About

I have enjoyed a rich and varied 40+ year career as a high school counselor, an independent educational consultant, and a university administrator and adjunct professor. For 25 of these years, I have maintained a practice in college, graduate and professional school, and career planning.

While I loved the time I spent as a high school guidance counselor (except for the part where I had to get up at 5:30 a.m. to get to school on time), what differentiates me from other educational consultants working in college and graduate school planning is my considerable experience in higher education. Specific positions held include dean for academic and student affairs, director of admissions, university disabilities officer, residence life and student affairs administrator, and counselor. In addition, I have taught in the graduate program in Higher Education Administration at the University of Washington.

The following are my areas of professional expertise that inform my work as a college, graduate school, and career consultant:

  • Understanding deeply the diverse landscape of higher education and the campus cultures and climates of colleges and universities;

  • Understanding from the inside each of the factors that enter into the admissions evaluation processes in a variety of colleges, universities, and graduate programs;

  • Guiding students and their parents and guardians to identify best fit schools and to apply to a reasonable number and range;

  • Eliciting from students their hopes and dreams, helping them to conquer their doubts and fears, and enabling them to present their authentic selves in their college and graduate school applications;

  • Helping capable students with medical, mental health, or learning disabilities to successfully navigate the process for obtaining appropriate accommodations from the college, university, or graduate school they choose to attend;

  • Communicating to parents and guardians the life skills and competencies that their children will need to be successfully “launched”;

  • Working with high school and college students to help them plan and manage their academics, extracurricular activities, and jobs, as well as creative and inexpensive summer and gap year experiences.


Here is my personal educational background:

  • A.B. Vassar College

  • M.Ed. The University at Buffalo, The State University of New York – specialization: school and college counseling and student affairs

  • Ph.D. New York University – Higher Education Administration – specialization: late adolescent and emerging adult development

  • Permanent Certificate in School Counseling, State of New York


My own children graduated from the University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, the University of Rochester, the University of Puget Sound and Stanford University.