Executive Team
Yelena Kadeykina, CEO
Alma Mater: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Yelena Kadeykina is a Cambridge-based technology entrepreneur, MIT graduate, and internationally sought-out expert on the U.S. educational landscape. She has run multiple successful projects facilitating the worldwide exchange of knowledge and development of professional networks, like StartUp Access - which mentors entrepreneurs seeking to break into the global market. Yelena has also consulted for world-renowned organizations such as the World Bank and MIT, where she developed an original curriculum for entrepreneurial initiatives and led seminars on the topics of networking, marketing, and entrepreneurship. She is one of the co-founders of the MIT Enterprise Forum of Russia, and has participated as a speaker and moderator at a number of conferences, including the World Cities Summit, Open Innovation Forum, Global Entrepreneurial Congress, and others. Yelena sits on the Board of Directors for American companies such as Erequest and Optromix, in addition to being an angel investor. Since 2014, she serves as a mentor and judge for MassChallenge, the world’s largest startup accelerator. Outside of work, Yelena enjoys hiking, traveling, photography, and cooking.
Julia Barr, Director of Education
Alma Mater: University of Chicago
Julia Barr graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and then from Middlebury College as valedictorian, majoring in History and Russian. She went on to receive a Ph.D. with distinction from the University of Chicago, where she studied as a Century Fellow and conducted research all over Asian and European areas of Russia as a Fulbright scholar. As a scholar, Julia has authored multiple articles published in peer-reviewed journals, including in the flagship journal of the field of History of Science. She has designed college-level courses and taught at the University of Chicago, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Rutgers University (as an Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral scholar), and Macalester College. As such, Julia has a deep expertise on the American higher education landscape born of extensive experience in a variety of roles across diverse institutional types. Alongside her work at Hermiona, Julia is also currently working towards an M.S. in the field of mental health counseling, in the course of which she has studied such topics as client-centered interviewing techniques, career development and assessment, and personality testing. Julia’s favorite aspects of her work at Hermiona are helping students figure out how to identify a boarding school or university that best fits their personality, and guiding students as they discover and narrate their most compelling personal stories for application essays. Outside of work, Julia enjoys camping with her family, learning about natural history, and doing arts and crafts with her preschooler.
Senior Academic Team
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Janice Cheon
Alma Mater: Yale University, University of Oxford, Princeton University
Janice is a Ph.D. student in German Studies at Yale University. She recently completed her MSt in Medieval and Modern Languages (German) with distinction as an Ertegun Scholar at the University of Oxford. After attending Phillips Academy Andover for high school, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University with a degree in German Media and Aesthetics and certificates (minors) in Humanistic Studies, Medieval Studies, and Music Performance. At Princeton, Janice served as a teaching assistant for the German Department’s language sequence, the editor-in-chief of Princeton’s Journal of Medieval Studies, and a curatorial intern at various museums and cultural institutions in Germany and the USA. As a baroque and modern violinist, she has performed as a soloist and in principal positions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Austria.
Polina Ivanova
Alma Mater: Harvard University, Bosphorus University (Istanbul)
Polina Ivanova is currently a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of History at Harvard University, where she also earned her M.A. in 2015. She graduated summa cum laude from Bosphorus University (Istanbul) with a B.A. in History. Polina is the recipient of numerous academic fellowships and awards, including the Dumbarton Oaks William R. Tyler Fellowship, Social Sciences Research Council International Dissertation Research Fellowship, Onassis Foundation Scholarship, and Cambridge Commonwealth Scholarship, among others. She has taught courses in European History at Harvard College and holds two Certificates of Distinction in Teaching awarded by the Harvard Bok Centre for Teaching and Learning. Outside academia, Polina enjoys hiking, learning new languages, and reading about historical linguistics.
Academic and Tutoring Team
Zaza Asatiani
Alma Mater: Princeton University, Pembroke College in the University of Cambridge
From Tbilisi, Georgia, Zaza Asatiani graduated cum laude from Princeton University, majoring in Sociology and Criminology with a minor in Urbanism. He received a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) degree in Anthropology from Pembroke College, the University of Cambridge. Zaza previously worked for the Princeton-Mellon Initiative in Architecture, Urbanism, and Humanities. He has been tutoring students since high school. His favorite aspect of working with Hermiona students is helping them transform their ideas into writing. In his free time, Zaza enjoys being a debate mentor at the Georgian Institute for Debate and Education (GIDE), as well as creative writing, drawing, and painting. His short stories and artwork have been published in literary magazines and exhibited in art galleries across the world, including in the UK and the USA.
