Joy Tutoring

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Joy Tutoring

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Learning is fun!

Learning is fun!Learning is fun!Learning is fun!

Tutoring that you'll love. Tutoring that works.

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Meet the Team

Benji Kessler, PhD. Tutor, founder, and executive director of Joy Tutoring

Benji Kessler, PhD

Trinity Walls, M.Sc, PhD Candidate

Trinity Walls, M.Sc, PhD Candidate

Benji is the executive director and founder of Joy Tutoring and has been enthusiastically tutoring since 2006. He grew up in Albany, CA, and attended Marin Elementary School, Albany Middle School, and Albany High School. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 2013 with honors with a degree in Biology. After college he taught at Tilden Pre

Benji is the executive director and founder of Joy Tutoring and has been enthusiastically tutoring since 2006. He grew up in Albany, CA, and attended Marin Elementary School, Albany Middle School, and Albany High School. He graduated from Dartmouth College in 2013 with honors with a degree in Biology. After college he taught at Tilden Preparatory School in Albany until he started his PhD in UC Berkeley's department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management. Benji received his PhD in 2020 and wrote his dissertation on the behavioral ecology of spiders. 


Benji uses innovative and adaptive teaching methods to help his students thrive and excel far past their expectations. He specializes in tutoring high school math, and has tutored many other subjects including biology, environmental science, chemistry, physics (all including AP), computer programming, and Spanish. Benji has ADHD and Tourette's Syndrome, and he loves to work with students with learning disabilities. He believes that these conditions form an important part of who he is, and that - in addition to the difficulties they pose - have ultimately made his life better.

Trinity Walls, M.Sc, PhD Candidate. Tutor at Joy Tutoring

Trinity Walls, M.Sc, PhD Candidate

Trinity Walls, M.Sc, PhD Candidate

Trinity Walls, M.Sc, PhD Candidate

Trinity is a 3rd-year PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley studying how arachnids’ prior experiences influence their mating choices and communication. She grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and attended Washington University in St. Louis Missouri before heading to the University of Cincinnati Ohio for her master’s. She taught undergraduate biolog

Trinity is a 3rd-year PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley studying how arachnids’ prior experiences influence their mating choices and communication. She grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina and attended Washington University in St. Louis Missouri before heading to the University of Cincinnati Ohio for her master’s. She taught undergraduate biology labs while in Ohio and Insect Behavior here at Berkeley. Trinity is particularly passionate about spiders and has been studying them all throughout her life. When she is not out searching for her eight-legged friends, she can be found dancing to latin music, hiking or singing.

Ed Scerbo, PhD. Tutor at Joy Tutoring

Ed Scerbo, PhD

Trinity Walls, M.Sc, PhD Candidate

Amy Van Scoyoc, PhD Candidate

Ed is extremely passionate about education, both his own and that of others. He has been an instructor at the university level for over 10 years, and has extensive experience teaching a wide variety of math courses, from high-school-level to graduate-level, from algebra and calculus to topology and functional analysis. He always emphasize

Ed is extremely passionate about education, both his own and that of others. He has been an instructor at the university level for over 10 years, and has extensive experience teaching a wide variety of math courses, from high-school-level to graduate-level, from algebra and calculus to topology and functional analysis. He always emphasizes cultivating a sense of wonder and discovery when engaging with subjects that are unfortunately all too often seen as esoteric. 

As a graduate student, Ed did research in classical analysis, using geometric methods to fine-tune inequalities arising from Fourier analysis. This work has deep connections to seemingly unrelated fields, such as the asymptotic distribution of the prime numbers. Very exciting!

In his spare time, he reads a ton of literature and philosophy, and when he's not doing that he can often be found writing, camping, or dancing at EDM shows.

Amy Van Scoyoc, PhD Candidate

Kendall Calhoun, PhD Candidate

Amy Van Scoyoc, PhD Candidate

Amy is currently a PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley studying how wildlife communities respond to environmental change in California. Amy received her undergraduate degree in Biology and Geography at Dartmouth College, before spending 4 years teaching ecology to High School students and facilitating field programs in South Africa, Costa Rica, 

Amy is currently a PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley studying how wildlife communities respond to environmental change in California. Amy received her undergraduate degree in Biology and Geography at Dartmouth College, before spending 4 years teaching ecology to High School students and facilitating field programs in South Africa, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Texas through the Earthwatch Institute. Amy is experienced in teaching biology, writing, and math at middle school and high school levels. Her teaching philosophy is centered on fostering creativity and excitement in her student’s approach to writing or problem solving. In her free time, Amy enjoys mountain biking, playing guitar, and being in nature. 

Cassandra Carver, MPA. Tutor at Joy Tutoring

Cassandra Carver, MPA

Kendall Calhoun, PhD Candidate

Kendall Calhoun, PhD Candidate

Cassandra loves serving as a mentor and strongly believes in the power of education as a tool for empowerment as well as a crucial pathway to making change in and for our communities. Her commitment to lifelong learning fosters a deep passion for travel, learning from people around the world, and interrogating the systems that cause harm 

Cassandra loves serving as a mentor and strongly believes in the power of education as a tool for empowerment as well as a crucial pathway to making change in and for our communities. Her commitment to lifelong learning fosters a deep passion for travel, learning from people around the world, and interrogating the systems that cause harm to our communities. She is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Botswana. She has a master’s degree in public affairs from Indiana University, with a concentration in international development. For undergrad she went to Virginia Tech, majoring in environmental policy and planning, and minoring in Women’s and Gender Studies and Political Science.


