Meet the Austin Elite Prep team, committed to your best learning experience and education goals.
Dr. Ajay Amar, founder of Austin Elite Prep, holds a doctorate from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from MIT's Sloan School of Management.
Dr. Amar brings in-depth knowledge and experience from the business world as well as academia. He is best known for leading his organizations with strategic thinking and analytical thinking. A veteran of the semiconductor industry, Dr. Amar went on to establish Austin Elite Prep for GRE preparation, Austin GMAT Review, and Austin LSAT Prep, the leading test preparation firms in Central Texas. Dr. Amar credits his education for his success in business and management.
Dr. Amar has a long-time commitment to academic excellence. In his early years at the University of California, he worked as teaching assistant to Owen Chamerlain, a renowned Nobel Laureate, and won Berkeley's prestigious Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor award.
A published researcher, Dr. Amar has taught and mentored students who have gone on to business schools and other graduate programs. His abiding belief in the value of a high-quality education is the foundation of our company.
The quintessential Austinite who has rarely missed an Austin City Limits festival, David Lyon holds bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering from MIT.
In addition to leading our GRE classes at Austin Elite Prep, David holds strong philanthropic interests. David's community work includes his current involvement as the principal of Big Picture Social Impact Consulting, and a seat on the advisory board for Tomberg Family Philanthropies, which works on issues such as education, health, and poverty. In the past, he was managing director of fundraising for a non-profit organization for at-risk youth.
David brings his talent for test-taking and his passion for teaching to the GRE classes that he leads in Austin and Monterrey, Mexico, where he teaches our Verbal Immersion Course. David also teaches GMAT preparation classes for Austin GMAT Review.
Elaine Conces, the VP of Graduate Programs, has been with Austin Elite Prep from its inception, collecting a wealth of knowledge about graduate programs and their admissions policies along the way. Originally the head of marketing, she began helping our students with the application process in 2010. Since then, she has assisted numerous students in gaining admission to a range of schools, primarily MS, MBA, MPA, and JD programs, including all of the Top 25 ranked schools in the U.S., all of the top ranked Texas business schools, and top schools in Canada and Europe.
Elaine brings an extensive editorial background to her work with our students. She has published research on consumer markets; led teams of professional writers in their coverage of business and technology topics at D&B Hoovers and semiconductor firms; and managed the content programs for multinational corporate websites. However, she believes her unique talent lies in how she successfully guides our students to tell their best stories through compelling written essays.
