Catalyst is an Oregon based LLC, and is certified by the State of Oregon and Washington as a Woman Owned (WBE) and Emerging Small Business (ESB).
Catalyst is also Federally recognized as a Woman Owned Business.
Catalyst is also Federally recognized as a Woman Owned Business.
Tutoring Specialists
Brian
Brian is currently tutoring Language Arts with Holy Redeemer students. He was a Resident Playwright at The Flea Theater in New York City for the past two years. He earned his MFA in Playwriting from the University of Texas-Austin and is a former recipient of the Oregon Literary Fellowship in Drama.
Brian's full-length plays include: Poor Boys' Chorus (Broadway Bound Theater Festival, NYC), Fragments (Dixon Place, NYC) and Lyla School (UTNT, Austin, TX). Brian was a finalist for the 2019 Nickelodeon Writing Program. He was commissioned by Orphic Theater Company to adapt Euripides' Iphigenia Among the Taurians and his adaptation, Iphigenia 3.0, was featured in the 2017 Fertile Ground Festival.
In Portland, Brian has worked as a Teaching Artist for several arts education organizations including Writers in the Schools, The Red Door Project, Young Playwrights for Change and Play write Inc. He was also a volunteer coach with the Lincoln High School Mock Trial Team, which won the 2018 Oregon State Championship.
Brian's full-length plays include: Poor Boys' Chorus (Broadway Bound Theater Festival, NYC), Fragments (Dixon Place, NYC) and Lyla School (UTNT, Austin, TX). Brian was a finalist for the 2019 Nickelodeon Writing Program. He was commissioned by Orphic Theater Company to adapt Euripides' Iphigenia Among the Taurians and his adaptation, Iphigenia 3.0, was featured in the 2017 Fertile Ground Festival.
In Portland, Brian has worked as a Teaching Artist for several arts education organizations including Writers in the Schools, The Red Door Project, Young Playwrights for Change and Play write Inc. He was also a volunteer coach with the Lincoln High School Mock Trial Team, which won the 2018 Oregon State Championship.
Cody
Cody began tutoring his senior year of high school, helping students after school, while completing his IB Diploma. After graduating from Reed College in 2009 with a degree in Physics, he decided to pursue tutoring professionally with a focus on Math, while pursuing music on the side.
He has worked as a Math tutor at private tutoring companies for 6 years, following a passion to make math interesting, engaging, and easy to understand for students of all grade levels. Over the years, he has helped elementary and middle school students develop strong study habits, and has helped high school students master the skills they need to improve their grades and test scores. His goal is to simplify tough concepts, and teach students how to work independently and think critically.
He has worked as a Math tutor at private tutoring companies for 6 years, following a passion to make math interesting, engaging, and easy to understand for students of all grade levels. Over the years, he has helped elementary and middle school students develop strong study habits, and has helped high school students master the skills they need to improve their grades and test scores. His goal is to simplify tough concepts, and teach students how to work independently and think critically.
Joliene
Joliene Adams is a born and raised Portlander, although she’s also lived abroad in Bolivia and Easter Island, Chile a collective three years, where she focused on teaching and learning languages (English/Spanish). She began working with languages in 2004, and first taught them in 2005. That first year, she taught languages in Matt Dishmann Community Center to toddlers, youth, and adults.
She’s since earned an M.A. in Comparative Literature (2013, U. of Colorado) and an M.A. in Linguistics with a Language Teaching Speciality (2017, U. of Oregon). In addition to teaching language one-on-one, in primary and secondary schools, and at the university level, Joliene has taught a variety of other subjects and helped design curriculum for as well as teach grades 4-8 in a growing alternative education program.
Joliene thrives working one-on-one or with small groups, and helping students build a better relationship with their own selves and academics through meaningful collaboration with a trusted tutor. Joliene is also a writer and avid reader. She volunteers at a rescue donkey shelter, and heads out on outdoor adventures with her husband any time she can in her free time!
She’s since earned an M.A. in Comparative Literature (2013, U. of Colorado) and an M.A. in Linguistics with a Language Teaching Speciality (2017, U. of Oregon). In addition to teaching language one-on-one, in primary and secondary schools, and at the university level, Joliene has taught a variety of other subjects and helped design curriculum for as well as teach grades 4-8 in a growing alternative education program.
Joliene thrives working one-on-one or with small groups, and helping students build a better relationship with their own selves and academics through meaningful collaboration with a trusted tutor. Joliene is also a writer and avid reader. She volunteers at a rescue donkey shelter, and heads out on outdoor adventures with her husband any time she can in her free time!
Kai
Kai started tutoring with Catalyst in March 2023. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in religious studies from University of Oregon last year. Kai has been an educator in may different formats, with many different ages: A substitute teacher aide at the Cottonwood School of Civics and Science for grades 3-8, a teacher assistant for a university class called Trees Across Oregon, a peer mentor for his scholarship program, a summer camp leader at Eugene Recreation, and an AVID tutor at South Eugene High School. He recently got back from a 2.5 month trip to Panama, where he volunteered at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Kai enjoys bike commuting, learning about plants and fungi, and playing jazz piano.
KYLE
Kyle received both her undergraduate and Masters of Education degree from the University of Portland, and for 10 years, was on the teaching staff at a small Catholic School in Portland, OR where she taught 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. Kyle took a break from teaching for a bit to stay at home with her two children, but is excited to be back in the classroom teaching her favorite subject as a Title 1 math specialist.
In her free time, Kyle enjoys spending time cooking, hiking and traveling with her husband and two children.
Kyle received both her undergraduate and Masters of Education degree from the University of Portland, and for 10 years, was on the teaching staff at a small Catholic School in Portland, OR where she taught 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. Kyle took a break from teaching for a bit to stay at home with her two children, but is excited to be back in the classroom teaching her favorite subject as a Title 1 math specialist.
In her free time, Kyle enjoys spending time cooking, hiking and traveling with her husband and two children.