About Audra

Hi, I’m Audra! I first tutored in the fourth grade, when the other kids were told to go to me if they had math questions, and then go to the teacher in the (rare) cases I couldn’t help. I loved helping my classmates learn, and I’ve been teaching ever since. While I specialize in standardized tests like the GMAT in GRE, I’ve taught all sorts of things, from Latin to acting to discrete math. I live in NYC but grew up in the desert, in the small town of Pahrump, Nevada. It’s a small, mostly poor, town, and I lived through foreclosure, constant moves, and food insecurity through much of my teenage years. If it wasn’t for many people and institutions helping me along the way, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today, which is something I think about, and am deeply grateful for, often. I went to college in Annapolis, Maryland and taught/tutored in Arizona and Pennsylvania afterward. One day, a friend in New York had a room open up in her apartment and asked if I was interested in taking it. I thought, “Why not? I can try living in New York for a few months.” So I did, and I’m still here, seven years later. I love the energy of the city and that there’s always something to do. There are also fewer scorpions than in Nevada, which is always a plus. I have a masters degree in computer and information technology from UPenn and am always working on a few AI-related projects, whether that’s working on an LLM jailbreaking competition (I placed 13th on my last one!), mentoring high school students on AI research projects, or facilitating discussions on AI safety topics. I have an adorable gray-and-white tuxedo cat named Mitsu who occasionally pops in on video calls. I’m also an actress, writer, and director, and am producing two of my original short plays this summer, one of which, LifeOptimization, is a comedy about where optimizing every aspect of one’s life might lead. I write a lot about technology and how it affects us, not just the bad stuff but also the ways it can make life better. So that’s a little about me! I hope we can connect and I can learn more about how I can help you achieve your goals :)