About Mark Ryan, the Math-in-Plain-English Guy

After graduating from Brown University (with honors) and the University of Wisconsin Law School, Mr. Ryan practiced law for four years before deciding he should do something where he could use his natural talent for mathematics. In 1989, he began teaching and tutoring math to junior high and high school students, covering everything from pre-algebra through calculus and statistics, as well as PSAT, SAT, and ACT preparation. In 1997, he founded The Math Center which offers junior high and high school math courses at the Winnetka Community House.

In high school, Ryan twice scored a perfect 800 on the math portion of the SAT, and he not only knows mathematics, has a gift for explaining it in plain English. He’s the Math-in-Plain-English Guy. He brings math down to earth in a way that makes students say things like, “This is so easy; why wasn’t this explained to me like this in school?” Ryan has a natural passion for motivating and inspiring students to learn, and he has a knack for showing students that they have more talent for math than they had realized — that things they find difficult are really easier than they had thought. He has an infectious love of math and is an animated and effective teacher and tutor.

All courses at The Math Center are taught by Mark Ryan.