The Applerouth Company

Jed Applerouth

Founder & President

When he's not touring the country speaking to parents, teachers, and counselors about educational psychology and admissions testing, Jed is a counselor, painter, and globe-trotting photographer. In the studio, Jed works in acrylic and pastels. During his many travels he shoots landscape photography. Jed also enjoys playing the djembe with his West African drumming group.

Natalie Henderson

CEO

Natalie runs all daily company operations. A Woodruff Scholar at Emory University, Natalie earned her Bachelors Degree in Mathematics/Economics. After earning her J.D. from Yale Law School, Natalie went into consulting, where she led projects supporting the Departments of State and Homeland Security until she accepted her current position with Applerouth in August 2012.

Lucia Sinovoi

Director of Client Services

As the Director of Client Services, Lucia leads both the Program Advisement and Program Management teams at Applerouth. She earned her BA from Penn State University in 1999 and has been working in the tutoring and test prep industry for 18 years. She recently joined Applerouth in 2018.

Bronwyn Dowling

Senior Program Advisor

As a graduate of Georgia State University, Bronwyn completed a Bachelor's degree in Psychology and post-baccalaureate studies in Pharmacy. She joined the Applerouth team as a tutor in 2008 and was quickly promoted to premium tutor status. She is currently the Senior Program Advisor and helps guide families through the process of SAT/ACT test preparation.

Natalie Murphree

Senior Program Advisor

Natalie Murphree is a Program Advisor with Applerouth. She completed her Bachelor's degree at Vanderbilt University and her law degree at Georgia State University College of Law. She was the 2014 Premium Tutor of the year at Applerouth, and enjoys her role assisting families with developing customized test prep plans.

Bryan Lawson

Program Advisor

Bryan holds a BA in International Affairs and French from The George Washington University and a MA in French Literature from the University of Michigan. He started tutoring with Applerouth in 2012 and joined the Program Advisor team in 2016. When he's not helping families navigate the test preparation process, Bryan enjoys running, boating, and traveling.

Ben Gesch

Program Manager

Ben holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Georgia State University. In addition to Program Management, he's been an active tutor with Applerouth since 2015. When Ben isn't assisting parents and students with test prep, he enjoys hanging out with family and friends, watching baseball, and tuning up on his reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.

Emma James

Program Manager

Emma is a graduate of UGA with a degree in Political Science, who has spent the last 6 years working in insurance, technology sales, and nonprofit event coordination. As the newest member of the Project Management team, she is excited to bring her diverse background and love of working with people together to ensure everyone has the best possible Applerouth experience!

Komel Caruso

Senior Director of Sales and Marketing

Komel leads the Business Development and Marketing teams at Applerouth. She earned her BA in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2003 and her MS in Integrated Marketing from NYU in 2012. Prior to joining Applerouth, Komel held several marketing and leadership roles within the test prep and ed tech space. When she is not working she enjoys traveling and cheering on the Michigan Wolverines.

Kate Callahan Eilers

National Director of Business Development

Kate leads the Business Development team at Applerouth. She entered the test prep and e-learning industry as a tutor while earning her BA in English at the University of Iowa. Kate's keen interest in testing and school readiness led to a MA in Education from the University of Colorado. Kate is passionate about helping all students achieve their academic goals and be accepted into their best fit college.

Bess Kaye

Director of Business Development
Washington D.C.

Bess began as a tutor with Applerouth in 2013. In 2015, she joined the Tutor Services Team as the Tutor Manager for Satellite Markets and as a new tutor trainer. Bess took a leave-of-absence from Applerouth to pursue a one-year MFA at The George Washington University and returned in 2018 as the Director of Business Development for the Greater DC Metro Area. In this role, Bess creates lasting relationships with schools in the area, helping their administrators to best prepare their students for the testing environment.

Jill Steinberg

Director of Business Development
New York

A graduate of Cornell University, Jill holds a Master’s degree in Education from Manhattanville College. When she isn’t pondering the differences between the SAT and the ACT, Jill hosts animals for the puppy socialization program of Guiding Eyes for the Blind. She lives in Westchester with her husband, two daughters, and their dog.

Jennifer Tongel

Director of Business Development
Atlanta

Diana Cohen

IEC Account Director

Diana brings a love of learning and a commitment to effective communication to her role as Applerouth's dedicated liaison to educational consultants. As a parent and a professional with degrees from Duke and Yale, she is thrilled to be part of an innovative team working to put cutting-edge educational research into action for its students.

Amy Shaw

IEC Account Manager

Amy graduated in 2005 from Oglethorpe University with a Bachelor's in English before receiving her Master of Arts in Teaching from Georgia State University in 2012. An actor and musician in her spare time, Amy serves as the IEC Account Coordinator for the Atlanta and online tutoring markets.

Jesse Ramcharan

IEC Account Manager
NYC Tri-State

Jesse has logged thousands of hours working with hundreds of students across the globe. He brings this experience with him as he supports independent educational consultants and the families they serve in NYC and the Tri-State area. Jesse is also a trained actor who has appeared on stage in NY dozens of times. When not at work or performing, he's a full-time husband and dad.

Emma Vigneault

Account Manager, International IEC's and Institutional Clients

An Atlanta native, Emma graduated from Davidson College with a BA in Political Science and Music. Since 2011, she has been tutoring students in the SAT and ACT, writing and editing print curriculum, creating online educational content, and lending her voice to all of our video content.

Lauren James

Marketing Manager

A Marketing major from Kennesaw State University, Lauren began working at Applerouth as a Marketing Intern. After graduating, she joined Applerouth's full-time team as the Marketing Coordinator and has recently been promoted to Senior Marketing Coordinator. Lauren can be found creating flyers, sending marketing emails, managing Applerouth's social media, and fulfilling any other marketing need.

Katie Rose

Communications Coordinator

A graduate of Columbia College (BA, English) and N.C. State University (MA, English), Katie has been working in the tutoring industry since 2013. As the Communications Coordinator, she handles reception and account maintenance for clients; she also creates educational resources and content for Applerouth’s blog, website and other materials. Katie is also an artist who specializes in papercutting.

John Cadenhead

Senior Director of Tutor Services

As Senior Director of Tutor Services, John oversees all Applerouth tutors and trains teachers throughout the world on how to teach the SAT and ACT. John triple-majored in undergrad at Emory and earned two Masters, the latest in teaching. He has taught professionally from middle school to collegiate levels. John's favorite word is "metacognition."

Tom Burt

Director of Tutor Services

Tom has been an educator for 15 years. He has taught AP US History and AP Economics classes to thousands of students and has tutored over 500 students for standardized tests. Tom's breadth of experience and extensive background in education allow him to connect with, motivate, and educate a broad range of students.

Tal Kitron

Tutor Manager (Premium)

Tal graduated from Emory University School of Law in 2011, and practiced law for two long years before joining Applerouth. From 2014-2017, he taught a full-time SAT Prep Course at Westlake High School in Atlanta, and now supervises that program and manages Applerouth’s Premium Tutors. Tal lives in Atlanta with his lovely wife, two dog-like cats, and one cat-like dog.

Shara Sue Crump

Tutor Manager (Preferred)

Shara-Sue received degrees in Art Marketing and Art Education from Georgia Universities. She spent eight years teaching Special Education, Math, and Visual Art to public middle and high school students. She worked as a private tutor before joining the Applerouth team, where she enjoys working with students who have low confidence and test anxiety.

Jenna Berk

Tutor Manager (DMV)

Jenna is the Tutor Manager for DMV and IEC Account Manager. She graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia, earning a BA in English and Drama. She then traveled to London and earned a degree from LAMDA, after which she returned to the DC area to be closer to her family and decent Mexican food.

Ian Harkins

Tutor Manager (New York)

Ian is the tutor manager for the New York City market. He graduated Cornell University magna cum laude with a Bachelor's in Government and History, with minors in International Relations, European Studies, and Theatre Arts. Since graduating, Ian has worked as a teacher, voice actor, theatre director, art dealer, translator, and tennis instructor. Originally from the United Kingdom, Ian concedes Jenna Berk's point about the Mexican food in London.

