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, studying machine learning and linguistics, at UC Berkeley where he spent several years as a teaching assistant in engineering math courses. James has been tutoring and teaching math and science since high school. He was a National MATHCOUNTS contestant, qualified for the USAMO each year of high school, and attended the Physics Olympiad Summer Program. In his spare time, he applies math to boardgames, thinks of ballroom dancing as a Markov process, and is a novice kitchen scientist.

Alejandro Garcia joined AOPS in 2019 and is willing to learn and expand in different areas within the company. He came to AoPS from a bigger warehouse with experience that he is hoping to integrate into our smaller warehouse. Alejandro is always looking for new ways to better himself work-wise and in his personal life. When he isn't working, he is spending time with his wife and son and teaching his son all he can while also learning himself. He enjoys playing video games late into the night and exploring new places that expand his horizon and outlook on life. He also enjoys watching superhero movies and is a collector of superhero items as well.

Josie joined AoPS in 2021 after providing program analyst support to the Navy as a contractor for six years. Since receiving a degree in theatre from California State University Fullerton, she has worked in various industries, including for-profit and not-for-profit, large, and small businesses. She also works in theatre as an Assistant Stage Manager, Production Assistant, and occasional Lighting Designer. Working with high school theatre programs to develop lighting designs and train students instilled a passion for providing unique learning experiences for students. In her limited spare time, she enjoys board games, hiking, and going on mini adventures with friends.

After having spent the last 20 plus years in the field of education, Greg has learned that if you are not focused on the kids, you are not going to succeed. Outside of work, Greg and his wife, Trish, share 6 kids ranging from 10 to 27. When Greg gets to step away from it all, he is a competitive athlete in cycling, running, and occasional triathlons.

Vince has been with AoPS since 2019 initially working with our physical AoPS Academy locations as an associate director before becoming the Pathway Program Manager in February 2021. He looks forward to bringing AoPS to a more diverse audience in his new role! Previous to joining AoPS he chaired the Math Department at Western Hills High School in Fort Worth, Texas, where he was 2017–2018 Teacher of the Year. Vince is passionate about making learning fun. He has taught middle and high school math in the US and in Korea and has worked with IB, AP, and pre-AP students. Vince has a BS in Math and MS in Mathematics Teaching from Texas Woman’s University. In his free time, he likes to dance kizomba, salsa, bachata and is open to trying anything once.

AJ started off his journey into tech with a job at Apple Retail right after exiting High School. After working in multiple positions (Sales, Logistics, Technical Support, and Teaching) AJ took the leap and moved to San Francisco to work in Enterprise IT. After about 5 years in San Francisco, it was time to return home and start the next chapter of his life. When AJ is not at work, he can either be found at the local bowling alley or with his brothers at a local brewery.

Dave and his twin are the youngest and grew up under the proper guidance of five older sisters. Following in his sisters' footsteps of working in nursing, Dave got certified as an EMT. However, as books were always his first love, he pursued a job working at Barnes and Noble before joining AoPS. Dave has always been passionate about learning and expanding his knowledge base to help both himself and others.

Hannah Goodwillie holds a BA in Mathematics and Music from Amherst College and an Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the Yale School of Music. After working for a while as a choir director and music teacher, they returned to mathematics and joined AoPS in 2020. They are committed to equity in math teaching and believe deeply that every student deserves a real opportunity to fall in love with math as something accessible, beautiful, and fun to explore. In their free time, they can often be found hiking, knitting, writing songs, and hanging out with Mitts, their big friendly polydactyl cat.

Ryan has always been interested in puzzles and math from a young age. After taking a computer science class in high school, he spent the majority of his time outside of school making games. Outside of programming, he likes teaching high school marching bands and drumlines, playing trumpet and guitar, learning about geography, and cooking.

Bill earned bachelor's degrees in physics and applied mathematics from UC Berkeley before earning his master's in mathematics education from CSU Chico. He taught mathematics at CSU Chico for several years, where he created engaging and fun math lessons for incoming college students with a wide range of educational backgrounds. His favorite part of the experience was seeing students transform from fearing math to thriving with it. During his time at CSU Chico, Bill also redesigned the online curriculum for their Foundational Mathematics course with a focus on activities that reward student creativity and exploration. In his free time, Bill runs educational TikTok and YouTube accounts where he shares mathematics content in hopes of showing the world that math can be fun and exciting!

Tim is a scientist turned designer and educator. He worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a member of technical staff, and for the National Park Service as a bio tech and quantitative ecologist. Frustrated by the growing gap between science and society, and being both a trained scientist and a lifelong gamer, he decided to bring these skills together to help build a better future. In his role as designer and educator, Tim has built and taught a variety of innovative middle school science classes at One Spark Academy, where he also pioneered a tradition of Pi Day whipped-cream pie fights. In more serious work, he has taught several classes in the Game Design track at the ArtCenter College of Design, has published two nature-oriented science games, and has more games in the works. Now, as a Curriculum Developer for AoPS, he puts those same skills to use in building life sciences courses for AoPS Academy.

With over a decade of experience and a master’s in teacher leadership, Alyssa's enthusiasm for education is evident. Prior to AoPS, she worked as a classroom teacher, Gifted and Talented Teacher, and Gifted and Talented Coordinator. Her passion lies in leveraging critical thinking to pinpoint growth opportunities for students. She likes to think in spreadsheets and believes it is the superior digital organization tool. In her free time, she likes to read books and work on meeting her Goodreads goal.

Jessica joined AoPS in 2020. After graduating from BYU with her master's in accounting, Jessica went to work at Andersen Tax (nee WTAS) in downtown San Francisco for over seven years. Once her husband graduated from his orthodontics residency, they relocated to San Diego with their two young kids. After getting settled, Jessica joined Signature Analytics where she worked for 5.5 years helping provide business owners with custom financial solutions and business advisory services. She is thrilled to be part of the AoPS team as she has enjoyed watching her kids grow through Beast Academy. Whenever they get a chance, the Hardys like to explore National Parks and go on long hikes together.

Sara is originally from Ohio, but she has been lucky enough to have lived in 6 different countries and now calls Savannah, Georgia her home. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, Sara moved to France where she worked as an English teacher and au pair. This experience inspired her to then move to China, where she lived for three years, managing a kindergarten and training individuals from various backgrounds and nationalities to create a learning environment that was both interactive and fun. Her experience working with international students inspired her to move back to the US and begin working with au pairs, where she always kept in mind that everyone’s individual experience is unique and should be embraced. This perspective is one which she hopes to bring to her role at AoPS as a Customer Service Specialist. In her free time, Sara enjoys learning new languages, painting abstract art, and playing the cello.

Tim is a student at UC San Diego pursuing a BS in Computer Science after transferring from Foothill College in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is passionate about education, especially making intricate concepts from math obvious through visualization and software. In his free time, he hikes around San Diego, plays (electric) piano, occasionally composes music, and works on his online graphing calculator project.

As a recent transplant from San Bernardino, CA, Terrance brings a combination of not only classroom experience but also customer service skills. He believes that critical thinking and creativity can solve any problem. Outside of work, he enjoys classic television shows and exploring new things in San Diego.

Born and raised in San Bernardino California, Stephanie moved to San Diego two years ago. She is a strong believer in the positive and powerful influence education can have on children. She has eight years of experience in the classroom working with children of all grade levels and loves to see them grow and develop as critical thinkers. Outside of work you’ll find her with friends and family enjoying their time together.

Tracey has a passion for educating our brightest minds, which was fueled after her oldest child entered kindergarten. As he was writing reports on the solar system, students within his classroom were learning number and letter recognition. Tracey recognized the lack of understanding within school systems for our gifted/talented students and decided to work to become a part of the solution rather than admiring the problem. She believes that all children deserved the opportunity to learn. She completed her master’s degree with a focus on gifted education, and has served in a variety of roles, from a classroom teacher to a Gifted Education Coordinator. Along the way, she has had the opportunity to build many successful programs which include a summer enrichment program (serving over 600 students), and a high school robotics program, and was integral in building a gifted/talented program. Tracey’s mission is to directly impact the lives of students by creating an environment that encourages high levels of problem-solving and risk-taking. Her vision is to build sustainable experiences where celebrations of intellect occur on a daily basis and children become aware of the power within themselves.

Sydney Horanic fell in love with mathematics after experiencing the thrill of one-minute times-table tests in elementary school. She left her hometown, Fresno CA, to pursue a B.A. in Mathematics and a teaching credential at UC Berkeley. She taught Algebra and Geometry in the Bay Area where she developed a passion for utilizing education technology in her classroom and exploring new advancements in math curriculum. She moved to San Diego to be near family and soak up the sunshine. In her spare time she enjoys long-distance running and playing all sports, especially competitive ultimate frisbee. Two of her favorite equations are: Perfect Night = T(rivia) + T(rack) and Perfect Morning = W(ednesday NYT Crossword) + P(ancakes). Her favorite mathematical concept is the Pigeonhole Principle because it acts as a reminder to be your whole self wherever you are.

