My daughter just completed the Cardiology Camp at Stanford, and I cannot speak highly enough of the…read moreexperience. The instructors and camp leaders were exceptional. They created a welcoming, supportive environment where the kids felt comfortable, connected, and truly bonded with one another. Thanks to this camp, my daughter has gained so much confidence. She made amazing friends and came home at the end of the week excited to share what she learned. A special thank you to Emily, who is incredibly kind and quick to respond to any questions. Dr. D was an inspiring teacher--knowledgeable, patient, and truly engaging with the students. And Julian made a lasting impression by remembering the kids' names from the very beginning and being consistently warm and friendly. Thank you so much to the entire team at Education Unlimited for such a meaningful and memorable experience!

This was an excellent service. They got us two amazing tour guides who were friendly and…read moreknowledgeable in the peak season when all the campus tours were already booked. The company representative was easy to reach and constantly kept us in the loop via text. Highly recommended!

Hi, I highly recommend this Academy and in particular our great teacher Francesca Lorenzon…read more Francesca is an excellent teacher, who truly cared about me and the rest of our class. She made sure that we learned about culture, geography and language. She always welcomed our questions and was just fun to be around. This carried forward into the overall classroom experience where all had a good time and ended up going out to lunch every few weeks. I studied Italian for eight months to prepare for my trip to Italy and highly recommend Francesca and the Academy. Joe

I have been taking Italian language and literature classes with Polyglottist Language Academy off…read moreand on since 2017. I initially started taking classes because I had planned a trip to Italy for the summer, but after my trip I was motivated to continue. I have since returned to Italy 2 more times. I've taken Italian classes with several instructors including but not limited to Sole, Valerie, Cinzia, Oscar, and Francesca. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every class. The instructors are knowledgeable, patient, and eager to create a positive and enriching learning environment. Olga has been even more accommodating in light of the difficulties that arose with COVID-19 social distancing protocols, even allowing classes to take place on Zoom. I would 100% recommend taking classes with this academy!

My 11 year old son "hates" writing... unfortunately he wasn't getting enough guidance and…read moreinstruction at school and so I enrolled him in this BAWP weekly program for kids in Berkeley. It was a 10 week course, 2 hours per week. At first, he was very grumpy with the concept and angry at me for enrolling him. After two weeks, however, I witnessed an amazing transformation. His confidence in his writing increased exponentially and his enthusiasm for writing followed suit. He actually said he enjoyed the program and the various writing exercises and games they used to help each child expand their abilities. The group used many different tactics to draw the student's' interest and encourage creativity. One week the group walked to a nearby museum and were asked to write about a piece of art that inspired them. They also took a walking tour the neighborhood to find inspiration for stories and poems. I can't say enough good things about this program and the Berkeley instructors. For "graduation" each child was asked to read an excerpt of their work for parents and friends. It was amazing! The instructors were kind, enthusiastic and incredibly talented teachers. Both were life-long writers and both clearly loved to work with young people. Overall, it was an incredibly positive experience and I will be looking for more camps and programs from BAWP in the future.

BAWP San Ramon Staff is kind. The high school campus is nice and safe for kids…read more However, this is NOT an enrichment program for kids, it is just a summer kid fun, 3-hour daycare. They group 3 levels "6+7+8" into groups in the library; the higher levels actually gain nothing during the 3 weeks, just "poem and craft book". The tuition is $500 plus $50 registration fee. On the first day of school this year, a teacher asked all parents if any students here today attended last summer BAWP program? Absolutely NO one showed hand! Thank you.

Stir-Fry Seminars & Consulting is an awesome place! Rainbow and Lee Mun Wah are phenomenal…read morefacilitators. They are direct and gentle, real and kind. They dispel the European narrative which centers White-ness as the crux of American culture and create/hold space for folks of color to share their experiences, while also creating the conditions for White folks and White appearing folks to delve into the driving forces behind their projections of privilege. The basis of the framework is creating understanding through mindful facilitation, so that people may build true community with one another. Lee Mun Wah and Rainbow work seamlessly to interweave people's varying understanding of differences, with peoples experiences, acknowledging each and every person who shares and building bridges between their differences by sharing mindful inquiry models, personal experiences, and interactive activities with participants. Their style of facilitation is needed ALL OVER! It is truly life changing, eye opening, and essential to examining true diversity and its tangible applications which are all too often left to rhetoric. If you are looking to build your capacity to understand others, share your truth and be heard, learn truly effective conflict resolution skills, and skillful facilitation techniques this is the place to go!

