Leadership Team
Marigold Prep is a team of entrepreneurs, educators, and technologists with decades of experience in virtual instruction. We're a diverse but tight knit team of ~20 innovators who pride ourselves on being a female-founded, pandemic-born tutoring company for the modern student.
Cassie Brown
Founder & Principal
With 15 years of experience in student-centered learning, Cassie’s passionate about educational experiences beyond the classroom. She began her career developing education programs for museums, web platforms, and community organizations, combining creativity with technology to connect with her students. From California to the Middle East, Cassie’s worked with families of every background and knows the power of personal connection in teaching and mentorship. After 10 years in non-profit education, Cassie entered the virtual tutoring industry in 2016 with a focus on growth, operations, and client delight. She's connected over one thousand families to the world’s top tutors and is on a mission to reach thousands more by creating more accessibility to the world of private tutoring.
She co-founded Marigold Prep in 2020 to challenge the status quo and reimagine college-readiness programs in our rearranged world.
Michael Naragon
Director of Education
Michael has a B.S. in Social Studies Education from Bob Jones University and M.A. degree in History from Clemson University and Journalism from Indiana University-Bloomington. He began teaching math and history in the classroom in 2001 and continued through 2012. He's taught AP World History and AP Government, as well as middle and high school math through pre-calculus. In 2012, Michael moved into exam prep full-time and has since worked with hundreds of students nationally, helping them achieve average increases of 7 points on the ACT and 220 points on the SAT.
Michael draws on his 20 years of teaching and tutoring experience to oversee Marigold Prep's curriculum and tutor development, ensuring every program receives the highest levels of instruction, personalization, and expertise.
Christopher Teare
Executive Functioning Advisor
Chris holds a Masters in Mind, Brain, and Education from Harvard University, with coursework in the intersection of cognitive science, neuroscience, and education. He's been an integral part of Columbia University, MIT, and Boston Children's Hospital based research teams that explore the cognitive neuroscience of executive functioning skill development, and practical assessments and strategies that can be implemented to support it.
Prior to earning his Master's degree, Chris worked as a top, private test prep and academic tutor in the San Francisco Bay Area. This unique combination of experience enables Chris to design and deliver science backed curriculum in an approachable and student-centric way. He brings his passion, knowledge, and energy to the Marigold team by way of program design, teacher training, and partnership support for all of our Executive Functioning programs.
Fred Sites
Managing Partner
Fred earned his MBA in 2013 and is an operational leader and entrepreneur focusing on sustainability and community building. Before co-founding Marigold Prep, he held leadership roles in strategy, analytics, and growth at AI-enabled energy storage leader Stem Inc (NYSE: STEM). As an early employee, he played an integral role in scaling the company from a scrappy start-up to the leader it is today and applies the same analytical approach at Marigold to challenge conventions while enabling efficiency throughout the company.
Fred is responsible for the company's operations and all the things that enable our tutors to deliver unparalleled instruction and unwavering transparency to every student, family, and educator.
Our Reputation
“I’m deeply thankful to our tutor for her contribution to my children’s success in their college entrance exams. Her commitment and tailored plan to prepare and develop strong skills in my kids showed outstanding results. She assisted my son during his university application process, and he is now a happy freshman at his dream school, Cornell. Now that my daughter is preparing, I didn’t hesitate to contact our tutor to work with my her."
Nhora, Parent
Our Students have been admitted Into
For Families
Our team of experts takes careful time to understand each student, so every executive functioning, test prep, or academic program results in increased grades, test scores, and confidence.
Consultation
We’re sure you have questions for us and, in order to best personalize a plan, we have a few questions for you! Every program starts with a complimentary consultation so we can understand your needs and customize a roadmap to success.
Match
Free from the limits of geography, we pair students with the best tutor for them as opposed to the tutor around the corner. We draw on decades of classroom experience to understand a student’s personality and learning style, and pair them with someone who serves as a tutor, mentor, and ally.
Updates
We know you’re busy, and it can be hard for students and parents to get on the same page. You’ll receive video updates and data reports from your tutor and have a direct line to management. Student success is a team effort, and we’re not here to sit on the bench.
Results
While we strongly believe in developing well-rounded students, grades and test scores matter. With on-going diagnostics and expert insight, we track student progress and customize curriculum accordingly. If your student is behind, we deploy an all-hands approach to get them back on track and provide 100% transparency along the way.
For educators
We partner with schools and youth organizations to customize resources for their communities.
practice tests
Our live, proctored practice tests can be offered in-person or virtually, and for free or as a fundraiser for your school. Counselors receive a detailed results report and families receive a free score analysis and the opportunity to go over it with an expert.
Parent nights
What's the deal with the new SAT? Is there a way to help my daughter be less stressed out? As former school teachers, we're no strangers to the tough questions parents ask educators. We've created our informative presentations to help you address some of parents' most common concerns.
scholarships
We're aware that tutoring and test prep are not always financial feasible. From free self-study resources to up to 75% financial aid for tutoring, we partner with educators to open more doors for their students.
curriculum & instruction
From teacher trainings, to licensable curriculum, to school specific group classes, we provide schools and districts with the tools they need to support their students in a community specific and fully customized way.
our technology
Session Recordings
With permission, we record your student's tutoring. This gives you an opportunity to review material outside of sessions and allows us to exercise superior quality control.
Writing Tablets
By request, students will receive a writing tablet when they enroll in a Marigold tutoring program that enables collaborative input, creativity, and critical thinking.
Online Portal
Families receive access to student and parent portals for on-demand transparency into progress, schedules, and billing.
Data-Driven Diagnostics
We're big-time data nerds and are passionate about leveraging technology to personalize learning experiences. Our team of technologists have paired up with neuroscientists and University Calculus professors to develop the most precise and actionable diagnostics in the tutoring industry.