Lena Barton
Alma Mater: Princeton University
Lena Barton is a student at Princeton University majoring in Slavic Languages and Literatures. Originally from England, she attended Marlborough College during high school and has an intimate understanding of what applying to American universities as an international student is like. Lena has received national awards in the UK for linguistics, mathematics and physics. Her tutoring specialty lies in college admission essays and ACT English and Reading, in both sections of which she received a perfect score. She has proficiency in Russian, Latin and Greek, and has tutored in these subjects, among others, since 2015. In her free time, Lena enjoys cooking, arts and crafts, poetry, and perfecting her recipe for tiramisu.
Taylor Chin
Alma Mater: Princeton University
Taylor graduated from Princeton University in 2018 with a degree in Slavic Languages & Literatures, as well as a minor in Neuroscience. She has lived abroad in St. Petersburg, Russia for Russian language studies. Taylor previously represented the USA in fencing, and fenced for Princeton University's Division 1 varsity fencing team. She is currently a journalist with Poland Today and has published several articles, both journalistic and scientific, internationally and nationally. She has also written creative prose for her Princeton University Slavic senior thesis, which is a novel that features 19th-century Moscow detectives, an absurd man, and the Slavic folklore world. She began tutoring high school students in 2013, and since then has helped many students prepare for the SAT, college applications, and college essays. In rare moments of free time, Taylor serves as a yoga instructor!
Emma Eklof
Alma Mater: Indiana University, School of Education at Manhattan’s Hunter College
At Indiana University, Emma majored in French and English with a minor in Bioanthropology. She graduated with high honors in 2007, receiving the esteemed Quentin B. Hope award for excellence. After graduating she moved to New York City where she studied towards her master’s degree in the School of Education at Manhattan’s Hunter College. Since 2011, she has worked extensively as a freelance editor of English texts, including fiction, academic translations, essays, and scholarly monographs. Emma has years of experience working as a writing consultant and academic tutor, preparing students for the entrance examinations to elite New York City high schools like Stuyvesant, as well as helping students write successful college application essays to elite universities such as Harvard and Brown. Beyond academics, Emma has worked as an instructor and grant writer for a nonprofit organization to bring arts education to school children in New York City. She enjoys teaching/coaching yoga and soccer for kids!
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G. R. Marvez
Alma Mater: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Marvez is a graduate student at MIT, studying educational technologies with a focus on how teachers can lead controversial discussions with their students. During their time in undergrad at MIT, Marvez taught in Russia with Global Teaching Labs and in Cambridge public and charter schools as a part of MIT’s teacher education program. As a student teacher, they have worked in 12th grade English and 8th grade science classes - earning a Bachelor of Science in Brain and Cognitive Sciences with a Concentration in Education from MIT. Marvez has taught AP English, AP Biology, IB Biology, IB Theory of Knowledge, SAT Prep, and middle school sciences in the United States and in Russia. Outside of school, they enjoy creating puzzles, learning Russian, and designing haunted houses.
Liza Michaeli
Alma Mater: University of California, Berkeley
Liza is earning her Ph.D. in Rhetoric, with Designated Emphases in Critical Theory and Jewish Studies, at the University of California, Berkeley, where she works in poetics, psychoanalysis, pathophysiology, phenomenology, and Jewish ethics. Liza graduated magna cum laude with a degree in English Literature and Critical Theory from Macalester College. She has extensive high school teaching experience in English, Hebrew, and Russian, forensics, college admissions preparation, as well as at the undergraduate level at UC-Berkeley. Outside of academic work, Liza's heart is in music, poetic language, intimate conversation, and a deep attentive wandering of the world.