Public humiliation by this man, this is not Allegedly, this happened to me circa 2016 or 2017: I…read morewas a Counseling grad student at the time that this degrading incident happened. He was a guest speaker for our Counseling Department's Seminar (I was a graduate student research presenter as well). We were in Jack Adams Hall conference room and he was giving his lecture presentation to a crowd of faculty, guests, and counseling grad students (approximately 300+ people in the audience). I was sitting on the far left side of the audience and I was wearing a gold tones outfit and had my 'Tignon wrap' (cultural head wrap) which covered part of my long LOCed hair (Hair that took me over 20 year to go out and to maintain myself... This was a form for hair freedom and cultural pride to have my hair in this style after a lifetime of shame and harassment and public shaming of my African Diasporan Kinky hair texture... by everyone I can think of.) As he was lecturing, he stops his train of thought, looks at me, POINTS TO ME and tells the 300+ audience..."See that girl over there (pointing to me way in the back) "She can't work a corporate job with her HAIR like that!".... Then he goes back to his lecture. (What the F&@k= what does my cultural hair type and hair texture (4C textured LOCed hair) have to do with getting my counseling M.S. degree and working? Talk about supporting discrimination based on cultural origin. Ok, I sit there... wanting to hide, and I am sitting their HUMILIATED in front of my peers, and instructors and strangers (300+ people and I am the only one with hair like mine) because everyone is STARING at my hair. This is not Allegedly, this happened: So he just humiliated me, culturally SHAMED me to the world and he normalized his humiliation of African Disaporna's women's hair. What kind of so called cultural consultant does that? I am mad and embarrassed and ended up publicly humiliated and basically in humanistic SHOCK. I became numb to the point I could not even process this. I ended up stuffing it and years later I finally figured out what he did to me (The Crown Act actually helped me process it), then I finally emailed his staff person to tell them what happened. They did not care, nothing was done about it. Can you imagine, being a consultant on culture ideas and then intentionally and willfully, humiliating a BIPOC about her hair in front of people who did not every flinch or call him on his behavior. Horrible public erasure of my humanity type of experience. Again, this is not allegedly, it happened to me.

Shohreh is a true miracle worker! I never in my life thought a foreign language class was something…read morethat I could do until I found French Farsi Without Tears. When I first arrived I was expecting textbooks, work sheets, and a long list of words to memorize - however this was far from the case. What I found was a small, friendly, and inviting group of classmates that together, through many small conversations and lessons, began to pick up Farsi. From practice scenarios, eating great Persian food, and talking with classmates I got the true immersion experience! While the curriculum is not very dry, stressful, or overly intensive, I was surprised by how fast everything went. After just the first class I was reading, writing, and even doing some speaking! Before I knew it, I felt like I was having full conversations in Farsi without even thinking about it and it felt so natural. Looking forward to continuing my Farsi learning experience in Shohreh's advance classes!

Shohreh is one of the best teachers I have had in my entire (not just adult) life. Her enthusiasm…read moretowards teaching creates such a friendly and positive environment toward learning Farsi. She does so well with making sure you absorb all of the lessons in a thorough yet gentle fashion. The class' approach to the technical side of the language is very good and what you need to build a foundation. But what made the class so interesting is Shohreh's insights into Persian culture and history during lessons which will in turn teach you the artistic side of the language. Teaching both makes me feel like I have not just learned, but I understand, the language. Also as a non-Persian learning for fun because my wife speaks Farsi and is Persian, the class has provided insights into her and her family I greatly appreciate and would not have gotten out of an app. My recommendation could not be higher for Shohreh and her program.

