Our Team (English)

Bespoke’s tutors are people of extraordinary intelligence and experience.

Tim Levin

Tim Levin

Founder

While growing up in New York City, Tim attended The Horace Mann School for fifteen years. After graduating from Yale College in 1993, he taught at a boarding school in Massachusetts and then at The Fieldston School in the Bronx. Prior to starting his tutoring business, he worked in the corporate offices of Kaplan Test Prep helping to train teachers and write course curricula. He is an adjunct professor in the Science Department of SUNY’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Tim holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Teachers College. After spending years building and strengthening his management team, since 2016, Tim has chosen to step back from the day-to-day running of the company.

Zachary Fox

Zachary Fox

Director, Bespoke Europe

Zachary grew up in New York City, where he attended The Fieldston School. After graduating with honors in Political Science from Lehigh University, he worked for a production company in Manhattan which created programming for the ESPN network. Later, he produced documentaries for a series that received two Emmy awards. Simultaneously, he worked at the New York offices of Bespoke Education for several years. After receiving a degree in Documentary Studies from the New School in NYC, he moved to Paris, where he has continued making documentaries and teaching courses about this medium at Sciences Po and the Sorbonne. Zachary has worked for Bespoke Education for more than 20 years and is currently Director of Bespoke Education Europe.

Catherine de Clerck

Catherine de Clerck

Director, Bespoke Switzerland

Catherine grew up in the Bay Area, California, and graduated with a BA in French Studies from Emory University. She started her career in marketing and communications at Leo Burnett. Her extensive global travel has provided her with numerous opportunities to reinvent herself while remaining a pillar for her family. At Bespoke Europe, Catherine looks after our students and families based in Switzerland, providing them with solutions and support for their education and their university admissions journey.

Jonathan Schiffman

Jonathan Schiffman

Director, Bespoke Spain

Jonathan grew up in New York City, attended the Dalton School, and received a BA with Honors from Yale University. After pursuing graduate music studies at the Juilliard School, he came to France as a Fulbright Scholar to study music composition. An accomplished conductor, Jonathan has worked with over fifty orchestras and opera houses throughout Europe. Jonathan is also a published author and a former host of “Spoken Word,” Paris’s pre-eminent Anglophone open-mic. In his free time, he enjoys chess, skiing, windsurfing and playing piano. A tutor with over a decade of experience, Jonathan helps students prepare for the dSAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, IGCSE, GMAT, and TMUA (Cambridge admissions) as well as guiding them through diverse subjects, including creative writing, college application essays, and music theory. Finally, Jonathan is Bespoke’s resident Bocconi expert and the author of our Bocconi preparation book.

Jess Pearce

Jess Pearce

Director, Tutoring Services

A California native, Jess has a PhD in biology from the University of Utah. They worked as a research associate at the CNRS in Montpellier, France and the CSIC in Seville, Spain before leaving academia to start their own scientific editing and translation business. Throughout their scientific career, they worked extensively with high school and undergraduate students, teaching lecture, laboratory, and field courses. Jess also has Level 1 training in the IFS therapy model. At Bespoke Europe, Jess is the Director of Tutoring Services. As time allows, they also tutor the dSAT, ACT, IB Biology, AP Biology, and AP Statistics.

Adam

Adam

Adam graduated with honors from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, where he earned a BS in medical science and a BA in French. He holds a master’s degree in medical molecular imaging from the University of Paris XI and the Curie Institute and a PhD in Nuclear Medicine from Sorbonne University. Throughout his educational career, Adam has used math, physics, biology, and chemistry extensively. Since high school, he has been tutoring students in science and math. At Bespoke, Adam helps students with math, physics, chemistry, and biology as well as with dSAT and ACT preparation.

Albert

Albert

Albert was born in Saint Tropez, France and moved to Australia with his family when he was young. Since then, he’s lived in the United Kingdom, United States, and French Pacific. He has an MPhil in Economics from Balliol College, Oxford; an MFA in Fiction from New York University, where he was a GSAS Fellow; and a PhD, focused on the theory of comedy, from the University of New South Wales. A published novelist, Albert has over a decade of teaching experience: he has taught test preparation, creative writing, application essay writing, mathematics, physics, and various other school subjects. At Bespoke, Albert tutors the dSAT and IELTS.

