Who We Are

After 25 years as an executive of a multinational corporation, Ms. Berger decided to leave that career to pursue her true passion for education. In the short span of four years, Ms. Berger earned Master’s degrees in both Secondary Education and Educational Administration, and certifications as a Secondary English Teacher, School Building Administrator, and School District Leader.

In 2004, Ms. Berger founded our organization, with the goal of tailoring programs and services to the individual needs of students in-need. Now, five years later, she has managed to combine her executive skills with her social conscience, expanding our services into supplemental education, wrap-around vendor services, and SAT preparation.

Kathleen Brady-Stepien
SES Coordinator
kathleen@upgradeacademics.org

A South Buffalo native and graduate of prestigious Vassar College, Kathleen has dedicated herself to achieving equal access to education for low-income students. While at Vassar, she founded a group for working class and first-generation college students, and also developed a publication to aid such students in college orientation. Kathleen has continued to pursue this goal at Upgrade, coordinating our free after-school tutoring program designed to promote math and reading for low-income students in the Buffalo Public School system.

Kimberly Nguyen, M.A., Ph.D. Candidate
On-Call Coordinator
Test Prep Coordinator
Community Outreach Liaison
kim@upgradeacademics.org

Kimberly has worked in the educational field for nearly a decade, in a wide variety of settings.  Her passion for education has led her from conventional classrooms to more unique platforms, such as national television shows and the White House.  Aside from her duties at Upgrade, Kimberly teaches anthropology at Niagara County Community College and is finishing her Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology at UB.  Kimberly’s dissertation research is also reflective of her dedication to the educational field; her research consists of creating a conservation education program to train the employees at a federal environmental agency in Indonesia.  This highly diverse background in the educational field has allowed her to be highly successful in the creation of the company’s newest program, Upgrade On-Call which provides academic and translation services for families in the social service network.  She also spearheads the outreach efforts for Upgrade’s largest program, which provides free after-school tutoring for at-risk youth.