Meet the IvyPrep Team: Experts in Uni Admissions

Meet Our Team

These are just a few members of our incredible admissions dream team, handpicked from top universities and trained to guide students and families through the process.

Petra Phang

Consultant

BA University of Pennsylvania
JD University of Melbourne

Petra graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a bachelor of arts in history and political science and the University of Melbourne with a Juris Doctor. She is a qualified lawyer and worked as a consultant in a global business advisory firm, providing clients with strategic counsel on public affairs, corporate communications, and financial communications matters.

Since 2012, Petra has offered guidance to students at various stages of the college application process. Passionate about education, mentoring, and effective communication, Petra hopes to help students find their voice and grow in confidence as they chart out their futures.

Robbie Short

Consultant

BA Yale University

Robbie graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Yale University with a B.A. in History. He began his work in education as an undergraduate, serving as a peer counselor for first-year students and managing an English as a Second Language program for migrant and immigrant adults in New Haven. After graduation, he spent two years teaching English literature and communications and U.S. history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong as a Yale-China Fellow.

Robbie understands education as holistic: a matter of gaining skills and knowledge and of determining one’s purpose. As a Consultant at IvyPrep, he enjoys helping students think through their goals for themselves and envision how they can achieve these goals through the special opportunity of a tertiary education

Isaac Ong

Consultant

BA University of Cambridge

Isaac graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Law from the University of Cambridge, and subsequently enrolled in a graduate-entry medical degree programme at Duke-NUS Medical School. He is passionate about issues at the intersection of healthcare and policy, writing about issues ranging from healthcare data to global health during at an undergraduate level, and volunteered with migrant workers in Singapore.

On top of his experience with admissions consulting and test coaching, he has worked extensively with students as an academic tutor across both individual and classroom settings. Isaac enjoys facilitating his students’ journey of reflection and growth, bringing coherence and direction to their diverse interests to help them achieve their aspirations.

Hui Qin Chan

Consultant

Certificate in College Counseling, UCLA
International University Advocate, NACAC

Hui Qin has been involved in the higher education industry for most of her adult life. Prior to IvyPrep, she truly enjoyed serving as a global officer (study abroad department) and mentor at private and public universities, and as a consultant in an ed-tech company. She also actively participates in IACAC’s events to better understand ever-changing college admission trends from all sides of the table.

Hui Qin is highly adept at understanding global mobility given her background, education, and experience. She thrives when working with students and families in a bespoke, one-on-one manner, tailoring her mannerisms to best suit their needs. Her certificate in college counseling, professional certificate from NACAC, and IACAC membership have helped in honing and diversifying her consulting ability, enabling her to better discuss major and college decisions with her international audience.

Rory D’ Angelo

Consultant

BA Oxford University

Rory graduated from the University of Oxford with a BA in English Language and Literature. At Oxford he was very involved in different aspects of student life, from university administration, to rowing, to theatre performance. Serving as the Balliol College Undergraduate Vice President for two consecutive terms, he developed unparalleled knowledge of the Oxbridge admissions process, organised open days and interview weeks. In 2023, the University granted Rory the competitive ‘Willliam Westerman Pathfinders Award’ which enabled him to travel extensively around Asia to conduct a research project comparing elite global universities.

Rory believes effective communication to be crucial in helping students achieve their goals. Rory has a passion for global languages, having taught himself Mandarin Chinese and French, as well as developing interests in linguistics. As a Consultant at IvyPrep, he utilises his university knowledge and deep experience to realise each student’s potential, by bringing their unique academic and personal interests to the forefront of each application.

Alexander Nehmzow

Consultant

BA Yale University
MSc University College London

For his writing-intensive undergraduate degree in History at Yale University, Alex completed a senior research thesis examining the effectiveness of indiscriminate aerial bombing campaigns during the Second World War. More recently, for a Master’s degree in Science and Technology Studies at University College London (UCL), he applied the techniques of data science to analyse online spam campaigns, and the methods of investigative journalism to dissect a global cybersecurity attack.

At IvyPrep, Alex has enjoyed helping a diverse range of students envision how their unique gifts, personal values, and long-term goals, can be married to specific opportunities in the world of tertiary education – and persuasively articulate this vision in their applications.

Ryan Ruff

Instructor

BSc Appalachian State University

Following graduation, Ryan taught English and History in the USA in both public and private school systems. He spent those years crafting and developing his curriculum-development and classroom management skills to improve student retention and academic performance. As he embraced his role as an educator, Ryan gradually transitioned more of his training into developing his TEFL teaching abilities and working with international-students. This transition eventually allowed him to accept a contract-position working as an instructor/manager located in APAC. The position allowed Ryan to spend time traveling throughout SEA an embracing his true passions for international learning and cultures.

In the classroom, Ryan believes that there isn’t a one size fits all solution to teaching and that each student has their own way of learning and retaining information. Therefore, Ryan dedicates time to crafting personalized education plans that focus on embracing the students own personal strengths and proactively improving any retention-based shortcomings. He always ensures that the classroom environment is engaging, active, and education to ensure that students feel comfortable and confident. Ryan encourages his students to ask questions, use their voice confidently, and challenge themselves so that they may grow in and out of the classroom.

Vlad Vintenbakh

Instructor

BSc Yale-NUS College

Vlad graduated in June 2023 with a B.Sc. from Yale-NUS College, specializing in Data Science. Throughout his high school and college time, he tutored SAT, IELTS, IB, IGCSE, and college mathematics in both individual and group settings. He was also a research assistant and Admissions & Financial Aid Office student associate at Yale-NUS College. After graduating with First-Class Honors, he worked as a data analyst prior to joining IvyPrep.

A few members of Vlad’s family have dedicated their lives to teaching and mentoring students. Following their example, he is eager to contribute to the students’ academic success and education goals. He believes in a highly individualized approach for each student. He also leverages his data and analytics skills to optimize learning strategies, helping students achieve their best possible test performances.

Our Supporting Team