Leila is amazing and my family would have been absolutely lost without her help. We moved from LA…read moreto the Bay Area this year and she helped us figure out both middle and elementary school for our children. She has a wealth of knowledge about schools, teachers, pedagogy, the application process, how to write an essay, etc. She helped us every step of the way and also organized school visits for us on our trips up from LA. Every penny you spend on Sparkjoy Consulting is well worth it. In fact, I still text Leila with questions about extracurricular activities, restaurants, etc.! She is amazing and her sunny disposition makes her wonderful to work with through this process which would otherwise be very stressful!

I whole-heartedly agree with all these glowing Yelp reviews of Leila and her services. She brings…read morea wealth of experience as a teacher (check out her resume!) and parent to her work, and it feels like having a friend on the inside to guide you through the school selection process. Leila helped me navigate the process with more lightness, and homed in on the right questions to help us make important decisions. Leila provides a wonderful service for parents wading through the many great school choices available to East Bay families!

Elaine is a world-class advisor--thoughtful, capable, compassionate, and responsive…read more She worked with our twins for several years as we navigated the stress and uncertainty of the college process--where to apply, how to think about value, and how to strike the right balance between reach, target, and safety schools. The process today is daunting. With Ivies accepting just 3-5% of applicants and UC schools also extremely competitive, it's too risky to go it alone and hope for the best. Elaine dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and care guiding our kids through every step. No matter the situation, her advice was always thoughtful and transparent. She responded quickly to every question, usually the same day or within 24 hours. Of course, no advisor can work miracles if a student isn't already committed and putting in the effort--but for motivated students, even the strongest ones, her guidance is invaluable. She also helps set realistic expectations for both kids and parents, which is just as important as anything else. Now the results are in. Both of our kids are strong IB students who were active in music and leadership programs. While the Ivies ultimately proved too far a stretch (despite their qualifications), they were accepted to several top UC and state schools, as well as USC, LMU, and others. Our daughter has chosen UC Berkeley, where she also received a significant merit scholarship--something we were especially grateful for given the cost of college today. Our son was also offered spots at UC Berkeley and UCSD, but has USC Thornton in his sights. If you have a child entering or already in high school, I highly recommend starting with Elaine for an initial consultation. Our whole family--especially our kids--is grateful for her guidance, which led to outstanding options at some of the top public and private universities in the country. We couldn't be more thrilled with the outcome and look forward to the next chapter with twins in college.

Elaine Chan helped my daughter apply for college for the fall of 2023 and I can't say enough…read morepositive things about Elaine! Let me try though... First of all, Elaine is extremely knowledgeable and professional- she does her research on colleges and keeps very up-to-date on the changes in universities and in the application process, even going on regular in-person visits to check out college campuses herself. She offers very personalized counseling services because she gets to know the student in conversation as well as through assessment tools. She counsels the student and family to apply for best-match colleges based on all relevant interests including academic, social, environmental/"vibe", geographic, financial, etc. Secondly, Elaine is super accessible and an awesome communicator (dare I say, to a fault, with the speed in which she answered emails and texts??) and she is very organized. Elaine makes herself available to answer questions and to be helpful in any and all ways she can. Elaine is resourceful and provides important resources and support without overwhelming the student with TOO much information. Elaine is very easy to talk with and helped make the college application process practically painless! Thirdly, Elaine knows how to bring out the best in the student by helping the student understand and capitalize on their strengths and coaches the student in the essay writing and in all the other application requirements. Because of Elaine's deep familiarity with the college application process, she is able to counsel the student on approaching college application in a strategic manner. Lastly, Elaine is a genuinely wonderful person- she is warm and caring and we felt that she had my daughter's best interests in mind in all of her meetings with Elaine. Additionally, Elaine has a special place in her heart for first-generation college students and has extended herself above and beyond for students who would otherwise not have the knowledge, resources or support to apply for and attend college. We are grateful for Elaine's help and would give her 6 stars if we could!!