Trevor grew up in San Diego and began their IT journey through the Cybersecurity Bootcamp at San Diego State University Global Campus. With a strong foundation in IT, he is committed to optimizing system performance and ensuring data integrity. Outside of work, Trevor enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, and camping, finding adventure and challenge in the great outdoors.

Merilys joined AoPS in 2023 as the Director of Data. She grew up in Cleveland and worked in social services for a few years before moving to the Bay Area in 2014 to pursue a graduate degree in sociology at Stanford. Her education is eclectic, running the gamut from math to law to inequality, but she has always been focused on understanding "what," "how," and "why." Merilys sees data as a lens to understand the world, perhaps not perfectly but at least a little better than before. In her free time, she loves discovering new nature trails, teaching data-related workshops, and watching British panel shows.

Derek joined AoPS in 2021 after graduating from UC San Diego with a degree in cognitive science with a specialization in machine learning and neural computation. In his time at UC San Diego, Derek was able to learn computer science principles, as well as how humans think, remember, and learn. Derek started his passion for computers when he was 5, when he noticed that the computer cursor was the same shape as the birthmark on his leg. Since then, he has been tinkering with personal coding projects varying from a weight loss calculator to a virtual reality video game. Before joining AoPS, Derek worked as an online instructor, teaching kids computer science through video game modding. In his free time, Derek enjoys playing video games, modifying his keyboard, cooking, and working out.

Michelle joined AoPS in 2021 after teaching middle school English and theater for nine years. During her teaching career, she developed curriculum for many middle school courses and focused on helping students improve their critical thinking and communication skills. Michelle has a master’s degree in education and a bachelor's in English with a minor in theater. Figuring out elegant solutions to tough problems (in any subject) is one of her favorite things to do. In her free time, Michelle enjoys playing complicated board games, going to plays, drawing and painting, writing fantasy and sci-fi, and occasionally venturing into the outdoors. She appreciates the existence of coffee, poetry, dice with more than six sides, and parallel structure.

Alexa is a mathematician and a Montessori teacher from Portland, OR. She has been teaching math in various forms and at all levels for 20+ years, and has taught Montessori elementary school since 2011. Alexa taught at the Bellevue campus before COVID, and has taught math for Virtual Campus for the last two years. She loves watching kids get super excited about challenging math questions. Alexa and her partner have two daughters, who are ages 4 and 6, and who both love math. In her free time, she likes to read, write, do embroidery, meditate, and dream about the Montessori school she hopes to open someday.

Shaina is a product designer who studied architecture at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo where she realized her passion drew from designing around human interaction and user empathy. Her background bloomed into her love for UI/UX with her ability to think of user-optimized solutions and intuitive design systems. With an older sister as a middle school teacher, Shaina has grown to be an advocate for stronger learning systems in effective environments, and is thrilled to be a part of a team where she can contribute to a positive student learning experience. She considers herself a go-to fixer-upper, amateur film photographer, and wannabe cinephile. When off work, you can find her at a Padres game, a record shop, or one of the many fine speakeasies in San Diego.

Josh received his BA in Comparative Religion from Tufts University and an M.Ed. from the University of Washington. He taught in New York City and Philadelphia, both in public and private schools, as an elementary school teacher and then as a math teacher and math specialist. He led a MathCounts team to the state championships for years, supported students and teachers from kindergarten through high school, and has helped students to love math and see the beauty in it. His passion around math runs wide and deep, and after using AoPS materials for over 25 years he was thrilled to join the AoPS family! When not doing mathy sorts of things he can be found creating abstract art, traveling, and spending time with his family.

Jalaja has an educational background in electrical engineering and a decade of experience in tax consulting. Her search for challenging educational opportunities for her kids and a fun curriculum ended with AoPS. Her belief that the AoPS curriculum of problem-solving is so distinctively structured to educate and increase children's confidence is what convinced her to be not only an AoPS parent but also an ambassador for the program. Jalaja believes that kids are the future, but they live in the present. If we provide them with a promising environment now, then they will be ready for the future.

Richard joined AoPS in 2018 as a developer. Previously, he spent several years tutoring for math and science and completing a double major in theatre and mathematics with an emphasis in secondary education at the University of California, San Diego. After that, he moved on to become a self-taught software test automation engineer. Outside of work he designs original origami models, writes tabletop roleplaying games, edits and guests on podcasts, and does archery. He has also been known to attempt geeky knitting and crochet projects when the mood takes him.

Ryan grew up playing board games and solving puzzles, which fostered an early passion for mathematics and problem solving. This led him to pursue a BS in Computer Science & Engineering and an MS in Software Engineering as part of a 5-year program. There, he joined his school’s Robotics Systems Laboratory to kick off a multi-year effort to create an application-agnostic robotic chassis. After his 4th year, he decided to join AoPS to combine his love for computer science and teaching. In his spare time, you will likely find him solving puzzles, tinkering with cars, learning about new tech, and discovering music.

Hardik has had two halves since childhood, one was analytical, curious, and fascinated with computers and math, the other was creative and loved to doodle. The former led him to pursue Computer Science Engineering and be a developer, while the latter led him to his Masters in Interaction Design and over 3 years of experience as a Product Designer. He found his analytical approach to design as the perfect blend of his two halves, having worked on award winning products both in the consumer and enterprise spaces. When he isn’t designing, you can find him streaming video games on Twitch, making cocktails, and doodling on his iPad.

Liz moved from New York City to San Diego a few years ago and since then Liz has been enjoying life here. Liz enjoys spending afternoons at the beach with her two Australian Shepherds in her spare time. While they have no sense of personal space, their cuteness makes up for it. Liz loves to relax by reading and crocheting.

Shari joined the software development team at AoPS in June 2019 after completing her BS in Computer Science at Caltech. She has been interested in math since participating in math camps and competition math in middle school and has been interested in math education since she had problems with the pace of her first grade math curriculum. Shari is very excited to give back to the math community! In her free time, Shari also loves puzzles of all sorts, Japanese archery, making metal jewelry and other DIY art, animals (particularly her snake, Lemma, and her cats, Arrow and Quiver), and fire spinning.

Jamie graduated with a BA in English Literature at San Diego State University in 2020. Currently, she is pursuing her MA in Education with a Concentration in Counseling. She was born in Everett, Washington, but grew up in San Diego. At a young age, Jamie has had a passion for education with her grandma and great-grandma both being educators here in the United States and the Philippines. She has always been driven by her passion to help others and make an impact, so she always goes above and beyond to help in any way that she can. In her free time, Jamie loves to take pictures (film or digital), going to the gym, watching sunsets, and cuddling with her corgi, Kobe.

Stephanie has been working with AoPS students since 2017 and was previously an Associate Director at AoPS Academy Bellevue. Stephanie has always had a deep interest in understanding how the world works. This led to the decision to major in mathematics and physics at Washington State University and led to tutoring others in math and science classes while in school. She quickly realized how much fun it is to help people explore new and difficult concepts by challenging them to think through their own ideas. She then spent two years as a graduate student in mathematics at the University of Colorado, where being a TA who taught Calculus was the most rewarding part. Next steps included teaching students of all ages and ability levels, including teaching high school math and science for three years. Stephanie loves working with students who are excited about math, helping them rise to new challenges and discover new problem-solving strategies, but also loves working with those who aren't as excited about math, helping them to see how fun and rewarding it can be. When not talking about math, Stephanie enjoys traveling, hiking, and making crochet hats.

Gabby is working on earning her BA in English and minor in Education as a rising senior at UC Berkeley. She is looking to work in the field of education within a teaching or curriculum design capacity and is currently involved in ethnographic research projects that center marginalized K-12 student experiences in Berkeley and Oakland. As a first generation Vietnamese-Belarusian college student, Gabby has a deep appreciation for learning and storytelling and is passionate about cultivating educational spaces that center empathy and community. Outside of work, Gabby coaches K-2 youth soccer on the weekends and enjoys graphic design, printmaking, and hiking!

Lydia joined AoPS in 2020 after working in an agency setting for multiple years. The educational mission of AoPS is what initially drew Lydia to the team, and she is dedicated to utilizing her marketing background to connect students and families with what AoPS has to offer. Outside of establishing marketing processes and keeping things organized, Lydia enjoys traveling with her husband and frequenting cafes, breweries, and restaurants in San Diego.

Ryan was born and raised in Las Vegas, and joined AoPS in early 2022. He graduated from UC San Diego in 2019, majoring in mathematics - computer science and minoring in music. During his time in college, he was a Peer Counselor Coordinator for UCSD's Filipino cultural organization, mentoring his fellow peers academically, professionally, and mentally. He was formerly a lead instructor and operations manager at his previous company, teaching kids computer science and supervising all instructors. He is excited to continue his tech and education career here at AoPS. Outside of work, Ryan enjoys playing video games, piano, singing, taking care of plants, and spending time with his two cats, Meelo and Komi.

