Administration
Dr. Gil Lee has been a co-founder and the president of IntelliChoice, Inc., a non-profit organization providing free math tutoring programs for underprivileged youths at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Prior to IntelliChoice, he created and ran a similar program under the name of the Math School of Baton Rouge from 1993 to 2001 while he was on the faculty of Louisiana State University. Dr. Lee is currently a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, Texas. He earned a BS degree in Electronics from Kyungpook National University in Korea, a MS in Electrical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin, and a PhD from North Carolina State University (1987). He was a visiting scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC in 1991. Dr. Lee has been the recipient of many awards, including the Ambassador of Diversity Award from UT Dallas (2011), the Service Award from the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea (2012), the Community Hero Award from Tech Titans (2015), and the IEEE Educational Activities Board Meritorious
Achievement Award in Informal Education (2017).
Dr. Jungsoon Lee has co-founded Intellichoice and been involved with underrepresented students in free math tutoring for more than 30 years with Dr. Gil Sik Lee. She received her BS and MS in Mathematics Education from Kyungpook National University in Korea, MS in Mathematics from North Carolina State University, and PhD in Mathematics from Louisiana State University. She was a high school teacher for three years in Korea and an associate professor of mathematics at Southern University with tenure from 1992 to 2008. She has led successful the Summer Enrichment Youth Program for at-risk students for three years (2000-2003) supported by Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. She has served as a co-chair and the chair of the math contest for the middle schools and high schools in Louisiana from 2002 to 2008. Each year 400 to 500 students from 25 to 35 schools participated in the contest. She has organized the E2 Brainiacs Mathematics Competition sponsored by Electrical Engineering Department at UTD from 2010 to 2012. The goal is to promote an interest in mathematics to inspire the next generation of great electrical engineers. Currently, she is a professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering department at UTD and is teaching advanced engineering mathematics.
Anil has been a tutor at Ethiopian branch since December 2017 and manager since December 2018. Anil enjoys interacting with kids and seeing the joy in their eyes as they learn and grow. Anil holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from I.I.T. Bombay, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Washington University, St.Louis, and an MBA from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He owns and runs a medical practice in Allen, TX. Besides volunteering, he loves to spend time outdoors and plays golf.
Dr. Nam has been a tutor and academic advisor of IntelliChoice for the past 4 years. She worked as an assistant professor of Bioengineering at the University of Texas at Dallas. She holds a PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology from Harvard University and a BS in Biology from Seoul National University.
Abhay Sawant joined IntelliChoice in December 2017. He regularly volunteers at various locations and helps define technology solution for IntelliChoice organization. He is leading the effort to bring online tutoring to IntelliChoice. Abhay has run his own software business for 10 years. Prior to that, he has held senior technical and management positions in telecom companies. Abhay attended Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay for his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and University of MInnesota, Duluth for his master’s degree in Computer Science.
Suran Yoo is the founder of Silk or Lace, an online marketplace for luxury wigs and hair pieces for women. Prior to launching her business, Suran worked in Marketing Strategy and Insights teams at Procter and Gamble, Keurig Dr Pepper, and LG Electronics. Suran received her undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and her MBA in Marketing Management at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She lives in Dallas, Texas with her husband and two kids under two years old along with her rescue mutt, Ford.
Dr. Henderson has served as a branch manager at TMFF Branch since Spring 2018. She began volunteering at the Harrington Branch in 2007 when she joined UT Dallas as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Henderson holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Tuskegee University in AL and an MS and a PhD in EE from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her research is in the area of Microwave Engineering.
Branch Managers
Chirag Gokani is a PhD student in acoustics at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics and a minor in music from the University of Texas at Dallas. Chirag has served as a volunteer at IntelliChoice since January 2018. He was the Branch Manager at the Vietnamese Community Center during the 2018-2019 school year. He led the IntelliChoice SAT Summer Math Course in 2019 and 2020. He currently serves as the branch manager of the International Restoration Church branch in Austin.
