Meet Our Team
Great Teachers Inspire
Our tutors and staff in Napa Valley consist of passionate educators who love inspiring children to succeed. Warm, caring and great at relating to kids, our tutors in Napa Valley know how to engage and motivate each child in a personal way—building confidence and smiles, as well as skills and better scores. We selectively choose tutors who know local curriculum and can link Sylvan lessons to what’s being taught in school.
Get to know our tutors and staff in Napa Valley!
Molly McClurg
Center Instructor
Molly has been a valuable team member at Sylvan of Napa Valley for the past 4 years. She is a graduate of San Francisco State, where she obtained a Master’s degree in Language and Literacy. Molly is also a teacher in the Napa Unified School District. She enjoys tutoring a variety of subject areas, including SylvanSync Reading and Math, and Sylvan Beginning Reading. She also works with many of our high school students taking Spanish. In her spare time she enjoys walking her dog and hiking.
Melissa Maffei
Reading, Math and STEM instructor
Melissa is a reading, math and study skills instructor with a gift for working with kids. While Melissa has many tutoring talents, she finds the greatest joy in working with our middle school study skills and math students. She studied at Dominican University and earned a degree in Liberal Studies and Education. When Melissa isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll find her reading and enjoying life!
Jacob Solis
Upper Level Math and Science Instructor
Jacob joined our Sylvan of Napa Valley family in 2010. He graduated from Saint Mary’s College and Washington University, St. Louis, majoring in Mathematics and Engineering. Jacob enjoys working with our students taking upper level math courses and science. No math is too difficult for Jacob! In his spare time, he enjoys cars, hiking and music.
Lori Paisley
Teacher
Lori works with our Beginning Readers here at Sylvan and truly has a gift for working with all students. She’s a special education teacher in our Napa Valley district and loves seeing kids grow academically and emotionally! When Lori isn’t at Sylvan, you can find her hiking and reading. She even went skydiving on her last birthday!
Marina Maher
Teacher
Marina is a reading/writing teacher here in our Napa center. She loves working with our reading and writing students and is passionate about life, love and kindness. Marina is also a published author. She published a poetry book at 19 years old and has been writing since she was 7. When Marina isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll often find her writing or driving around in her very cool car!
Chelsea Kan
Teacher
Chelsea is our reading/upper level math/beginning reading teacher with a true gift for working with our high school students. She brings her years of experience in the Montessori setting to Sylvan and helps students understand even the most difficult math problems. When Chelsea isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll often find her reading, hiking and having game nights with friends. She’s a favorite with our older students.
Start your child on the path to academic success today
Give us a call at (707) 927-1222 or fill out the form to discuss your child’s learning goals.