Sarah is a cartoonist from the Bay Area. After graduating from California College of the Arts with a BFA in Animation, she had a variety of freelance art jobs, including storyboarding for live-action and animated features. Most recently, she's done comics and illustration work for DC Comics and IDW. Somewhere in between all that freelancing, she was a substitute teacher, and taught comics/cartooning at an independent study school. When she's not drawing (for work OR for fun) she likes to go on walks, hang out with her dog Oliver, and read comics.

Isaac Li joined AoPS as a math curriculum developer upon completing a BS in Mathematics from UCLA. He was a frequent instructor for AlphaStar Academy, and a problem writer and test organizer for various contests including mathleague.org and Berkeley Math Tournament. He calls the Bay Area home (Daly City / San Jose). Enjoys writing interesting math problems, teaching, and creating levels for rhythm games.

Leo Yulin joined AoPS at the beginning of 2021. After playing his first video game during elementary school, he decided to create his own video game, and that kicked off his journey in software engineering. Later on, he decided to pursue a computer science degree at UC Merced and developed an interest in neural networks and genetic algorithm based machine learning. In his free time, you will find him continuing to help the development of the neural network simulation software his university professor develops and watching YouTube videos on tech, software development, gaming, finance, and more.

Throughout her childhood, Emily loved teaching others and dreamed of becoming a teacher. However, once she took her very first computer programming course at the age of 19, she fell in love with the satisfaction of solving hard problems and creating cool things with code. Emily graduated with her Bachelor's in Computer Science from University of Washington Tacoma in 2014 and landed her first post-college job ... as an after-school coding teacher. It didn't take long before Emily realized she was more passionate about teaching kids about the power of code and problem-solving, rather than actually doing it herself as a profession. She began teaching full-time in 2018 and completed her Masters in Education from George Mason University in August 2022. She is excited to join the AoPS team, where she can inspire students around the country to develop their own love for Computer Science. In her free time, Emily enjoys playing video games with her son, completing jigsaw puzzles with her cats, and dreaming of traveling the country in an RV one day.

Yating leads the Academics Department, overseeing the development of educational materials for our textbooks, classes, and online learning platforms. He has worn multiple hats since joining AoPS in 2016—designing seven math courses, directing Product and Operations for AoPS Academy, founding the AoPS Academy Virtual Campus, and serving as the General Manager of Online Businesses. Before AoPS, Yating was a university professor and doctoral advisor. He holds a BS in Mathematics from Peking University and both an MS in Mathematics and PhD in Mathematics Education from Ohio State University. Yating was a one-time champion in China's national-level math competition and a two-time champion in provincial-level physics competitions. Outside of work, Yating finds joy in tinkering and hunting for antiques.

Robin joined AoPS in 2020. She has been in the education field for over fifteen years and has taught a diverse range of students, from highly gifted elementary students to college undergrads. She is a former local teacher of the year, and in 2015, she was awarded the Outstanding Teaching of the Humanities award from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the NEH. She has been a statewide writer and instructor for PD courses for teachers and principals, and she has worked with schools on enhancing writing curriculum for advanced learners. Robin is passionate about creating engaging, innovative learning experiences that empower students to think outside the box—because she believes adaptability and versatility are the keys to our students’ future goals. Robin holds an MA in English and Creative Writing, as well as a BA in Elementary Education. An enthusiast of all things writing, she has published original poetry, and she enjoys reading and writing historical fiction. She loves hiking, cooking, traveling, and The Great British Bake Off, even though her baking is still really terrible.

Bridget joined AoPS in 2019. As a philosopher by education and a non-profit program director by prior experience, she has always been elbow-deep in problem solving. Fiercely not-competitive, her greatest joy comes from helping others so that they can find more joy in their own lives. When not trying to bring order to chaos - or incessantly asking “why?” - you’ll find her throwing dinner parties, photographing friends’ life events, and providing emotional support services to her giant greyhound.

Grayson joined AoPS in 2015. He earned his PhD in Sociocultural Anthropology from the University of California Santa Barbara where he conducted research, wrote about, and taught about the various factors contributing to underrepresentation in STEM education and in the workforce. Grayson understands culture as the lens through which we assign meaning to the world and everything in it. Culture shapes our perception of reality--how cool is that?! Prior to becoming an anthropologist, Grayson earned a BA in biology from the University of Pennsylvania during a time when he was considering a career in veterinary medicine but then thought better of it. He loves animals (especially dogs), music (especially playing his acoustic guitar), traveling (especially cities he's never been to), and sports (especially basketball, football, and all professional teams representing Philadelphia, the city that raised him).

Corinne attended her first math competition in the 5th grade and continued competing through her high school years at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy. While attending Mount Allison University, she fell in love with coding and switched over to computer science competitions. There, she also tutored in various subjects, taught middle school students how to code, and learned how to live with 6 feet of snow. After graduating with a combined major in math and computer science in the spring of 2015, she was very happy to join AoPS in a position that lets her combine her passion for mathematics, teaching, and computer science.

Jesse grew up in Buffalo, NY, and has lived in San Diego since 2018. While most of his career has been in software engineering, he also has a strong passion for 3D animation (Pixar is his favorite) and is currently taking online classes for animation school. Outside of school and work, Jes enjoys geocaching, hiking, beach volleyball, miniatures, gaming, and watching Ocarina of Time speedruns.

Kristine joined AoPS in 2021. She grew up in San Diego and moved to the Bay Area after earning her bachelor’s degree in Business Management and Accounting from UC Santa Cruz. Her love for numbers and process improvements led her to various roles in tech and video game companies. While she enjoyed the hustle and bustle of San Francisco, she took a big leap of faith and bought a one-way ticket to Europe to fulfill her childhood dream of traveling and seeing the world. After travelling through 20 countries for 24 consecutive months, she came back home to San Diego to live closer to family. Kristine enjoys all things related to finance, food, fitness, photography and puzzles.

Liza is an adventurous designer from the east coast. She grew up in Connecticut playing volleyball and painting in a house that loves cats. She spent almost a decade in the City of Brotherly Love eating her way through the streets and going to art shows. She studied graphic design communications in Philadelphia and has spent years both in-house and agency honing her typographic and visual storytelling skills. She also has a certification in interior design. Following her dreams, she sold everything and moved to San Diego to have more time with the beauty of nature and to meet new people! When she's not looking for inspiration for work you can find her watching stand-up comedy or eating at a new restaurant. She also likes to take long walks in nature, practice her boxing punches, and reading the next book she checked out from the local library. Things to note: She will always say yes to a trivia night and she will always order the cheese board for the table.

Erin Christiane Marquez graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor's degree in Statistics and has always had a strong interest in mathematics. During her time in college, she worked at after-school programs, where she developed a passion for helping students with their education. In her free time, she likes to crochet, read, play video games, and bake.

Emilee Mason graduated with a BA in Mathematics and Japanese Studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. Aside from teaching, she absolutely loves crocheting and gardening (as much as she can on her apartment balcony). Emily likes to make new crochet patterns and lots of stuffed animals when she has the time. She also enjoys playing picross, going on hikes/walks, watching scary movies, and cooking/baking with her partner.

Asia Maung is a web designer hailing from the San Francisco Bay Area. After finishing her degree in English and Comparative Literary Studies at Occidental College in Los Angeles, Asia took an interest in UX and began her career as a web designer in San Francisco's burgeoning tech industry. As a web designer, Asia continues to advocate for data-driven design, ADA and WCAG compliance, and UX best practices. In tandem with working at several SaaS startups, she designed and built structural art for events throughout the bay, one of which was featured at Google I/O 2019. Forever intrigued by user behavior at the intersection between visual design and storytelling, she enjoys narrative-forward video games, experimental/graphic novels, and immersive art. When she's not working, Asia can be found dancing, DJing, sketching, catching a view, trying out recipes, or giving her cat face massages.

Amanda has always been passionate about working, and playing, in the area between the creative and analytical. She grew up in the Bay Area and moved to San Diego to attend San Diego State University where she received her bachelor's in Fine Arts/Graphic Design. She fell in love with San Diego and decided to make it her home and grow her career here. Her career started right when many businesses were trying to figure out how to communicate online which enabled her to build her web design, information design, instructional design, and internal/external communications skills. She enjoys spending time with her husband and their two cats, hiking, yoga, and being creative whether it's building miniatures, learning to play the piano, or creating art in different mediums.

Palmer joined AoPS in 2012 shortly after graduating from Harvey Mudd College the same year. As a math contest participant, he was honorable mention on the USAMO in 2007, a US IMO team candidate in 2008, and a top 15 finisher on the Putnam in 2009 and 2011. During his four years of college, he graded for the USAMO and MOSP four times and single-handedly managed the WOOT "Problem of the Day" service. Outside of mathematics, Palmer solves and writes logic puzzles. He solves them fast enough to have been named the US Puzzle Champion in 2011, 2013, and 2014, and World Puzzle Champion in 2011 with top-3 finishes in 2012, 2013, and 2014. His best constructions can be seen on the tests he made for Logic Masters India.