Andrés

Andrés

Andrés has 20 years of tutoring experience, specializing in academic coaching, writing, math, and test prep. He holds degrees from Cornell (Psychology and Economics), Brooklyn College (Education with a math specialization), and The New School (MFA in Creative Writing). Andrés is an expert in executive functioning coaching, particularly for college students, helping them manage schedules and breakdown and execute assignments. His student-centered approach has guided many to graduation. He has taught from fifth grade to post grad and has also served as a high school math teacher, National Honor Society advisor, and union chapter leader. A published author, Andrés ran a small publishing company and is a third-degree black belt in Aikido. He runs a small dojo and uses his martial arts training to build student confidence. He is one of Bespoke Europe’s main GMAT experts.

Angela

Angela

Born and raised in California’s Bay Area, Angela grew up in a lively Scottish-Salvadoran-American household. She graduated from Stanford University with Honors in Comparative Literature and French and then moved to France to teach English in primary schools in Nanterre. At the same time, she began tutoring English as a Foreign Language on the side. Angela subsequently earned an MA in History and Literature at Columbia University and École Normale Supérieur as well as a Master 2 at the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne in Philosophy and Art History. In her free time, Angela runs a literary and arts magazine called Notch, haunts the independent cinemas in the 5th arrondissement, reads Nietzsche, and simply can’t help but write poetry. At Bespoke Europe, Angela tutors the dSAT, AP English, and other subjects in which she has expertise.

Carrington

Carrington

Carrington is an American-Canadian screenwriter from Los Angeles, CA. She graduated from Harvard with a degree in Economics, a secondary in English, and a citation in French. Carrington has experience in the worlds of tech, politics, and entertainment. An experienced educator, she uses her artistic talent as a writer to teach students how to find their own voice and narrative. At Bespoke Europe, Carrington tutors the dSAT and college essay writing.

Chris

Chris

Chris has a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Virginia, where he was a Poe/Faulkner Fellow in Fiction. He has taught creative writing at the university level and has worked with high school students on the essay portions of their college applications in France and the US. He teaches the IELTS and provides academic support in literature, history, and English classes. His writing has appeared in the Paris Review, the New England Review, and the Los Angeles Review of Books, among other places.

Erika

Erika

Erika graduated from Georgetown University in the top 1% of her class with BAs in English and Psychology and an Inter-Arts minor. Erika is the author of Acing It! A Mindful Guide to Maximum Results on Your College Admissions Test and her articles about test preparation have been published in The Huffington Post and The American Jewish World. In addition to teaching academic content and testing strategies, Erika infuses mindfulness into the test prep process, empowering students with skills and habits to perform their best on test day and in other areas of their lives. At Bespoke Europe, she tutors many subjects and all sections of the ACT, SAT, ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT.

Gabrielle

Gabrielle

Gabrielle grew up in Paris and obtained a Baccalauréat Scientifique (option internationale) with highest honors from Ecole Jeannine Manuel. She went on to earn a BA in Physics at the University of Oxford. She then obtained an engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique and is currently pursuing a master’s in Mechanical Engineering at Columbia University. She has tutored middle and high school students in mathematics and physics, and she has also guided students through the UK university admissions process. At Bespoke Europe, she tutors math and physics as well as the dSAT.

Jared

Jared

Jared grew up in rural northern Maine and graduated cum laude from Yale University, where he earned a BA in Theater Studies and a Certificate in Education Studies. While there, he was awarded the Beekman Cannon Friends of Music Prize and the Metcalfe Prize in Theatre Studies. Next, Jared earned an MA in Music Education and Vocal Performance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London. At present, he is a professional classical singer. Jared has extensive experience helping young people in both academic and artistic settings. He worked as a teaching assistant in Bowdoin College’s Upward Bound program; served as an Academic Strategies Peer Mentor at Yale; tutored for 2 years with UES Education in London; and has taught theatre and music in various settings. His college application essays were featured in The Road to Yale, and he was a Coca-Cola Scholar and a Fulbright Scholar. At Bespoke Europe, Jared tutors the dSAT.

