About Pioneer

Matthew Jaskol founded Pioneer Academics in 2012 with the intent of offering deep intellectual exploration to outstanding young people of geographic and cultural diversity. He is a strong proponent of Pioneer’s social mission to offer need and cause-based scholarships; the company has therefore developed numerous partnerships with leading non-profit organizations.

Graduating with a BA from Skidmore College, Matthew’s early professional roles were in business advisory and technology consulting services. Matthew was a consultant at Accenture in the US and at Deloitte Consulting in China. For the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) corporate networks in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, he developed research and briefings for executives of multinationals. He has also been a correspondent for the EIU’s Business China publication.

Since completing his MBA at the Yale School of Management in 2008, Matthew has been a successful entrepreneur and early-stage company executive. A previous internet venture earned the 2010 Red Herring Asia Top 100 and Global Top 100 awards.

With his wife, Amy Li, Pioneer’s Founding Director of Outreach and Communications, he enjoys caring for their little daughter and encouraging her to explore the world.

Matthew believes that passionate young scholars, if properly guided, can reach remarkable heights through their intellect, imagination, and determination. Dedicated to that belief, he drives Pioneer to create opportunities for such students. He trusts that pivotal academic experiences will empower them to create the world they envision.

Amy Li is a Founding Director of Pioneer Academics. She leads reputation management and outreach, and supports strategic planning. Prior to Pioneer, Amy founded Alpine Education in 2011 and served as CEO. Alpine’s offerings include college entrance consulting, curriculum development and personality-based individual development, the latter two were Alpine’s focus. She was an active contributor in forming the Pioneer concept and an advisor to the first pilot program. In 2014, Amy joined Pioneer as a full-time partner. To establish beyond question Pioneer’s policy of total independence from college entrance consulting, Amy discontinued Alpine’s services for individuals.

After university, Amy was employed as a PR specialist for Burson-Marsteller and Ketchum in China and was an English reporter for Radio Beijing and BTV. She subsequently earned her master’s degree in Strategic Public Relations from the journalism track of The Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, University of Southern California. She then served as a trainer in crisis management for executives in major multinational companies, among them Shell, The British Council, Mercedes-Benz, and GE. Amy also worked as a branding officer at Yale University focusing on the Chinese market. There she advised on online open courses, courses which helped spark the development of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). (This experience gave her early insight into the tremendous potential of online education, which has proved integral to Pioneer’s success.)

Amy loves reading about science, and shares her enthusiasm with husband Matthew Jaskol, Founder and Director of Pioneer, and their little daughter.

From her high school days, Amy wished to make a difference in the world and dreamed of being a journalist because journalists serve as the voice of the public. Through her experiences as a trainer, she saw the profound potential of education which can shape the future of humanity and have an even greater impact on individuals and society as a whole.

Kathryn Lalime is the Operations Director for Pioneer Academics, and is responsible for leading the Operations team, by establishing an outstanding educational experience for our students and faculty mentors during the Pioneer Research Program.

With over 30 years of experience in the retail industry, Kathryn has optimized operational performance, coached and developed high performance teams, and focused on corporate to store initiatives. Kathryn wanted a different career path after being in retail her entire life, and found Pioneer Academics to be the perfect opportunity to make a difference in supporting Pioneer’s mission and vision.

Kathryn earned a Bachelor’s degree from Centenary College of Louisiana where she majored in Business. Having grown up primarily in the South, she now lives in Northwest NJ with her husband and best friend and pups Harley & Stella.

Joe Gotto is the Senior Manager of Academics for Pioneer Academics. Joe graduated from Penn State University in 2004 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Criminal Justice. Prior to Pioneer, Joe worked as an account manager at a global information technology recruiting agency where he worked with clients within the home security space and with the major wireless carriers. Joe’s first job out of college was as a social worker working with children 12 years and younger. Since then, Joe developed a passion for working with people in all different capacities. Joe has spent most of his career in jobs that allow him to develop many personal and professional relationships.

Coming to Pioneer has allowed Joe to combine his love of working with students of all ages with the absolute honor of working with Pioneer scholars, faculty, and colleagues. He truly loves and welcomes the opportunity to learn every single day from his colleagues and our faculty mentors.

Joe currently lives outside of the city of Philadelphia with his daughter age 13, his son age 11, his Siberian Husky, Dakota, and his cat, Donovan.

Dan Yu is the Regional Director of China Operations for Pioneer Academics and has been a part of the team for over 10 years. She is responsible for coordinating between schools and academic counselors in the China region, as well as running the day-to-day operations of the Beijing office. Before coming to Pioneer, Dan Yu was a communication manager in the fashion industry, where she worked with media outlets and promoted several international fashion brands in China. In addition to this experience, she also worked in the news media industry, conducting interviews and communicating directly with editors. She is a graduate of the Communication University of China in Beijing.

Dan Yu is a seasoned and passionate educator with rich experience working with students and teachers. She has a strong passion for interacting and communicating directly with young scholars and helping them get the most out of their experience with Pioneer. In her decade at Pioneer, she has taken great satisfaction in seeing the perception of education in China change, and the Pioneer Program become more well known. When she is not working to support scholars across the globe, Dan Yu loves to travel and communicate with different people she meets during her journey.

