I have taught English for over for thirty-five years. During many of those years, tutoring students outside of my own classes was part of my job. Over the last twenty years, I co-directed the writing program at a well-known university in New Jersey. Most of my professional life has been devoted to helping students learn to read and write for purposes that give them a sense of satisfaction and/or confidence.

As a former high school and university teacher, I loved helping students develop confidence in their reading and writing abilities. Working with students one-on-one gave me my most rewarding experiences, because I could learn exactly where students were stuck or frustrated--and exactly where their interests and strengths were. Bringing their strengths and interests to the challenges they met in their reading and writing has always given me a sense of satisfaction. I have worked with a wide variety of students, from those who have disabilities to English majors who love reading and writing, from eighth-graders in a private school to inmates at East Jersey State Prison to master's degree candidates.

I think the best writing tutors are those who take their own writing seriously. Published both as an academic and as a poet, I help others get in touch with the drive to express themselves and to communicate with others. At the same time, I have been extensively trained as a teacher, having received a Master of Arts in Teaching degree early in my career and then a Ph.D. in English Education, where my dissertation focused on writing instruction.

Whether you are trying to polish an application essay to get into the school of your dreams or succeed with a three-page essay due at the end of the week in your high school English class, I look forward to working with you. I enjoy helping students puzzle through the mysteries of an Emily Dickinson poem as well as working with them to effectively summarize the argument of Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail." My goal is to help you succeed on your own