Jivahn

Jivahn

Jivahn grew up in Paris, France, where he obtained the science-focused baccalaureate at École Jeannine Manuel. He completed his undergraduate education at Princeton University, where he graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in Economics. He has a master’s degree in Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Management at Imperial College in London. At Bespoke Europe, Jivahn tutors the dSAT.

John

John

John has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from University of Chicago and a PhD in molecular genetics from University of Paris XI, Faculté de Médecine. He is an adjunct professor of environmental science and economics, and he conducts research in evolutionary biology. In addition, John has over 15 years of test prep experience. At Bespoke Europe, John tutors IB Chemistry and Economics as well as various AP subjects, the GMAT, and the GRE.

Josh

Josh

Josh comes from New Jersey by way of Los Angeles and holds a BA in French (with a minor in chemistry) from New York University. He also has an MA and PhD in French and a graduate certificate in gender and sexuality studies from Princeton University. Joshua completed his doctoral dissertation while serving as a visiting researcher at the École Normale Supérieure and Sciences Po Paris. His research has been published in Nottingham French Studies and Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal. At Bespoke, he tutors the dSAT, ACT, and IELTS.

Kyra

Kyra

Kyra is originally from Michigan, where she attended the first IB high school in the state. She received her BA in Romance Languages and Arts & Ideas, along with minors in Translation and International Studies, from the University of Michigan. Her next stop was Paris VII, where she obtained a master’s degree in Specialized Translation. Kyra now works as a freelance translator specializing in finance and is also the Paris Artistic Director of Danse Theatre Surreality, a binational dance and theater collective. She has tutored French and Spanish for the University of Michigan Athletic Department and has given private English lessons to students in Paris. At Bespoke, Kyra tutors the ACT, dSAT, and IB.

Lalita

Lalita

Lalita obtained a baccalauréat scientifique with honors at Paris’s prestigious high school Henri IV. She went on to study in the US and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a dual degree in philosophy and economics. After internships at the New York Times Paris office and the Los Angeles Times DC office, she pursued a career in journalism, specializing in financial politics. She wrote for The Wall Street Journal, among other newspapers. Lalita is also a documentary filmmaker. She co-directed Homelessly in Love—a movie portraying the romantic lives of five people in the throes of housing instability in the US—and is currently working on various documentary projects in Paris. At Bespoke, Lalita tutors the dSAT and other subjects in which she has expertise.

Liv

Liv

Liv grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska and graduated Phi Beta Kappa in English from Reed College in Portland, Oregon. After two years working for the UC Berkeley Art History Department, Liv moved to Paris to work as an English teacher. They currently work with undergraduate students at Université Paris Cité, and they are part of the inaugural cohort at the London-based New School of the Anthropocene. At Bespoke, Liv draws on years of experience teaching and tutoring to help students approach the dSAT and IELTS skillfully and confidently.

Matt S.

Matt S.

Matt holds a Master of the Arts in Teaching from the University of Pittsburgh (summa cum laude) and is currently pursuing a Master of the Arts in Ethnomusicology at Durham University in Durham, England. He received his Bachelor of the Arts in Music and Spanish from Allegheny College (summa cum laude) and a Bachelor of Science in Audio Engineering from City College (summa cum laude). He studied in Seville performing research for his undergraduate thesis on the history and lyricism of flamenco. Matt has held a wide variety of roles in education, including behavioral support therapist for autistic students, high school and elementary school teacher, online school instructor, and test prep and academic support tutor. He tutors all sections of the ACT, dSAT, ISEE, SSAT, SHSAT, and all levels of Spanish.

Matt W.

Matt W.