Isaac is a senior studying Computer Engineering at the University of Texas at Dallas. He has been volunteering with IntelliChoice since Fall 2019, both in-person and online. In the summer of 2021 and 2022, Isaac helped run IntelliChoice’s month-long SAT prep course for high school students. He also volunteers as a peer tutor with IEEE UTD, helping students with their engineering coursework. In his free time, Isaac likes to do crossword puzzles and watch movies with his friends.
Nicholas Zahabizadeh has been volunteering with Intellichoice since September of 2018 and became a branch manager of Skyline in January 2019. His passion for helping others originates from key guidance from mentors he had in high school and university that led him to academic and career success.
Nick works as a product marketing engineer at Texas Instruments, supporting automotive manufacturers all over the world.
Nick’s free time is largely occupied with engaging with his local church, experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, and lindy hop dancing with friends in downtown Dallas.
Dr. Henderson has served as a branch manager at TMFF Branch since Spring 2018. She began volunteering at the Harrington Branch in 2007 when she joined UT Dallas as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Henderson holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Tuskegee University in AL and an MS and a PhD in EE from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her research is in the area of Microwave Engineering.
Dr. Bekele is currently a professor at Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. He holds a PhD in Geography from West Virginia University, Master of Philosophy from the University of Oslo, Norway, and a BA from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.
Ovidio has served as a branch manager at Carrollton Branch since February 2018. He is a graduate student in Electrical Engineering at The University of Texas at Dallas. He enjoys spending his free time practicing Kung Fu and doing outdoor activities like rock-climbing and hiking.
Graduated in 2017 with a biology degree at Texas A&M, Abraham has been actively volunteering since 2019. A member of the honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, he is currently working on his goal of attending medical school. Other hobbies that he enjoys are exercising and reading books.
Dr. Kulkarni started to volunteer at Ethiopian Branch in September 2017 and then she has served as a branch manager since December 2018. She holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from UT Austin. She has been working for Ericsson in Plano for 22 years, first in R&D and then in RF Engineering Operations. Her hobbies include music, reading, watching movies and Broadway shows and gardening.
Anil has been a tutor at Ethiopian branch since December 2017 and manager since December 2018. Anil enjoys interacting with kids and seeing the joy in their eyes as they learn and grow. Anil holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from I.I.T. Bombay, an MS in Electrical Engineering from Washington University, St.Louis, and an MBA from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He owns and runs a medical practice in Allen, TX. Besides volunteering, he loves to spend time outdoors and plays golf.
Dr. Akin received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station, TX in 2007. He was an R&D Engineer with Toshiba Industrial Division in Houston, TX from 2005 to 2008. From 2008 to 2012, he worked as an R&D Engineer at C2000 DSP Systems, within Texas Instruments. Since 2012, he has been with the University of Texas at Dallas as faculty. Dr. Akin is a recipient of numerous awards, including the NSF CAREER’15 award, IEEE IAS Transactions 1st Place Prize Paper Award and Top Editors Recognition Award from IEEE TVT Society, two Jonsson School Faculty Research Awards and Jonsson School Faculty Teaching Award. He is a Co-Editor in Chief IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology. His research interests include design, control and diagnosis of electric motors & drives, digital power control and management. Dr Akin has been named IEEE Fellow in 2023.
Hello, I’m Thomas Narlo! Currently a junior at UTD, I’m pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering. Outside of schooling, I indulge in various hobbies that bring me joy. I’m an active trumpet player in the UTD jazz band, where the music comes alive. Additionally, I’m an avid reader, often immersing myself in books during my leisure hours.
Dr. Choi has served as a branch manager at Colony Branch since November 2017. He initiated this branch at The Colony Public Library. He is very enthusiastic in teaching mathematics for young kids.
Dr. Choi is currently a professor in Mechanical and Energy Engineering at the University of North Texas where he is conducting his research in small scale manufacturing and instrumentation such as characterization of micro and nanoscale thermal properties.
He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley and an MS and a BS from Seoul National University. He worked at ETH Zurich, Switzerland for 3.5 years as a lecturer and Senior Scientist.