Wade Ellis, Jr.
Prinicipal Investigator | Lead Instructor | Curriculum Architect
Wade Ellis, Jr. is dedicated to student success.
He’s well known nationally as a leader in college Math education.
New Ways to Learn
Over 20 years ago, Wade created intensive “Learning-to-Learn” and Math Accelerator programs. We call them BootCamps.
Created for Hinds, a College in Mississippi, today they work better than ever!
100% passed their nursing licensing exam in 2023
Success For Those Failing Math!
Wade relates that the first BootCamps were made up of students dropped from STEM because of Math; 60% became successful STEM Juniors at 4-year colleges.
Wade’s BootCamp work is based on W. Edwards Deming proven ideas now known as: Lean Manufacturing (LM).
Deming’s LM “…is credited with revolutionizing Japan’s industry and making it one of the most dominant economies in the world.” (From Wikipedia article linked above).
What worked for Japan, will work for you
Try our BootCamp and see!
Cecile Dietrich
Head of Research Design And Analysis
Dr. Cecile Dietrich leads College Essentials’ research and evaluation activities. Additionally, Cecile is responsible to guide our continuous improvement initiatives.
For more than 20 years, Cecile has designed and managed rigorous education research and evaluation projects for state agencies and large school systems, including research projects in Virginia and Illinois.
Cecile ensures that College Essentials programs are grounded in evidence, continuously refined and aligned with best practices. Her mission at College Essentials is not only to measure impact, but to lead us in improving it—year by year, until no student is left behind.
Edmond Gable
Executive Director
Internet AccessDr. Edmond Gable serves as College Essentials Executive Director.
He brings deep global experience in education reform, institutional change, and program implementation.
Since 1997, he has focused on improving education systems.
He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and a BA and MA from Stanford.
Systems Transformion
- WORLD BANK Georgi& INDONESIA
- U.S. STATE DEPT Azerbaijan
- Gates Foundation Bulgaria
Equity/Social Justice
- UNICEF For ASEAN
Gender Equity
- World Bank for Africa
- World Bank School-based telecenters in Uganda and Zimbabwe
Teacher Tech-Integration Training
- People’s Computer Company:
Edu Tech Development:
- Apple Computer’s Executive Director of the nonprofit it sponsored to develop and disseminate the fruits of its DARPA Learning Technology work.
At College Essentials, Dr. Gable focuses on building scalable partnerships with colleges and funders to ensure that all high-potential students succeed.
Ed is particularly focused on those historically ignored. His mission at College Essentials is to ensure all gain access to accelerated pathways that lead to degree completion and careers they’ll love.
Meet the Team Dedicated to Your Academic and Career Growth
We focus on students’ “Learning How To Learn” so that they:
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- Get Better Grades
- Learn More, Faster
- Complete Degrees Faster
Board & Officers
Discover the Team leading College Essentials
Errol Naiman
Founder and CEO
Errol knows what it is to struggle in class. He is sad to say he failed grade 1 and got a 40 in Algerbra.
But he knows that if he made it so can you. That’s his personal commitment and the reason he formed College Essentials.
Errol had many advantages, but his immigrant father did not. In his day, even just getting into an algebra class was barred to him. That injustice is what motivates his passion to right those wrongs for all students.
Things came out all right for him in the end, because he learned the skills that Wade focuses on in his BootCamps.
Errol just learned that learning those allowed him to be the top of his entering class at Harvard’s MBA program in his admission tests.
He believes all students with the motivation and dedication can also achieve their academic and career dreams, too,
Errol’s succeeded and became an executive, officer and board member of many nonprofit and corporate organizations. Including Fortune 50’s, large insurance companies and others.
Errol received his MBA from Harvard. He has served as an applied mathematician, and consultant for many leading organizations. These include an assignment for the US Department of defense on college level Educational Technology.
He has had significant roles in nonprofits, including on the leadership team for Apple’s nonprofit that advanced the learning technology developed under its DARPA contract.
Jimmy Lin
Director of IT
JIMMY LIN — Director of Information Technology
Over the last 25 years, Jimmy has operated a computer services business supporting diverse customers, many requiring custom designed high performance computers. He also completed assignments involving large-scale systems integration and implementation. During that time he and Errol collaborated on a number of tech and R+D projects.
Jimmy is particularly suited for the role we have for him at College Essentials: we intend to deliver easy to learn and use content and technology so that that our students can focus on mastering their academics without tech issues getting in the way. This is Jimmy’s sweet spot.
Background:
STEM PROGRAM: Jimmy was an outstanding Computer Science student at the University of California – Irvine. No one could create a gaming machine with performance anywhere close to his. They were mystified how his machine on a dial-up link out-performed theirs connected on the University’s 200 times faster broadband link.
Won — AMD’s battle of the Boxes: This was a computer-building contest held in 2002 in 20 cities in the US, with over 200 competitors. Jimmy built his machine in 14 minutes that ran out of the box, second-place took 40% longer.
Dell Computer: His superior technical skills led Dell to retain Jimmy to solve intractable customer issues. When Dell’s customers had problems no one else could resolve, they dispatched Jimmy—and billed him out at 2 to 4 times their standard rate. His work for Dell also included its major customer’s large installations. Example include: the Wells Fargo Data Center in Tempe AZ, the City of Las Vegas, and all but two of the DoD’s CA and NV large bases.
Patented Invention: Jimmy successfully patented his invention on High Speed data access on solid-state storage devices like SSDs. This was the first major patent in data storage field since the Winchester disk technology drives IBM patented in the ’60s. Errol teamed up with Jimmy to write the patent description and manage the patenting process. Jimmy received USPTO Patent number US11068440B2 during its initial review.
Meet Our Dedicated Team of Experts
Discover the passionate individuals who guide students toward academic and career success.
Our BootCamp leaders are master teachers who know Math.
But they also the are masters of the academic skills you’ll need to succeed in college.
They are dedicated to seeing you succeed both in your academics and also in your dream jobs.
AI Tutor Lab Facilitators
Our facilitators provide practical guidance for you to get the most out of the AI tutor.
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- They’ll help you work on the math that’s holding you back and master it.
- In the process you’ll become more confident in your math skills.
After BootCamp, you’ll find that Math will become a strength that will power you to excel in your classes and careers.
Supportive Mentors
Committed peer mentors empower students by sharing their experiences and success.
They’ll show you the way to build your motivation and resilience throughout your college experience.
Meet Our Dedicated Team Members
Discover the passionate professionals committed to guiding you through your college journey.
They’ll help you by offering personalized support every step of the way.


