Instructors & Advisors

Mr. Kevin 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.

Mr. Ken Benton

Mr. Benton got a joint degree, JD/MBA, from Emory University and a BA in Political Economy from Williams College. He has 3 years of GMAT teaching experience. Mr. Benton strives to give his students the best possible learning experience and adjusts his teaching style to accommodate every class he teaches. He scored a 760 on the GMAT.

Mr. Dan Botwinik

Mr. Botwinik has over 6 years of experience teaching students how to prepare for standardized tests with a focus on the GMAT. He received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Virginia, and honed his quantitative skills as a strategy consultant after graduation. After scoring a 760 on the GMAT, Mr. Botwinik deferred his plans for business school to start a small real estate private equity firm and is currently acquiring apartment buildings in the Boston area. Mr. Botwinik also scored in the 99th percentile on SAT.

Mr. Yasin Ceran

Yasin Ceran is a PhD candidate at the University of Texas at Dallas Business School. With over 9 years of teaching experience, he is an expert at training students at all levels. He received an impressive 760 on the GMAT, with a verbal score of 44, a quantitative score of 50 and an analytical writing score of 5.0.

Mr. David 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 760 on the GMAT (99th percentile) and is a highly experienced instructor.

Ms. Susan 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 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.

Mr. Conrad Chua

Mr. Chua is one of Manhattan Review’s GMAT math and verbal instructors in London. He received his Sloan Masters in Management from London Business School and his dual undergraduate degrees in Economics and Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.

Mr. Chris Coleridge

Chris is a researcher at the London School of Economics where he works on innovation management research as part of his PhD studies. He is also teaches a variety of management subjects, including Innovation Management, Entrepreneurship, and Strategy to MBAs at a variety of business schools in London, including London Business School and the LSE. His undergraduate studies in English Literature were at UCLA; he also has an MBA from London Business School and an MSc in Organizational and Social Psychology from the LSE. Prior to becoming a researcher and lecturer, Chris was an entrepreneur, who built and sold several marketing services agencies, and he undertakes occasional consulting assignments. Since 2007 he has helped over 300 prospective MBA students with their applications to top US and European business schools.

Mr. Jeff Cravens

Mr. Cravens completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan and his MS in Secondary English Education at CUNY, Lehman College. He received 9th Grade Teacher of the Year Award at the West Bronx Academy for the Future while student teaching. He has prepared students for PSAT, SAT, and NYS Regents exams in both a group capacity and one on one. In addition to his teaching experience, Mr. Cravens has 750 hours of clinical experience working with emotionally and behaviorally challenged youth.

Mr. Arthur Dong

Arthur received his B.A. from Columbia and PhD in math from MIT and is currently a research scientist in Munich, Germany. While his research has been very successful (he first-authored paper was in the Science journal), Arthur has always had a passion (and a talent) for teaching. He has had been teaching since 1996 at Columbia and MIT and Munich University. From official lecture courses with dozens of students to 1-on-1 tutoring, from summer camp for under prepared minority students to intensive mentoring for gifted high school students, he has done it all. Arthur has been a highly effective teacher in GMAT. Meantime, Arthur scored in the 99th percentile on the GRE. His score breakdown was verbal 710, math 790, analytical 780 - total 2280.

Mr. Kunal Guha

Kunal has worked in education since 2003. In addition to his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Mumbai, he also has Post Graduate Certification in Instructional Design and Post Graduate Diploma in Training and Development. He has trained and certified instructors for teaching GRE, GMAT and SAT courses. Before joining Manhattan Review, he conceptualized and implemented of over 30 new test preparation products including value added products such as Speed Mathematics, Etymology, Speed Reading and Telephone Tutoring.

Dr. Morten Hagen

Dr. Hagen has extensive experience teaching physics and standardized tests, including the GMAT. He emphasizes that math is about having fun with a problem, not hard work. His industry experience includes working in equity sales at Lehman Brothers. Dr. Hagen scored a 770 on the GMAT. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics and an M.S. in Financial Engineering, both from Columbia.

