Learn about Dr. P. her appearance on “Greek University.”
Dr P with WC Mepham student Lorrayne Carter (left) in 1999
Dominique Padurano, or Dr. P. as we affectionately call her, founded Crimson Coaching to help all students fulfill their potential.
“I’ve loved teaching since I was six years old. My first-grade teacher didn’t know what to do with me when I finished all of my lessons early, so she asked me to teach my classmate to read — which I did!
My sister and me outside Eliot House on Memorial Drive, 1991
“Other kids started asking for my help with homework on the school bus, and as a high school student, I’d tutor my younger sister and her friends. Although the high school I attended had sent only one other student to Harvard before me, I applied in the fall of 1988 and got in! When I got to Harvard, I started SAT tutoring to pay for books (and mocha coffee with my best friend at the now defunct, forever beloved Café Pamplona).
“But, after I graduated from Harvard with high honors, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I tried law, banking, and even photojournalism, but it wasn’t until I stepped in front of a classroom that I realized why I was put on this earth! I quickly got certified to teach Social Studies, Spanish, Elementary and Art, and taught on Long Island (Great Neck North HS, Mepham HS) for three years.
Commencement 1993 (Dunster House Masters Karel and Hetty Liem — the best!) behind me
“In 2000, I went back to school and after earning my doctorate in History from Rutgers, I taught at Horace Mann School and Scarsdale HS in New York. However, I never stopped tutoring students that entire time. So when I wanted to try my hand at owning and operating a small business, there was no question at what I’d do!
“Since opening Crimson Coaching in 2014, I’ve been blessed with scores of students hailing from 14 states (including Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Washington) and a dozen countries (Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, India, Israel, Kuwait, Mozambique, Russia, South Africa, Spain, and the UK). I love helping all these diverse students achieve their dreams!
I also keep active in classrooms by delivering a variety of public library programs and teaching college. From 2015 to 2024, I taught U.S. History in-person and online part-time for the City University of New York. Prior to that, I’d taught American Studies, immigration history, and Social Studies methods courses at Rutgers, the College of Mount St. Vincent, and the University of Texas - El Paso. Since the fall of 2024, I’ve been teaching a variety of history and American Studies courses for the State University of New York (SUNY).
When I’m not tutoring or teaching, I love swimming and shell hunting in the Long Island Sound, the Great South Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. I also adore spending time with friends and family, especially my smart and spunky nieces, Milania, Gigi, and Olivia.
Dr P chatted with Alysia Lyons of “Imperfect Mommying” about how to help all kids thrive. Click on the image above to watch and listen!
