Yakos is an entrepreneur and founder of Extra Ed. He has over 20 years of teaching experience under his belt, and he started Extra Ed with the goal of making education meaningful, accessible, sustainable, and fun for all ages.

He also believes that education and environmentalism go hand in hand, as what you learn is just as important as where you learn it. With that in mind, you can always spot him at Extra Ed outings and activities to clean up parks and plant trees. These are also attended by Extra Ed teachers, volunteers, students, and their parents, and always turn out to be great experiences for all involved.

Jonathan serves as both the Operations Manager and an Instructor at Extra Ed. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Windsor, and a Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Jonathan possesses over seventeen years of experience working with children in both the educational and recreational fields and as a certified teacher; he prides himself on making laughter, creativity, and imagination the basis of his teaching philosophy.

As Operations Manager, he works diligently to ensure that the often complicated scheduling and logistics of our programs is made simple, and meets the highest standard.

Anna is a certified teacher and the head Curriculum Developer. She also heads up Environmental Initiatives as Extra Ed. As a teacher, she merges play and storytelling into her Extra Ed classes, which makes her students feel valued and, in turn, encourages participation and growth.

Anna has a Masters in Education from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, a Bachelor of Arts in Child and Youth Studies, and a Bachelor of Education from Brock University. She believes in sustainable practices that are great for the environment and fun for all ages.

Katya is Extra Ed’s Director of Programs, responsible for working with schools, community groups and members of the public to ensure that our innovative, rewarding and meaningful programs can be delivered in a way that meets their individual needs.

Katya has a Master’s Degree in Museum Studies (MMS) from U of T, and has worked in a wide range of educational organizations for over two decades, doing outreach and consulting with diverse communities to develop innovative programs at places like the Ontario Science Centre and the AGO. She believes that the key to a meaningful educational experience is connection, responsiveness and environment. Katya is an avid naturalist and is the mother to two boys.

Hello! My name is Savera and I am the social media manager at ExtraEd. In my free time, I make and sell clothes and art on Instagram. I am currently in school for child and youth care, minoring in French. Overall, I really enjoy content creating and working with kids.

Xerxes Turingan Baluyot is an Electronics Engineer who holds a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines. Xerxes has extensive experience in programming in various languages and has worked with a wide range of computer hardware and software, including audio-visual equipment, robotics circuitry and 3D printing. Xerxes came to love the experience of teaching STEM after coaching robotic teams for competitions. Xerxes is part of Extra Ed’s STEM program development team, and brings great humour and enormous patience to his role as an Extra Ed instructor.

Philippe resides in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec and is one of Extra Ed’s French language instructors and in-house translators.
Philippe worked in an eclectic array of professions before deciding to dedicate himself to teaching. Philippe has vast experience teaching French and chess both online and in-person, and is expanding his teaching repertoire to include Financial
Literacy, Coding and other subjects. Philippe attended the University
of Montreal to study cognitive neuroscience and is particularly interested in social psychology and epistemology. Philippe believes that we evolve intellectually by way of exposure to authentic, truthful and accessible education.

Paul advises on the Financial courses at Extra Ed, and has worked with individuals and companies with respect to budgeting, insurance, financial and retirement planning. He has been a financial advisor since 1981, and earned his CFP in the insurance and financial planning industry. He currently has his CLU and Ch.F.C.

Jacques Katz, for whom our scholarship fund is now named, was an elementary school teacher in the TDSB for over 10 years. He was passionate about teaching children, and had a background in child development, early writing, brain research, and approaches to teaching math. He held a Bachelor of Applied Science in Computer Engineering (B.ASc.), a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (B.S.), a Master of Science in Cognitive Neuroscience (B.S.), a Master of Arts in Education (M.A.), and was an Ontario Certified Teacher (OCT).

Jacques generously volunteered his time, including and especially in his final years, to ensure that our financial literacy curricula were consistent with, and a complement to, the Ontario curriculum as set out by the Ministry of Education.