Brian has been working in computer science education his whole career. After earning a BS in Mathematics, Brian began tutoring others, where he discovered his love for teaching. He spent many years crafting CS lessons and projects for high school students, always trying to see how far he could push their skills. Brian continued his education by earning an MS in Computer Science from Georgia Tech. His commitment to education and personal relationships has helped inspire countless students to pursue careers in technology. When not teaching or building curriculum, Brian is an avid board game enthusiast and escape room fan. He continues to seek new ways to challenge his mind and have fun.

While earning a BS in Business Administration and Psychology, Yadira worked in the IT department of Humboldt State University. Initially, she joined "just for fun," but later found interest in resolving technical issues. In 2021, she moved back to San Diego and joined AoPS, where she hopes to continue facilitating end-user experience by providing excellent technical support. In her free time, she likes finding delicious places to eat or doing recreational activities such as going to the beach, swimming, walking or hiking.

Steven recently relocated from Salt Lake City to San Diego with his wife, along with their two dogs and a cat. With four years of experience in public education, Steven is passionate about making a difference in his community. Outside of his professional life, he enjoys playing games with friends and perfecting his barbecue skills.

Amy joined AoPS in 2018 when she relocated to San Diego from the east coast and is loving it! She has three beautiful children and three amazing grandchildren! Her hobbies include bicycling, cooking, quilting, needlepoint and gardening.

From an early age, Brent had an interest in mathematics and statistics from puzzles and games on old computers. After trying to create a game himself, he stumbled upon coding tutorials and realized that computers can be used for much more. He loved the idea of data science because it melded statistics and computer science into one, so he jumped headfirst into the new field. He used the concepts that he learned to create a personalized recommender for rock climbing and occasionally computer in machine learning Kaggle competitions. In his free time, he enjoys surfing, rock climbing, camping, backpacking, and reading.

After completing her education in business and human resources management, Misti started working in the field of HR. Eighteen years later she is still loving it! At home, she is a mother to her 16 year old son, 2 dogs and a cat. She loves to travel with her son, and can be found hiking most evenings after work. She also discovered during COVID that she enjoys painting, but she will admit that she is much better at HR.

Trevor has always loved math puzzles and games from a young age. He has competed in many math competitions where he especially enjoys solving difficult combinatorics problems. He graduated from University of Chicago in 2020 and joined AoPS in 2023. In his free time, Trevor loves playing strategy board games and computer games, as well as designing content for games and coding mods and bots for games. He played competitive Starcraft II in college and competed on stage in the finals of the Collegiate Esports Championship. He especially enjoys deeply learning and analyzing one game in detail for a long period of time.

Kelly is the East Regional Director for AoPS Academy. In 2014, Kelly became the Language Arts Director at the inaugural AoPS Academy campus in Morrisville, North Carolina. She went on to manage the language arts program nationally prior to taking on her current role overseeing operations at the campuses in the eastern half of the country. A Pennsylvania native, Kelly earned her bachelor's from Penn State. After relocating to North Carolina to teach public school, she went on to receive her master's from UNC Chapel Hill and soon after found her way to AoPS. When she's not busy working, Kelly's busy keeping up with four kids, two dogs, a gecko, and a husband – they're all pretty great, but free time is short in supply!

Shawn Murali is an educator from the Bay Area focusing on computer science, math, and physics with bachelor's degree in mathematics from UC San Diego. He began his teaching journey in 2014, cementing a lifelong passion for facilitating the development of critical thinking skills in his students and finding creative ways to present hard problems. He is most excited by the rapid advancement in the field of AI-driven computer graphics and simulation at this time. He is also currently preoccupied with attempting to train a 3-month-old super mutt puppy in San Diego.

Vy joined AoPS in 2022. Growing up with a respect for education and a desire to go into teaching, she began tutoring math and coding concepts in middle school. When she decided to take her math education into her own hands through self study, Vy discovered the Art of Problem Solving's accessible online math resources. Relying almost exclusively on AoPS problem sets, Vy was able to elevate her skills enough to participate in math competitions and discovered a love for problem solving in the process. This discovery led her to pursue a degree in computer science from UC San Diego, where she explored various disciplines within computer science and dabbled in hearing aid research. Vy is excited to be able to give back to AoPS for being a part of her academic journey and contribute to accessible math education resources for the younger generation of students. When she's away from the desk, you can find Vy camping, surfing, and making coffee.

Whitney joined AoPS in 2022 after spending the better part of a decade teaching math at the community college. She has a bachelor's in chemistry from USD and a master's in math from SDSU. Her experience teaching students from underprivileged backgrounds cultivated a desire to make the beauty of mathematics accessible to everyone. She enjoys group problem solving and discussing unique solutions and conceptualizations. When not working, Whitney enjoys taking her dogs to the beach and puttering around in her vegetable garden.

Brent first joined AoPS as an assistant in 2013. He received bachelors degrees from Michigan Technological University in both mathematics and physics with concentrations in secondary education in 2014, then went on to obtain a masters degree in statistics in 2016. Exploring the many paths to a solution and sharing discoveries is part of what makes mathematics so fun and enjoyable for Brent. When he's not doing math, he enjoys drawing comic sketches, playing board games, cooking, riding his bicycle, and swing dancing.

David joined AoPS in 2023 as a technical project manager after seven years of teaching middle school computer science, English, and social studies. During their time as a teacher, they designed a computer science program for grades 6-8 and developed a plan for district-wide computer science education; this plan earned a grant from the National Science Foundation. David chaired the district’s implementation committee and worked as a computer science coach in their own school to design curriculum to integrate computer science concepts into the core content of other classrooms. In their free time, David enjoys playing board games, bread baking, singing, and savoring the flavors of interesting teas. They have a deep appreciation of fantasy and science fiction and often engage in reading it, writing it, and even collaboratively improvising it as part of TTRPGs.

Tynan earned his BS in Mathematics at Caltech before going on to obtain his PhD in Mathematics at UT Austin. Concurrent with his studies, he has developed and taught engaging mathematical curricula to a wide range of audiences. This includes leading an afterschool recreational mathematics class at a middle school in Studio City, and teaching a summer course on modeling nim-style games with linear algebraic data as part of UT Austin's Freshman Research Initiative. Tynan is willing and able to be a spokesperson for all things algebraic geometry and number theory, and he is a firm proponent of making the process of doing research in mathematics more approachable and accessible to pre-collegiate students. In his free time, Tynan enjoys fishing, experimenting with pickling and canning foods, playing basketball, and competing in weightlifting.

Alex was born and raised in San Diego, CA. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in accounting from San Diego State University. For the last five years, he worked as an outsourced accounting consultant at Signature Analytics working with multiple business owners and providing them with streamlined internal processes and financial solutions to allow for proactive business decisions. In his free time, he loves exercising outdoors. He also loves to cook and host get-togethers while testing new recipes out on friends and family.

Kevin joined AoPS in 2020 after many years in retail management and has had the pleasure of supporting the Academy campuses in several capacities since then. He currently oversees the execution of the AoPS Academy business strategy. Kevin is married to his high school sweetheart and is the father to two hellraising, barnburning cowgirls and a little buckaroo. They enjoy traveling and the outdoors... and horses and coloring and baby animals and playing in the dirt. Kevin wants to visit all 63 U.S. National Parks, is a wannabe history buff, and makes way too many trips to The Home Depot.

Elena has always loved helping students succeed! She began to find tremendous joy and inspiration in helping friends better understand math in early high school. Soon after, Elena’s official tutoring career began and she has now supported countless students of all levels and ages develop positive relationships with math, evolve their mathematical reasoning skills, and build their confidence along the way. Elena received her BA in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2014, has managed a K-12 math learning center, started a private tutoring business - Mindful Math Tutors, and has pursued various graduate-level math education courses. Elena loves helping young learners connect to their own creative reasoning strategies. She believes everyone has a reason to love math, and strives to help students recognize and apply their incredible abilities. Outside of work, you will find Elena playing marimba, dancing or performing circus arts, cooking, traveling the world or exploring nature with her beloved partner and pup!

Mital is into gardening, video games and home automation. He loves coloring with his daughter (and is getting really good at staying in the lines).

Dave joined AoPS in 2004. He is the author of Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Counting & Probability, Intermediate Counting & Probability, and Calculus textbooks, and co-author of Prealgebra. Dave earned the sole perfect score on the American High School Mathematics Examination (AHSME) in 1988 and was a USA Mathematical Olympiad winner that year. He attended the Research Science Institute (RSI) in 1987, and the Math Olympiad Summer Program in 1988, where he first met fellow student Richard Rusczyk. He also finished in the top 10 on the Putnam exam in 1991. Dave graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 1992 with a BS in Mathematics/Computer Science and an MS in Mathematics. He went on to earn his PhD in mathematics from MIT in 1997. He was an acting Assistant Professor at the University of Washington from 1997 to 2001. Dave is originally from Western New York and is an alumnus of the SUNY Buffalo Gifted Math Program.

