Meet Our Team

Karen Gu

Associate Center Director

Karen brings a unique global perspective to her role as Associate Center Director at Sylvan of Pasadena. Born in California and having spent her early years overseas, she returned to the U.S. for high school and has been committed to education ever since. She holds dual Associate degrees in Education and Psychology from Pasadena City College and earned her B.A. in Education and Social Transformation from UCLA. With a strong foundation in child development and extensive experience in bilingual learning environments, Karen is passionate about empowering students to reach their full academic potential. Before joining the Pasadena center, she served as Associate Center Director at Sylvan of San Marino, where she led a range of academic programs and community outreach initiatives. Karen is known for building strong connections with both students and families, as well as for her thoughtful, personalized approach to learning. Outside of work, Karen enjoys spending quality time with family and friends and staying actively involved in her community

Kassandra Soto

Lead Teacher

Kassandra has a passion for helping students achieve their goals and assist with their academic needs. Having grown up as a student who had a hard time in school, She delightfully approaches teaching with understanding, patience and humility. She fulfills this duty as the Lead Teacher at Sylvan Pasadena. Being with Sylvan for 3 years, Kassandra has used her English and Literature background to build students academic foundations with their writing and reading programs. She has also assisted with administrative duties, making sure everything is on point for families at Sylvan. When Kassandra is off the clock, she enjoys reading books, going to the movie theater, playing video games, attending concerts, and spending time with her cat and loved ones!

Alexander Garcia

Instructor

Alex is an instructor at the Sylvan Learning Centers of Pasadena and San Marino. Alex has always had a deep affinity for the sciences, he pursued his B.S. in Chemical Biology at UC Berkeley and in his time there he approached the sciences with an intersection of Public Health as a Teaching Assistant. Alex is preparing to pursue his Doctorate of Pharmacy at USC, while preparing he wants the chance to develop his ties to the San Gabriel Valley community that raised him. His approach to Sylvan teaching is one of patience, student empowerment, and self learning. When outside of Sylvan, Alex loves to hike, run, and enjoy local live music.

David Beecher

Instructor

David has lived in Los Angeles for his entire life and first developed a love of math in community college. Originally an aspiring criminology major and literature minor, David was drawn to the greater challenge math and physics presented. David graduated with degrees in both from Cal Poly Pomona, and then spent a brief period of time exploring other areas of science. David’s academic interests have shifted to statistics; he has since completed a master’s degree in the subject. Throughout college, David paid his tuition and expenses by private tutoring and provided volunteer tutoring to several colleges and high schools during the pandemic. Beyond his academic interests, David enjoys trying new restaurants, lifting weights, reading literature, discovering new music, and watching movies. His current goal is to finish half of the movies in the national film registry.

Griffin M

Instructor

Griffin was born in Minnesota and began to love math during high school thanks to their algebra and calculus teachers. Griffin studied mathematics at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and particularly enjoyed researching new problems in number theory and discrete math. Outside of classes, Griffin worked as an online tutor for students in math and programming. They moved to California after graduating, and have been independently working on new math problems since. Griffin is also a lifelong programmer, doing competitive coding in their free time.

Marilyn Del Rio

San Gabriel Valley Senior Director

Marilyn Del Rio has been with the Sylvan team for over 10 years supporting centers all over Los Angeles in various roles including partnerships, marketing and local directorship. Her favorite part of working with Sylvan though has been helping families find solutions for their child(ren) and seeing the confidence grow with their skills. As Senior Director of the San Gabriel Valley, Marilyn leads the local directors and teams of various centers in the San Gabriel Valley to ensure the best experience for our families. When she’s not in the center, you’ll find her at the nearest dog park with her dog Gigi, enjoying the day with her niece Daisy, or enjoying live music at a local concert.

Todd Crabtree

Executive Director

Todd is our Executive Director and has a life-long passion for helping kids achieve academic success.  Todd is the first to graduate from college in his family and served in the Marine Corp for twelve years.  He has been running learning centers since 1998 and he fully understands the impact a good education can have on a child’s life.  A native Southern California, Todd studied at Cal State Fullerton where he graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Theater Arts. When Todd isn’t working he’s a full-time husband and Dad, driving his son from one practice to the next.  He fully understands what every parent goes through, trying to help their child become the best he or she can be.

Fabio Marquez

Regional Director

Fabio Marquez is the Regional Director for Sylvan and has been with the company for 7 years. In the Regional Director role, he oversees seven centers and is responsible for operations, sales, and ongoing training. Fabio attended UC Irvine where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics along with a Minor in Latin American Studies. He comes to Sylvan with over a decade of tutoring and directing experience. In 2018, he was nominated for the Center Director of the Year Award. This award spans all centers in North America. Fabio enjoys working with families in order to make an ongoing plan for success.