Meet Our Team

Katie graduated from University of Washington with a Bachelor of Arts, then earned her Master’s in teaching from Seattle University the following year and a Master’s in education two years later. Katie has been a teacher in both the private and public sectors and, most recently, a business owner for her own college consulting company, where she worked with families and students to guide them through the often-challenging road of the college application process. Originally from Lake Tahoe, California, Katie enjoys skiing, hiking, and boating with her family in her spare time.

Jonali earned her Bachelor’s degrees in English and Education from Cotton College and Dibrugarh University in India, and her Master’s degree in English from Dibrugarh University. She is also certified in Advanced Writing and Essay Writing from the University of CA, Irvine. Jonali has a passion for teaching. Her goal is to ignite a love for learning in students by creating engaging and enjoyable educational experiences. Working with students brings her joy, and witnessing the “I can do it!” moment is the most rewarding aspect of her career. She joined Sylvan of Kirkland as a Reading and Writing tutor. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, traveling, reading, singing, spending time with her family, and practicing Indian classical dance.

Howard was born in Taiwan and moved to the US in 1992, first to Texas, then moving to the Seattle area in 2017. He has been tutoring students since he was in college. Howard earned his Master of Engineering degree, then worked for 25 years as a Mechanical Engineer in the Aerospace and Energy sectors. Before his retirement from full-time work, he owned a math learning center for five years. Howard joined the Kirkland team as a Math tutor. In his free time he enjoys hiking, fishing, camping, and other outdoor activities; and spending time with his wife, grown daughter, and grown son.

Roman Lloyd-Muller

Teacher

Roman graduated from Western Washington University with a major in English and a minor in Psychology. Shortly after graduation, he went back to earn his teaching degree. Roman joined the Kirkland team as a Reading tutor. In his free time, he can be found watching movies, playing with his dog, and doing outdoor activities.

Olivia moved to the Seattle area in 2022. She graduated from the University of Calcutta, India, with both a Bachelors degree and a Master’s degree in Economics, with specialization in Statistics and Econometrics. She is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Business Analytics. Olivia’s mother and grandmother were elementary school teachers, and she developed an early interest in teaching. While in college, she tutored high school and college students. She volunteered at several NGOs, mentoring and teaching underprivileged children. Oliva loves learning and teaching new concepts,  imparting knowledge to work towards a better society, and helping students become more confident. She joined Sylvan of Kirkland as a Reading and Math tutor. In her leisure time, Olivia enjoys swimming, traveling, reading, cooking, hiking, and playing with her little one.

Ryan attended the University of Washington Seattle, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Math. Teaching is something he’s wanted to do since high school. Ryan has always enjoyed helping others with difficult homework problems, and being the person who facilitates learning and makes a concept click. He enjoyed it so much that in college he would help classmates outside of lecture time, both in person and virtually. When his friends started telling him he should teach, he decided to make that his career. Seeing someone finally understand a difficult idea is one of his favorite things, and he believes that it’s a teacher’s responsibility to explain and rephrase a concept in whatever way helps the student understand. Ryan joined the Kirkland team as a math tutor, and enjoys teaching math at all levels; he also enjoys teaching reading comprehension because reading is a universally valuable skill that can lead to success. In his free time, he can be found reading a variety of non-fiction articles, learning new math concepts, hiking and spending time with his family, dog, and two cats.

Bhavana Shah

Teacher

Bhavana was born and raised in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She earned her Masters in Microbiology from University of Mumbai, and is working towards her masters in Elementary Education. Bhavana has been tutoring all of her college life, and loves to see students flourish with increased self-confidence and self-esteem as she helps them figure out how to read and do math, particularly neurodivergent students. She joined Sylvan of Kirkland as a Reading and Writing tutor. In her free time, Bhavana enjoys reading, painting watercolors, and spending time with her family.

Melanie was born and raised in New York City, and lived in Colorado for 10 years before moving to the Seattle area in 2016. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from City College of New York, and her Master’s degree in Writing from New York University. Melanie began teaching as a substitute paraeducator when her children started school. She joined Sylvan of Kirkland as a Reading tutor. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and three sons, exploring beaches, drawing, coloring, building with Lego, and going on family road trips.

Mew Uppajunto

Teacher

Mew lived in Thailand for her entire life before moving to the Puget Sound area in 2019. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Washington. Mew got into teaching while working as a student tutor at Bellevue College, and has loved it ever since. Helping students with math is her passion, and there’s nothing quite like the moment when a student grasps a concept and can solve a problem independently. Mew’s teaching philosophy revolves around guiding students to understand the principles of a subject and empowering them to apply that knowledge confidently. She joined the Kirkland team as a Math tutor, and when not at Sylvan can be found working as a transportation engineer.