Team
Meet the Team
Our tutors are all experienced master teachers.
Stephanie Poillucci
Stephanie Poillucci
Education
- Doctoral Candidate, Department of Educational Theory and Practice, University at Albany
- Master’s Degree in English Language Learning, University of Phoenix
- Dual Bachelors of Arts Degree, Psychology and Elementary Education, Hofstra University
Bio
Stephanie is an accomplished educator with a diverse academic background and extensive professional experience.
Her career began in Long Island, New York, where she worked in several school districts. Her notable achievements include designing and implementing a kindergarten program at Tutor Time in Armonk in 2004.
Stephanie joined a public charter school in the northeast Bronx as a third-grade teacher. After two years, she moved to 5th grade, eventually becoming the lead teacher. Her roles expanded to include serving as the school’s assessment coordinator, alongside initiating and coordinating a Saturday support and enrichment program for 5th graders.
Subsequently, she took on the role of academic leader, mentoring teachers and instructional practices, and she played a pivotal role in revising the 5th-grade English Language Arts curriculum. Eventually, Stephanie transitioned into professional development, focusing on the Subordination of Teaching to Learning approach in English Language Arts.
For the past three years, she has been serving as the Supervisor of Curriculum and Instruction.
Doris Fleming
Education
- Doctoral Candidate, Literacy, University at Albany
- Master of Science in Literacy, Lehman College
- Bachelor of Arts in English, Lehman College
Bio
Doris’s teaching career officially began in 2003 at the Sisulu-Walker Charter School of Harlem, where she served as a K-3 teacher, K-5 Title 1 teacher and coordinator, K-5 reading coach, and afterschool coordinator.
In 2015, she joined the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning, serving as a K-2 teacher and grade-level coordinating teacher before taking on the K-2 ELA Professional Development Specialist role.
Her certification areas are: the General Branches, Permanent Certification (Pre-K to grade 6), and Literacy, Professional Certification (Birth to grade 6).
Doris Fleming
What I love about working with children:
“Children are so matter-of-fact, saying the damnedest things.”
Ashley LoConte
What I love about working with children:
“I love being able to experience things from their point of view. Listening to students discuss and interpret the world is fascinating!”
Ashley LoConte
Education
- Master’s Degree in Curriculum Development and Instructional Technology, University at Albany
- Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology, Montclair State University
Bio
Ashley has been teaching for about nine years. She attended Montclair State University, where she received her BA in Psychology and then went through the Teacher Education Program. Early on in college, she became interested in urban teaching.
Her first assignment in a special “Jumpstart” program landed her in a pre-school class, where she created lessons to promote literacy and help students with reading skills at an early age. Then, after graduation, she secured her first teaching job in Newark, NJ, where she was assigned to a 3rd grade class. She remained there for 4 years and was responsible for teaching all subjects.
When she moved to NY, she was hired at a charter school in the Bronx, where she has been teaching ELA in grades 3 through 5, and also serving as an Academic Leader, supporting other teachers on best practices and curriculum development in the elementary grades.
Dr. Amanda Santos
Education
- Ed.D. & Ed.M. in Administration, Planning & Social Policy, Harvard University Graduate School of Education
- Master’s Degree in Secondary Mathematics Education, City College of New York
- Bachelor’s Degree in African American Studies, Syracuse University
Bio
Amanda has had a career working in new ventures or newly created positions.
At the start, she applied for and landed a position as a math teacher at a newly established charter high school in New Orleans, LA, where, as the ad stated, “Pioneers only need apply.” During her time there, she realized that traditional teaching was not getting the job done properly and she began her career-long search for a pedagogy that was student-driven and focused.
Eventually, after venturing into administrative work and then teaching English in Mexico, where she became fully bilingual and biliterate, she discovered a charter elementary school in the Bronx.
There Amanda found the answer to her quest: a pedagogy called the Subordination of Teaching to Learning, through which teachers and students focus on and seek to fully understand the learning taking place. She currently serves there as Assistant Principal.
Additionally, for over a decade, she has been an adjunct professor of mathematics at Westchester Community College.