Michael Milam
Alma Mater: École Polytechnique in Paris, ETH Zürich, Princeton University
Michael is a graduate student in High Energy Physics at École Polytechnique in Paris and ETH Zürich. His research focuses on conformal field theory and applications to string theory. At Princeton he studied physics and minored in Russian, while also working as a senior editor for the Nassau Weekly. Michael's interest in teaching began when he spent nine months on a Princeton-funded program in Brazil, where he taught English and studied Portuguese. He spent a summer in Saint Petersburg at the Derzhavin Institute studying Russian, and is currently perfecting his knowledge of French, Spanish, German, and Chinese. In his free time Michael enjoys rock climbing, as well as playing classical piano and guitar.
Anastasiia Posnova
Alma Mater: Yale University
Anastasiia Posnova graduated from Yale University with a degree in Political Science, as well as distinction in her major. Passionate about policy and journalism, she served as an editor of the Yale Daily News, conducted research in the social sciences and was part of Yale’s selective Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy. Anastasiia is an alumna of the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program administered by the U.S. Department of State and a recipient of the Yale English Department’s Winston T. Townsend prize “for excellence in English composition.” Outside of coursework, she worked as a writing tutor and helped both native and ESL speakers strengthen their presentation, structural, and argumentative skills. She is excited to similarly help Hermiona students find their voices and reach their writing goals. A lover of art history, Anastasiia spends her spare time roaming around museums and occasionally lecturing her friends and family on why Malevich’s Black Square is, in fact, an excellent painting.
Emily Reinhold
Alma Mater: Princeton University
Emily Reinhold graduated from Princeton University, where she pursued a major in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and a certificate in Environmental Studies. In college, she spent time teaching ESL to Spanish-speaking immigrants in Trenton, New Jersey and joined the women's rowing team. In her final year at Princeton, Emily's senior thesis on large-scale policy solutions to plastic waste won the Environmental Studies Thesis Prize. Currently, Emily is applying what she learned during her thesis research to her work at the Environmental Defense Fund, where she was selected for a two-year High Meadows Fellowship. Emily's work at Hermiona includes tutoring students in the English language and English writing of all genres, assisting high school students with their college application essays, and providing logistical support during summer programs. Helping students both succeed in their academics and find a way to enjoy learning is one of Emily’s biggest passions, and it is what brought her to Hermiona. In her free time, Emily enjoys rowing, photography, and drawing portraits of pets.
Grace Rosenberg
Alma Mater: Princeton University
Grace Rosenberg is a National Merit Scholar studying German at Princeton University. She is a member of Princeton’s Triangle Club and Theatre Intime, Koleinu (a student a cappella group), and the Princeton Classics Club. Since 2017, she has tutored students through community organizations, such as Math Adventures and Word Play in Teaneck, New Jersey. During the summer after sophomore year, Grace was selected for a fellowship at NYC-based Project Rousseau, which helps under-resourced students apply to dream colleges and universities. There, she specialized in SAT and ACT prep. Grace has also served as a peer tutor for the past seven years, assisting high school and college students in mathematics, Latin, and Attic Greek. In her spare time, Grace writes short stories and poems; she also practices yoga.
Michael Rupprecht
Alma Mater: California Institute of Technology
Michael holds a B.S. in Mathematics from Caltech. He now works as the Head of Trading at the Moda Fund, a startup trading firm. In high school, he was an active participant in math competitions, winning Chicago-wide and placing well in national and international ones. Wanting to spread his passion for mathematics, he launched a mentoring program at his high school for neighboring high school students and worked as an instructor for two years through the Young Scholars Program at the University of Chicago. In addition, Michael has worked as a teaching assistant for several computer science courses at the California Institute of Technology. He has gained extensive experience teaching to a variety of ages, topics, and levels of experience - from middle-schoolers to undergraduates, standardized testing to competitive math, and remedial work to enrichment. Michael enjoys adventuring both within and away from civilization whenever he gets the chance, loves live classical music, and avidly watches the Bears each Sunday.
Vladislav Sevostianov
Alma Mater: Harvard University, Princeton University
Vlad is a Ph.D. student at Princeton University in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department working in Atmospheric Chemistry under the U.S. DoD National Defense Fellowship. Previously, he was a Harvard-Trustman Traveling Fellow, after graduating from Harvard University in 2019 with a joint degree (honors) in both Earth and Planetary Science and Mathematics with a minor in Global Health and Health Policy. He has worked in, presented at conferences, and published papers in several academic disciplines including economics, physics, geosciences, and engineering. Vlad is also an accomplished instructor, having taught Mathematics and Engineering for four terms at Harvard, receiving top teaching awards twice. Besides working with the Hermiona team, he previously privately tutored and coached chess and tennis. In his free time, Vlad is an active alpinist and climber, small airplane pilot, and editor-in-chief of a scientific research journal. He serves his community as a volunteer firefighter and as a technical search and rescue team member.