Kiyoshi joined AoPS in 2020 after earning his BA in English at UC Berkeley. Prior to AoPS, Kiyoshi assisted students with a variety of career-related issues and concerns as a Peer Advisor for the UC Berkeley Career Center. He also enjoys spending time with his wife and their cat, Domino. In his free time you can find him playing video games, hiking, reading, watching something, or finding something new to learn.

Wesley has been working in tech for 15 years, including most recently with Amazon Web Services as a Technical Product Manager. He has 10 years of experience working with Higher Ed, and loves education and the tech that surrounds it. Outside of work, he lives with his wife and three cats, which is too many cats. Wesley is a massive hobby person, with his current obsessions being making music, gardening, and Dungeons and Dragons. He also loves spending time outdoors hiking and camping.

Arantxa grew up in Mexico and moved to San Diego in 2019. She has a bachelor's degree in hotel management and a bachelor's in manufacturing engineering. She is passionate about process improvement and numbers. Over the past years, she has worked closely with the Accounting department, which led her to pursue a career as an Accountant. Arantxa enjoys hiking, reading and spending time with her family.

Ivan is a shipper for the AoPS warehouse. He has a well rounded knowledge of shipping and warehousing as well as a knack for process improvement. Ivan enjoys nature photography and music. He is married and enjoying life with three goofy pets who have traveled more than he has. With a good cup of coffee and a guitar in hand everyday is a good day for him.

Laura first joined AoPS in 2022 as a mathematics instructor for the Lumen program. In the summer of 2023, she began her transition into the role of software engineer. This new position blends her devotion to education with her passion for programming, first ignited by her days of developing games on Roblox at the age of nine years old. A believer in the power of interdisciplinarity, Laura holds a bachelor's degree in cognitive science with a minor in mathematics. Today, she finds joy in exploring the intersection of computer science, logic, and mathematics, both on her own time and with her students. Her favorite personal project is her game Frog World, a mathematical adventure that aims to be both accessible and rigorous, inspired by the theory of embodied cognition as well as a vision for quelling mathematical anxiety. Laura also loves the triangular numbers (1, 1+2, 1+2+3, ...) and spicy vegetarian food.

From an early age, Jeremy had always gravitated towards math and sciences during school. His first exposure to programming was back in middle school, when he took an interest in Lua scripting in the game Roblox. He decided to foster these interests by pursuing a computer science degree at UCSD. During his time in college, he served as an officer for his school's gaming organization, hosting tournaments for hundreds of people and building communities centered around people's favorite video games. He also served as a tutor for computer science, where he quickly discovered a passion for working with students and having a positive impact on their education. In his free time, Jeremy enjoys working on his anime recommendation project, practicing calisthenics, and playing piano.

Sarah is an Operations Coordinator for AoPS Academy. She is a past high school biology and Japanese teacher, instructional leader, and magnet coordinator, with a few years in banking. She majored in Environmental Studies at UC Santa Barbara, then graduated from CSU Northridge with a master's degree in secondary education. She just moved to San Diego after three and a half years in Japan, and is loving the perfect weather. Most of her free time is spent on indoor and outdoor gardening, playing phone games, and listening to Audibles. Her husband is in the Navy and they have three adorable dogs, Lala, Yuzu and Haku, who they love cuddling with.

After a 20-year career in corporate meetings and events, specializing in operations management and leadership, Celeste returned to her roots in education and joined Art of Problem Solving in 2020. AoPS’ mission speaks to her core as a person and a parent - teaching resilience and problem solving to her two young kids is a top priority and her mantras are “you’ve got to blossom where you are planted” and “you can figure it out!” In her free time, Celeste loves to run, hike, bike and explore the great outdoors with her family.

Dylan started at AoPS in the Associates' Program in 2021, doing Software Engineering and Math Curriculum Development. He graduated from the College of Creative Studies at UC Santa Barbara with a BS in Mathematics, and of all areas within math, his favorite is by far foundations of math and computability theory. He taught himself programming since he was in elementary school, and enjoys developing web apps, games, and other useful things. Dylan has varied hobbies including juggling, making games, video editing, and continually learning math, physics, economics, and programming. Also, he loathes taxes and the way math is taught in schools.

Pamm grew up in Mexico, as part of a large family of teachers who made her a strong believer in the importance of education, for both personal fulfillment and the benefit of society. Although she has never seen herself as an educator, she finds great joy in putting her skills on work to help others. She started her professional life as an architect, who after a few months decided to say goodbye to the blueprints and pursue her childhood dream of becoming an artist, which will later lead her to become a graphic designer. When she’s not in front of a computer organizing layers, you can find her at the nearest coffee shop, reading, doodling or geeking about cinema.

Gabriel grew up with a love of problem solving and a passion for mathematics. He always had a knack for mathematics and excelled in school which allowed him to begin college early. He earned his BS in Mathematics at the age of 18 before deciding to learn computer science. This led him to join a PhD program in computer science, but after joining he realized that self-teaching fit his goals much more and decided to take on that pursuit. During this time, he taught for the virtual AoPS campus before joining AoPS full-time to combine his love for computer science, math, and teaching. Gabriel enjoys working on logic puzzles, learning new tech, and spending time with his partner and two cats.

Nico, grew up in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. He is currently finishing his last class for a computer science degree at Northeastern University. His love for math started at a young age, competing in the OMPR (Puerto Rican Math Olympiad) program starting in 3rd grade and participating in AoPS classes starting in 4th grade. These programs led him to compete in MATHCOUNTS, making Nationals all three years, and in multiple international math olympiads, where he earned Silver and Bronze medals in the Central American Math Olympiad and an Honorable Mention in the Iberoamerican Math Olympiad. During high school, his focus shifted from mathematics to computer science. He completed a Career Pathway in Computer Programming. In May 2021 he was recognized as a Presidential Scholar in Career and Technical Education. In college, he was part of the Varsity Esports team playing Rocket League, as well as the Puerto Rican Student Association. From 2021-2023, he also graded and assisted classes for AoPS. More recently, he interned at a FinTech company in Puerto Rico, Evertec, and co-oped at Northeastern University IT Services. Some of Nico's hobbies include gaming, basketball, working out, hikes with nice views, and hanging out at the beach.

The daughter of two math teachers, Iuliana grew up with the rigors of eastern Europe math education, complemented by the playfulness of puzzles and brainteasers her parents challenged her with at home. She participated in Romanian Math Olympiads and completed a BS in mathematics and an MS in Computer Science at the University of Bucharest before coming to the United States to teach college math. She then pursued a PhD in Mathematics Education at Rutgers University, during which she researched how students think about mathematical infinity. Before joining AoPS, Iuliana taught math and math education courses at Rutgers University and coordinated the Rutgers Math Teachers’ Circle. Her AoPS journey started with being an instructor for the Princeton campus, then an Associate Director, and now a curriculum developer! In her spare time, Iuliana enjoys hiking, music, and table tennis.

Elizabeth, also known as Liz, is a seasoned professional with a BA in Psychology and an MA in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Born in Trinidad and Tobago and raised in Miami, Liz brings a unique cultural perspective to her work. She relocated to San Diego to contribute to the non-profit sector, making significant strides working with foster and ex-foster youth. Beyond her professional achievements, Liz is a passionate individual who loves plants, animals, poetry, music, cooking, writing, and continuous learning. Not only does she express her love for serving others through her career, but it also resonates in her personal life. She takes great joy in hosting dinner parties and game nights with her wife (and English bulldog--Biggie) and getting her (not so little) kids prepared to take on the world with resiliency and a positive attitude! Liz's favorite quote: "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."- Maya Angelou

Dustin first joined AoPS as an assistant in 2013, and assisted the intermediate group at the Los Angeles Math Circle while studying math at UCLA. Dustin became interested in math through music. Interested in digital audio synthesis, he realized he'd need to actually learn some math in order to build synthesizers from the ground up. Soon after, math overcame his musical interests. Outside of math, Dustin is obsessed with endurance sports and training. An avid runner himself, you'll often find him running in the San Diego mountains wondering, "When are we going to run that sub-2 hour marathon already?!"

Pavi joined AoPS in 2018 after completing their bachelor's degree in mathematics with a minor in physics from the University of Maryland. Their journey exemplifies a passion for mathematics, as they not only won high distinction in the Sri Lankan Mathematical Olympiad but also represented their country in the 2011 International Mathematics Competition. At AoPS, they honed their problem-solving and communication skills as they first worked as a student services specialist for nearly four years. Pavi shifted their intellectual gears towards a new challenge, software engineering, when they successfully completed a year long coding bootcamp at the renowned Ada Developers Academy, during which they secured an internship at Microsoft. In 2023, they decided to re-join AoPS to fuel their passion for academic accessibility, and implement their newly acquired skillset. Pavi finds joy in spending time with their beloved feline companion, Orbit, and exploring the world, one hike at a time.

