Thea Beckman
MSc, Writer, Learning Coach, Brainscape Dir. Content Marketing, Wine & Birds Flashcard Author
Thea Beckman is Brainscape’s Director of Content Marketing, Learning Coach to our millions of users, and the voice you’ve come to know through many of our coaching emails. A skilled and creative content writer with an impressive background in science, she writes entertaining, well-researched, and easy-to-digest articles on how people of all ages and interests can optimize themselves—their brains, bodies, mindsets, and environments—to learn as efficiently and painlessly as possible.
As a self-confessed bird nerd and ex-wine journalist, Thea is the lead author of our certified flashcards on the Shorebirds of North America, and the co-author of our Wine Appreciation flashcards. She has a Master's degree in Science and is the proud author of the book 'Why? Because Science', which provides entertaining answers to some of life’s most profound questions, such as what causes the Northern Lights? Why do we get hangovers? And why did Scientology send Katie Holmes running for the hills?
Andrew Cohen
MSc, CogSci nerd, Brainscape CEO, Flashcard Author
Andrew Cohen is the founder and CEO of Brainscape (no big deal), but he has never strayed so far from his original passion that he couldn’t find the time to write sweeping articles on cognitive science, language acquisition, and the reasons why flashcards are the most efficient study system. As a polyglot and keen language learner, Andrew was also the project manager of Brainscape’s very first certified flashcards (ever) for Spanish and French, as well as more recent skunkworks like Personal Development and Conversation Starters.
Outside of occasionally writing for the Academy, Andrew is kinda busy with running Brainscape, with a special emphasis on user experience design, growth modeling, analytics, SEO, storytelling, and content growth loops. To date, Brainscape—with Andrew at its helm—has helped millions of people improve their test scores, learn languages faster, and accelerate their self-development in fields as diverse as music, biology, and wine.
Joshua Whittem-Chang
MTeach, CILS-C2, DALF-C2, Content Writer
Joshua Whittem-Chang is a Content Writer at Brainscape. Born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, he began work there as a middle school teacher, before teaching at senior school and universities. He has C2 language certificates from Italy and France and is obsessed with the science of language learning.
Josh has more interests than he will ever find time for, from music and poetry to rugby union, netball, cooking, video games, and travel. Josh has an endlessly curious approach to life and loves encouraging others to follow their curiosity.
Courtney Hall
BSc, Brainscape Dir. Marketing Ops, ECE Flashcard Author, Parent
Courtney Hall is Brainscape’s Director of Marketing Operations and a parent of four kids. For well over a decade, she has been steering Brainscape’s marketing department while raising an ever-growing family (would you believe me if I told you she has four kids?!). Her experience as a parent and passion for learning led her to author two certified flashcard collections for Brainscape: one on Sight Words and another on Early Childhood Education, which covers the key number, letter, math, and language literacy skills young kids 3-9 need to know to embark upon kindergarten and beyond.
Courtney also regularly contributes her hard-won advice and expertise to our Parents Academy, where she weighs in on the challenges of raising, educating, and guiding young children to become resilient, self-motivated, and keen learners. Courtney has a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition and over a decade’s worth of experience in marketing.
Sarah Looper
DipWSET, Advanced Sommelier, Certified Wine Educator, WSET & CMS Flashcard Author
Sarah Looper, DipWSET is a Master Sommelier candidate, a Certified Wine Educator, and a graduate of the WSET Diploma program. A highly qualified food and wine professional and educator in New York City (previously, Tastings Director at Wine & Spirits Magazine), she has over 25 years of experience across hospitality, production, distribution, and retail.
Sarah is the lead author of Brainscape’s certified flashcards for CMS Introductory Sommelier, WSET Level 2, WSET Level 3, and the entire set of WSET Diploma flashcards: D1 Wine Production, D2 Business of Wine, D3 Wines of the World, D4 Sparkling Wines, and D5 Fortified Wines. Additionally, she’s a devoted contributor to our Wine Academy, where she unleashes her passion for educating and sharing her knowledge in an open, friendly, and non-judgmental atmosphere.
Check out Sarah's hilarious Instagram account LooperSomm.
Justine Buick
MSN, “The NCLEX Tutor”, Founder of KoaPine® Tutoring & Test Prep, NCLEX RN and PN Flashcard Author
There’s a reason she’s known as “The NCLEX Tutor!” Justine Buick is the founder of KoaPine® Tutoring and Test Prep, and is a leading voice in the realm of test prep for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for nursing students. She has a Master's in Science in Nursing degree, is an experienced Medical-Surgical Registered Nurse, and a former NCLEX prep teacher for a big company.
Justine is the lead author of Brainscape’s certified collections of flashcards for the NCLEX RN and NCLEX PN, as well as for a suite of nursing school subjects, from Nursing Fundamentals to Pharmacology. She’s also a strong voice in our Nursing Academy where she shares her formidable experience and advice on sailing through nursing school and crushing the NCLEX.
Clara Gillan
Cofounder of Frameshift MCAT, 100th Percentiler, MCAT Flashcard Author
Clara Gillian has taught and tutored students to pass the MCAT for well over a decade, which comes as no surprise when you learn that she’s a unicorn: an MCAT 100th percentiler with a score of 526 on the MCAT (and perfect scores in the CARS and bio/biochem sections). Clara has played a pivotal role in Brainscape’s presence in the MCAT space, being the lead author of our collection of certified MCAT flashcards and contributing tremendously to the advice in our MCAT Academy.
She also took her extreme MCAT savvy and passion for tutoring into her roles as MCAT Content Director at Next Step Test Prep, Senior Director of Product at Blueprint Test Prep, and Director of Product at MedSchoolCoach. Today, she’s an EdTech product leader and the co-founder of her own tutoring company, Tutelary Experts.
Jesse Owens
National Registry & Certified Flight Paramedic, NREMT-P Flashcard Author
Jesse Owens (NRP, FP-C) is a National Registry and Flight Paramedic and the lead author of Brainscape’s certified NREMT Paramedic flashcards. Since the tender age of 18, he has operated in many capacities as a 911 Paramedic, Critical Care Army Flight Paramedic, Civilian Flight Paramedic, and SWAT medic.
In other words, he knows a thing or two about what it takes to pass the exams required of paramedics-in-training, as well as the demands awaiting them on the other side of their certification. Jesse lends his experience and expertise to our Paramedic Academy articles and is even featured in some of our YouTube videos.
Jeralyn Price
NRC-P, EMS Instructor, NREMT-EMT Flashcard Author
Jeralyn (Jeri) Price is a Nationally Registered, Certified Paramedic and EMS instructor with a staggering 33+ years of experience under her belt. She’s taught over 100 EMT courses, including CPR, EMR, Paramedic, ACLS, IV, EKG, PHTLS, PALS, and many more eye-boggling acronyms.
Jeri was instrumental in helping Brainscape curate our certified collection of NREMT EMT flashcards. She also shares her expertise with us in our EMS Academy and YouTube channel for Health Professionals.