Mr. Mir Haque

Mir Haque is our math instructor in Los Angeles. He is a recent MBA from Wharton School, and currently works as a Director of Finance for an ecommerce company. Mir Haque has also worked as an investment banker for Deutsche Bank in London, and for management consulting firm McKinsey and Company in New York. As a Certified Public Accountant, Mir Haque has also taught accounting.

Mr. John Herrick


John Herrick is a published novelist and science journalist. With a Doctorate in Molecular Biology from the University of Paris XI, he has done everything from science editorial to scientific research. He also has 7 years of experience teaching science at colleges across the world, and is fluent in 5 languages. His articles have been published in the American Scientist and by Springer Verlag, a prestigious academic science publisher. John is a great instructor in many standardized tests including GMAT and GRE.

Mr. Mark Juszczak

Mark is currently completing his doctorate in innovation management at Teachers College Columbia University. He also holds a Master’s Degree in sociology from the University of Warsaw and a Bachelor’s Degree from Columbia University. For the past decade he has lectured, conducted strategy meetings, workout sessions and workshops to help companies more effectively innovate, share knowledge and draw on the value of their human capital. He has worked with numerous government agencies and Fortune 100 companies, including US Gypsum, Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Federal Reserve Bank of the United States & Kuwait Government Agencies. In addition, Mark is a veteran GMAT prep instructor.

Mr. Tom Kania

Mr. Kania has had over ten years of experience helping over 1,000 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. In addition to his admission expertise, Mr. Kania is an expert in real estate finance and distressed assets portfolio management. He speaks four languages fluently and holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Columbia University.

Mr. Jeff Klein

Jeff Klein has 7 years of teaching experience, helping to prepare students for the SAT, GRE and LSAT. He also served as the Director of Education at another educational services firm, where he created lessons and managed teachers in classes ranging from grade 2 to postgraduate. He is a graduate of Binghamton University.

Mr. Louis Lana

Louis Lana has tutored mathematics at all levels, from algebra to calculus. He was a teaching assistant in Statistics while getting his MBA at Columbia University. Mr. Lana has worked as an actuary in various industries. He is an Associate of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. The examinations needed to become an actuary are math-intensive and notoriously difficult. Mr. Lana passed all the necessary exams by the age of 24. He holds an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School and a BA in Mathematics with a minor in English from Hofstra University. In 2009 Mr. Lana scored a perfect 800 on the quantitative portion of the GRE. He also is an experienced GMAT verbal tutor.

Mr. Joseph Larimore

Joseph Larimore is a writer and a teacher throughout the NYC area. He graduated from Emerson College with a BA in Writing, Literature and Publishing. He has taught TOEFL test prep in California, Boston and NYC, and works with a variety of students in the NYC area. He holds a tutoring certificate from Kaplan Premier and through private tutoring, has been known to raise TOEFL test scores over 20 points with students throughout the country. He is delighted to be working with Manhattan Review.

Mr. Asoka Markandu

Mr. Markandu is Manhattan Review’s GMAT instructor in Singapore. He has 19 years of industry experience in financial markets in various capacities ranging from general management, application consultancy, project management, sales, marketing, communications, business development and strategic planning. Mr. Markandu earned his Masters in Management Science from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology and his undergraduate degree from the National University of Singapore. He also speaks 4 languages.

Mr. Steve Miller

Stephen Miller is a career official at the U.S. Department of State specializing in international economic and technology policy. He is a graduate of the Wharton School of Business's Executive MBA Program and scored a 760 on the GMAT. He is based in Washington, DC and teaches Manhattan Review courses both in-person and over the web.

Mrs. Laurel Reichmann

Laurel Reichmann is a graduate of the Anderson School of Business at UCLA. She has taught English as a Foreign Language to adult immigrants in the U.S. and taught English to junior high school students in Armenia as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Mr. Mark Sayre

Mr. Sayre is currently pursuing his doctoral degree. He recently completed his masters at University of Bocconi after graduating 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.