Amanda joined the Software Development team at AoPS in April 2019. She has been obsessed with computers and technology most of her life. She built her first website when she was 12 years old, back in the bad old days of table-based layouts and dancing-squirrel GIFs. In high school, she joined her school's FIRST Robotics team, where she worked on the website and community outreach teams. After attending Purdue University, Amanda held various business administration roles, always gravitating towards roles that allowed her to indulge her first love of programming and development. In her spare time, you'll most likely find Amanda reading historical fiction or planning her next trip. She's working towards a lifelong goal of visiting every US state and six continents before she turns 50.

Mark joined AoPS after graduating from the University of Minnesota in 2018 with a degree in mathematics and completed a senior thesis involving physics and probability. He dabbled in just about every subject in college and has a particular passion for mathematics history. You can find him playing piano, guitar, and percussion, or reading and writing at home. He is an avid baseball player and fan, although he recently found disc golf as a way to explore new places. He does two podcasts and owns seven harmonicas.

Hazel majored in computer science at UC San Diego with a minor in linguistics. She started going for her master's in computer science at UC San Diego shortly after, but decided that path wasn't right for her and started working instead. In her spare time, she streams herself playing video games on Twitch and has amassed a small, but wonderful following. She absolutely loves entertaining people and making them laugh. If you ever get a chance to talk to her, she really like talking about a number of things including video games (as you might expect), linguistics, herself, Disney stuff (but like in a normal way she promises), and gender.

Alisa joined AoPS in 2020. She grew up competing in local mathlete competitions and having long conversations about math with her dad and brother while on family road trips. She graduated from UCSD in 2019 with a BS in Mathematics - Computer Science. During her time in college, Alisa served as president of Phi Sigma Rho, a sorority aimed at fostering female empowerment in STEM. Alisa's favorite thing about her job is contributing to the enrichment other young math students' education. In her free time, Alisa enjoys reading, running, going to the beach, and hanging out with her corgi, Reggie.

D.J. has been an educator for the last 11 years and has been with AoPS since 2019. He is passionate about making ELA fun and accessible and helping others discover a love of reading and writing! After working in a Youth Development Center and schools for disadvantaged youth, he is excited to share his knowledge with a new audience. When he's not teaching, D.J. likes to write, cook, and play games of all kinds.

Shannon is the Director of Project Management for AoPS. She has executed a variety of roles since joining AoPS in 2011, including co-author of AoPS's Beast Academy series, curriculum developer, teacher in the AoPS Online School, and manager of customer service, internal operations, and new AoPS Academy campus launches across the nation. Shannon holds a degree in mathematics from UCLA and has been actively involved in Math Circles in Los Angeles, San Diego, and New Mexico for nearly a decade. She loves math jokes and all things combinatorics.

Damian is the Language Arts Department Chair for the AoPS Academy Virtual Campus. He joined the AoPS Academy team in 2019 as a physical campus director. After graduating from Guilford College in 2011, he served in City Year Boston, an AmeriCorps program, from 2011-2013 as an in-school tutor and a physical service project manager. From 2013-2017, he taught 6th and 7th grade Language Arts and Social Studies in Boston charter schools. He moved to the Atlanta area in 2017, continuing to teach for a year and then attending the University of Georgia to earn a master's degree in education in 2019. In his free time, Damian enjoys biking on nearby trails and woodworking.

Richard Rusczyk founded Art of Problem Solving in 2003 to teach avid math students in an innovative, interactive way. Richard is one of the co-authors of the Art of Problem Solving classic textbooks, author of Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Algebra, Introduction to Geometry, and Precalculus textbooks, co-author of Art of Problem Solving's Intermediate Algebra and Prealgebra, one of the co-creators of the Mandelbrot Competition, 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.

Before working in the AoPS Sales division, Sean worked as a Campus Director at two separate AoPS Academy campus locations in Santa Clara, CA and Vienna, VA. He also served as Area Director for the greater South Bay region. An experienced teacher of gifted children, Sean has taught math at both the middle- and high-school levels, served as the coach of a successful MATHCOUNTS team, and designed the Algebra 1 curriculum for the high school where he used to teach in North Carolina. He holds a bachelor’s degree in math from UNC. In his spare time, Sean loves creating challenging math problems for his students.

Robert is recently new to California, but enjoys the warm weather. He loves being a part of the Human Resources team and recently got his graduate certificate in HR Management. He loves going to the beach and playing video games. If he is not doing one of those two, he is trying new food with his partner.

Ashley Paul joined AoPS in 2009. Ashley Paul discovered QBasic on his computer when he was six years old and has been programming ever since. Before attending Harvard, he was a third-place winner at National MATHCOUNTS, a two-time perfect scorer on the American Mathematics Contest (AMC) 12, a participant at the Research Science Institute, and a prize winner at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. In his free time, he enjoys emacs, waterbending, learning musical instruments, talking about himself in the third person, watching crime shows, and herding cats.

Stephanie joined AoPS in the summer of 2021. Before moving to San Diego, she spent much of her life as a human ping pong ball living in Texas, Northern and Southern California, and New York City. Stephanie completed a BS in Molecular Biology from the University of CA, Davis and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences from the Icahn School of Medicine in NYC. Following a postdoc in a cardiology lab at the University of CA, San Diego and the birth of her second child, Stephanie decided to explore teaching as a career. She spent four years at a private K-12 school teaching and building curriculum for the Biology department there. Stephanie finds STEAM education thrilling because it reveals a hidden world of curiosities, mysteries, and secrets. Outside of work, Stephanie enjoys spending time with her three kids and all kinds of arts and crafts – particularly knitting.

Sebastian has always excelled in history throughout school, and still enjoys learning about it, especially Roman history. He likes to watch new shows and going to the movie theater as well as watching baseball and football. Sebastian is trying to learn more about Sci-Fi as well as different parts of the world and hopes to travel more in the future including outer space. He is looking to buy a telescope soon.

Jack joined AoPS in 2020 as the Academy Language Arts Curriculum Lead. Despite being drawn to math in high school, he completed a BA in philosophy from Arizona State University and an MA in religion from Yale University. Jack taught a variety of philosophy courses at the college level before entering a PhD program in philosophy at Purdue University. During his doctoral program, Jack fell in love with crafting lesson plans that helped students become more creative and analytical thinkers, so he moved to San Diego to teach humanities classes at a private school. Jack has since been working at AoPS, first as a language arts instructor, and most recently as an Associate Product Director for the Language Arts program at AoPS Academy. In his free time, Jack enjoys running, reading, and spending time with his wife and three sons.

Naoki joined AoPS in 2005 after a successful career in investment banking. He won first place in the 1993 Canadian Mathematical Olympiad, and represented Canada at the 1992 and 1993 International Mathematical Olympiads, winning a bronze and silver medal, respectively. He has also served as deputy leader for the Canadian IMO team in 1997, 2002, and 2006. A native of Toronto, Canada, Naoki earned a Bachelor's in mathematics from the University of Toronto, and a master's in mathematics from Yale University. His interests include cycling and wine tasting.

Brian was born and raised in New Jersey, just outside of Philadelphia. After graduating from West Virginia Wesleyan College, he spent five years leading field marketing teams in the home services industry where he built teams from the ground up and quickly realized he had a passion for working with people and wanted to help them land their dream careers. Brian lives for all things recruiting, and when he’s not doing it between the hours of 9-5 he is lending his time to others, rewriting resumes, coaching, or getting together with peers to learn and share. When he is shutting his brain off, he spends as much time as he can with his American Foxhound rescue, Samson. You can find them on hikes or on a patio on a sunny day where he will be sneaking fries under the table to feed his spoiled dog.

Joshua Schroeder has long held a passion for mathematics as well as programming. He completed an undergraduate degree in mathematics at Michigan State University, and subsequently completed a PhD in Mathematics at the Georgia Institute of Technology, with a research focus in structural graph theory. Throughout his programming related graduate coursework and process of writing code for his research, he developed a passion for writing clean, high performance code, and subsequently sought a Software engineering position at Art of Problem Solving. In his time off, he enjoys video games and board games, such as Dead by Daylight, Twilight Imperium, Root, Faster than Light, and Tears of the Kingdom. He also loves farmer's markets, growing plants, and baking various desserts and breads.

Melissa joined AoPS in 2016. She spent the last decade before that immersed in the worlds of language and teaching. She earned a BA in Comparative Literature from UC Irvine (where she studied abroad in Sweden, learning the delicate arts of eating caviar from a tube and pronouncing words with the letter å) and an MA in English from UC San Diego. Along the way, she has gained more than a decade of experience teaching Language Arts in classrooms ranging from elementary through college, developing curriculum, and supporting other teachers. Aside from books and words, Melissa enjoys landscaping, playing the piano, and learning Spanish.

