About Us

Shearly Markowicz

Shearly has over a decade of experience working in business operations and customer success. She previously worked as the VP of Operations and was later promoted to the CEO of the Dating Ring, a premium matchmaking company. She has a BA in Business Administration (SUNY Buffalo).

Daniel Koh

Daniel is a certified educator and a Fulbright Scholar. As a tutor and classroom teacher, Daniel has taught hundreds of students in academic subjects as well as prep for the SAT, ACT, and AP/IB Exams. He also has extensive experience advising students in the college application process. Alongside tutoring, he works with civil rights organizations, applying his teaching experience and knowledge of pedagogy to create resources for educators and community organizers. He graduated Cum Laude from Rice University with a B.A. in English and a Texas Secondary Teacher Certification.

Sivani Shankar

Sivani has over 12 years of experience in strategy, stakeholder management, program design, implementation, and people management in the social sector and in a government agency. Sivani joined Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd. in 2008 as a Communications Executive and later served as Chief of Staff for the Chairperson. In addition to his extensive work in the field of microfinance, Sivani has played leadership roles at the national-level think tanks ACCESS and National Institute of Urban Management (NIUM) to steer Inclusive Finance and Urbanization projects. Sivani currently leads EdSource that supports Tutorly in various business activities. He also serves as a Board member of the Bodhi School and Trustee of the Mitta Foundation, which focuses on providing 21st-century education for marginalized communities. Sivani completed the Executive Management Program from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) and holds a B.A. (Honors) in Commerce from Osmania University.

Phani Krishna

Phani Krishna pivoted from mainstream sciences to the education sector. He took the 15-day Jagriti Yatra with other selected participants across India, which inspired him to work with the underprivileged through education. After graduating with a degree in Biotechnology Engineering (GITAM University), he completed a two-year Fellowship with Teach for India in Hyderabad. Phani was selected as one of seven fellows in Hyderabad to be a mentor in pedagogy and teaching practices. He is currently the School Leader at the Bodhi School where he works to improve academic outcomes and support the overall administration of the school.

Vikram Akula

Vikram Akula is an entrepreneur and author. He founded Bharat Financial Inclusion in India, which has disbursed more than $18 billion in micro-loans to over 10 million borrowers. In 2006, TIME magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. In addition, Vikram has been recognized as an Echoing Green Fellow, a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur, and the 2006 Ernst & Young Start-Up Entrepreneur of the Year in India. Vikram also founded Vaya Financial Services and is an angel investor in AgSri, which helps small farmers in Africa and India. He founded the Bodhi School in India, which provides education for underprivileged children. A former McKinsey & Company consultant, Vikram has written two books (Fistful of Rice and Micro-Meltdown), was a Fulbright Scholar, and a Distinguished Career Fellow (Stanford).  He has a B.A. (Tufts), an M.A. (Yale), and a Ph.D. (University of Chicago).

Narinder Kumar

Sravan C

Alex Dardick

"Alex started his career in financial services upon his graduation in 2015 from the University of Arizona, Eller College of Management with a degree in Business Management. In previous roles, he has worked on teams managing the accounts of ultra-high net worth clients. These experiences allowed Alex to follow his entrepreneurial instincts and join Tutorly’s leadership team.

In his spare time, he enjoys watching the Los Angeles Rams and Lakers with his father and spending time with his family. Additionally, Alex’s hobby is watching the Cryptocurrency boards and, in the past, was on the board of the University of Arizona OCCats Alumni association."

Shannon Herrera

Shannon is a student in Seattle studying French. Additionally, Shannon has a love for languages, and she is fluent in Spanish. In past roles, she has worked in retail sales and loves helping others. In her spare time, Shannon enjoys running track and has won the prestigious award of the Student of the Quarter. When she is not spending time with her family and her dog, she enjoys doing embroidery.

Lauren Kay

After working professionally as a tutor for over a decade, I realized just how big of an impact the right tutor can have on a student’s life. But for too long, the tutoring industry has felt difficult to navigate for families and students, who were left to wade through thousands of profiles or pay sky-high rates to boutique services. Those who needed 1-on-1 support the most were often excluded from these essential services. I am so excited to join forces with Vikram, to make it easy for students to connect with highly trained, experienced, and affordable tutors.

Vivian Gee

Vivian has nearly 20 years of experience bridging business, funder, and social sector interests internationally. She advises and does strategic planning for funders and impact-driven organizations, including helping a Giving Pledge family define their 10-year $1 billion spend-out commitment. At Temasek, one of the sovereign wealth funds of Singapore, Vivian focused on corporate philanthropy, overseeing endowments totaling $1.5B for six operating foundations. Vivian also played a key role in establishing the Alliance for Financial Inclusion as the first international policy innovation network promoting financial inclusion for 1.7B unbanked adults worldwide. A former World Economic Forum Global Leadership Fellow, Vivian built a leading community of social entrepreneurs, and fostered collaboration across businesses, governments, and civil society to promote inclusive economic growth. Vivian holds an international MBA (INSEAD), and a B.S. and an M.S. in engineering (Stanford University).