Dr. Amanda Santos
What I love about working with children:
“They are so full of life and enthusiasm!”
Dr. Vanessa Asencio-Trezza
What I love about working with children:
“Learning alongside my students is one of the greatest gifts of being a teacher.”
Dr. Vanessa Asencio-Trezza
Education
- Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction, The State University of New York at Albany
- Master’s Degree in Education, The College of New Rochelle
- Bachelor’s Degree in English, Fordham University
Bio
Dr. Asencio-Trezza is a deeply experienced educator, having served as Assistant Principal and Principal at the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning.
Prior to her leadership roles, Vanessa was an English Language Arts teacher for 8 years. In the Spring of 2024, she earned her Doctorate degree, specializing in the unique and highly successful pedagogy, the subordination of teaching to learning.
The combination of her deep understanding of the academic process and her years of hands-on experience fuels her passion to support student learning and build better teachers.
Daniel Tamulonis
Education
- Master’s Degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages)
- Master’s of Fine Arts Degree, Puppetry, Teachers College, Columbia University
- Bachelor’s Degree, Theater, University of Connecticut
Bio
From teaching high school in the Congo and in Ithaca, NY, to coaching elementary school teachers in New Jersey, to teaching Pre-K, Kindergarten, and First Grade children in the Bronx, Daniel feels so fortunate to have experienced the joy of working with children and young people in what feels like half the world.
Those experiences have taught him again and again that learning and teaching go hand in hand. He is constantly learning, from the children he works with, how to teach better.
Daniel Tamulonis
What I love about working with children:
“It is a privilege to work with the youngest learners.”
Dr. Paula Hajar
What I love about working with children:
Dr. Paula Hajar
Education
- Ed.D., Harvard University Graduate School of Education
- Master’s Degree in Education, Harvard University Graduate School of Education
- Master of Arts Degree in Teaching, Antioch Putney Graduate School of Education
- Bachelor of Arts Degree, Radcliffe College
Bio
Paula has taught in several prestigious private schools (Horace Mann, Trevor Day, the Little Red Schoolhouse) as well as at the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning (BBL), which she helped to found in 2003.
Currently a Senior Professional Development Specialist at BBL, she previously served as Director of Program Evaluation and Assessment in the Mamaroneck N.Y. Public Schools, the Supervisor of Elementary Instruction in the Teaneck N.J. Public School District and as the Director of Elementary Instruction in Englewood N.J. Public Schools.
She was also an Assistant Professor of Education at Teachers College, Columbia University. An expert in Be Brilliant!’s unique pedagogy, Dr. Hajar provides tutoring in both mathematics and ELA.
Dasha Alexander
Education
- Doctoral Candidate, Department of Educational Theory and Practice, University at Albany
- Master’s Degree in Childhood Education and Special Education, Manhattanville College
- Bachelor’s Degree, SUNY Purchase School of Visual Arts
Bio
Dasha began her educational career as an art teacher, where she discovered her passion for working with children. That experience led her to pursue a dual Master’s Degree and certification in childhood education and special education. She now works as a school administrator in the Bronx.
Her professional background includes working across all elementary grades in various subjects, providing targeted support for students identified as “academically at-risk,” and working as a special education teacher. Currently in her doctoral studies, she is exploring educational theory and innovative teaching techniques.
In her work with students, she seeks to design learning activities that promote academic growth, self-awareness, creative thinking, and agency.
Dasha Alexander
What I love about working with children:
“Being in the presence of a child’s curiosity often rekindles my own, reminding me that our world is full of wonderful things waiting to be explored. Children are brilliant. Their openness and expressiveness, coupled with pure, unbridled energy, are refreshing and deeply inspiring.”
Stacey Petrone
What I love about working with children:
“Their boundless curiosity and zest for learning.”