Cassandra is a feminist, womanist activist working in sexual and reproductive health education. In her current role, she focuses on destigmatizing abortion and developing justice-informed curricula. She is passionate about supporting women and girls, emphasizing the need to prioritize queer and trans women and girls of color.

Kendall Calhoun, PhD Candidate. Tutor at Joy Tutoring

Kendall Calhoun, PhD Candidate

Kendall Calhoun, PhD Candidate

Kendall Calhoun, PhD Candidate

Hi! My name is Kendall. I grew up in Tracy, CA but have since moved to Oakland for school. I'm a PhD student studying wildlife ecology at UC Berkeley. In my free time, I love being outside, cooking, and playing video games! I'm a huge marvel comics fan (Spider-Man's my fave!). I also love travelling - so far I've made it to England, Chile

Hi! My name is Kendall. I grew up in Tracy, CA but have since moved to Oakland for school. I'm a PhD student studying wildlife ecology at UC Berkeley. In my free time, I love being outside, cooking, and playing video games! I'm a huge marvel comics fan (Spider-Man's my fave!). I also love travelling - so far I've made it to England, Chile, New Zealand, Mozambique, and a bunch of different states here in the US. My goal is to one day get to visit all 7 continents! 

Tara Seely, PhD Candidate

Tara Seely, PhD Candidate

Tara Seely, PhD Candidate

Tara Seely, PhD Candidate

Tara is a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley researching the water cycle in the forests of California, Hawai’i, and French Polynesia. She earned a B.A. in Earth and Planetary Science from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.S. in Hydrologic Sciences from UC Davis. Tara also spent several years on Hawai’i Island working to restore the en

Tara is a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley researching the water cycle in the forests of California, Hawai’i, and French Polynesia. She earned a B.A. in Earth and Planetary Science from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.S. in Hydrologic Sciences from UC Davis. Tara also spent several years on Hawai’i Island working to restore the endangered tropical dry forest. Her teaching and mentoring experience includes place-based environmental education and designing curriculum for students to conduct their own science experiments. Tara tutors English, math, and science, and loves finding creative ways to engage her students. In her spare time, Tara enjoys hiking outdoors, reading, and spending time with friends. Her favorite recent backpacking adventure was hiking the John Muir Trail!

Masami Amakawa, MBS. Director of operations at Joy Tutoring

Masami Amakawa, MBS

Tara Seely, PhD Candidate

Tara Seely, PhD Candidate

Masami is the Director of Operations at Joy Tutoring and follows her mission to empower others through education. She works at Edwards Lifesciences where she helps bring medical devices to critical care patients. She studied biology and nutritional science at UC Berkeley and received a Masters in Business and Science at Keck Graduate Inst

Masami is the Director of Operations at Joy Tutoring and follows her mission to empower others through education. She works at Edwards Lifesciences where she helps bring medical devices to critical care patients. She studied biology and nutritional science at UC Berkeley and received a Masters in Business and Science at Keck Graduate Institute of the Claremont Colleges.

Masami is in Orange County, California where she loves to sing a cappella with her music group for senior citizens. In her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, discovering new recipes, and reading all types of books!

Milo Johnson, PhD Candidate. Tutor at Joy Tutoring

Milo Johnson, PhD

Tara Seely, PhD Candidate

Milo Johnson, PhD

Milo recently received his PhD from Harvard studying how yeast evolve in the lab! He grew up in Durango, CO, before going to college at Dartmouth, where he became friends with Benji. He graduated in 2013 with  a degree in Biology, spent a year helping students and professors in the art and film departments with digital art programs, and t

Milo recently received his PhD from Harvard studying how yeast evolve in the lab! He grew up in Durango, CO, before going to college at Dartmouth, where he became friends with Benji. He graduated in 2013 with  a degree in Biology, spent a year helping students and professors in the art and film departments with digital art programs, and then applied to graduate school.


Milo specializes in tutoring programming, basic web development, or digital art programs. He has mentored several college students and taught classes involving programming, and deeply believes that computer science is more fundamental, important, and useful than math (maybe he and Benji can argue on this point)! 

Our Mission

At Joy Tutoring, we believe that with the right approach and attitude, learning can be fun for anyone. Our team of passionate learners aims to instill a love for learning in all of our students. Through this we foster confidence, happiness, and success.

Our Expertise

Our tutors are enthusiastic about learning, either possess or are working towards a graduate degree, and have extensive experience in education. We offer tutoring for all levels of students, from elementary school through college, and have tutors specializing in diverse subject areas, ages, and learning styles. We hold ourselves to a high standard at Joy Tutoring, and we choose our tutors for their high expertise and their sweetness and character. 

Personalized Lessons

We provide tutoring lessons one-on-one or in small groups, both in person and online (outdoor or online during the pandemic). We are based in Albany and offer tutoring throughout the East Bay. Our tutors are passionate about teaching, and about making sure that tutoring can be something that their students look forward to. We communicate with students, parents/guardians, and teachers to ensure we can best help you meet your goals.

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Every student has unique needs for support. Tell us more about what you are hoping a tutor can do for you, and we will start on a plan to help you get what you need.

Joy Tutoring

1033 Talbot Avenue, Apt C, Albany, California 94706, United States

To set up an appointment or consultation, email us with the link below, or call or text (510) 309-8098

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09:00 am – 09:00 pm

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Joy Tutoring LLC

1033 Talbot, Albany, CA 94706

(510) 309-8098

Copyright © 2022 Joy Tutoring LLC - All Rights Reserved.

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