About the Art of Problem Solving Initiative, Inc.

Staff Members

Daniel Zaharopol

Daniel Zaharopol

Chief Executive Officer

Dan Zaharopol is the Founder of Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM), which works to create a realistic pathway for underserved middle school students to become scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and programmers. BEAM is a project of The Art of Problem Solving Initiative.

Previously, Dan was the Co-Founder and CEO of Learning Unlimited, an organization that helps college students create educational programs on their campuses. He also serves on the boards of directors of the Mathematics Foundation of America, which runs Canada/USA Mathcamp, and the New York Math Circle.

Dan graduated from MIT in 2004 where he studied mathematics, and earned dual master's degrees in mathematics (focusing on Algebraic Topology) and in mathematics education from the University of Illinois. He blogs at Consider Learning.

To view other staff members of the organization, please visit BEAM's website which has a full staff listing.

Board Members

Richard Rusczyk

Richard Rusczyk

President, Board of Directors

Richard Rusczyk created the company Art of Problem Solving in 2003 to create interactive educational opportunities for avid math students, and expanded this work by founding the nonprofit Art of Problem Solving Initiative in 2004. He is one of the co-authors of the Art of Problem Solving classic textbooks, author of Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Algebra, Introduction to Geometry, and Precalculus textbooks, co-author of Art of Problem Solving's Intermediate Algebra and Prealgebra, one of the co-creators of the Mandelbrot Competition, and a past Director of the USA Mathematical Talent Search. He was a participant in National MATHCOUNTS, a three-time participant in the Math Olympiad Summer Program, and a USA Mathematical Olympiad winner (1989). He graduated from Princeton University in 1993, and worked as a bond trader for D.E. Shaw & Company for four years. AoPS marks Richard's return to his vocation -- educating motivated students.

Darryl Hill

Darryl Hill, Ph.D.

Secretary, Board of Directors

Darryl Hill is a senior program officer for measurement, learning and evaluation at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Previously he held roles in several school districts around the country, including as Assistant Superintendent of School Accountability and Governance for the Fulton County Schools in Atlanta, GA. He has a Ed.D. in Education Policy, Leadership, and Instructional Practice from Harvard University. Prior to attending Harvard, he built an outstanding mathematics team at Rickards High School in Florida, earning Mu Alpha Theta's most dedicated sponsor award.

Nanayaa Dadson

Treasurer, Board of Dirctors

Nanayaa Dadson is a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase & Co where she has worked since 1997. She was born and raised in Ghana, attended high school in the United Kingdom and moved to the United States to attend college. She holds a PhD, M.S. and B.S. in Engineering Sciences from Harvard University.

Ken Baron

Ken Baron

Member, Board of Directors; Chair, New York City Board

Ken Baron is currently a Managing Director and a Senior Research Scientist at Two Sigma Investments, where he has worked since 2008. Ken has been in the field of finance and investment management for over 25 years. He was born and raised in New York City attending NYC public schools, including Stuyvesant High School. Ken completed an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from the University of Chicago and a PhD in Statistics from Stanford University. He is the co-author of Parimutuel Applications in Finance, a mathematical finance book. Ken has been a volunteer with BEAM since 2017, including teaching an enrichment class at BEAM titled "Money and Investing".

Edray Goins

Member, Board of Directors; Chair, Los Angeles Board

Edray Herber Goins is Professor of Mathematics at Pomona College. He has worked as a researcher at both Harvard and the National Security Agency; and has taught at both Caltech and Purdue. Professor Goins has published over 20 journal articles in areas such as applied mathematics, graph theory, number theory, and representation theory; and on topics such as Diophantine equations, elliptic curves, and African Americans in mathematics. He has acted as a referee for 20 different journals in mathematics, served on dozens of panels for the National Science Foundation, and has given more than 150 invited addresses on his research.

Jeff Hoffman

Member, Board of Directors

Jeff Hoffman is a Principal Analytical Lead at Google based out of New York City. Prior to Google, he worked in analytically oriented roles at Amazon and Target. Jeff has a MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a BA in Mathematics and Economics from Washington University in St. Louis. He was inspired to pursue higher learning in mathematics at a young age and has worked as a math tutor since he was in middle school.

Kiran Kedlaya

Kristin Kearns-Jordan

Member, Board of Directors

Kristin Kearns-Jordan is Chief Executive Officer of the Urban Assembly (UA), a network of 21 small public middle and high schools serving primarily low-income New Yorkers. Before coming to the UA she served as Executive Director of the Tortora Sillcox Foundation, a foundation advancing educational equity and excellence in New York City, from 2007 - 2016. From 2000 to 2007, she was the founder and director of the Bronx Preparatory Charter School, a classical, college preparatory middle and high school in the South Bronx. She became the founding executive director of the School Choice Scholarships Foundation in 1997 after beginning her career in education at the Student/Sponsor Partnership. She has extensive nonprofit governance experience, including board roles at the Student/Sponsor Partners, the READ Foundation, the Bronx Preparatory Charter School, the Urban Assembly (before becoming CEO), and the Cathedral School of St. John the Divine (for the last three years as President). She is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Brown University.

Kiran Kedlaya

Kiran Kedlaya, Ph.D.

Member, Board of Directors

Kiran Kedlaya is Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, San Diego. He has served as a member of the USA International Mathematics Olympiad team, a deputy leader of the USA IMO team, a member of the IMO 2001 executive committee, a member of the USA Mathematical Olympiad committee, and a co-author of a book on the Putnam competition.

Sandor Lehoczky

Member, Board of Directors

Sandor Lehoczky works for Jane Street Capital, a financial firm in New York City. He co-authored the Art of Problem Solving with Richard Rusczyk and graduated from Princeton in 1994.

Susan Schwartz Wildstrom

Member, Board of Directors

Susan Schwartz Wildstrom is a mathematics teacher at Walt Whitman High Schoolin Bethesda, MD. She is involved in many national mathematical associations, including the American Mathematical Society and the Mathematical Association of America. She is also involved with the Committee on the American Mathematics Competitions and chair of the Committee on Local and Regional Competitions.