Dane first joined AoPS in 2019. He graduated with a BA in Classics in 2021 and is currently working on a PhD in Religious Studies at Boston University examining ritual theory and religious iconography in ancient Greece and Rome. He’s excited to bring his passion for ancient literature and languages into the AoPS Language Arts curricula and will not hesitate to drop a Greek-related fun fact into the mix. Outside AoPS you can find him on a constant quest to find the best iced vanilla latte.

Jessica was previously a director at a physical Academy location. Jessica sees math as a record of human creativity and perseverance and loves sharing this view with her students. Jessica holds a BS in Applied Math from the University of Texas at Dallas and formerly served as a high school Math Department Chair, where she wrote curriculum and taught everything from middle school math to AP Calculus. As a teacher, she wants her students to think deeply as they discuss math, to be creative as they approach problems, and to appreciate the beauty of mathematics. Outside the classroom, you can find Jessica running ultra-marathons or climbing mountains in Colorado.

Stella is a Japanese American product designer who values creativity, learning, and being mindful of others. She earned her BS in Cognitive Science-Design and Interaction and a BA in Studio Art at UC San Diego in 2022, joining AoPS shortly after. Early in her college career, Stella discovered her love for education experiences when she interned at the California University of Science and Medicine. She devoted the rest of her time at UC San Diego leading its largest design community, Design Co, preparing her peers towards designing in the industry. Stella takes inspiration from game design and the aesthetics of her surroundings. When not on Figma, she enjoys drawing, hanging out with cats, and indulging in fruit teas and fountain pens.

Kassidy was born and raised in San Diego, CA. She graduated from California State University, San Marcos with her bachelor's degree in accounting. She joined the AoPS team in 2022. She enjoys traveling and hopes to one day travel to all the European countries to experience all the amazing historical sites. Kassidy loves using her annual pass to Disneyland with friends and family and visits the theme park as much as possible. She also loves to bake and enjoys sharing her recipes with friends and family for special occasions. Kassidy also enjoys listening to music and tries to attend a few concerts a year to see some of her favorite artists perform live.

Greta first started as a freelance colorist and artist for the Beast Academy books in 2012. She joined AoPS full-time in January of 2016 in order to help work on the BA websites. Prior to working for AoPS, she worked as a designer for many years in the home decor industry as well as taught Adobe Illustrator courses. When not coloring for a living, she enjoys cycling, cooking, and creating.

Gadget Queen Extraordinaire. Minerva started in IT, and then quickly transitioned to DevOps after going to a containerization talk at the company that would become Zynga. After working with the Department of Defense to help create Ironbank, she settled down and opened a small nonprofit that helps neurodivergent software engineers connect with companies that need them.

Daniel discovered his interest in problem solving as an elementary school student through encounters with logic problems, math puzzles, and various strategy games such as chess. After developing this interest over the years through math club, Daniel eventually headed off to Vanderbilt University and graduated with both a BS and MS degree in Computer Science in 2023. Having enjoyed an internship at AoPS the year before, he decided to return so that he could continue contributing to the resources that had helped shape his own education many years prior. In his free time, Daniel enjoys attempting to play his favorite songs on the violin and piano as well as playing video games that allow for theorycrafting and number crunching in spreadsheets.

Rhonesha holds an MEd in elementary education from Texas State University and enjoys mentoring and building relationships with children. Rhonesha has worked as an elementary teacher, team leader, and was previously an Associate Director at AoPS Academy Frisco. Additionally, she spent nearly eight years in K-12 assessment where she developed language arts standardized tests and was a content lead on several assessment programs. In her spare time, you might find her exploring Dallas, spending time with family and friends, and possibly knitting a scarf.

Kris joined AoPS thrice: In 2011 as a student, in 2016 as a teacher, and in 2019 as a math curriculum developer. They started and coached their high school's math team and won the COMAP High School Mathematical Contest in Modelling twice, but their love for math never really cemented until they discovered graph theory while studying in Budapest and went on to complete their M.Math. in Graph Theory at the University of Waterloo. Kris is also particularly interested in equity in math education and the teaching and learning of discrete mathematics and has previously worked with San Diego State University’s Centre for Research in Math and Science Education to develop discrete math curriculum for high schools. In their free time, Kris enjoys playing board games and playing the ocarina.

Andy is a relative newcomer to the US. He moved here in February to take the long-distance part out of his relationship with his partner. Up until then, he lived in the southwest of the UK. Before the move, he was in the financial services world for about a decade in various roles, specifically working with occupational pension schemes. Much of his focus was on automation, process improvement, and analysis of big datasets, so there's a good bit of overlap with what he will be picking up. Outside of work, he likes hiking (especially when there are lizard-spotting opportunities), board games, escape rooms, and discovering more of this new place he finds himself in—there's still plenty left for him to explore!

Rebecca previously served as an Associate Director at AoPS Academy Santa Clara and AoPS Academy Bellevue before joining the AoPS headquarters team. She loves teaching math to students from elementary through college and once coached a state-qualifying MATHCOUNTS team. She holds an MS in Mathematics from the University of Michigan and a BS in Advanced Mathematics from Michigan State University, where she supervised one of the math learning centers and spent her summers helping direct the math summer camp. Working with colleagues from universities in China, she also organized the Discovering America Exchange Program. For fun, Rebecca likes being outdoors, cooking, and spending time with her playful dogs, Dexter and Jill.

Alex is a Curriculum Developer at AoPS, joining the team in May 2023. He is currently a graduate student in mathematics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, studying algebraic number theory. He is concurrently a problem proposer and contest committee member for many of the Canadian math competitions, as well as a USAMO grader. In middle and high school, he participated in the IMO. He is an AoPS Online School alumnus and enjoys cooking, playing board games, and reading mathematics, both elementary and research-level.

Willie joined AoPS in 2021. Originally raised in the Bay Area, he graduated from the University of Oregon in 2018 with a bachelor's degree in finance. Previous to AoPS, he spent the past 2.5 years working at a local San Diego outsourced accounting firm. In his free time he loves to take advantage of all that San Diego has to offer: beaches, surf, golf, parks, food....and the list doesn't end of course. He also enjoys snowboarding, playing games, cards, or anything with some friendly competition.

Zack is a Filipino-American, New York Times Best-Selling illustrator and author from Portland, OR. Before writing/illustrating his own graphic novels with Scholastic and Oni Press, Zack spent most of the 2010's working on several licensed properties with highlights including the artist of the Adventure Time graphic novels and design work on the Bee & Puppycat animated series. Outside of art, he's an avid home cook so you can probably find him in front of a cutting board or re-watching movies with his two corgis Ace and Penny.

Teaching kids computer science through game design at the Boys & Girls Club sparked Tiffany’s unexpected journey into product design. Starting at community college and working her way to a master's in HCI showed Tiffany just how transformative education can be. Those early teaching moments revealed her passion for making complex concepts click, leading her through game design and machine learning to find her home in product design. From shaping educational products from the ground up at an EdTech startup to designing passenger experiences at Amtrak, she has explored a variety of spaces. Each new field has shaped how she thinks about design, teaching her to see challenges as puzzles waiting for the right creative solution. When she is not designing, you'll find Tiffany crafting matcha bowls at her pottery wheel, savoring a Philz coffee, trying to learn crocheting, hanging off bouldering walls, or cozied up at home with her cat, Thunder.

Conner graduated High School at the peak of COVID in 2020. He is 20 years old and currently working towards his degree in business management at San Diego Mesa Community College. He is looking to transfer to SDSU by the end of this school year. On his off time, he likes to work on his car, golf with his friends, and watch movies. Conner loves to go to car shows and go cruising to various destinations with his friends as well. Friends and family are a key part of Conner's life and he likes to be around others all the time.

Gabrielle Swenson is a passionate and results-driven Sales Executive with a strong background in EdTech and SaaS. She brings expertise in customer success, process optimization, and delivering tailored solutions that drive lasting value. Known for her strategic thinking and customer-centric approach, Gabrielle is dedicated to building strong relationships and helping clients achieve their goals. She’s excited to bring her experience and enthusiasm to the AoPS team, contributing to the shared success and growth of Beast Academy.

Jenna is a San Diego native and earned her BA in Psychology from Cal State San Marcos where she volunteered as a research assistant in their environmental psychology lab. After graduation, Jenna began working in HR where she quickly found a passion in talent acquisition because it allows her to use both her creative and analytical sides, while getting to connect with so many different people. She has worked in TA for the last eight years within various industries including aerospace, architecture & design, and most recently tech, helping scale Reddit's business teams through rapid growth. Outside of work, Jenna enjoys playing piano, live music, camping (desert, mountains and beaches!), trying new recipes, and spending time with her partner Nick and their basset hound.

Long before joining AoPS in 2022, Brendan spent a large amount of his childhood assembling building toys of various shapes and sizes. When he was in high school, he realized that writing computer programs would allow him to build great things with unparalleled flexibility to encounter setbacks, learn from mistakes, and keep trying again, so after graduating from UC Berkeley, he went on to spend his career writing code. He hopes that his work at AoPS helps students learn math and problem solving skills that help them engineer solutions to future problems. Aside from programming, you may find him engaging in tabletop games, Dance Dance Revolution, or reading or watching videos about whatever topics grab his interest.

