Meet Our Team

Dr. Mary “Annette” La Russa began teaching in 1980 as a math tutor and chemistry lab instructor, while still in college. Since that time, she has earned a double major in mathematics and chemistry, an M.S. degree in chemistry, a Ph.D. in education, and a Ph.D. in mathematics. She has taught students ranging in age from 3 years old to experienced teachers. Much of her teaching success has been with college freshmen who are struggling in math or chemistry. She has taught in public and private schools and colleges, and has taught in informal settings, such as day camp as well as Sunday school. In the 1990s Dr. La Russa was on a team that developed, administered, and evaluated some of the first teacher certification programs for the prestigious National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. In the early years of the 21st century, she took a team of high school students to a private school computer science competition where one girl won first place in an individual competition and a 9th grade team won the 2nd place prize in their team competition. After returning to graduate school in mathematics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. La Russa taught mathematics and statistics at UAB. She was awarded several fellowships, including an NSF-EAPSI award that allowed her to spend the summer of 2008 as a guest researcher at the University of Adelaide in Australia. In the summer of 2009, she was awarded several fellowships to attend international workshops in inverse problem research. Dr. La Russa had the opportunity to teach innovative courses at UAB in mathematics, including teaching an introduction to Mathematical Modeling class for several years. In 2012, she became a Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) fellow of the Mathematical Association of America.

Dr. La Russa is semi-retired from public school teaching but is passionate about teaching and helping students of all ages realize their potential. She is especially passionate about helping students whom the schools are failing.

Welcome! My name is Denise Cooper. I have been a teacher for 21+ years and have been a private tutor for 6+years. I have taught and tutored at various levels ranging from first grade to twelfth grade. I am knowledgeable of the curriculum in all grade levels, so I align my teaching and tutoring accordingly to support academic success. Much of my experience has been in an inclusion setting working with students with varied learning styles, modalities, and needs and I particularly specialize in working with students that need extra support in math. I teach concepts by breaking down steps into smaller sets, use manipulatives to make concepts concrete, and teach concepts in a way that is relatable and meaningful while using language that makes sense to the student. I focus on practicing skills they have mastered, and gradually tie in new skills which allows students to feel successful each step of the way. I have a calm, kind, patient, friendly, and nurturing demeanor which allows my students to feel comfortable in tackling math without fear of failure. I have high expectations of student learning and feel student responsibility and ownership of learning is an important component in academic success, so I work on building student engagement and interest by building confidence. Once the students are confident in their ability to tackle math, their engagement and interest in learning is a natural biproduct! I love when I hear my students comment, “This isn’t hard! I thought I was bad at math! I’m actually good at it!”

In our tutoring sessions, I will tailor my tutoring sessions to work on current schoolwork for the student to keep up with current concepts being learned in class, practice foundational skills that may have been missed in prior learning to gain mastery and include enrichment work to promote higher level thinking. I have a love and a passion for math and want to build that same love for math with my students! I look forward to working with you and your student!

Hello! My name is Liz, I am a San Diego native, and recent transplant to Albuquerque. I have 7 years of tutoring experience across all age groups, both one on one as well as in a group setting. Math, Reading, Writing, and Editing are my strong suits, with Math being my personal favorite subject to teach. I am very passionate about working with kids and teens in general and tutoring affords me a fun and rewarding way to do so.

Previously, I worked with UC Berkeley’s BUILD (Berkeley United in Literacy Development) program in Oakland, with the City of San Diego’s DYH@L (Do Your Homework at the Library) program, as well as as a private tutor. In my spare time I am an avid reader, movie junkie, foodie, and amateur cyclist (very amateur). I love sharing/discussing book and movie recs with my students, as well as helping them achieve their learning goals.

Hello! I am Mia Marmolejo and I have been with Tutor Doctor since early 2020. I have always enjoyed teaching and keeping kids engaged in learning. I was a STEM and robotics advocate and continue to encourage students to reach their goals by incorporating all my education. I studied Aerospace and Construction Engineering, but found a love for teaching and tutoring within the Tutor Doctor company. Tutoring allowed me to be creative and discover teaching methods for every individual student so they may grow positive and strong within their learning environment. I continue to push all my students to be confident, excited and motivated to learn by creating techniques and tools for every student. Tutor Doctor has allowed me to become a successful and productive tutor, while creating the most amazing memories and meeting the most amazing people.

My name is William Mitchell, and I am a tutor with Tutor Doctor Albuquerque. I am very good when it comes to working with other students and am completely dedicated to your success. I can tutor many subjects such as Mathematics (Algebra to Calculus II), Chemistry (General Chemistry I and II), Physics (Physics I and II), and Psychology (Introduction to Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Child Growth Learning and Development). These are some of the classes that I can tutor confidently and well. I can also tutor on any education level (from high school to college). I love tutoring because it is very rewarding to share my knowledge with other students. I know how it feels to struggle with a subject, and I am here to minimize the stress you may be experiencing from academics. I chose to tutor with Tutor Doctor Albuquerque because there are a lot of students that need help with their classes. Tutor Doctor’s system of finding students and matching them with the right tutor makes me happy to know that another student is getting the help they need. I look forward to working with you amazing students.