OPENBOOK
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO
Young people are much more than just students. And, at OpenBook, we are much more than just teachers. We're animal lovers, outdoor enthusiasts, and world travelers, Baby Boomers and Millennials. We're parents, poets, gardeners, friends, and supporters of freedom, equality, and creativity. We're writers, mentors, and entrepreneurs, sports fans, book worms, and foodies.
We are small, yet diverse, group of highly talented instructors who teach what we know and love, and love and know what we teach.
Together, our team has over 30 years of teaching experience and is passionate about inspiring young minds and creating a more thoughtful world. In that sense, we are still students ourselves and are motivated daily by the fresh perspectives of our inquisitive classmates. We also have decades of professional experience in business, media, and sports entertainment and have been there, and yes, done that. Literally. OpenBook Academics is dedicated to providing world-class academic instruction and customer service and has been servicing Northern Virginia students and their families since 2004.
We also are proud of our ongoing commitment to helping those students with financial needs in our community. A portion of every paid hour is donated to our Student Assistance Fund that awards free tutoring, test prep and college admissions aid to those in need.
"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." -- Einstein
LEADERSHIP
SHAWN SELL
After a distinguished 25-year career at USA TODAY newspaper as a reporter, editor and columnist, Shawn has become one of Northern Virginia's premier English experts, specializing in college admissions, SAT/ACT test prep, AP and academic writing, literature, history, psychology, sociology and philosophy.
After founding two previous and successful tutoring companies, including Loudoun Test Prep, she has returned to her original vision that is OpenBook Academics.
Shawn graduated from the University of Illinois' College of Communications with a BA in English and a minor in journalism. Before USA TODAY, where she served as the editor for features, books, celebrities, and home and garden, she worked as a features writer and editor at Gannett newspapers in Illinois and Florida.
SEBASTIAN SARACENO
Throughout the last decade, Seb has successfully collaborated with students and professionals from across the country on a variety of projects ranging from English SAT and ACT test preparation to ghostwriting, authorship and professional editing, including the best-selling baseball memoir The Big Chair: The Smooth Hops and Bad Bounces from the Inside World of the Acclaimed Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager (Penguin Random House). At OpenBook, he specializes in reading and writing, grammar, literature, poetry, college consulting and career-planning.
A native Virginian and the son of two renowned journalists, Seb grew up in Loudoun County and attended Stone Bridge High School. In 2010, he earned a BA in print journalism and an English minor from Penn State University. During his four years in State College, he served the Nittany Lions' baseball team as a bullpen catcher, volunteer assistant coach, radio color analyst and director of baseball operations before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers' baseball operations department upon graduation.