Instructors

Jennifer Swan is a teaching artist and mural painter who shares her love of art with the diverse community of Worcester and its surrounding cities and towns. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, she currently teaches classes for the Worcester Art Museum and is a member of the Magnum Opus Fine Art Agency. She is primarily a plain air landscape painter, however, draws influence from many themes, styles, and cultures in her artwork.

Jon had worked as a certified high school math teacher at Rockville High School in Vernon, CT. While at this post, Jon taught and tutored a wide range of subjects including all levels of Algebra, Geometry, Consumer Math, Chemistry, Biology, and English Literature. Jon had also been the Musical Theatre Director at Rockville High School for four years, producing, artistically and musically directing, choreographing, and designing the technical aspects of Once Upon a Mattress, Little Shop of Horrors, The Who's Tommy, and other shows. In addition he acted as the Assistant Marching Band Director and Color Guard Coordinator for the Rockville Marching Ram Band. Jon holds a B.A. in Actuarial Science with minors in English and History, as well as an M.A. in Education Curriculum and Instruction all from the University of Connecticut. In his precious little spare time, Jon is an avid reader and enjoys dabbling in painting, piano playing, and other artistic endeavors.

Lauren Monroe earned her Bachelor’s Degree of Science from University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2002. Upon completing her degree she continued her studies in an extensive journey across the world that took her to Europe, Africa, South and Central America and Asia. Spending most of her time in Japan, Lauren taught English as a second language in several language schools in and around Tokyo and through an educational travel group called Peaceboat. Peaceboat is a large charter cruise ship that circumnavigates the globe twice a year, making several stops around the world, in an effort to educate its passengers about social, political and environmental issues. Working with this organization gave Lauren insight on the value of education through experience. Upon completion of her time with this organization she returned to the states with renewed inspiration to continue study in the sciences and to teach.

Lauren taught general science to at-risk teens at the Wetzel Center through YOU Inc. and received her MA teacher's licensure almost immediately upon return. She tutored chemistry and genetics to the home schooled community for three years before recognizing the need for an educational lab and academic space in Worcester. With the help of several friends within the community Lauren opened Think Tank with a mission to bring high quality, affordable education to the Central MA community. Think Tank has been running successfully for three years and is beginning its fourth with extended staff, space and new technology lab and program. Lauren continues to run as educational director and science teacher while also continuing her own education through various graduate level course at UMASS Boston and Worcester State. She hopes to get a masters in Biology, to build an international component to Think Tank while also continuing to build her Think Tank team and the emphasis of experience and practical applications to learning through the center. 

Fady Essi was born and raised in Baghdad, Iraq until he moved to the US at the age of 16. After attending high school in Michigan, he attended community college and, after two and a half years, transferred to Wayne State University where he majored in Biological Sciences. During those years he developed a strong passion toward science through helping his fellow classmates understand different concepts in mathematics, biology, and chemistry. In August of 2011 he received his BS and moved to Mass to attend the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Fady was introduced to Think Tank through a service learning internship and found a niche in math tutoring. We are happy to have him return as an official tutor this Spring, 2012.

 

Eve recently moved to Worcester for her job as an Art Conservation Technician at the Worcester Art Museum (WAM). She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Art History at Wesleyan University in Connecticut in 2010. She has since been working in art conservation at various institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., the Historic Odessa Foundation in Delaware, and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Teaching is Eve’s second passion, having tutored high-school math and English as a foreign language while studying abroad in Spain and Mexico. She is particularly drawn to innovative teaching methods and interdisciplinary learning. In her free time she enjoys making art, reading, traveling, cooking, and playing oboe and piano. As an avid outdoor enthusiast and distance-runner, Eve loves backpacking and is currently training for the Cincinnati marathon in May.

Alex is a graduate of the Minsk State Linguistic University in Belarus where he majored in French and English as second languages and earned his Master of Education. He is a fluent speaker of French and Russian, having completed a Business degree and worked for a number of years in France. Before joining Think Tank he taught French at the State University of New York, the Ottawa University, as well as a number of colleges and private schools in Europe, Canada and the US. Recently acquiring a MBA in 2009 has reinforced his ability to teach French not just as a language, but also to include curriculum topics such as Marketing, Political Science, Business, Sociology and others. Alex remains passionately devoted to teaching French to students of all ages.