Mentors/Tutors
Management Team
Audrey Gang
Founder
Audrey is a a sophomore at River Dell High School. She is taking all Honors and AP courses, including two junior-level classes this year. Audrey is an avid writer, and she is the features editor as well as the editor-in-chief for the school newspaper. She is also a member of the Science National Honor Society as well as the Tri-M Music Honor Society. As a young pianist, Audrey has won numerous awards. In her down time, Audrey enjoys reading, drawing, and playing tennis.
email:
Dave Plotkin
Co-Founder
Dave Plotkin is a political operative, debater, and public speaker. He is the Sophomore Class President of River Dell High School.
He has had a great interest in politics since fifth grade, aspiring to one day become President of the United States. He has long been an outspoken advocate for the State of Israel and has participated in major efforts to curb anti-Semitism in the United States.
Aside from politics, he enjoys playing chess with his friends and reading books. He is a fluent Russian speaker, and currently takes all honors classes at River Dell High School.
email:
Cynthia Jacob
Outreach Director
Cynthia is a sophomore at Bergen County Academies in the Academy of Medical Science Technology. She takes a great interest in science as she pursues cellular and molecular biology research, is a member of a student-run pharmaceutical company, and has participated in several health-related competitions. Additionally, she is interested in political activism and makes her voice heard by writing articles, participating in debate competitions, and organizing discussion forums for recent events. In her free time, she enjoys drawing, playing the ukulele, and spending time with friends. She's very excited to be a part of Big & Little!
email:
Catherine Paeg
Outreach Director
Catherine is a sophomore at River Dell High School. She takes all honors classes and has AP classes scheduled for junior year. She has experience with tutoring, as she currently tutors a sixth grader with math. She love to spend time with her many younger cousins and three-year-old nephew. Catherine also enjoys practicing the piano and Korean (her second language) while reading in her free time. She is excited to mentor and connect!
email:
Yash Kavadia
Outreach Director
Hello, my name is Yash. I’m a high school sophomore student. My interests range from working in non profits to launching startups to playing baseball. One goal of mine that has never changed and will never change is to help as many people and underprivileged children as I can by doing things such as tutoring and mentoring for free.
email:
Emma Lau
Media Director
Emma is a sophomore in the AMST Academy at Bergen County Academies. She enjoys many of her classes such as American Literature and Neuroscience and partakes in the BCA Red Cross Club. Emma also takes many culinary electives and med electives and loves to do research as well. She loves tutoring kids and helping the community by volunteering or creating fundraisers. Outside of school, Emma has many different hobbies. She plays piano and tennis competitively and during her free time, she loves to bake, read, and hang out with friends.
email:
Christina Wang
Website Manager, Social Media Director
Christina is a a freshman at Mahwah High School. She is taking all Honors courses this year, along with Accounting as an elective. She is active in clubs like Interact club and Model UN, and has won many awards as a young pianist. In addition to playing piano, Christina enjoys drawing, baking, and playing tennis.
email:
Shannon Lynch
Social Media Director
Shannon is a sophomore at River Dell High School, where she is an honor roll student. She is creative and loves improving her art skills as well as performing in school productions. She enjoys traveling and all things Disney. Shannon participates in many clubs in her school, including yearbook committee, book club, and the theatre club. She is also a position player for the River Dell Hawks’ softball team. Shannon aspires to spread her love for the arts to people around her, as well as create a positive environment for everyone to work together.
email:
Members
Claire Zhang
Claire is a sophomore at River Dell High School. It has been four years since she moved to America and started learning English. She is now taking all Honors classes and maintaining a high grade this year, including a Spanish class as her fourth language. Since a young age, Claire has learned to play the Guzheng and guitar, she has performed multiple times and won many competitions internationally. She is also a tennis player and likes to create her own music and artwork.
email:
Kush Kavadia
Hi. My name is Kush Kavadia. I am a sophomore in high school. My favorite academic subjects are math and science. Previously, I have participated in several different STEM related competitions such as robotics and science and math olympiads. I am also a part of Future Business Leaders of America Club and STEM Club at my school. Some of my hobbies are robotics, playing soccer, exploring nature, and traveling. I enjoy spending time teaching or mentoring kids as it's a way that I can use what I have learned and help others.
email:
Audrey Yip
Audrey is a sophomore at Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, New Jersey. She is currently taking all Honors courses. As part of a multitude of clubs, she actively participates in services to help our community. Whether it’s tutoring peers or making informational and fun videos online, she is constantly trying to help others in fun, entertaining ways. She enjoys coding in Java, and in her free time, indulges herself in novels and a sketchbook.
email:
Jonelle Cañete
Jonelle is a sophomore at River Dell High School. She is currently taking many honors classes. She is a part of many clubs such as Interact Club, Teen Freedom Corps, Environmental Club, and Zoology Club. Jonelle is great with younger kids, as she has been growing up with many younger cousins. On her free time, Jonelle enjoys singing and skateboarding.
email:
Tyler Iacolina
Tyler is a sophomore attending River Dell High School. He is taking all Honors courses this year, along with Law and Accounting as electives. Tyler is also active in his school community by doing Interact and Zoology club. He runs year-round, by doing Cross Country, Winter Track, and Spring Track. While in his downtime, Tyler likes going on runs, spending time with friends and family, and listening to music.
email:
Lauren Males
Lauren is a sophomore at River Dell high school. She is taking all Honors classes this year. Lauren is a judge on the debate team, as well as a member of the global connections club and the interact club. She is also a member of the River Dell cheer team. Lauren is interested in math, Spanish, and science. In her free time, Lauren enjoys listening to music, cooking, and training her dogs.
email:
Jessie Edelstein
Jessie is currently a sophomore at River Dell High School where she is an honor roll student. She is very involved in many clubs such as Interact, Global Connections, and Best Buddies which she is currently a "head buddy"of. Jessie also takes part in many organizations outside of school including BBYO, a Jewish teen movement organization, and Cancer Kids First, which works towards providing kids with cancer a chance at a normal childhood. She enjoys traveling and attending sleepaway camp every summer. While in her downtime, Jessie enjoys hanging out with family and friends, cooking, spending time outdoors, and baking. She has experience with younger children as she is a part time babysitter. Jessie is always looking to help others around her and creating a positive environment.
email:
Jaden Cermak-Hosein
Jaden is a sophomore at River Dell High School. He is interested in science, technology, and math. He is taking all Honors classes this year, along with Computer Systems and Networking and Science Research. He was also accepted into the Columbia Science Honors Program, placed second on the national level of the Science Aces Competition, and taught computer building at the local library's Maker's Day Fair.
email:
Ellen Kang
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Megan Newton
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Maddy Yeung
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Kathleen Zhang
Big & Little
the big brother and sister mentoring/tutoring program