Kelsie is from Huntington Beach, CA and currently is based out of Denver, CO. She has been in the Talent Acquisition field for over four years and loves what she does. When she’s not working, Kelsie enjoys practicing and teaching yoga, going to the mountains with her Australian Shepherd, and snowboarding.

Nestor is a motion designer, animator, illustrator, and filmmaker, originating from the tropics of Venezuela. Earning a double BFA in Film and Motion Graphics from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Nestor has an unending passion for combining film and animation tech to show stories in new and inconvenient ways, whether that be through marketing or visual narratives. His love and dedication to his craft expands beyond the workplace, earning him 11 elections and three awards at film festivals across the world for his films, and self-starting his own animation collective with his friends. When away from his drawing tablet, Nestor can be meditating at a Buddhist temple, or playing video games with his nephews.

Longtime puzzlehunter and puzzle writer, former Googler (Search, Code Jam), lapsed chemist/biologist, combinatorics admirer. Besides computer science and math, Ian loves baseball, history, movies, tabletop RPGs, theater, trivia, weightlifting, and wildlife, among many other things!

Joe graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in computer science. He has a passion for video games which led him to create custom tools and game modes for Rocket League. He’s also a big football fan who roots for the Seahawks and Huskies. Joe was a five-year member of the University of Washington Husky Marching Band playing the tenor sax. He really enjoyed the incredible experience of performing in front of huge crowds in big games. In his free time he likes to play video games, throw a football, or shoot a basketball.

Matthew joined AoPS in 2021. After graduating from UC Santa Barbara in 2009, he became a certified teacher and spent a decade teaching internationally. He has taught world history and language arts in various educational settings, from enrichment programs to international high schools. His classroom experience has taken him from Shanghai, China, to Santiago, Chile, where he's taught and designed curricula for thousands of multicultural students from elementary school to high school. He's driven by creating interactive, dynamic, and engaging learning experiences that challenge students and spark their creativity. Outside of work, you'll likely find Matthew listening to podcasts, playing board games, playing volleyball, or exploring new places.

In 2021, Riley graduated with a BA in Math and Computer Science from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon. While at Lewis and Clark Riley played collegiate tennis for all four years and was elected team captain his senior year. Before joining the AoPS team Riley worked as a surf instructor, for Surf Education Academy, teaching kids of all ages the foundational skills of surfing. In his free time you will most likely find Riley at the beach surfing or in the kitchen cooking!

Joshua joined AoPS in the spring of 2024. Having graduated from Concordia University Irvine & obtaining his teaching degree, Joshua dove into the world of math & science and taught in & out of the classroom for over sixteen years. He is very passionate about creating equitable access to STREAMM education & is ever fascinated by the natural world. After growing up in San Diego, Joshua transplanted to the Bay Area where he was able to access even more off-road trails, remote camp spots, & breathtaking natural landscapes. Upon returning to San Diego a few years ago, he & his partner make time for gardening, trips to the beach with their three dogs, & finding new spots in the southwestern desert to be amazed by.

Deven joined AoPS in 2014. During this same year he earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from UCLA. While there, he led the Intermediate Circle at the Los Angeles Math Circle and played with electron lasers for fun. Outside of school, he attended MathPath twice as a counselor and attended the UCLA Logic Summer School as a student. In his free time, Deven enjoys solving logic puzzles and pondering about interesting math problems. He also acknowledges the concerning fact that in this bio he has claimed attending school as one of his outside of school activities.

Ashley is an experienced professional with a strong background in operations management within the staffing industry. Born and raised in San Diego, she spent six years in Seattle, WA, and is thrilled to be back in her hometown, reconnecting with her roots. Ashley’s love for people and her ability to connect with individuals from diverse backgrounds have been defining traits since childhood. She has a genuine passion for encouraging and uplifting others, always striving to build meaningful relationships and spread kindness wherever she goes. In her free time, Ashley enjoys creating lasting memories with her son. A foodie at heart, she’s always on the lookout for new culinary experiences and loves spending time cooking, enjoying live music, dancing, nurturing her plant collection, traveling, and soaking in the outdoors. Quality time with friends and family is a priority, and she cherishes every opportunity to be with loved ones. One of Ashley’s favorite quotes is, “Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace.” She approaches life and work with intentionality, positivity, resilience, and a commitment to making a meaningful impact. She’s excited to bring her passion and expertise to her new role and looks forward to connecting with others along the way.

Josette moved to San Diego with their family in 2011 when their father was stationed at Miramar. While at San Diego State University they did some editing and English tutoring. After graduating, the lovely weather, company, and museums convinced them to stay. In their free time, Josette enjoys tabletop roleplaying games (and designing Google Sheets based character sheets for them), walks around the neighborhood (and the beautiful Balboa Park), cooking (especially when there’s company), and sewing (though they're still getting back into it). They work on two Actual Play podcasts and love working on world development. When they can, Josette loves to take their niece to arcades (namely Nickel City) or host a game day at home.

Campbell graduated from Dartmouth College in 2022 with a BA in Quantitative Social Science with an Education focus. She has had a passion for Education since a young age, spending much of her time volunteering and working with young learners. She comes to AoPS with a professional background in the start-up & marketing space. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, skiing, surfing, and live music.

Eric Wofsey has loved teaching and learning math for as long as he can remember. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a degree in math and Spanish in 2008 and was a graduate student in math at Harvard. Eric was both a student and a teacher at Canada/USA Mathcamp for many years and joined AoPS in 2015 as an instructor and in 2024 as part of the curriculum team. When he’s not thinking about math, Eric enjoys playing board games, solving and writing puzzles, learning languages, playing with dogs, and birdwatching.

Phyllis joined AoPS at the start of 2014. Originally from Maryland, she completed her BS at MIT in Materials Science and Engineering and continued on to finish her PhD at UC San Diego where she studied various materials on the nanoscale. In her free time, you'll probably find her walking her pups, eating watermelon, or learning about fermentation science.

Kevin began with AoPS in 2018 as a grader and assistant but joined the staff full-time in 2020. He earned a BS in Mathematics from Houghton College and a M.Ed. from Liberty University. Prior to joining AoPS, Kevin was a high school math teacher for 16 years, 13 of which were spent teaching in an International School near Budapest, Hungary. In his free time, he enjoys studying computer programming, reading, and playing Gang Beasts with his four kids, both the video game and their own real-life version.

Josh has been an educator in a variety of contexts since 2016. With time spent teaching in public high school, university, and a private program aimed at nationally achieving youth, he has developed a profound appreciation for how varied the educational journey is for each student. He strives to teach in a way accessible and enriching to each of his students, regardless of their academic starting points. He is an avid learner himself, accumulating BAs in Math and Economics and an accidental PhD in Computer Science. In his free time, he enjoys fantasy of all kinds, weight training, running, and tinkering with (and often breaking) the code in computer games.

Laura first joined AoPS as a middle school student in 2004. After taking AoPS's awesome classes for many years, she was excited to start working as a class assistant while she was attending Stanford and then to join AoPS full-time soon after graduating in 2014. She's loved math and teaching for a long time, whether going to math meets (when she could find enough other homeschoolers to form a team!), attending math camps as a camper and later as a counselor, or coaching a MATHCOUNTS team. While at Stanford, Laura studied a mix of mathematics, computer science, and classics – the latter gave her the chance to study abroad in Italy, where she could visit lots of exciting ancient ruins like those in the photo on the left. In her spare time, she enjoys photography, working on crafts, learning new styles of dancing, and roller skating.

Leon is a web developer with a passion for making clean and responsive UIs. Leon grew up in San Diego, where he attended the San Diego Math Circle and was president of the math club at Canyon Crest Academy, then got a BS in Mathematics from MIT. After graduating in 2014, Leon worked at Pocket Gems, a mobile gaming studio, then at Cruise, an autonomous vehicle company, before joining Art of Problem Solving in 2022. Leon enjoys working in React and Python, strives to write practical, idiomatic code, and loves coding collaboratively. Outside of work, Leon enjoys playing competitive video games: he's been ranked in the top 15 in Northern California in Super Smash Bros. Melee, and also enjoys other fighting games and strategy games. He also partakes in indoor rock climbing, puzzle hunts (with Galactic Trendsetters), cooking, juggling, and hot sauces.

Kiana joined AoPS in 2020 after graduating from Cal Poly Pomona. A lifetime love of logic puzzles led her to a BS in Computer Science with a minor in Mathematics. While studying at CPP, Kiana played an active role in the campus community by representing the school’s computer science department at various events, organizing a coding competition for high school students, and leading a club called the Software Engineering Association. Throughout her development experience, she discovered a passion for user experience, focusing on details that make software simple and convenient. In her free time, she enjoys solving puzzles such as Sudoku and Nonagram, spending time with her dog Bella, playing tabletop role-playing games, and indoor bouldering.