Stacey Petrone
Education
- Master of Professional Studies in Literacy with Specialization in Reading & Writing, Manhattanville College
- Bachelor of Science in Early Childhood Education (concentration: English/Language Arts), The College of Saint Rose
Bio
Fahim Chowdury
Education
- Masters Candidate in STEM Education, American College of Education
- Master of Science in Education in Childhood Education, Hunter College
- Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Literature, Cornell University
Bio
Fahim brings 15 years of experience in classroom teaching and tutoring, covering grades from kindergarten through eighth grade, to the Be Brilliant team. He earned a B.A. in English LIterature from Cornell University, followed by an MSEd in Childhood Education from Hunter College, and holds dual New York State certifications in Childhood Education and Special Education. He is currently completing a Masters degree program in STEM Education from the American College of Education.
During his time at the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning, he was nominated for New York State Teacher of the Year. His students in grades 3-5 consistently exceeded city and state averages in the New York State ELA, Math, and Science assessments. Additionally, he served as a Coding and Robotics Coordinator, leading his First Lego League team to the New York City finals.
Since the Spring of 2024, Fahim has been serving as a teacher with Mighty Minds and Muscles, an organization providing SETSS, PT and OT services to students throughout New York City.
Fahim’s extensive and diverse experiences as an educator has taught him that each and every human being he encounters is a brilliant learner, and that his role is to create conditions for students to preserve, to enhance, and (in some cases) to rediscover those learning powers. He realizes that an important part of his role is to support students in their understanding of academic content, but of greater enduring power is his fostering students’ awareness of themselves as learners in relation to the content. He finds it enormously fulfilling to be able to provide that service.
Fahim Chowdury
What I love about working with children:
“Children have an open-mindedness, a natural curiosity, and a sense of wonder about the world that lead to such delightful questions and insights!”
Natalia
What I love about working with children:
Natalia
Education
- Master of Science in Curriculum Development and Instructional Technology, University at Albany
- Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Minor in Urban Teaching for Elementary/Childhood Education, Barnard College
Bio
Natalia was first exposed to Gattegno’s philosophies and the Subordination of Teaching to Learning almost 7 years ago. During a STEM colloquium, she watched in awe as Dr. Paula Hajar used Cuisenaire rods to demonstrate math concepts ranging from pre-school level number sense to college-level logarithms. As a student who was often wary about conventional education during her learning career, Natalia experienced the approaches work firsthand, exposed to them during her Masters classes. She found her motivation to engage increased to an all-time high. The Subordination of Teaching to Learning would be an approach that would empower students because of its genuinely student-centric nature, where students’ noticings and curiosities are explored, and that was something Natalia wanted to be part of.
Natalia has experience ranging from grades 1 to 7 and has worked extensively with 2nd grade in an integrated co-teaching classroom. There, she had the opportunity to work with and learn alongside neurodiverse populations. Her main focuses were ELA, math, and social-emotional learning, where she interlaced themes of compassion, empathy, reflection, and mindfulness into her lessons, collaborating with her co-teacher to develop thoughtful experiences and interventions to help her students grow and discover their best selves.
Natalia currently works at NYU’s Department of Psychology and hopes to transition to a career as a psychologist, where she can incorporate Gattegno’s unique philosophies into her therapeutic practice.
Dr. Theodore (Ted) Swartz
What I love about working with children:
Dr. Theodore (Ted) Swartz
Education
- Ph.D. in Educational Psychology/Special Education: New York University
- Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counselling: Long Island University
- Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology: Colby College
Bio
Dr. Theodore (Ted) Swartz
Education
- Ph.D. in Educational Psychology/Special Education: New York University
- Master’s Degree in Guidance and Counselling: Long Island University
- Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology: Colby College
Bio
After many years in public education, as a teacher (elementary through college), a principal and a school district superintendent, Ted co-founded and now co-manages Be Brilliant! Tutoring, LLC (BB!T).
He also co-founded and played key leadership roles in the Bronx Charter School for Better Learning, one of NY state’s highest achieving independent, public charter schools, with average, pre-pandemic, ELA and math scores that exceeded those of the state’s group of wealthiest districts.
Considered one of the world’s leading experts in BB!T’s instructional approach, the subordination of teaching to learning, he has designed learning apps based on it.
Dr. Theodore (Ted) Swartz
What I love about working with children:
