Manhattan Review Team

Management & Instructors

Dr. J. Meissner

Dr. Joern Meissner, the founder of Manhattan Review, has over fifteen years of teaching experiences in undergraduate and graduate programs at prestigious business schools in the USA, UK and Germany. He created the original lectures, which have been expanded and modified by the Manhattan Review Team to reflect the evolving nature of the GMAT. Dr. Meissner received his Ph.D. in Management Science from Graduate School of Business at Columbia University (Columbia Business School) in New York City and is a recognized authority in the area of Supply Chain Management (SCM), Dynamic Pricing and Revenue Management. He frequently advises companies ranging from Fortune 500 companies to emerging start-ups on various issues related to his research expertise. His academic homepage is www.meiss.com.


Mr. J. Beer

John Beer has taught English composition and literature to undergraduates for over eight years. His writing has appeared in numerous periodicals, including the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Review, Review of Contemporary Fiction, Time Out Chicago, and the Village Voice. He is a Ph.D. candidate in philosophy and social thought at the University of Chicago and holds an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a BA from Princeton. He scored a 780 on the GMAT.

Mr. H. Waller

Mr. Waller has years of accomplished GMAT teaching experience and scored a 770 prior to attending Columbia Business School in 2003. He has been involved in managing the acquisition, entitlement and construction of over 500 sites in the Mid-Atlantic states for both public and private companies for about ten years. He was also an officer in the United States Navy. Mr. Waller received his BA in History from University of Virginia.

Mr. T. Kania

Mr. Kania has had over 7 years of experience helping over 500 people from all over the world gain admissions to graduate business school. His admissions experience began when he served on the Admissions Committee for the MBA program for the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. During that time, Mr. Kania read over 4000 applications and participated on the admissions decisions for over 7500 candidates. Mr. Kania is an expert in real estate finance and distressed assets portfolio management. He speaks four languages fluently and is a regular key-note speaker at large-scale seminars and presentations. Mr. Kania holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Columbia University.

Mr. D. Chambers

Mr. Chambers is the director of a Singapore-based small-cap equities fund and the founder/director of an engineering software company that won a UK government “SMART” development grant. He holds three masters degrees: an MBA from London Business School, an MSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cambridge, and an LLM in Intellectual Property Law from the University of London. He has also studied at Keio Business School in Tokyo and spent extended periods living and working in the USA. His commercial experience encompasses corporate finance, strategy, engineering, software development, and sales, in a variety of international environments. He scored in the 99th percentile on the GMAT and is a highly experienced instructor.

Mr. K. Armstrong

Mr. Armstrong has a degree in mathematics and economics from the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. A winner of many academic scholarships, Mr. Armstrong recently took the GMAT and received a score of 780. He brings over ten years of teaching experience to Manhattan Review and loves helping people to gain admission into their desired MBA program.

Dr. S. Riemersma

Dr. Riemersma has brought with him years of successful teaching experiences in a variety of settings, including business schools, universities, and test preparation institutions. His dedication to and passion for teaching have enabled him to greatly enrich students' experience with an individually tailored approach. Dr. Riemersma has a Ph.D. in Physics from SUNY Stony Brook and an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School. His industry experience includes working as a derivatives trader for Goldman Sachs. His GMAT score is 770.

Mr. M. Sayre

Mr. Sayre is a recent graduate from New York University with a Bachelor's Degree in Economic Theory, with minors in Mathematics and French. While at NYU he tutored fellow students in Calculus, French, Italian, and Economics. He is starting a Master’s Degree in Economics and Management in Arts, Culture, Media and Entertainment. Mr. Sayre scored a 770 on the GMAT.

Ms. S. Civale

Ms. Civale earned her Master's Degree in Literary Cultures from NYU and is currently working on her PhD in English Literature at the University of London. She also holds a Cambridge CELTA and has taught English as a Second Language, as well as IELTS and TOEFL test preparation, for over six years, both in the US and in the UK. She has taught English literature to both college and high school students. Her first book, on Mary Shelley, is due to come out from Greenwich Exchange Publishing.

Ms. T. Berman

Ms. Berman graduated with an MBA in Management and Marketing from Columbia Business School, where she was a Forte Foundation Fellow. She was a teaching assistant for both statistics and marketing courses and enjoys tutoring students in a variety of disciplines. She scored a 780 on the GMAT. Her verbal score was 51, her quantitative score was 49 and her AWA score was 6. Overall, she placed in the 99th percentile. Prior to business school, Ms. Berman worked as a legal recruiter for Davis Polk & Wardwell and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP, two prominent law firms in New York. She received a Bachelor of Arts, summa cum laude, with high honors, in American Studies from Tufts University in May 2000.

Dr. M. Hagen

Dr. Hagen has extensive experience teaching physics and standardized tests, including the GMAT. His unique approach to teaching math inspires students to have fun with a problem and enjoy the problem-solving process instead of feeling daunted and overwhelmed. He also worked in equity sales at Lehman Brothers. Dr. Hagen holds a Ph.D. in Physics and an M.S. in Financial Engineering from Columbia University, in addition to an M.S. in Astrophysics from Cornell University.

Support Team


Mr. J. Dennee

Josh Dennee graduated from Bates College in Maine, where he focused on modern European history with classes on the evolution of political, economic and social systems. He actively participated in the Film Appreciation Society, Film Board, the Outing Club, Cats and Cubs outreach program, and several intramural sports. After graduation, Josh worked for a pharmaceutical label manufacturer. Josh has a passion for languages and is well versed in French, proficient in German and Italian, which he acquired during his studying in Perugia, Italy. He is also a beginner in Russian.

Ms. T. Morgan

Taz Morgan graduated with academic honors in Comparative Literature from The College of Wooster in Ohio. As a Comparative Literature major, she concentrated on English and Spanish language works. She also minored in Film Studies and focused on both written and filmic texts. She was a Teaching Assistant for a first-year writing seminar and was on the college radio's management team. Taz’s post-graduation work experience helped her build extensive knowledge of how art and commerce are intertwined. Taz also has three years of customer service experience before joining Manhattan Review. Taz is highly proficient in Spanish.

Mr. H. Neumann

Henry Neumann graduated from Fordham University in New York with a History major and minors in Economics and Theology. He provided assistance to his fellow students in residential programming, counseling, and academics while at school. He then worked as a conference coordinator post graduation. Notably, Henry was inducted into the National Honors Society while at high school and spent all his four years of college as an athlete on the men’s rowing team and made the semi-finals at the US national Dad Vail Regatta twice. He also competed on behalf of the New York Rowing Club at US nationals and Canadian Henley. Henry is proficient in German and skilled in Spanish.

Mr. T. Reardon

Tim Reardon graduated from Purchase College in New York with a degree in Music and a minor in Psychology. He studied abroad for a semester in Amsterdam and enjoys traveling. He has over four years of experience in sales and customer service. He enjoys sharing his knowledge with others and building strong rapport with clients to help them achieve their goals. In his spare time, Tim teaches instrumental and general music to students of all skill levels.

More Bios

Manhattan Review's other team members' bios are available upon student request post class registration.

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