Our Expert Tutors and Counsellors

Jason Smith

Jason is the founder of UES and the curriculum lead for Mathematics and Science. He gained a First Class Master’s degree with Honours from The University of Nottingham, and went on to earn a PhD in Applied Mathematics. He then worked as a nuclear scientist for the European Commission. Jason is a keen sportsman, having competed internationally at Taekwondo. He also has a passion for travel, having visited much of the known (and little known) world, and published articles about his adventures.

Throughout this time, Jason has tutored privately to children studying for a range of exams including GCSE, IB, A-Level and university modules, but now focuses on the US entrance exams, namely the ACT, SAT, SAT II Subjects Tests in Maths and Physics, and GRE and GMAT. His approach is to give students a deep understanding of - and interest in - the fundamentals of maths. This approach has helped get students in to top colleges across the US, including Harvard, UPenn, Duke, and many more.

Loni Reynolds

A US native, Loni was awarded an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, where she double majored in English and Psychology (2005).  She moved to London to study a Master's in Writing in the Modern Age at Queen Mary, University of London (2006). Her PhD was awarded from University of Roehampton (2011); her main area of study was American Literature and her thesis explored religion and spirituality in the work of the Beat Generation. In addition to tutoring, she is an active academic. She has articles published in leading academic journals; she serves as associate editor of Culture and Dialogue and presents her work at UK and international conferences. Loni is passionate about reading and writing fiction, and her short stories have appeared in US and UK journals.

Martine Gagnon

Martine received her BA in Spanish Literature and her MA in Translation Studies from Concordia University in Montreal. She has taught English and Translation at University College London and the Sorbonne in Paris. She is also an active commercial and literary translator; her work has been published in Europe and North America, and she has provided subtitles for film and television. Martine has tutored standardised tests professionally for over ten years. She covers exams and subjects ranging from maths to modern languages to history. She also helps with college applications, and past students have been accepted to many prestigious universities such as Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, Oxford, and Imperial amongst others.

Laura Trosser

Laura graduated from Harvard University in 2016 with an AB cum laude in Comparative Literature with a citation in French. Her undergraduate studies focussed on drama and poetry, specialising in 20th-21st century reworkings of Greek tragedy in English and French.

Before hopping the pond to study, Laura grew up in London. She attended the Tiffin Girls' School before joining the sixth form at King's College School, Wimbledon in the first year girls were admitted. With a keen interest in maths and physics as well as modern languages and literatures, she pursued her interest in a wide range of subjects through the IB diploma.

Having applied independently to US universities from the UK, Laura is sympathetic to the challenges of moving from the UK system to the US. She now works to make the process an easier and more enjoyable one for international students through her tutoring work and as a volunteer Harvard interviewer. Laura offers tutoring on all sides of the SAT and ACT tests.

Alongside her tutoring, Laura is studying for an MFA in Professional Acting from LAMDA.

Laura teaches:

• ACT: all sections
• SAT: all sections

Olivia Munk

Olivia grew up in Queens, New York and attended Harvard University in 2012. She graduated Cum Laude in 2016 with a degree in English and a minor in Mind/Brain/Behavior. At Harvard, she was an active theatre director and wrote for The Crimson's magazine, Fifteen Minutes ,  for which she served as Editor-at-Large. She blogged for Harvard's Office for the Arts, and was a Becky Greenwald Ledecky Fellow for Harvard Magazine, which allowed her to write columns, news articles, and personal dispatches. After graduating, she went on to pursue a Master of Studies in English (1900-present) at St. Catherine's College, Oxford. She was awarded a Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa in order to found her theatre company, Part of the Main, which focuses on improving the representation of women creatives and women's stories in the professional theatre industry.

At UES Olivia specializes in assisting students with both the Maths and English sides of the SAT and the ACT, as well as the SAT Subject Tests. Olivia approaches tuition is a friendly manner, taking special consideration of a student's comfort. Olivia believes that when students feel supported in lessons, they are able to better engage and take an active role in their studies. Olivia excels at making the content approachable, particularly for students who may feel intimidated by the harder maths concepts such as algebra or complex American grammar concepts.

As well as tuition, Olivia also provides application support for personal statements, essays, and college choice. 

Matt Lukacs

After graduating from the University of York with a degree in Theoretical Physics, Matt joined the accountancy firm KPMG to begin a career in finance. Having a change of heart, he then decided to study for his PhD in nuclear fusion at Imperial College, investigating the safety analysis of commercial fusion power stations.

