Beacon Hill & Columbia City Tutors
Quin
I am an experienced writer and educator with rich, varied experience in teaching students reading and writing. I graduated with degrees in English and Economics from Whitman College, where I also worked as a tutor and poetry instructor with middle schoolers. Since then, I've had the opportunity to teach in a variety of contexts, from elementary school to college, from a university in China to a public elementary school in Eugene, Oregon. I received my MA in Elementary Teaching from Lewis & Clark College with additional coursework in ESOL, and I am a certificated elementary school teacher working on receiving my ELL and reading endorsements. Outside of my classroom experiences, I have also worked in educational equity positions at Whitman and UW Medicine. Reading and writing have meant so much to me in my life, and I love to bring that to others, whether through teaching foundational schools to an early elementary schooler, or helping a grown-up tap into their playful, creative side.
Outside of reading and writing, or teaching other people about reading and writing, I like to paint, play basketball, run, and make jokes with my friends.
Bruno
I am an SPS teacher with 10 years of experience as an educator and tutor, certificated in English and Language Arts, Reading, and English Language Learners. My work has primarily been as a reading interventionist, which includes dyslexia intervention, bilingual reading intervention (Spanish), and ESL, but I have also taught ELA 6th-8th and tutored SAT Math and Reading. My training and experience have allowed me to see reading and writing as skills that can be assessed, monitored, and remediated through research-proven methods and best practices.
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As an ESL student and non-reader in childhood, I understand the challenges that students face as readers and writers. It was through my own experience in reading intervention that I became an avid reader and academically successful, so I believe whole-heartedly in data-informed instruction and in the benefits, beyond the classroom, of being a confident reader and writer.
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I have a BA In English with honors and a BM in Vocal Performance with honors from the University of Texas at Austin and continued my education in pre-medical studies. I scored in the 99th percentile in the English portion of the ACT, in the 97th percentile in the writing portion of the SAT, and I was recognized by the NHRP as a National Hispanic Scholar. At UT, I was a finalist in the English Department Writing Contest in both fiction and literary criticism. My reading intervention training includes Wilson, Esperanza, 6 +1 Traits, and the Teachers College curriculum.
Elyse
I’m a writer from the Seattle area with an MFA from the University of New Orleans. As a freelance environmental journalist and creative writer, I’m passionate about the natural world and the power of storytelling to forge connections.
At the University of New Orleans, I worked in the writing center, where I helped undergraduate and graduate students learn new techniques for reading, writing, and researching. There, I also tutored local high school students taking college-level writing courses. As a tutor, I often use visualizations, diagrams, and educational games for vivid, interactive sessions that build skills and confidence.
As a writer, I’ve learned from organizations including Bergen’s Center for Investigative Journalism and the Bread Loaf Environmental Writers' Conference. My writing has also been supported by Artist Trust, Seattle City of Literature, the Jack Straw Cultural Center, and the Fund for Investigative Journalism, among others. In 2025, I won First Place in the National Federation of Press Women Communications Contest for an article published in The Revelator, about the environmental impacts of Russia’s war on Ukraine. I’ve also been published in Slate, Zócalo Public Square, TriplePundit, and elsewhere. I love public speaking as well as writing, and have read my work at local events including Northwest Folklife Festival and One Ocean Week.