Chelsea Benoit

Tutor Manager (Seattle)

Chelsea received her Masters degrees in Biology and Science Teaching from Florida State University, where she spent several years teaching the undergraduate bio labs. Afterwards, she moved on to private tutoring. Chelsea joined Applerouth in 2016 after moving to Washington, and now manages the Seattle tutors.

Andrew Spring

Assignment Manager

Andrew is responsible for finding the best tutor match for every Applerouth student. He received his degrees from Georgia State University in Studio Art and Sociology and has a professional background in management and customer services. Andrew earns commissions for his artwork and musical talent, allowing him to do what he loves the most: create.

Matt Kiesner

Training Manager

Matt Kiesner came to Applerouth after nine years of teaching at Emory University. A lover of puzzles, Matt works on our instructional design team creating practice problems and curriculum. Matt also trains tutors in Atlanta and is one of our most requested tutors, as families appreciate his record of success and creative approach.

Haley Cawthon-Freels

Executive Assistant to the CEO and Hiring Coordinator

Haley is the Executive Assistant to the CEO and Hiring Coordinator. She received a Bachelors of Arts in History and Philosophy & Religion from Piedmont College and a Masters of Divinity from the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University. In her free time, Haley enjoys painting, playing board games, reading history books, and examining the intersection of religion with pop culture.

Dan Kitron

Mock Test Coordinator

Dan was born in Israel and grew up in Urbana, Illinois before moving to Atlanta during high school. Dan studied creative writing and loves writing screenplays, playing music and attending concerts. Dan is also one of Applerouth's tutors, so you can trust that your mock test is being scored by an expert.

Heather J. Bergnes

Director of Operations

Heather leads the Operations team at Applerouth. She earned her B.B.A. in Entrepreneurial Management from Stetson University in 1996. After 15 years in customer service at IBM and several small start-ups, Heather returned to school to earn her J.D. at Georgia State University before joining Applerouth in 2013.

Peter Wichusen

Inventory and Facilities Manager, Testmaster

Peter is in charge of grading and archiving all of the practice tests Applerouth administers as well as organizing the database of answer keys and tables to make sure the in-house testing runs smoothly. He has a Bachelor's from Louisiana State University and a Master's from Mercer University and usually makes the coffee in the morning.

Heather Meadows

Atlanta Operations Coordinator

Heather received her BA from the University of Georgia in French, English, and History. She spent a year living and working France before initially joining the Applerouth team as a tutor. As Operations Coordinator, she makes sure everything is running smoothly, from the first mock test to putting a book in the student's hands. She enjoys traveling, UGA football, and historical fiction.

Kelli Glasgow

Operations Coordinator

Kelli studied British Literature at the University of North Alabama. She started tutoring when she began her graduate studies in 2012 and joined Applerouth in 2017. Kelli loves consulting with families to find the best test prep and academic support plans for their students.

Ryan Paulsen

Director of Software Engineering

Originally from Chicago, Ryan graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Computer Science. He manages the team of software engineers that develop Applerouth's game-changing digital test prep tools and resources.

Shugo Tanaka

Senior Software Engineer

Shugo graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Computer Engineering. As part of the Software Engineering team, he develops features for our students and tutors to make their jobs easier, more efficient, and more fun.

Richard Vigneault

Director of Instructional Design

A graduate of Emory University and Emory Law School, Richard has followed a passion for communication and education throughout his career. As Director of Instructional Design, Richard leads a team of writers, teachers, and animators to create our print and digital curriculum.

Tina Motway

Lead Artist

Our fun and enthusiastic Lead Artist and Animator earned a BFA in Animation from Savannah College of Art & Design. Tina leads the art team and is the talent behind the motion graphics in our animated instructional videos.

Azeakeal McNees

Artist / Animator

A graduate of The Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur, Azekeal has refined his skills to bring characters to life through drawing and animation. He uses these skills to create art for our books and character animation for our instructional videos.

Sarah Fletcher

Math Specialist

Sarah majored in Math at Harvey Mudd College and then did a few years of graduate studies at Georgia Tech. She came to Applerouth when she realized that her passion is in teaching mathematics rather than research. She currently works both as a tutor and a writer in the Instructional Design department.