Our Founder

In 2010, at the age of 11, Nicholas Brehl discovered his passion for education when he helped a middle school friend pass all his tests through tutoring. This experience sparked a lifelong interest in teaching and problem-solving, but also highlighted the shortcomings of the traditional education system. Nicholas became increasingly frustrated with the lack of emphasis on reason and logic in classrooms, where students were often burdened by arbitrary requirements—such as reading a set number of books per year or completing a specific number of pages nightly—rather than engaging in meaningful, purpose-driven learning. These practices drained the joy from education and left many students without the tools they needed to succeed.

In 2015, after failing calculus for the second time, Nicholas reluctantly decided to abandon his dream of becoming an astrobiologist and chose to major in Political Science instead. Though this shift initially felt like a setback, Nicholas found great joy in studying political science, which offered a fresh perspective on his passion for math and science. Both disciplines demand rigorous logic and reason, and political science deepened his understanding of these foundational skills, ultimately making him a more analytical and logical thinker. This interdisciplinary perspective became a key element of his approach to teaching and learning.

While things ultimately turned out for the better, Nicholas was left with a profound disappointment in how the education system had failed to connect subjects in meaningful ways, leaving students to view disciplines like math, science, and humanities as isolated silos rather than interconnected tools for understanding the world. This disconnect not only discouraged curiosity but also left students ill-equipped to approach challenges with a holistic and reasoned mindset.

After teaching history for a year, Nicholas rediscovered his passion for mathematics and decided to transition into teaching the discipline at Success Academy Charter Schools. During his tenure as a math teacher, he experienced a transformative moment at a seminar. A speaker from the curriculum design team declared that “everyone is a math person,” explaining that most people struggle with math because it is often taught in ways that fail to reflect its foundation in reason and logic. Inspired by this revelation, Nicholas became determined to challenge these systemic flaws. In the classroom, he emphasized reasoning and logic, witnessing how this approach not only helped students master math but also unlocked their potential across all areas of learning. This experience motivated him to take his efforts even further.

Concurrently, Nicholas also became dissatisfied with the state of the “tutoring” industry, witnessing many centers that charged premium rates for one-on-one instruction but failed to deliver on this commitment by either consolidating students into groups or doing the work for them without teaching the students to do it independently. Drawing from his own experiences, interdisciplinary education, and his love for teaching, Nicholas founded Reason Rise Learning, Inc., with a mission to empower students to overcome the barriers that once held him back and to help them achieve their dreams sooner. His goal is to show students that the very challenges they believe are impossible can be conquered through a balanced approach that combines logic, reason, and joy.

Today, as the CEO of Reason Rise Learning, Inc., Nicholas Brehl is dedicated to expanding financial aid and ensuring that the company’s world-class tutoring services are accessible to students of all backgrounds. By fostering personalized, meaningful learning experiences, Reason Rise seeks to transform education and ensure that every student has the tools and opportunities necessary to succeed.

Charity and Political Activism

At Reason Rise Learning, our mission is to fulfill every child's dream of learning and discovering purpose in life by providing world-class, one-to-one instruction. Our current top priority is increasing the affordability of these services so that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds can access them. To achieve this, Reason Rise is scaling up operations to boost revenue and cut costs while maintaining competitive salaries for educators and delivering exceptional service to clients. Each month, we reinvest an increasing percentage of profits back into the business to subsidize lower rates for families with limited income. This approach not only creates more equitable access to high-quality education but also builds a stronger customer base for the future. By empowering students from lower-income families to thrive, we aim to create a cycle of success—where these students grow into medium- to high-income earners who can provide the same opportunities for their own children, ensuring long-term growth and sustainability.

Beyond our commitment to education, Reason Rise also donates to numerous charitable causes. We contribute some of our profits to City Harvest, an organization fighting food insecurity by providing nutritious meals to families in New York City. Additionally, we also donate to No Kid Hungry, a nonprofit that supports school lunch and breakfast programs, eliminates school lunch debt, and ensures that students in low-income families have access to essential nutrition. At Reason Rise, we firmly believe that education starts with the fuel we put into our bodies and minds. By supporting access to nutritious food, we aim to ensure that more children can focus on learning and achieving their full potential.

Reason Rise is also committed to political activism, working to address systemic barriers to education through advocacy. We actively petition government officials to adopt policies that advance learning opportunities, including:

• Mandating equal transportation for charter school students to ensure they receive the same bussing services provided to public school students.

• Reducing class sizes to improve individualized attention and learning outcomes.

• Increasing funding for school lunch and breakfast programs nationwide to ensure no child starts their school day hungry or goes without essential meals during the day.

• Redirecting farm subsidies from unhealthy commodity crops like corn and soybeans to support the production of nutrient-rich foods such as pasture-raised meats and dairy products, fruits, and vegetables.

By addressing the root causes of inequality in education and nutrition, Reason Rise is committed to building a brighter, healthier future for every child.