Directors & Senior Staff
Leadership
Dionissi Aliprantis, PhD
Founder & Director
Dr. D is an economist who uses mathematical models and statistics to evaluate social programs. He is a Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Research on Governance, Inequality and Conflict at École Normale Supérieure (ENS) de Lyon. He has been actively involved in math education since 2011 and has authored the grades 7–12 textbook Math As Flexibility of Mind used in our summer camps. Prior to founding The Math Movement, he worked with medical non-profits in Latin America, spent time evaluating community-driven development programs in rural Haiti, and taught recreational math to middle and high school students.
Axel Brandt, PhD
Instructor
Dr. B is a mathematician on faculty at John Carroll University. His scholarly efforts focus on facilitating meaningful learning experiences for students. When not in a college classroom, he enjoys enriching K–12 classrooms with active explorations of advanced mathematics at an accessible level.
Andrew Edwards, PhD
Instructor
Dr. E completed his graduate studies in mathematics at CWRU in 2026 and will join the faculty at Ohio Northern University this fall. During his time in graduate school, he served in leadership roles in the Math Grad Student Association and the Church of the Covenant Saturday Tutoring Program in addition to being a part of the Math Movement. He enjoys sharing in mathematical conversations with students of all ages, and one of his great joys is being part of “lightbulb moments” when students realize the depth of their own problem-solving abilities.
AJ Jennings
Dean of Students
Jerren (AJ) Jennings was born and raised in Cleveland and Cleveland Heights, Ohio. He has mentored at risk youth and served as an advocate in the community for close to 30 years. He takes much pride in motivating and assisting people of all ages and backgrounds with compassion, empathy, and treating them the way they want to be treated. AJ is the CEO and Founder of The AJ Way, The Elite Brotherhood Organization, and The Young Black Entrepreneurs.
Serena Newburger, MEd
Program Coordinator
Serena is an 8th grade science teacher in South Euclid. She has taught elementary and middle school math for the last 11 years. She has her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Teaching from Bowling Green State University. As The Math Movement’s Program Coordinator, she is excited to meet all of the campers and work alongside the counselors.
Kennethia Stewart
Instructor
Kennethia teaches senior math at Saint Martin de Porres High School in Cleveland’s inner city. She graduated from Saint Martin de Porres High School and then went on to John Carroll University to major in political science. Kennethia adored volunteering at schools, tutoring math and English. Kennethia believes math is where the truth and beauty mean the same thing.
Esteban Vazquez-Hidalgo, PhD
Instructor
Esteban Vazquez-Hidalgo is a Postdoctoral Scholar at Case Western Reserve University studying the genetics of Alzheimer's disease. He holds a PhD in Computational Science from San Diego State University and Claremont Graduate University. Esteban identifies as a member of an underserved community and has spent most of his adult life working within this community finding ways to make math and science feel less scary, tutoring middle schoolers in the neighborhood where he grew up, teaching data analysis to college students, and mentoring the next generation of researchers at CWRU. He is genuinely excited about the possibility that a student might fall in love with math and statistics.
Kenneth Whaley, PhD
Instructor
Dr. Whaley is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at University of South Florida. He uses mathematical models and statistics to study quality of life in cities and neighborhoods as an outcome of interactions between households and local governments. As a Professor, he believes that empowering young people instills confidence for success.