Alice Shen is the Director of China Outreach and Reputation Management and has been an integral part of the Pioneer Academics team since 2018. A former private business owner and founder, Alice has a diverse background in a variety of fields. Prior to joining the Pioneer team, she worked at Autodesk, a multinational software corporation. Before that, Alice worked at News Corp China in the human resources department at their main headquarters. She also contributed to the integration and restructuring of mergers and acquisition deals for News Corp Capital.

Alice draws on her stellar background in human resources to provide a vital role in Pioneer’s outreach and relationships in China. She has spent time living in Canada, and includes horse-riding and music among her many hobbies.

Kimberly Mathies is the Director of Human Resources and Administration for Pioneer Academics. Kim has over 20 years of HR experience managing the culture in both the restaurant and retail industry. Prior to Pioneer, Kim was part of an executive leadership team managing employee growth that grew from 70 to well over 2000 employees. Kim graduated from the University of Central Florida where she majored in Human Resources Management.

Her passion is impacting culture in value-focused organizations and helping team members realize their passion through meaningful and engaging work. When asked “Why Pioneer”, Kim explains that it is such a unique opportunity to grow culture in an organization like Pioneer and selecting, training and motivating the best and the brightest colleagues to support scholars from around the world is a challenge that she embraces daily and feels honored to be a part of.

Brian Cooper is the Director of Research & Development for Pioneer Academics, helping to drive Pioneer’s innovation and learning delivery. Brian has nearly 30 years of education experience working with gifted and talented students. Prior to joining the Pioneer team, Brian spent 25 years at Duke University’s Talent Identification Program (Duke TIP), developing and managing innovative programs for talented students from around the world. Before transitioning to Duke TIP, Brian was an award-winning AP English Literature and Composition teacher. He’s passionate about creating educational experiences that engage bright, motivated students and enable them to forge meaningful connections with their peers and with dedicated instructors as they wrestle with big ideas and real-world problems.

Brian holds a B.A. in English and an M.A.T. in Secondary English Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is an avid reader of fiction, history, and theology, and he is a big fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He loves the North Carolina mountains and (mostly) enjoys playing disc golf (when he’s not hitting trees).

Dana Silk is the Director of Admissions for Pioneer Academics, responsible for selecting the highest caliber scholars who are driven to participate in an intellectually, socially, and personally transformative experience. She supports Pioneer in innovating the academic landscape, creating equitable opportunities for the most deserving future leaders.

With 26 years of experience in HR and Talent Acquisition, Dana has managed professional and university recruiting, diversity initiatives, coaching and development, workforce planning, and employee engagement. A five-year consultant for Pioneer, Dana joined full time in 2020. Prior, she held director level positions at Genesis Financial Solutions, UBS, and Credit Suisse.

Dana earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and CPC certification from NAPS. Hailing from the Tri-State, she now lives in Fort Collins, CO, and desperately misses east coast bagels and pizza. She adores her wonderful husband, three lovely children, and puppy Marbella.

Timothy Elgren* is the former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Oberlin College. Tim began his academic and administrative career at Hamilton College where he was a professor of bio-inorganic chemistry and where he served in a number of administrative roles, including associate dean of faculty, affirmative action officer, chair of the Biochemistry/Molecular Biology Program, and coordinator of the Network for Teaching and Learning. He has also been a strong advocate for undergraduate research, having served as president (2004) and member of the Executive Committee of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) in Washington, D.C. (2003-06). He served three terms as a CUR chemistry councilor (1997-2006). For CUR, he also co-edited Developing and Sustaining a Research-Supportive Curriculum: A Compendium of Successful Practices (2007). Tim mentored three Pioneer students during the summer of 2013. He describes those students as exemplary young scholars, passionate about intellectual inquiry and ready for college work. The work they produced was extraordinary for high school students; in some cases comparable to the best students he taught at Hamilton College, where he taught for 21 years. The students went on to attend some of America’s best schools, including Princeton, Carnegie Mellon and Claremont McKenna. The Pioneer program exemplifies the best of student/faculty collaboration with both parties benefiting greatly from the experience.

*Tim has volunteered his services in this role since Pioneer Academics’s inception.

After earning a Master’s degree in College Student Personnel, Rit Fuller started his 37-year career in college admissions at Rochester Institute of Technology, rising through the ranks to Director of Admission.

Rit served as Director of Admission at Johns Hopkins University and later as Dean of Admission and Financial Aid at Hamilton College. Since his departure in 2003, he has assisted many institutions in his role as an admission and enrollment consultant. He currently serves as the first Vice President for Enrollment Management at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

Some past clients have included NYU, Syracuse University, Champlain College, Ithaca College, Drew University, Franklin & Marshall, Union College, Nazareth College, Grinnell College, Lafayette College, and the University of San Diego.

Rit is a member of the National Association of College Admission Counselors, the New York State Association of College Admission Counselors and is a Trustee of Franklin & Marshall College.

When asked about his motivation to contribute to Pioneer, Rit stated the following: “I’ve had the opportunity to meet with countless students and review thousands of applications to some of the most selective colleges in the US. As a dean of admission you are looking for those unique abilities or experiences that set a candidate apart. Students who participate in the Pioneer Research program have had that difference-making experience.“