Matt grew up in Naperville, Illinois, and is a magna cum laude graduate from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Newark, where he taught writing composition to undergraduates. For years, Matt has taught language arts, creative writing, and math skills to elementary and high school students across New York and New England with Story Pirates, an arts education and media organization. At Bespoke Europe, Matt is a versatile elementary, middle school, and high school tutor who works with students in reading, writing, math, organizational skills, and SAT, ACT, ISEE, SSAT, and SHSAT test prep.

Molly

Molly

Molly grew up in Paris. After spending a number of years in the French public school system, she enrolled in the international section for English speakers at Lycée Jean-Pierre Vernant in Sèvres. There, she completed an Optional International Baccalaureate with mention and earned an IGCSE in English Literature. After graduating with a degree in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Molly pursued a master’s degree in comparative literature at the Paris-Sorbonne (Paris V) and then trained as an English teacher at Canterbury Christ Church University. Over the years, she has acquired extensive experience tutoring English and French, tailoring her lessons to pupil learning style. At Bespoke, she is continuing this work, helping students aged 14–18 improve their skills in these two languages.

Paul

Paul

Paul grew up in Paris in a binational and bicultural household. He studied in the French public school system. In middle school and high school, he was part of the Sèvres International Section, which prepares students to take the option internationale du baccalauréat. He has an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in Political Science and Political Sociology from Université Paris Nanterre. Having passed France’s competitive exam to become a public high school teacher, he has been teaching history and geography to French high school students for several years. He has also started teaching those same subjects in English to French students, drawing on a US-centered curriculum.

Rebecca

Rebecca

Rebecca grew up in Paris, France. She has a BA in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MA in literary theory from the Sorbonne and École Normale Supérieure. She tutored at San Quentin State Prison as an undergraduate and then taught first grade in Mississippi as a member of the Teach For America Corps. Having passed the highly competitive exam (agrégation) to work in the French public education system, she now teaches English literature and language to French high school and university students. At Bespoke, Rebecca tutors the ISEE, SSAT, IELTS, French, English, and AP English. She also helps students prepare for the baccalauréat and develop their writing skills.

Sam

Sam

Sam grew up in the UK, earned an undergraduate degree in Astrophysics from Princeton University, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Astrophysics at Durham University. As a tutor, Sam has extensive experience teaching middle-school to university-level math and science and has successfully guided students through UK and US admissions processes, including test prep for the dSAT and ACT. He is Bespoke’s Oxbridge interview preparation expert.

Taylor

Taylor

Taylor grew up in San Diego and attended the University of Nevada, Reno for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees. While working towards his BS in mathematics, Taylor played on the university’s NCAA Division I golf team. Taylor remained at UNR to pursue his master’s degree in applied mathematics; his work was focused on discrete mathematics with an emphasis in game theory and operations research. During that time, he also taught algebra and provided one-on-one math tutoring to university athletes; his summers were spent teaching geometry at Saint Augustine High School in San Diego. At Bespoke, Taylor tutors the dSAT, ACT, math, and a wide range of math-related subjects.

Tommy

Tommy

Tommy attended Yale University where he graduated with distinction as a Theatre Studies major. He also studied English and Russian Literature and was awarded the Metcalfe Prize in Theater Studies for his senior essay. He is passionate about working with students of all ages and learning profiles, helping increase test scores, teaching good study practices, and making what can often be a stressful process something fun, stimulating, and invigorating. Tommy has long been tutoring in New York City and has a vast amount of experience in test prep and academic support tutoring in areas ranging from the humanities to high school math. He has tutored students around the world via online platforms, and he has crafted custom curricula for ongoing academic enrichment for many students as well. At Bespoke Europe, Tommy specializes in prep for the SAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, ISEE, SHSAT, and SSAT exams, among others.

Will

Will

Will grew up in Geneva, Switzerland, where he attended the International School of Geneva. After completing the IB diploma program, he went on to study corporate hotel strategy at the École hôtelière de Lausanne. Shortly after graduating, he was hired by the school as an academic assistant, a role that included planning coursework, writing exam questions, and tutoring students. By the end of the academic year, he had fallen in love with teaching. Over the next decade, Will specialized in coaching college entrance exams and has helped thousands of students prepare for dSAT and ACT. He is continuing this work at Bespoke.

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