tega cay Center

Kelli graduated from Appalachian State with a Bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a Master’s in reading education, with a concentration in autism studies and a minor in psychology. Throughout her college experience, she worked in various daycares, acting as a head teacher in early education programs. She also completed multiple internships in a variety of elementary-aged classrooms and took the opportunity to substitute teach as well. Kelli loves getting to know each student she works with so that she can craft a curriculum that reflects their interests and feels meaningful to them!

Alexandra graduated from Anderson University with a Bachelor’s in Writing and Digital studies and aspires to write children’s books one day. During her studies, she joined the English Department as a tutor and fell in love with seeing students grow in confidence and knowledge. She enjoys being a part of that process as the Office Admin for the Lazar Center. 

Born and raised in Westchester, New York, she graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education. Alexandra taught in Virginia before moving down to Charlotte. Here, Alexandra taught for eight more years and has experience in every grade level from kindergarten through fifth grade. While Alexandra is definitely a “math” person, she also enjoys teaching students how to take pleasure in reading. Alexandra is really excited to get to know each of the students she gets to work with at the Lazar Center and find their strengths to help them succeed not only in the classroom but in life.

Jimmy is a senior at UNC Charlotte studying Actuarial Mathematics. Outside the classroom, he coaches high school baseball and enjoys tinkering with everything mechanical, not limited to his beloved car. At Lazar, Jimmy has helped countless middle and high school students understand math on a deeper level than what is offered by the classroom by providing proof-based lessons instead of plain memorization. He loves math and will stop at nothing to see his students do as well!

Scott has been an educator for 25 years. He has a BA in history from Eckerd College (FL) and an MA in history from the University of Akron (OH).  For the past 8 years, Scott has taught at Nation Ford High School here in Fort Mill. In addition to his classroom experience, Scott has tutoring experience in ELA as well as SAT and ACT prep. He is very excited about the opportunity to work with students on a more individual level, which is not always possible during the regular school day. He is also excited to help students of all grade levels not only in social studies and ELA, but in improving their critical thinking and study skills as well as overall organization and time management. Scott currently lives in Rock Hill with his wife, who works at York Technical College, and his youngest daughter, who is a senior at Winthrop. He also has an older daughter who lives in Cleveland, OH.

Debbie received her degree from The Ohio State University in Management Information Systems. After working as a systems engineer and raising her four children, Debbie switched career paths to focus on education. She served on her local school board for six years and then became an elementary school tutor and found her calling! She has over eight years of tutoring experience with a focus on K-5 reading literacy. Most recently, Debbie worked as a reading fluency tutor for CMS schools using the Helping Early Literacy with Practice Strategy (HELPS) curriculum. Debbie enjoys working with students to find their strengths and unlock their learning potential! She joined the Lazar Center to help equip students with skills that will help them to succeed!

Lee holds an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with minors in Psychology and Chemistry. With a strong foundation in the sciences and a passion for education, Lee is dedicated to making complex scientific concepts accessible and engaging for students. Currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Health, Lee brings real-world applications to tutoring, helping students connect their learning to broader scientific and health-related fields. As a science tutor at Lazar Center, Lee strives to inspire curiosity, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of the world through science.