TSTN tutors are highly qualified. Some have several university degrees while many have won numerous academic awards and have also been recognized for their achievements outside of the classroom. Please note that not all of our tutors are listed here as tutors are not obligated to provide profiles. Please also note that all of our tutors are independent contractors, and are not employees or agents of TSTN for any purpose whatsoever.

Cassandra Alexopoulos

Cassandra is in her second year at York University in the Professional Writing Program. She has a passion for writing and language as she plans to apply for her Certificate of Advanced French Proficiency and has begun to learn Spanish (Castilian) this academic year. She has a variety of hobbies and interests that go beyond writing such as playing the cello and learning about film and astronomy.

Charles Boyes

Charles is a doctoral candidate, ABD, in the English department at the University of Waterloo. He holds a BA in English and Creative Writing from York University and an MA in English from Carleton University. Currently, his research interests include, but are by no means limited to: animal rights theory, critical theory, philosophy of activism, contemporary American literature, and discourse analysis. His dissertation focuses on some of the intersections and interconnections of these subjects.

Charles has taught at the university level for five years, both as a teaching assistant and as contract faculty. Recently, his teaching duties have been given over to introductory courses on academic and technical writing, which include all conceivable topics related to writing for and outside the academy: generating ides, grammar, document formatting, etc. So, he is equally comfortable discussing High Modernist poetry, the impenetrability of Book Five of Spinoza's _Ethics_, or the proper function of semi-colons in a sentence (and oddly passionate about that last one, too!).

Marcel Cohen

"Who is wise? He who learns from everyone." - Ethics of our Fathers. Marcel loves to teach and entertain audiences - as a teacher and a musician. Marcel holds an undergraduate specialist degree in Arts Administration from Scarborough College, University of Toronto's Cooperative Program. Marcel has worked for the CBC, The Council for Business and the Arts in Canada and The Frederick Harris Music Company as a sales agent in both Canada and Israel.

Having lived in Israel for 11 years, Marcel is familiar with Israeli life and has returned to Toronto where he has obtained the certification of an advanced Hebrew and Judaic Studies teaching degree (Level 6 in the Midrasha Le Morim ranking) from the Toronto Board of Jewish Education. Marcel has taught Mishna, Jewish Law, Torah and Jewish Prayer both individually and at the United Synagogue Day School.

Diana Cucuz

Diana is currently a PhD candidate, ABD, at York University, specializing in American history, women’s and gender history and social and cultural history. She completed her M.A. in history at McMaster University, as well as her undergraduate work in history and political science at the same university. Her research interests include the relationship between public and private: foreign and domestic policy, and its impact on gender roles and representations during Cold War America and the Soviet Union. She has a great deal of experience working with high school and undergraduate students, as a Youth Community Relations Officer with Elections Canada, in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at Ryerson University, and as a teaching assistant for courses on the Atlantic World, Latin America, social and cultural history, and the history of childhood. Diana’s goal is to instill in young people the passion for writing, history and politics that she has, and in order to do this, she looks forward to a career in teaching and hopefully one day, politics.

Yaacov Fredlender

A former Hebrew School Principal Assistant Rabbi, and Teacher—Yaacov Fredlender will teach your son the Torah reading for his Bar Mitzvah, as well as prepare him mentally and spiritually, to teach the beauty and inner essence of a Bar Mitzvah.

Whether your son will be reading the Haftorah, the entire Parshah, or something in between, Yaacov has brought many Bar Mitzvah boys into Jewish Adulthood through proven one-on-one teaching techniques.

Nicole Freeman

Nicole completed her Master of Arts in Sociology at the University of Toronto in August of 2008. During completion of this degree she worked as a Teaching Assistant for Introductory Sociology where she met regularly with students in small groups and one-on-one. She completed her undergraduate work at Wilfrid Laurier University where she was awarded both an Honours B.A. in Sociology and a General B.A. in Women’s Studies. Her academic interests have been mostly in the areas of Gender, Women’s Issues, Sexuality, and Culture. In addition to these focus areas, she has also completed academic training in areas such as qualitative and quantitative sociological methods and sociological theory.

PJ Javdan

PJ specializes in teaching the LSAT (Law School Admissions Test). He also works in the fields of moral, legal, and political theory, as well as Western and Middle Eastern political and legal history. His broader interests, at their core, lie in philosophy, literature and writing, but cross traditional disciplinary lines.

Anna Natoli

Anna is a graduate student completing a PhD and has been a student of Cultural Studies, Humanities, Sociology, and Women’s Studies. She has been a teaching assistant in the university for a number of years in a range of disciplines: Cultural Studies, introduction to the discipline and mass media and society; English, introduction to nonfiction; Social Science, teaching foundational reading, writing, and critical thinking skills for success at the university; Sociology, introduction, aging, and art and culture; and Women’s Studies. More recently she has undertaken teaching in the allied health sciences in the inter-professionalism curriculum, has gained experience in curriculum design (in classroom and online) and provides editing services for dissertations, theses and articles. Her interest is to foster an educational environment that aids learners to recognize their capacity to become independent, analytical and critical thinkers.

Cesar Polvorosa Jr.

Cesar is a Ph.D. candidate in the Geography Program of York University, Toronto. His main research interests are in the areas of immigrant entrepreneurship, geographies of the firm and region and institutional and cultural approaches to economic geography. His dissertation is on the business practices, strategies and institutional framework of Filipino enterprises in the Greater Toronto Area. He was Asst. Vice President of corporate planning and head of research of a major Philippine development bank as well as an economics instructor before coming to Canada for his Ph.D. He had been a Central Bank of the Philippines economist where he published articles in banking, finance and economic development and was also an economics/business consultant. His Master of Policy Science degree was taken at the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies of Tokyo, Japan while his BA (Social Science)(cum laude) was garnered at the University of the Philippines. Cesar is also a published poetry and short story writer.

Robert Rivers

Having completed an honours B.Sc in archeology and socio-cultural anthropology from the University of Toronto and adventuring to France to complete a M.A in professional anthropology research from L’Université Lumiere, Robert has diverse academic and personal interests. His interests include languages, French to English translation, history, music, literature and alternative approaches to education.

His primary concentration is working with private businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations in conducting ethnographic and sociological research to uncover what makes people tick.

Dr. Stuart Rutten

Dr. Rutten completed his PhD at the University of Toronto and has since worked at St Michael’s College University, The University of Wyoming, and The University of Manchester in England. Dr. Rutten has led university courses in English, History, Mythology, and Cultural Studies, and has experience tutoring students one on one in Latin and German. Dr Rutten has also studied elementary education, on-line learning and development, and taken introductory courses in working with Asperger Syndrome children and other students with High-functioning ASD. A native English speaker, Dr Rutten is able to work with students of English at all levels, from K through University and is willing to proofread theses and offer writing skills help, having worked in university writing centres and taught university composition courses. Furthermore, Dr Rutten is able to work in many other areas, including K – University Latin, K – 6 all subjects, and k – 12 History and Social Sciences.

Jason Shvili

Jason is the founder and owner of The Student Tutoring Network. He now serves as the Network Administrator, responsible for running the Network’s day-to-day operations. Jason has an Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History and a Master’s degree in Political Science, both from the University of Toronto. His areas of expertise are in Israeli and Middle Eastern politics and history, and ethnic and pluralism studies. In addition to his native English, Jason can read, write and speak Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, Italian and French. He has also published several articles on issues ranging from local politics to Middle Eastern affairs.