Meet our Chaska Tutoring Staff

As Center Director, Carrie works with families and staff to create a successful learning environment for all students.  A former teacher with over 20 years of experience in a variety of educational settings with students PreK-College. Carrie chose a career with Sylvan because she loves seeing students in a small learning environment where they feel safe to make mistakes and grow in confidence as well as knowledge and skills. She studied at North Central University where she earned a BA in Elementary Education. When Carrie isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll find her  running, weightlifting, reading nonfiction books and enjoying the great outdoors. 

Nina has worked in education for more than 17 years. With her strong background in math, she especially enjoys working with students who are tackling new math concepts. Nina has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and a Master's Degree in Education from the University of St. Thomas. When not teaching, Nina enjoys gardening, biking, reading and spending time with her family. One little known fact about her: she was born on an island...Long Island, New York!

Randy is an ACT Prep, Homework Support and SylvanSync Math/Reading instructor in Chaska, MN. While Randy has many tutoring talents, He finds the greatest joy in Math tutoring and passing along much-needed mathematical skills to the next generation. He has a 40 year background in applied mathematics. When Randy isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll find him writing a data science book and watching lots of baseball. 

Jennifer is a former secondary English teacher and high school counselor. She has an M.A. in English from St. Thomas University and an M.Ed. in school counseling from West Chester University in PA. Jennifer has always loved reading, and has been reading one book after another almost every day since she learned to read! She is passionate about bringing her love of reading to her students, and believes reading books from an early age is the key to developing the strong academic skills needed to succeed in school. In addition to teaching students at Sylvan and reading, Jennifer enjoys traveling, spending time with her grown kids, watching basketball, and exploring the Twin Cities.

Heather was born and raised in Excelsior, MN. She attended college in Hawai’i, where she earned 2 bachelor’s degrees and worked in the science field. She tutored all through college and found inspiration in lifting up other learners. She is now living on an organic farm with her son and their animals. 

John has over 30 years of product development engineering experience, and now enjoys applying his knowledge to help students in all areas of learning. John received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota. His intellectual interests include philosophy, technology, futurism, human nature, and all things science, and he enjoys reading non-fiction as well as the great literature of history. He loves to pursue adventure activities with his family, including hiking, climbing, mountain skiing, traveling, and water sports at the lake.  

With degrees in Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Emily has worked with a variety of ages in a variety of settings. In addition to her education degrees, she has a degree in Childhood Advocacy.  For the last two years, she has been teaching 7th/8th grade Science with a focus on Life Science. When she is not at Sylvan she enjoys hiking, geocaching, and continuing her education.