Matt headed various seminars during his time at university and volunteered to help younger students tackle set problems. Since then, he has amassed hundreds of hours of tuition covering a wide range of exams from GCSE English to university physics. He now specialises in US standardised tests and has experience leading courses covering all sections of the SAT and ACT at top schools including Charterhouse, Southbank, King's Canterbury, Ardingly, and Bradfield College.

Matt is a firm believer that anyone can solve complex problems if they’re explained in the right way. His passion for the subjects he teaches can be seen in his approach to lessons, not simply repeating facts but allowing a deeper understanding and enjoyment of the subject at hand. As Matt has vast experience teaching the entirety of the SAT and ACT, he's able to help students apply their strengths in one section or another to the areas they struggle with most.

Aida Rocci Ruiz

Aida grew up in Spain and always considered studying in the United States a distant dream more than an actual option. She began studying Business Administration and Finance at CUNEF, in Madrid. After three years, she ventured into the peculiarities of the US application system on her own and became one of the twelve transfer students accepted into Harvard University in 2011. Aida graduated from Harvard Magna Cum Laude with Highest Honors in Psychology in 2014. Her experience led her to co-found a non-profit organization to empower and coach Spanish students from non-international schools to access top American universities.

Shortly after, Aida returned to Harvard to pursue a Master's in Fine Arts in Dramaturgy and Theatre Studies at the American Repertory Institute in collaboration with the Moscow Art Theatre. During her postgraduate studies at Harvard, she became a teaching fellow, assisting top field professors and leading several undergraduate classes. She then went on to a second Master's in London at the prestigious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; now, as a professional dramaturg, she helps playwrights and directors to find their unique voice to express their ideas. She uses the same skills to inspire young students to tell their story in a compelling and personal way in their US college applications. On top of teaching, she continues to work as a literary advisor and editor in the dramatic arts, and writes for The Theatre Times.

All of these experiences inform how Aida approaches tutoring. She focuses in developing the student’s learning tactics for long-term gains. Utilising skills from her academic and professional experiences, she curates how students learn and connect different materials with both rigour and ease. In a relaxed, friendly, and supportive atmosphere, students often find that they already had the key to learning in them and leave with long-lasting strategies to tackle new learning challenges.

Joanna Harker Shaw

Originally from Scotland, Joanna is one of our most experienced English tutors and teaches the full spectrum of US standardized tests including the ISEE, SSAT, SAT, and ACT, as well as UK tests including Common Entrance exams. Since graduating with a 1st Class English Degree, Joanna has gone on to obtain a MA in Russian Literature from UCL and is currently undertaking a PhD on Collaboration in Literature.

A tutor for nearly ten years, Joanna has taught the SAT and ACT in top schools around the UK including City of London Boy's School, Uppingham, Marymount and LAE Tottenham. As part of UES, Joanna has helped her students gain places at top colleges in both the USA and UK. She particularly specializes in working with students who have dyslexia or other learning difficulties.

A published poet, Joanna runs poetry workshops and also teaches English & Creative Writing at university level. Her experience with writing and literature helps inform her teaching style, as she teaches students to think critically while encouraging their talents and building their confidence. Using this wealth of experience, Joanna is able to tailor her teaching in order to be effective when working with students of all different ages and backgrounds.

Peter Woodford

A US native originally from Chicago, Peter received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he double majored in Philosophy and Religious Studies (2004). He went on to do a Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Stanford University, focusing on philosophy of religion and the relationship between religion and science. Peter’s PhD was awarded from Stanford University in 2013, and he first came to the UK via a 3-year postdoc at Cambridge University. In addition to tutoring, Peter is an active academic. He teaches courses in philosophy and religion at universities in the UK and has articles published in leading academic journals.

Peter has several years' experience teaching at the college level both in the US and UK, and he brings an understanding of both the US and UK systems to his tutoring. Peter covers all sections of the SAT and ACT, and he has a passion for learning across a range of subjects. He enjoys helping students break down the tests and the types of questions asked, so that they feel comfortable and prepared on test-day.

Outside of tutoring, Peter mostly goes on trips with his family and chases after his very active 2 yr old daughter, making sure she doesn’t injure herself. He loves hiking, reading, and music; while he continues to follow sports in the US, he is developing a passion for football and cricket.