Meet The Team
Nikolas Zanetti LiCSW, MTS, PhD
Founder
I've been teaching a wide range of academic material for close to fifteen years now. I understand that knowing the material inside and out is only the beginning of effective teaching. My pedagogical focus is on metacognition and rapport. Metacognition involves teaching how to think and how to learn, regardless of the subject. Rapport with students ensures mutual respect and buy-in around the process, which in turn creates a great learning experience.
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My educational background focused on cognition, learning, consciousness, and the structure of thought. I hold a Ph.D. in philosophy and psychology from Boston University, as well as two masters degrees and an A.B. from Dartmouth College in philosophy. I am also a classically trained psychotherapist with a focus on motivational interviewing, young adults, and group work. I was a professional rower for the Italian national team and now teach, consult, and practice psychotherapy in the greater Boston area as well as online, across the world.
Julie Gladstone Amouyal MBA
College Admissions
Julie is an independent college admissions counselor, who serves as an advisor to Paragon Academic. Since 2006, she has guided countless students through the college admissions process. Known for her dedication and integrity, Julie respects and seeks to understand each student’s personality, unique strengths, and potential contributions to a college community. Her goal, is to help students gain admissions to highly selective schools through a stress-free process in which students feel positive about themselves.
Julie is a graduate of Harvard College, where she majored in sociology and political science. From 2003-2006, Julie represented her class on the Harvard Alumni Association as a member of the Harvard Admissions Alumni Committee. Her professional experience includes a research associate position at Harvard Business School, where she wrote case studies for the organizational behavior department; journalism at the Economist Intelligence Unit in London, writing books about management development; and project management at the French textbook company Larousse. Julie holds an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France; a Certificate in Psychotherapy from Regents College London; and a Certificate in Executive Coaching from the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology (now William James College).
Elizabeth Moskowitz LMHC
Clinical Services
Elizabeth brings over a decade of experience working with children, teens, and young adults to Paragon Academic. She provides consultation for families whose children are struggling with issues including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, identity issues, screen addiction, and life transitions. Elizabeth is invested in bringing families meaningfully into treatment to achieve the best outcomes for her clients and the family systems in which they exist. She holds a private practice in Newton, where she sees a majority of teenage and pre-teen clients, with a special focus on life transitions and identity issues.
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Elizabeth earned her clinical degree from the Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis, where she completed her internship in the School-Based Counseling program. After graduation, she became a Child Fellow at the Boston Institute for Psychotherapy, where she worked with children in Brookline. She then worked as an outreach clinician on the South Shore where she worked with children, adolescents, and families. Since 2015, she has been a senior clinician at Pillars of Good Health, where she provides therapy, life coaching, and community-based support for a young adult and geriatric population struggling with major mental illness.
Deika Albert B.A.
Test Prep & Writing
Deika has extensive tutoring experience, having worked with countless students to improve their ACT and SAT scores. For more than five years, she has worked in a variety of formats—in large and small groups, individually, on Zoom, and in-person.
Beyond her intimate familiarity with the testing material and structure, Deika's interpersonal tutoring philosophy focuses on addressing and mitigating testing anxieties. As a recent LSAT test-taker herself, Deika recognizes that positive mindset and mental endurance in and out of the test play as much of a role in success as skills and strategy.
Deika currently studies law at the University of Chicago Law School. She earned her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, where she graduated summa cum laude after double majoring in Economics and Political Science. While at Penn, she was a member of the Penn Fencing Team and chair of her student government organization. Outside of her time working in consulting and tutoring, Deika loves to ski, watch presidential debates, and play pranks on friends and family.
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Taygan Yilmaz MPH, MBA
Operations Manager
Tay has extensive experience managing and running large medical offices. He is Lean-Six-Sigma certified and has worked in the health care field as an operations manager. He is very excited to join the Paragon Academic team. In this role, Tay incorporates a range of skills developed from his academic training as well as extensive experience running medical clinics. He is the glue that makes Paragon possible. He focuses on effective communication and support, timely problem-solving, attention to detail, and has a joy and passion for serving as a way of optimizing workflow and client services.
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Tay is originally from Melbourne, Australia and the son of Turkish parents. In his free time, you will likely find him spending time with his wife and three children. He also enjoys training for triathlons.
Ece Buyukozer
Social Media Manager & Content Creator
Ece is a student at Vassar College (Class of '23) where she is majoring in Psychological Science with a correlate in Hispanic Studies. Ece brings her expertise in social media and blog writing to Paragon Academic. She brings enthusiasm and a highly relevant perspective to creating content for parents and students on the college journey.
Ece has experience creating, managing, and doing SEO for multiple websites and is the leader of the Digital Footprint and Marketing Strategies team for the Vassar College Business Club. She has created social media content for WOMENSPEAK Training and written blog posts for the integrative coaching firm Pilea.
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