Meet Our Team
Great Teachers Inspire
Our tutors and staff in Chaska consist of passionate educators who love inspiring children to succeed. Warm, caring and great at relating to kids, our tutors in Chaska know how to engage and motivate each child in a personal way—building confidence and smiles, as well as skills and better scores. We selectively choose tutors who know local curriculum and can link Sylvan lessons to what’s being taught in school.
Get to know our tutors and staff in Chaska!
Carrie Catania
Center Director
As Center Director, Carrie works with families and staff to create a successful learning environment for all students. A former teacher with over 20 years of experience in a variety of educational settings with students PreK-College. Carrie chose a career with Sylvan because she loves seeing students in a small learning environment where they feel safe to make mistakes and grow in confidence as well as knowledge and skills. She studied at North Central University where she earned a BA in Elementary Education. When Carrie isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll find her running, biking, training for and competing in Triathlons, reading nonfiction books and enjoying the great outdoors.
Nina Northrup
Instructor
Nina has worked in education for more than 17 years. With her strong background in math, she especially enjoys working with students who are tackling new math concepts. Nina has a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Connecticut and a Master’s Degree in Education from the University of St. Thomas. When not teaching, Nina enjoys gardening, biking, reading and spending time with her family. One little known fact about her: she was born on an island…Long Island, New York!
Randy Erdahl
Instructor
Randy is an ACT Prep, Homework Support and SylvanSync Math/Reading instructor in Chaska, MN. While Randy has many tutoring talents, he finds the greatest joy in Math tutoring and passing along much-needed mathematical skills to the next generation. He has a 40 year background in applied mathematics. When Randy isn’t at Sylvan, you’ll find him writing a data science book and watching lots of baseball.
Heather Hanily-Schowalter
Instructor
Heather was born and raised in Excelsior, MN. She attended college in Hawaii, where she earned 2 bachelor’s degrees and worked in the science field. She tutored all through college and found inspiration in lifting up other learners. She is now living on an organic farm with her son and their animals.
Emily Pedretti
Instructor
With degrees in Elementary and Early Childhood Education, Emily has worked with a variety of ages in a variety of settings. In addition to her education degrees, she has a degree in Childhood Advocacy. For the last two years, she has been teaching 7th/8th grade Science with a focus on Life Science. When she is not at Sylvan she enjoys hiking, geocaching, and continuing her education.
Start your child on the path to academic success today
Give us a call at (612) 284-3362 or fill out the form to discuss your child’s learning goals.
