Partnering with Smarthinking
Founded as Smarthinking in 1999, our online tutoring services are led by a team of former college professors and experts in their disciplines. Discover how the Smarthinking team uses their experience and credentials to help you achieve your learning goals.
Christa Ehmann Powers, Ph.D
Vice President & Chief Education Officer
Kirk Benningfield, Ph.D.
Vice President, Education Operations
Amy Stuber, Ph.D.
Director, Writing and Humanities
Allyson Fetterhoff Tearnan, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Writing and Humanities
Linda Bush, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Mathematics, Science, Nursing & Allied Health, and Program Development
Christa Ehmann Powers, Ph.D.
Vice President & Chief Education Officer
Christa Ehmann Powers is a leader in the development of online tutoring and instructional services in the United States and internationally, having headed the education department of Smarthinking since its founding in 1999. She initially developed the unique protocols and mechanisms for online tutoring, and thereafter implemented the operational systems to manage the growth of Smarthinking, which now tutors hundreds of thousands of students each year.
Christa earned her Master’s and Doctorate degrees from Oxford University and has taught and worked worldwide in the field of online tutoring and education. Involved in various non-profit education organizations, Ehmann Powers has also sat on the Washington D.C. board of directors of Learning Ally—a nonprofit organization dedicated to giving individuals equal access to learning by making reading accessible for all K-12, high school, college and graduate students, veterans and lifelong learners with blindness, visual impairment, dyslexia or other learning disabilities through digital recordings and assistive technology devices.
Kirk Benningfield, Ph.D.
Vice President, Education Operations
Kirk Benningfield has his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Houston and has taught the subject there and at McNeese State University for the last ten years, while scoring AP® Calculus exams for the last 13. Kirk joined Smarthinking in 2000 and launched the mathematics online tutoring program, playing a vital role in developing the operations, designing the technology platforms, and expanding a strong team of academic managers. Kirk leads education operations, directs Smarthinking platform development efforts, and focuses on expanding Smarthinking services and enhancing tutor platform features.
Amy Stuber, Ph.D.
Director, Writing and Humanities
Amy Stuber manages Smarthinking’s writing tutors which includes overseeing tutor quality, working with clients to ensure user satisfaction, and assisting with development of new programs. Prior to Smarthinking, Amy taught Writing, Literature, and Creative Writing at Roger Williams University, Haskell Indian Nations University, and the University of Kansas. Amy received her Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas where she specialized in short fiction and American literature. She has published fiction in numerous national magazines.
Allyson Fetterhoff Tearnan, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Writing and Humanities
Allyson Fetterhoff Tearnan is responsible for setting education-related quality, strategy, and policies for all Writing and Humanities products and services. Before joining Smarthinking, Allyson taught Composition and Literature at the University of Maryland where she also coordinated arts programs for one of the University’s outreach centers. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in English from the University of Maryland. She specializes in American literature, modernist fiction, and narrative theory.
Linda Bush, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Mathematics, Science, Nursing & Allied Health, and Program Development
Linda Bush directs STEM tutoring, including Nursing & Allied Health, after joining Smarthinking in 2004 as a Chemistry tutor. She also pursues strategic development and growth opportunities for Smarthinking. Linda has 11 years of experience developing and teaching remedial through advanced level courses in Chemistry at both Salisbury State University and Knox College. She has consulted for NASA, the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence, Cengage Learning, and the American Heritage Dictionaries. Linda earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry at Yale University.
Meet our experienced tutors
Over 90% of Smarthinking tutors hold a Master’s degree or PhD, so your students work with an expert in every session. Our tutors average 12 years of experience working directly with students: they’re expert teachers as well as subject experts. Get to know a few of our tutors below to see their typical qualifications.
Kathy Adams McIntosh
Senior Lead Tutor, Advanced Accounting
Jamie Dillard
Lead Tutor, Computers & Technology
Lisa Morris DeReus, M.Ap.St.
Senior Manager, Mathematics & Statistics
Claudia Werner-Rutledge, Ph.D., RN, CNE
Team Lead, Nursing & Allied Health
Kristin Wood
Senior Lead Writing Tutor
Joshua Greer
Senior Lead Tutor
Kathy Adams McIntosh
Senior Lead Tutor, Advanced Accounting
Kathy Adams McIntosh earned her Master of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin and her Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Business Administration from Lakeland College. She is a Certified Management Accountant and serves on the board of her local chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants. Her experience includes working in higher education, business consulting, accounting, employee training and leadership.
Jamie Dillard
Lead Tutor, Computers & Technology
Jamie Dillard holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Science, a Master’s in Business Administration, a Master of Science in Information Systems, and the Microsoft Office Master certification. Jamie is a Navy veteran and has worked in the private sector of Information Technology for 4 years specializing in Business Intelligence and Corporate Training. As a Smarthinking tutor since 2014, Jamie enjoys interacting with students and helping them with challenging tasks as they seek to better themselves through education.
Lisa Morris DeReus, M.Ap.St.
Senior Manager, Mathematics & Statistics
Lisa holds a Master of Applied Statistics degree, as well as a B.A. in Chemistry/Biochemistry. She brought with her nearly 10 years of teaching, research, and tutoring experience at Louisiana State University, and a love of helping others to learn. Her work at LSU included pioneering web-based and mixed delivery courses in Sampling Design and Analysis, Statistical Methods, and Regression Analysis, while her research involved developing new mathematical models to estimate alligator survival parameters. A lifelong learner herself, Lisa understands the challenges that students in different life stages can face, and enjoys helping students to uncover their strengths.
Claudia Werner-Rutledge, Ph.D., RN, CNE
Team Lead, Nursing & Allied Health
Claudia Werner-Rutledge, PhD, RN, CNE is a nurse educator with enthusiasm for online education, critical thinking, as well as evidence based practice in education and nursing. Claudia earned a PhD in Education with a specialization in Nursing Education. Claudia is also a Certified Nurse Educator by the National League for Nursing. Claudia teaches in the MSN program, new faculty mentor and content expert for PhD candidates. Claudia joined Smarthinking in 2011.
Kristin Wood
Senior Lead Writing Tutor
Kristin began her journey as a writing tutor in 2006, and two years later, she was promoted to lead tutor. In 2013, she became a Senior Lead, a position which currently involves overseeing 27 writing tutors, assisting with professional development projects, helping maintain the company’s quality standards, and participating in new tutor training. Kristin, who holds an M.A. in English from Georgia State University, also has eleven years of teaching experience, which both informs and enriches her work at Smarthinking.
Joshua Greer
Senior Lead Tutor
Joshua joined Smarthinking in 2011 after ten years teaching in public and charter schools. In addition to working alongside students and overseeing the training and development of new tutors at Smarthinking, Joshua has done freelance work in social media, content creation, and editing, including being named editor-in-chief and fatherhood expert at ChildGood magazine. He considers family a top priority, and enjoys playing and hiking with his three children.
Business
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Career Writing
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Computer/IT
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Computer/IT Topics
Math and Stats
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Nursing
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Reading
Science
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Spanish
Writing
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