Our mission is to close educational gaps in math at public schools.

Why math?

Over their lifetime, someone with a bachelor's degree will earn on average over $1.5M more than someone with just a high school diploma. The single best way to get students into college is to increase their math skills. A landmark paper from the U.S. Department of Education showed that getting a student beyond Algebra 2 doubles their chances of getting a bachelor’s degree.
Unfortunately, most students from disadvantaged backgrounds don’t make it that far.
Why public schools?

In Washington state, only 1 out of 3 students in public schools meets even basic math standards. Students we work with are often on track to be 2 or 3 grades behind by the time they start middle school.
We don’t believe there should be a link between a family’s income and a child’s ability to get a great education.

Meet the Team

Mike Preiner

Mike leads the Math Agency and has over 15 years of experience applying technology to real-world problems. He grew up in a low-income family in rural Minnesota, has a PhD in Applied Physics from Stanford University, and previously co-founded two software and analytics companies.
Rachel Mateo

Rachel leads operations at the Math Agency, and has over 10 years of experience teaching as a classroom teacher, dual language instructor and a math interventionist. She has a masters in teaching from Seattle University and experience leading teams in education and program development.
Naomi Calvo

Naomi is a site director at the Math Agency, and brings a strong background in evaluation and assessment to the team. She has a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard, and was the Director of Research at Bellevue School District for 12 years.
Gaby Salaben

Gaby is a site director, and joins us from the University of Washington, where she she earned a BA in Mathematics. Before joining us full-time, Gaby spent a year with the Math Agency as a intern as part of the UCBI (Undergraduate Community Based Internship) program.
Scarlett Dahl

Scarlett is a site director at the Math Agency. She graduated from the University of Washington with BAs in Communication, Political Science, and Real Estate.
Tim Ahlers

Before becoming a site director at the Math Agency, Tim spent two years coaching with us. He brings over 25 years of Seattle and Bellevue tech industry experience, specializing in software and hardware solutions that solve everyday problems. Tim has a B.S. in Finance and Management from the University of Oregon.