Julia Tofan
Alma Mater: Yale University
Julia Tofan is a graduate of Yale University, where she majored in Mathematics and Philosophy. She is currently an Investment Analyst at the Wesleyan University Investment Office, located in her home state of Connecticut. She is also a Venture Fellow with Blue Ivy Ventures and the Venture Cooperative, working on sourcing investments and conducting due diligence. Previously, Julia has interned with the U.S. Department of State as well as in startup, consulting, and hedge fund roles. Julia places a high value on education, and is driven to help students access meaningful learning opportunities. She has five years of college consulting experience, with a focus on essay editing, SAT tutoring, and extracurricular leadership projects. She enjoys distilling the black box of college admissions, and helping students to access the many great learning opportunities that university offers, from study abroad to unique internship programs. In her free time, Julia likes to travel, play tennis, and go running. Most recently, she has started to learn horseback riding!
Special Projects Team
Peter Koroteev
Alma Mater: Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, University of Minnesota, University of California, Berkeley
Peter Koroteev earned his B.S. and M.S. at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology where he studied theoretical physics and mathematics. Presently, Peter is a lecturer in the Mathematics Department at University of California, Berkeley, and conducts research in mathematical physics and string theory. He was previously a Krener Assistant Professor of Mathematics at U.C. Davis and a postdoctoral fellow at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada. Peter came to the United States for his Ph.D. studies at the University of Minnesota, which he completed in 2012. Professor Koroteev has been working in the educational system throughout his entire career — from teaching at math summer school in Russia to his experience as a teaching assistant in grad school to, finally, his work as a faculty member at U.C. Berkeley. In his free time, he enjoys biking, running, swimming, skiing, and spending time with his two daughters - Anna and Maria.
Tessa Murthy
Alma Mater: Carnegie Mellon University, Yale University
Tessa is a Ph.D. student in the Philosophy department at Carnegie Mellon. She graduated from Yale University in 2019 with a double major in Mathematics and Humane Letters. Tessa has extensive teaching experience through the Yale Center for Teaching and Learning and TAing undergraduate classes at Carnegie Mellon. When teaching, she strives to improve students’ performances not by assisting in the process of rote memorization, but by guiding students toward an understanding of the “why” — a real knowledge that inspires confidence and enthusiasm in students. She loves challenging students through writing and close reading assignments, to build focus and connection with texts. In her free time, Tessa enjoys reading Dante and Borges, playing the keyboard and organ, running 5ks, and kickboxing.
Operations&IT Team
Liza Arzamastseva, Administrative Assistant
Alma Mater: Moscow State University of Design and Technology
Liza is currently working towards a Bachelor of Business on a full merit scholarship at Moscow State University of Design and Technology (MSUDT). She graduated high school with a medal - honoring academic achievement and high performance on the Russian equivalent of the American SAT. In parallel to her studies, Liza stays up to date on the latest market trends in infobusiness, by taking coursework from thought leaders such as Skillbox and Geekbrains. She is an experienced operations and administrative professional, having worked in a range of positions: from copywriting to social media management. Liza joined the Hermiona team to be surrounded by talented individuals who share the same noble goal of helping people work towards their hopes and dreams. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, photography, cinematography, fashion, and fine arts.
Igor Litvin
Alma Mater: Belarussian Institute of Law
After graduating from the BIP - Belarussian Institute of Law, Igor Litvin decided to switch gears towards a more creative career. He studied UI/UX Design at IT Academy and Digital Artistry at Fungi Studio. Over the course of the past 5 years, Igor has served as a staff and freelance graphic designer for international Jewish organizations - like Hillel International, Joint Distribution Committee, etc. He has also created trademarked logos and imagery for multiple major and local companies, titles of which must be kept confidential. Igor is a photography enthusiast and enjoys experimenting with his personal blog on Instagram (@vinlit) - where he creates entertaining digital content in various formats.