Homework that thinks
Every instructional experience, regardless of subject, requires students to do work on their own. Qwzrd customizes that work to maximize its pedagogic value. It does so in two ways: a) by providing dynamic, just-in-time feedback when students experience difficulty with a specific task and b) by tailoring assignments to target each student’s specific learning needs. Our first products, designed for ACT and SAT prep, are scheduled for release in Fall, 2021. Qwzrd is an initiative of Brownstone Tutors, a leading NYC test-prep and tutoring boutique.
WE ARE HIRING
Lead Developer
Visual Designer
Researcher/Administrative Assistant
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LeaderShip TEam
Joshua Brown, Founder and CEO
Prior to founding Brownstone Tutors, Josh worked as a journalist, copywriter and, of course, a tutor. Beginning in 2007, with minimal seed capital and zero customers, he built Brownstone into a leading NYC provider of test prep and tutoring services. In 2019 he left Brownstone to concentrate on Qwzrd full-time. B.A., Harvard College; M.A. (US History), Columbia University.
Cameron Price, CTO
Cameron has been working as a software developer since 1993. After learning his chops at Microsoft and Real Networks, he began managing teams of developers, first in the financial sector and as the CTO, and then CEO of Mint Digital, a multi-disciplinary design shop. B.A., Brown University.
Board of Advisors
Saurabh Ganeriwal
An engineering leader with 14+ years experience of scaling distributed systems as well as organizing highly productive teams. Experience working cross-functionally with leaders from product, design, growth, sales, and pedagogy. Has a breadth of technical experience ranging from cluster management to personalization, from large-scale distributed systems to web/mobile product development. A diverse experience in managing product, hardware and infrastructure engineers as well as data scientists, IT and QA. Currently:Head of Eats SF Marketplace Engineering at Uber. Formerly: Senior Director at AltSchool and Technical Lead Manager at Google. B Tech, IIT Bombay; Ph.D., UCLA.
Dr. Vera Michalchik
Senior scholar with expertise in online instruction. Vera Michalchik studies learning in its many forms and settings—including community, home, online, and workplace environments. Currently , Vera is Associated Director of Connected Learning Lab at UC Irvine. Past positions include Director of Evaluation and Research, Office of the Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, Stanford and Director of Research, Center for Technology and Learning. BA, UC Berkeley; Ed. M (Human Development), Harvard Unviersity; Ph.D. (Educational Psychology/Anthropology), Stanford University.
Brian Sims
Brian is currently the Executive Director of One World Network of Schools, an education non-profit working to improve student learning by developing the next generation of school leaders. Prior to joining One World, Brian was the Director of Education at Ark Schools, one of the leading academy chains in the UK. Before that he helped manage the 31-school Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) in Chicago. Brian was also the founding principal of AUSL’s first high school. In addition, he taught social studies in Louisiana, New Jersey, and California. Brian participated in the second cohort of New Leaders, and he was selected as a member of the Pahara-Aspen Education Fellowship program. BA, Dartmouth College.; MA (History and Education), Stanford Unviersity.
Trevor Smith
Was Lead Architect of the Knewton Platform, a highly available infrastructure that analyzes millions of student data in real-time to provide recommendations and analytics. After Knewton, Trevor joined Arena as VP Engineering where he was the third member of senior management, the company’s senior technical lead, and the head of product. Built the technical team and established technical standards and product processes to execute Arena’s workforce recommendation platform -- a highly secure product used by the nation’s top healthcare providers. In 2017, he co-founded Bakpax , an autograding tool that grades assignments in seconds. BA, University of Chicago.
Meet our Partner
Since it’s inception in 2007, Brownstone Tutors has been training students for admission to highly competitive colleges, top-tier independent schools and magnet public high schools. The secret to our success: uncompromising standards and deep understanding of each student’s individual needs.