About Us

What makes Inspirica different?

Until Inspirica, there were two kinds of tutoring organizations: marketplaces where tutors could hang out a shingle, largely unvetted and untrained; and high-end organizations that offered recent college grads at a 300% markup.

In 2010, a group of highly experienced tutors got together with John Katzman, founder of The Princeton Review, to create a new model. A place where they could collaborate with their students and each other, and collectively screen tutors who would join them later. You could think of it as a co-op or collaborative, but we chose the word guild—an association of craftsmen.

Meanwhile, Inspirica had been a leader in elite academic support and test preparation since 1983. Founded by Lisa Jacobson, it was the nation’s first one-on-one test preparation company, and helped guide over 40,000 students through the testing process. We were featured on nearly all of the nation’s top news outlets including The Today Show, Good Morning America, NBC News, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Time and Newsweek magazines.

We merged our organizations in 2023 to become something more: a hand-picked roster of expert tutors covering a wide range of academic subjects and standardized exams.

Many of our tutors are remembered not just as teachers, but as transformative figures in a student’s life—people who made a profound and lasting difference. They bring with them degrees and training from institutions like Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Stanford, MIT, Cambridge, Berkeley, Exeter, Dalton, and Brearly, inspiring excellence in thousands of students and earning the lasting trust of families long after tutoring ends.

World-Class Experts with Real Results

We hire for impact. Inspirica tutors are deeply experienced, passionate about their subjects, and committed to long-term student success. Whether preparing for high-stakes exams or tackling academic challenges, our experts have the tools and training to deliver change-making results.

Confidence in Every Tutor Match and Selection

When you work with Inspirica, you’re gaining more than a tutor—you’re getting a trusted educational partner.

Our job is to find you a tutor you click with.

Our best matches happen when we understand you or your child’s unique quirks, strengths, and struggles. During the matching process, we use this information to help us do what we do best: select the perfect tutor from our team of 50+ standout educators. We don’t just look for subject expertise—we look for someone who will transform the way they learn. But if the fit does not feel right, let us know, and we’ll provide another tutor.

With Inspirica, your student gains a strategic advantage, guided by knowledgeable tutor mentors who understand what it takes to build confidence and succeed.

Working Smart is as
Important as Working Hard

Here’s where our experience means the most to you. At Inspirica, we believe that working smart is at least as important as working hard. Our clients expect the best from our tutors, so our tutors do expect their students to work hard.

We understand that our highly ambitious clients live lives filled with sports, arts, friends, family, studies, and work. So we craft customized programs that get maximum results, with targeted efforts that are the key to opening up precious time to pursue greatness in more than just scores or grades.

Meet Our Team

John Katzman

CEO

John Katzman is a cofounder of Inspirica, and the CEO of Noodle, which helps 65 elite universities use technology to improve learning and enrollment. Before that, he founded and ran The Princeton Review, working with over half the students headed to US colleges and graduate schools through its tutoring, courses, books, and software. He also founded and ran 2U, which is also involved in online learning. Katzman is the co-author of five books, and has served as a director of several for- and non-profits, including Carnegie Learning, Renaissance Learning, the National Association of Independent Schools, the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, and the National Alliance of Public Charter Schools.

Nedda Gilbert

Executive Director

Nedda Gilbert is a 25-year educational expert, social worker, and author helping families navigate the K-12 landscape and college admissions process. She was one of the senior founding managers of the Princeton Review Test Preparation Company and is the author of two best-selling guides, The Princeton Review Guide to the Best Business Schools and Business School Essays That Worked (Random House), pioneering the concept of publishing “real” essays for insights. Gilbert has contributed as a guest writer for Forbes Magazine and authored several articles, including “What To Do When Your Dream School Says, ‘I’m Not That Into You,” and “How to Learn More During the College Tour.” Gilbert has also served as an alumni interviewer for the University of Pennsylvania admissions office and has unique expertise in helping students with disabilities when applying to college. Gilbert’s background in social work is particularly beneficial during the emotional process of completing a college application, helping to buffer the pressure of this high-stakes process. Previously, she was Chairman of the Board of Graduate: Philadelphia!.

Yianni Papadimos

Program Coordinator

As Program Coordinator at Inspirica Pros, Yianni Papadimos dedicates his days to engaging with parents and students in order to understand their unique tutoring requirements. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Drama and Literature from New York University. Beyond his professional endeavors, Yianni is an avid theatre enthusiast, an adventurous traveler, and an amateur rugby player.