Meet the Ardent Team

Ms. Zhang

HR Lead & Admissions Coordinator

Ms. Zhang leads Ardent's Human Resources department and is the coordinator for Ardent Admissions.

Mrs. Chen

Office Manager

Mrs. Chen manages the Northwood campus. She excels in ensuring the smooth functioning of our office operations while fostering a positive and productive atmosphere. She speaks English and Chinese.

Ms. Izabella

Marketing Specialist

Ms. Izabella is currently a student at UCLA, majoring in Cognitive Science with a minor in Digital Humanities and a Specialization in Computing.

Mr. Taimur

Assistant College Counselor

Mr. Taimur graduated from Harvard University and Duke University. Currently, he guides and assists Ardent Admissions scholars while he attends Stanford School of Medicine as an MD student.

Ms. Ying

Assistant College Counselor

Ms. Ying graduated from UCSD with degrees in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. She currently attends medical school at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. She helps Mrs. Li with college counseling.

Ms. Shannon

Assistant College Counselor

Ms. Shannon works with Mrs. Li to give students academic counseling. She has a Master's in Publishing from NYU and has worked with Penguin Random House Publishing.

Mr. Dillon

Counseling Assistant & Tutor

Mr. Dillon teaches math and assists with college application work at Ardent Academy. He is a current student at Yale University studying Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.

Mrs. Dahl

Senior College Essay Editor

Mrs. Hamilton

Senior College Essay Editor

With 10+ years experience as a writing coach, Mrs. Hamilton works with Admissions students on their college applications and essays. She has a Masters in Education from USC.

Ms. Delia

College Essay Editor

Ms. Delia earned her MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Columbia University and has worked with Ardent since 2021. She helps students craft personal statements for college applications.

Ms. Olivia

College Essay Editor

Ms. Olivia received her MFA in Nonfiction Writing from Columbia University. She has written and edited for regional and national magazine publications for four years.

Mrs. Marshall

College Essay Editor

Mrs. Marshall has over 10 years of experience as an English teacher, ELA department chair, and freelance copywriter. She guides students through the admissions process.

Mr. Ian

Math Instructor & Media Specialist

Mr. Ian is a UCI graduate in Math and has been teaching at Ardent since 2019. Students love his engaging and encouraging teaching style. He also has experience video editing.

Mr. Leo

Math Instructor & Tutor

A double major in Applied Math and Statistics at UCLA with a Specialization in Computing, Mr. Leo has experience teaching and participating in notable math and science competitions.

Mr. Ben

Math/Science Instructor & Tutor

Mr. Ben is expected to earn his doctorate in chemical engineering in 2026. He is currently researching and teaching differential mathematics and engineering at UCI.

Mr. Kim

Biology Instructor

Mr. Kim has taught integrated science courses at Northwood High and has been teaching biology, chemistry, and environmental science at Arnold Beckman High School since 2012.

Mrs. Le

Biology Instructor

Mrs. Le is an Irvine native who currently teaches biology and physics at Legacy Magnet Academy. She previously taught AP Biology with great success at Beckman High School.

Mr. Jedrick

Biology Instructor & Tutor

Mr. Jedrick was a Regents Scholar at UCLA in Human Biology and Society. He is now pursuing a Master's in Molecular Sciences and Software Engineering at UC Berkeley.

Ms. Lauren

Science Olympiad Instructor

Ms. Lauren is a proud former student of Ardent who now attends UPenn. She has extensive research experience and is an accomplished Science Olympiad team member and mentor.

Mr. Shane

Science Instructor

Mr. Shane is an incoming medical student to USC's Keck School of Medicine and has a B.S. in biomedical engineering. His interests include artificial intelligence and radiology research.

Mr. Pranav

Medical Biology Instructor

Mr. Pranav has been an Ardent Math Olympiad and Counseling student turned TA and Instructor. He attends Harvard University and teaches Medical Biology at Ardent Academy.

Mr. Lee

Chemistry Instructor

Mr. Lee has over 25 years of teaching experience and is currently a chemistry teacher and Chemistry Olympiad coach at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School.

Mr. Wie

Coding Instructor

Mr. Wie has taught coding since 2008 and has been with Ardent since 2013. He previously taught at St. Margaret's Episcopal School for 15 years and is currently at Choate Rosemary Hall.

Mr. Andrew

Coding Instructor

Mr. Senkowski is a longtime teacher at Ardent and a UCLA graduate in Mathematics of Computation. When he's not teaching, he also works in full stack development and data analysis.

Mrs. Kohn

English Instructor

Mrs. Kohn has her MFA in Creative Writing and Literature and over 5 years of experience teaching in reading and writing. She was previously the editor for two fantasy/sci-fi YA novels.

Mrs. Banagas-Engelerdt

English Instructor

Also known as Mrs. B-E, she has been an English teacher for 25+ years and was previously awarded Northwood High Teacher of the Year and IUSD Teacher of the Year.

Ms. Jasmine

English Instructor & Tutor

Ms. Jasmine is a UCLA graduate with two degrees in Applied Linguistics and English. Her research focuses on second language acquisition and has presented on accent discrimination.

Mr. Benjamin

Speech & Debate Instructor

Mr. Benjamin led his Speech & Debate team to National Semifinals in 2021. Since then, he continues to coach Speech & Debate enthusiasts of all ages and works as a tutor as well.

Ms. Palvi

Math & Coding Tutor

Ms. Palvi is pursuing Computer Science at UC Santa Barbara. She loves helping students not only improve but also get excited about learning about coding and technology.

Mr. Devin

Coding Tutor

Mr. Devin is studying Computer Science at UC Irvine and teaches coding at Ardent. In his spare time, he has developed a portfolio of projects including games and educational tools.

Mr. Liam

Math & Coding Tutor

Mr. Liam was an undergraduate lab tutor for coding languages while studying Computer Science at UC Irvine. He enjoys helping students have their "light bulb" moment.

Ms. Natalie

Math & Physics Tutor

Ms. Natalie has a Bachelor's in Mathematics from UCSB and a minor in Science and Math Education. She was a math TA for two years at UCSB and tutor at Ardent since 2020.

Mr. Bret

Math & English Tutor

Mr. Bret studies biological sciences at UC Irvine and has been a math tutor since high school. He appreciates growing as a learner along with his students.

Ms. Kombi

Math & Science Tutor

Ms. Kombi is a UCLA graduate who studied Psychobiology and Biochemistry. She has also completed 3 AA degrees and 1 AS degree while in high school.

Mr. Michael

Coding Tutor

Mr. Michael studies Computer Science at Georgia Tech and is interested in the intersection of software and AI. He currently works at Ardent as a software engineer and coding tutor.

Ms. Farah

Math & Coding Tutor

Ms. Farah is an enthusiastic and experienced tutor who is currently studying Computer Science at UC Irvine.