Our Team

Created by an expert tutor and a designer, Virtual Nerd gives students a new option to turn to when they need help. For a fraction of the cost of private tutoring, students gain access to hundreds of interactive step-by-step video tutorials. Virtual Nerd's patent-pending Dynamic Whiteboard™ e-Learning system anticipates students' questions, so they can easily drill down to related tutorials if they get confused. The innovative design makes it easy for students to stay engaged and focused.

Our Team

Josh Salcman, President & Co-Founder

Josh’s education and professional experience span both highly-creative and highly-analytical pursuits and accomplishments. He holds a B.A. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University and a Master's in Product Design from Pratt Institute. Josh led user interface design for major corporate clients as a consultant for IBM. Prior to starting Virtual Nerd, he led internet marketing efforts at Metaphase Design Group and helped define product design strategies for the firm's clients.

At Virtual Nerd, Josh guides the company's strategic direction and oversees design and development of Virtual Nerd’s web application and patent-pending Dynamic Whiteboard™ individualized learning platform, for which he wrote the original codebase.

Josh was a founding officer of the Saint Louis chapter of the Industrial Designers Society of America, serving as chapter Treasurer from 2007–2009. He served on the Advisory Committee for the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation from 2007–2011.

email: josh@virtualnerd.com

phone: 877-677-6373 x701
Leo Shmuylovich, Vice-President & Co-Founder

Leo is currently on leave from the MD/PhD program at Washington University in St. Louis, having successfully defended his PhD dissertation in Physics in July 2010. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Cornell University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude in 3 years and was named a Merrill Presidential Scholar, one of the University’s highest honors.

Beginning in college, Leo has devoted a significant portion of his time to sharing his passion for math and science in both private and group tutoring environments. As a tutor and lecturer for The Princeton Review, Leo taught MCAT Physics and Biology classes, as well as SAT Math classes, to hundreds of students. Leo has also worked individually with students on SAT, SAT II, AP exams, and science and math courses at both the high school and college level.

At Virtual Nerd, Leo oversees design and development of Virtual Nerd’s educational content. He has developed a suite of proprietary semi-automated methods for creation of instruction and assessment content, which have allowed Virtual Nerd to build a vast library of tutorials with maximum efficiency.

Leo has published 11 articles in prestigious physiology and cardiology journals. He was awarded the Nico Westerhof Award for Striking New Concepts at the 2008 International Cardiovascular Systems and Dynamics Society Meeting. In 2010, he was named one of the St Louis Business Journal’s “30 under 30” business leaders

email: leo@virtualnerd.com

phone: 877-677-6373 x702
Mary Louise Helbig, Vice-President, Operations

Mary Louise's career spans over 20 years and includes diverse industry experience and executive management responsibilities: sales, marketing, business development and operations for US and international businesses. At Virtual Nerd Mary Louise is responsible for sales, marketing and business operations and is focused on establishing the channel strategy, determining product positioning and pricing and implementing operating policy and procedures. Mary Louise received her BA in Communications from St. Louis University and her Executive MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

email: marylouise@virtualnerd.com

phone: 877-677-6373 x703
Doug Roberts, Vice-President, Educational Partnerships

Doug is a proven leader of business development, marketing, and product management efforts at several leading K-12 assessment and curriculum technology companies. A former educator and 10-year veteran in the field of educational technology, Doug has worked with school districts and CMOs of all shapes and sizes across the country, helping to design and implement technology solutions to meet their needs around improving student achievement. Doug's career has allowed him the privilege of working with leading K-12 innovators during formative growth phases, including Tutor.com, Edusoft, and Wireless Generation. Prior to joining Virtual Nerd, Doug spent 3 successful years founding and building his own consulting practice serving K-12 educational agencies and ed tech entrepreneurs. He brings a wealth of relationships with state, regional, and local educational agencies and potential K-12 industry partners. Doug graduated from Princeton University and earned an Ed.M. in Teaching and Curriculum from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education.

email: doug@virtualnerd.com

phone: 877-677-6373 x705
Anna Dinndorf, Tutorial Design & Development Lead

Psychology, math, education and graphic design?! Yes, Anna brings a unique perspective to the team at Virtual Nerd. Immediately before joining Virtual Nerd, she worked in a middle school math classroom to investigate the effects of testing on retention of mathematical concepts. At Virtual Nerd, Anna oversees the development, production and organization of Virtual Nerd's content and curriculum. Anna holds a B.A. in Psychology and Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis.

email: anna@virtualnerd.com
Rebecca Everding, Lead On-Camera Tutor

Becky recently completed her M.N.S. in Mathematics at Southeast Missouri State University. She has tutored students in math subjects ranging from Pre-Algebra to Calculus III. Becky was President of the math club at Southeast and presented at numerous math conferences during her undergraduate and graduate studies. At Virtual Nerd, Becky's responsibilities include both on-camera and behind-the-scenes work to create Virtual Nerd's math tutorials. Becky has recorded over 1,000 step-by-step video tutorials for Virtual Nerd and is still going strong!

email: becky@virtualnerd.com
Brian Retterer, Web Application Developer

Brian is a true nerd at heart! He knows firsthand the potential of the Internet in education, having learned many valuable programming techniques by watching online video tutorials. Prior to joining Virtual Nerd, Brian ran his own web development firm. At Virtual Nerd, Brian's broad base of technical skills are put to good use across the technology spectrum, from backend systems, to database architecture and administration, to front-end development. Brian is a graduate of Ohio Northern University with a B.F.A. in Communications.

email: retterer@virtualnerd.com