Our Team

Founder & CEO

Matthew Pietrafetta founded Academic Approach in 2001 and currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer.…

Chief Strategy Officer & General Counsel

Bradley Kessler serves as Chief Strategy Officer and General Counsel. In this role, Bradley participates…

Vice President of Operations

Varun Aggarwal currently serves as the Vice President of Operations. In this role, Varun leads…

Executive Director of Education

Amanda Aisen has worked with Academic Approach since 2010. After serving as an Instructor and…

Vice President of Finance

Erica Porter Walton currently serves as the Vice President of Finance. In this role, Erica leads accounting and reporting efforts for the organization.

Regional Director

Carla Pedersen currently serves as the Regional Director of One-on-One Tutoring. In this role, she…

Director of Client Services

Andrew Ferguson currently serves as the Director of Client Services as well as an ACT…

Associate Director

Denise Alagna currently serves as an Associate Director of One-on-One Tutoring in the Clarendon Hills…

Associate Director

Wade Weeldreyer currently serves as an Associate Director of One-on-One Tutoring in the North Shore…

Director of Inquiries

Ben Hendren currently serves as an Associate Director of One-on-One tutoring. Ben joined the Academic…

Associate Director

Amanda currently serves as an Associate Director of One-on-One tutoring. Amanda joined the Academic Approach team in 2020 as a tutor and classroom instructor for the ACT and SAT.

Associate Director

Ali currently serves as an Associate Director of One-on-One Tutoring. In this role, she oversees individual one-on-one programs, helping students and families set up programs and ensuring that those programs are executed.

Associate Director

Allison earned her Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Director of Curriculum

TJ Sassorossi currently serves as the Director of Curriculum and Assessment. In this position, TJ…

Director of Research and Development

Jaycie Ryrholm joined Academic Approach in 2011. As the Director of Research and Development…