Mr. Steve Scheno

Mr. Scheno received his Master’s in TESOL Education (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from NYU. Post graduation, he has focused on preparing students for standardize exams such as the NYSLAT, TOEFL and the Cambridge exam. Currently he is a business and education consultant employed by Chinatown's Business Outreach Center to provide advice to immigrant entrepreneurs. Steve assisted in the Shanghai Press publication of "China Chants" which was widely used in China to prepare English Language Learners for the Olympics.

Ms. Lucy Struever

Ms. Struever graduated with Honors in Economics from Skidmore College and has since capitalized on her facility with standardized tests by tutoring and teaching. Her warm and active teaching style encourages questions and participation, while her four years of experience allow her to help her students cut through to the most essential GMAT skills, strategies, and behaviors. She has also tutored the SAT and GRE and even taught a full year course of high school Economics. Lucy also runs a small non-profit arts group.

Mr. Tomas Teves

As an independent consultant for Paramount Pictures, Thomas Teves knows a great deal about entertainment and business. Specializing in project management, policy and procedure, and compliance and control, he has 25 years of business experience. As one might expect, his GMAT score placed him in the 99th percentile, which led to an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Mr. Cabral Thorton

Cabral, a 2003 Wharton MBA graduate himself, has successfully helped students gain admissions in Harvard, Wharton, Virginia, Stanford and various other MBA programs for more than 5 years. He began his admissions experience as a Graduate Assistant in the Wharton MBA Office of Admissions. As a member of the Wharton admissions committee, he reviewed applications, pre-screened potential admits, and served on admissions panels at recruiting events in various cities. In addition, Cabral was the Prospective Student Chairman for Wharton's African American MBA Association (AAMBAA) where he was responsible for essay review & mock interview services designed to increase admission rates and applications of minority students.

Mr. Richard Vincent

Richard Vincent is a graduate of Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. After receiving his MBA, Mr. Vincent became a Senior Project Manager of Corporate Finance at Wells Fargo. He later moved on to become the Director of Operations at Aero Logistics, a second-in-command position. He has spent years in individually instructing students that would go on to top MBA programs. Prior to receiving his own MBA, Mr. Vincent had over 10 years of work experience at companies like KPMG and Deloitte Consulting.

Mr. Henry 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. Daxue Wang

Mr. Wang teaches GMAT math for Manhattan Review. He got his BS in Automotive Engineering from Tsinghua University in Beijing and his MS in Finance from the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing. Mr. Wang currently pursues his PhD in finance at the University of Navarra, Barcelona.

Mrs. Christine Washburn

Mrs. Washburn is a graduate of Columbia University (B.A., cum laude) and a veteran teacher with 5 years of experience in the field of standardized exams, notably LSAT, SAT, SHSAT, and ISEE. Mrs. Washburn has taught courses and tutored students for various Regents and AP exams, including advanced mathematics. She has a specialized background in assisting students with physical, emotional, and learning disabilities, as well as non-traditionally aged students. In addition, Mrs. Washburn is an accomplished academic writer and researcher in the fields of classical and experimental music. Mrs. Washburn scored in the 99th percentile on the LSAT. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.

Mr. Wiliam Wong

William Wong has been a GMAT instructor in Hong Kong for over a year. Prior to this, William was based in London, England and worked for private equity acquired companies in a Strategic and Change Management function. William has a MBA from London Business School (LBS) and a BA from the University of Toronto (Canada).

Mr. Stephen Xu

Mr. Xu is a MBA candidate at Imperial College, London. Prior to pursuing his MBA, he worked as a financial auditor and tutored for 4 years. Mr. Xu won many Mathematics awards early in his schooling. He scored perfectly in the Math section of the GMAT.

More Bios

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

 

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