"Hi! I'm Joanna. I have more than 25 years of experience teaching students of all ages, with expertise in helping students craft insightful, beautifully structured personal statements and essays. I also have a great deal of experience helping neurodiverse students in elementary, middle, and high school (including those with dyslexia, ADHD, and level 1 autism) with reading comprehension and inferencing. Other focus areas include the SAT Reading and Writing sections and the ACT English/Reading sections.

A creative writer, I bring authentic, deep knowledge of the elements of writing (such as characterization, voice, structure, imagery, and interiority) to personal statement writing for college and graduate school admissions. I earned my M.F.A. in creative writing and English from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, where I also won the University’s Outstanding Teaching Assistantship Award and started publishing in nationally renowned journals. I’m a winner of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Writing, a recipient of the Iowa Book Prize, and a former professor of writing at Penn State and Franklin & Marshall College. Before going full time, I worked as an adjunct professor at the City University of New York and as a visiting writer in schools and community centers.

By tailoring instruction to individual needs, I foster confidence and help ensure that young people enjoy the experience of reading and writing while enjoying the process and exceeding expectations.

My students are knocking it out of the park! Let's chat about your needs and hopes for tutoring." less...