Meet Our Team

Martin Rothman

Regional Director

As Regional Director, Martin oversees our centers in Cary, Chatham County, Durham, High Point, Holly Springs & Fayetteville. A former district manager for High Touch High Tech, Martin chose a career at Sylvan for the opportunity to help kids & their families realize that they can achieve their educational goals. He believes our Sylvan team truly is a “family” with each of us working to make a difference in the lives of the students we work with and to see the joy on their faces when they achieve something they may not have thought possible. When he’s not at Sylvan, Martin enjoys exercising, going to the gym, participating in fun activities with his 2 girls, and cooking!

Cindy Presnell

Admissions Director

Cindy has been an integral part of our Sylvan team since 2004. As our Admissions Director, Cindy introduces parents to Sylvan, and we don’t know what we would do without her! When Cindy isn’t at Sylvan, she is training her dog, spending time with her family and friends, and looking forward to trips to the beach.

Mr. John Thornton is a distinguished and qualified teacher here at Sylvan who graduated from Virginia Tech with a degree in Biological Sciences. Naturally, his favorite subjects to teach to our Sylvan students are Science and Math. We call him our “Jack-of-all-trades” because he is so versatile. He teaches SAT Prep, Academic Reading, and Writing programs to our Sylvan Students. Jack also holds a certificate to work with ESL students and beginning readers.  In his spare time he plays a mean guitar, and loves to watch movies. One interesting fact about Mr. Thornton is that he can fall asleep virtually anywhere….but never in class….he promises.

Meet one of our incredibly talented teachers – Mr. Erik Oldre!  Erik is an upper-level Neuroscience and Chemistry student at UNC-Chapel Hill who also has a minor in Mathematics. If that isn’t impressive enough…..he can play the piano, the guitar, and dominates all map-based strategy games. Oh, and he speaks Portuguese and Spanish! He teaches Math, Academic Reading, SAT Prep, Study Skills, and Advanced Reading Skills to our Sylvan Students. As highly qualified as he comes, you better get on his schedule quickly! 

Miss Aria Margulies graduated Cum Laude from Elon University with an Elementary Education degree and a minor in Theatrical Design and another minor in Psychology. She specializes in Beginning Reading programs and the use of manipulatives to support the engagement of her students who are just learning how to read. If there is a new innovative way to use the manipulatives here at Sylvan, you can bet she’s written the manual! In her free time, she enjoys volunteering in our local community and being a camp counselor at Broadway Bound as she puts her minor to work with the children in our local community. 

Meet Miss McPhee!  Jetta currently attends UNC-Chapel Hill as a graduate student studying Educational Innovation and holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychological Science. She has been a teacher for the past 4 years supporting students as they tackle academic challenges in Orange county. She works primarily with our SAT Prep and ACT Prep students here at Sylvan of Chapel Hill so they may have the opportunity to attend UNC-Chapel Hill alongside her.  

Jed Edwards is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and holds a masters degree in Library sciences. He has worked as an educator in our community for the last 7 years and we are very fortunate to have his expertise on our team. He comes to us with a passion working with students who need a little additional support academically. He has experience with the developmentally delayed within our community and has supported them in reaching new educational heights. 

Mrs. Veronica Vazquez is an exceptionally qualified teacher who comes to us from the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. Ms Vasques has more than 3 years of experience in Education. She holds a Masters Degree in Mathematics from Stanford University and a Bachelors from Cornell in Natural Resources. She has been an active member of our educational system here in North Carolina since 2017. As if these qualifications were not enough, she is also fluent in Spanish as this is her native language. She is always excited to hear that she has a student to support in Spanish courses! 

Ellie Sampson is currently studying Computer Science at Stanford University where she is also a student athlete competing in volleyball for Stanford. Her specialty is working with our high school students as they prepare for their SATs and supporting them in their Math and Academic Reading skills. Her favorite program to teach here at Sylvan of Chapel Hill is Math Essentials. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling to see her family in England, kayaking, cooking, and binge-watching popular TV series.