Team | Brightside

Our Team

We help students who are affected by ADHD and executive functioning difficulties achieve academic and personal success by providing evidence-based strategies, advocacy, cheerleading, and support from the heart. We provide more than just coaching — we change lives :

We go above and beyond.
We are change-makers and cheerleaders.
We go beyond listening--- we hear from the heart.
We seamlessly integrate intuition and action.
We follow through and get it done.
We believe that success is fluid and can be achieved by everyone.
We believe in fairness, honesty and accountability.

Our Academic Coaches have rich and varied backgrounds in fields, such as education and psychology. After navigating our highly selective hiring process and successfully completing our specially designed training course, our team holds extensive knowledge about coaching, executive functions, ADHD, learning disabilities, and building important and impactful relationships with students and families.

Meet Our Founder & CEO

I am a Student Success Specialist and the Founder of Brightside Learning. I hold a B.A from Concordia University, a B.Ed. from the University of Ottawa, and a Certificate in ADHD Coaching for teens and college students. Over the past 15+ years, I have put my heart and soul into helping students and families affected by ADHD, executive functioning difficulties and learning disabilities, build academic and executive function skills, develop self-confidence, manage anxiety, and become active and engaged in their own learning and lives through personalized coaching sessions.

There is absolutely nothing like the feeling of knowing you have helped impact and positively influence the life of a student, it's one of the most rewarding and heartfelt feelings I've ever known. The student success I have personally witnessed has been life-changing, not just for the students and families, but for me as well. I've been told that I have a special gift when working with students and that's why I created Brightside Learning, with its own specialized coach training program, so that more students and families could be reached and supported!

I believe that supporting student development and success encompasses a personalized heartfelt approach. With foundations rooted in attachment theory, emotion coaching and executive skills coaching, best practices for supporting students to achieve success are attained by combining skill-building in executive function development, critical thinking and doing, emotional intelligence, academic strategy and becoming active and engaged participants in their own lives. Brightside has been a labour of love and I am so proud to be able to continue to help make real change in the lives of students and families!

Meet Our Team

Abiraam Samithamby

Abiraam (Abi) is a Specialized Tutor at Brightside. He is a recent graduate from the Honours Psychology (B.A.) program at Concordia University. He has more than five years of experience working as a math and English tutor and is passionate about guiding students and seeing their eyes light up when they understand a new concept! He believes that every student has unique strengths waiting to be discovered, developed, and celebrated. With his support, he hopes to assist students in recognizing and growing those strengths so they can confidently strive towards reaching their full potential!

Angie Gjika

Angie is an Specialized Tutor at Brightside. She is in her final year at McGill University majoring in International Development Studies and Sociology. ith a keen understanding of global issues and a commitment to fostering learning, Angie brings a unique perspective to her tutoring, helping students not only excel academically but also develop a broader understanding of the world around them!

Antoine Cammalleri

Antoine is a Coach at Brightside. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English Literature, from Concordia University and is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Teaching and Learning at McGill University. Antoine is beginning his journey as a high school teacher and has worked as a sailing coach and instructor for over 5 years, helping youth of all ages achieve their sport and personal goals. Antoine is passionate about learning, creating, and connecting. He loves to work closely with students and equip them with the best tools possible so they can succeed in school and in life.

Christina Puliatti

Christina is a Coach at Brightside. She holds a B.Ed. from McGill University and has extensive experience in the field of education. She has been working with students with executive functioning difficulties, ADHD, learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, and those struggling with self-confidence, for more than 10 years. A former classroom teacher, Christina began her career in the public school system, where she recognized that many students were in need of individualized support to build crucial skills for personal and academic success; something that is often not addressed in the classroom. Through coaching, Christina aims to deliver comprehensive support through the development and implementation of strategies that enable students to understand, develop and identify their own strengths so that they can unlock their full potential.

Laura Bondi

Laura is the Administrator at Brightside. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Concordia University and has worked for numerous years in the financial services industry. Her extensive background in customer service allows her to efficiently anticipate and respond to the varying needs of the clients she worked with and to ensure that all Brightside's students and families are well taken care of!

Liam Spears

Liam is a Coach at Brighside. He holds a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Psychology, from McGill University and is currently pursuing a BFA Honours in Screenwriting at York University. He has many years of experience working with children, teenagers, and young adults with learning disabilities and neurodivergence. He also has experience coordinating camp programs and coaching youth basketball. When working with students, Liam places a strong focus on providing exactly the right amount of support so that they can reach the next level as independently as possible!

Madelynn Hunt

Madelynn is a Coach at Brightside. She is originally from BC but has been living in Montreal for the last five years. She recently finished her undergraduate degree at McGill University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts with a major in Honours History, and a minor in English Literature and Indigenous Studies. Currently, she is enrolled in the Masters of Education, program at McGill. She has always loved working with kids and is extremely passionate about the work she is doing at Brightside!

Melissa St. Onge

Melissa is a Coach at Brightside. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University, and is currently pursuing a second degree in psychology. She has more than 13 years of experience working in the fields of education and health, and loves supporting students to better understand the concepts they are learning at school. Melissa is also passionate about finding tools and techniques that work best for each individual student and helping them apply these into their academic and everyday lives!