A magical place! My 6-year-old son is autistic and it was such a relief to be welcomed by a team…read morethat just gets it. The space is super clean and feels like a kid's dream. There's so much to do, climbing, building, exploring, getting wiggles out, and even a quiet room to chill. You can tell the folks behind it really thought through everything. The vibe, the décor, even the website feel so neurodiverse-affirming. They have tech to help build community around members too. We live in Novato so the distance makes a membership tough right now, but I'm hoping we can join in the summer when school isn't in the way. I'd love to see Spirited Play Labs expand to more places as this is the future IMO (please come to Novato, I'll help!). For families like ours, where typical play spaces can feel stressful or isolating, this place is a true gem, welcoming, thoughtful, and hopeful for the future. Thank you!!!

We've been coming to SPL for years, and it has always been such a positive experience. The play…read moresessions with Lia mean so much to us. we truly appreciate her patience, guidance, and support. Every visit, we notice progress. My daughter used to play only by herself, but now we see her becoming more independent and interacting with Lia, which fills our hearts. As a mom of a child on the spectrum, I know how hard it can be. My daughter doesn't have friends, but when we come here, she has one. In other spaces, the stares that come with her stimming can be so difficult to ignore, but here at SPL, we feel safe, accepted, and not judged. That sense of belonging is rare for special needs families, and we are so grateful to have found it here. I love how the staff embraces inclusion and acceptance. it shows in everything they do. I truly wish there were more places and programs like this for our kids, because families like ours need community.

The Wright Institute in Berkeley is a great place to receive affordable mental health services…read more It is a private graduate school of psychology specializing in educating clinicians and giving them real world experience before they become professional therapists. These students have done all the course work and need hours in the field of psychology before they get their licenses. I have a therapist I see once a week for part of their semester and it resolves in July. These students are educated and can help you through phase of life challenges. This is my second time receiving counseling and previously I received therapy 10 years ago. They charge on a sliding scale and offer some stability during challenging times. They also offer group therapy sessions and you may drop in whenever your schedule permits and the cost is $15 per session. Although I have not partaken in the group therapy sessions, I have heard many good things about them and considering joining a few. What I like a lot about the Wright Institue is I feel as though the students really try hard and seem to care very much with what you're going through and are very helpful to help you process what your priorities are and what you hope to gain from the therapy sessions. Finding a therapist in the real world is as challenging as finding your partner in life so it can take a while. That's why I feel that the Wright Institute is a great way to get started in therapy. They're located near UC Berkeley campus and the parking can be challenging. But there is affordable metered parking up and down Durant Street and the duration is for 2-4 hours.

I can't give more than two stars for what is, unfortunately without a doubt, the biggest financial…read moreand temporal mistake of my life. But it is not all the WI fault, it is more the field. I'm writing this for the prospective student considering application. Please deeply consider your options. It's what you think you want until you get it, and let me tell you why. When you get out, which is not your whole journey, (you still have post doc work to do), there is not a plethora of opportunities. Again, it's not just the WI- the value of the education is vastly overpriced. If you don't get a job at Kaiser, you will be swallowed by them. Private practice, and the prices you will need to pay back your loan, CEUs, and live in this area, are virtually (figuratively and literally) a thing of the past. It is not possible to compete with the low rates a therapist from Kaiser charges, and the unethical practices (group therapy for individual presenting problems, HIPPA legally thrown out the window, etc) they get away with. Apps like Better Help will have you making just above what a Door Dasher makes as they saturate the field with the most minimum license above dog catcher to populate their therapist offerings. Because of the ethics of the field, you cannot effectively advertise, and getting clients from senior psychologists comes at the price of a referral fee. You're coming into a field that sees us as pawns. I don't agree with other reviews about it being white- centric. When I went applications to internships on them said "People of color STRONGLY encouraged to apply." Mm hm. If you cannot find whatever solace you need dead-center in the most liberal city in the most liberal field in the nation/world, may I recommend applying instead to a kindergarten program. I had some beautiful kind souls that taught me here, and one or two who were not a good fit. But some glaring gaps- it never taught me the DSM, and it didn't prepare me for licensure. I passed, but that was all on me; perhaps that is the final test to see if you are ready, but I would have preferred a smoother bridge to licensure. Please learn from my mistake: I was once you.