Our Team
The people behind the program.
TKO Prep is built on a simple belief: great tutoring starts with understanding how each student thinks. The people who do that work matter, so meet the team families trust with their goals.
Test Prep
Justin Scott
After Georgetown and a Master's from Yale, Justin was deep into a PhD program at UCLA when he decided academia wasn't the path for him. He joined one of the country's top tutoring and academic consulting firms, started working with students, and discovered he loved helping them reach their dream schools. He spent the next decade working with hundreds of students across test preparation, admissions strategy, and beyond before founding TKO Prep in 2024.
Justin's effectiveness comes from more than his academic background: students actually want to work with him. He makes rigorous preparation feel less daunting, meeting students where they are and then pushing them harder than they would push themselves.
Mathematics
Travis Sutherland
Travis brings over a decade of one-on-one tutoring experience and a Pure Mathematics degree from UC Berkeley, where he graduated with highest honors and a 3.96 GPA. He has also spent several years applying that training as a research analyst at one of the world's leading hedge funds, where math was a working tool rather than a formula to be memorized.
He works with high school and college students across mathematics, from algebra through calculus and statistics, as well as select sciences. His approach starts from a simple idea: every student thinks a little differently, and good tutoring begins with figuring out how.
College Essays & Humanities
Joe Romano
Joe holds a PhD in English and Comparative Literature from Columbia and a BA from Georgetown, and he has spent over twelve years teaching and tutoring writing. Alongside his work for TKO Prep, he currently teaches literature and intellectual history as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Sarah Lawrence College. Prior to that, he led a year-long seminar in Columbia's Great Books course.
Joe is TKO's resident college essay expert. He helps students find the parts of their story most worth telling, then shapes it with them through rounds of feedback on structure, voice, and detail. Rather than simply editing for students, Joe uses collaborative dialogue and targeted feedback to help learners master structural mechanics, elevate stylistic clarity, and build confidence in their authentic writing voice.
Beyond his work with college essays, Joe also tutors academic English and the humanities with an approach centered on critical inquiry. He takes pride in teaching students how to close-read humanities texts, synthesize evidence, and construct compelling, thesis-driven arguments.
Biology & Economics
Ezra Finney
Ezra is a Master's student in Biological Oceanography and Marine Ecology at the Pytheas Institute within Aix-Marseille University in France, where he previously completed a BSc in Biology and Earth Sciences. He also holds a BA in Economics from Georgetown University, and before turning to biology he spent several years working directly with families in immigration law.
That mix is what makes him useful across a student's course load. He moves easily between quantitative reasoning and life science material rather than treating them as separate skills, and his work with families taught him how to explain something complicated to someone who genuinely needs to understand it.
His research interests include the dynamics of microbial ecosystems and bioenergetics. Away from the lab, you will find him behind his beloved drumkit.
International Baccalaureate & Academic Writing
Aliénor Mendiburu
Aliénor Mendiburu is an experienced tutor specializing in the International Baccalaureate, academic writing, and university admissions. She holds an MSc in International Development from the London School of Economics and a BA in History from University College London, and has been tutoring since 2018.
Having earned 42 out of 45 points in the IB herself, Aliénor brings deep firsthand knowledge of the program to her work with students. She has supported students across a wide range of Higher Level and Standard Level subjects, including Economics, History, Geography, Global Politics, English, French, Biology, and Environmental Systems and Societies. She also works extensively on Extended Essays, exam preparation, academic writing, and time-management strategies.
Aliénor's teaching is rigorous, encouraging, and highly individualized. She meets students where they are while helping them become more confident, independent, and effective learners, with a particular emphasis on strong writing, clear communication, and academic integrity.
Alongside her IB work, Aliénor supports GCSE and IGCSE students, English and French language learners, and students seeking to strengthen their essay-writing skills. She also provides university admissions support, including personal statements and interview preparation. Her students have received offers from Russell Group universities and leading universities and business schools in the United States, Canada, and France.
Mathematics, Science & English
Joycelin Farmer
Joycelin is a certified teacher in Mathematics and Special Education. She holds a BS in Physics and a BA in Creative Writing from Howard University, along with a Master of Science in Secondary Education from the Johns Hopkins University School of Education.
She has taught and tutored a wide range of students in many different settings, virtual classrooms included, and works with students from prekindergarten through the graduate level in math, science, and English. Physics on one side and creative writing on the other means she can stay with a student across the whole course load instead of handing them off when the subject changes.
Joycelin became a teacher because she loves being a student. She starts by figuring out how a particular student's brain works, then builds the plan around that, and she holds students accountable without making the work feel like a punishment. Her goal is to get the concepts solid and the core skills reliable, so students can eventually work through hard problems on their own.
Ready to get started?
Have questions, or ready to build a plan? Reach out directly, or fill out our intake form and we'll be in touch shortly.