Live Appearances, Including My Signature College Quest Events
With Marianne Williamson (Best Selling Author, Speaker) and Dr. Jill Stein (Presidential Candidate) at the Free & Equal Event. Los Angeles CA, May 2014
At the end of the day, I am a mom – a parent like so many others who truly cares about students. As the college admissions process continues to be redefined year after year, I’ve committed myself to stand in the gap between parents and the ever-shifting winds of change to be sure their sons and daughters don’t miss out on achieving their true potential. Is it charisma and positive thinking that gets certain students into the best colleges in the US? Simple GPA and test score excellence? Luck? Experience has taught me it takes more than any of those to truly differentiate one student over another.
At a civic event answering parents’ questions about how to help their teens maximize acceptance letters through the way they support them in the college admissions process. Woodland Hills CA, November 2013.
With over three decades of professional speaking, and most importantly, in-the-trenches expertise as a teacher, college/career counselor, and mother of three, I offer what some parents and media members have called a radically unique perspective. I assert that launching teens to successful futures requires deliberate planning in order for them to live by design, not by default.
Shooting informational video trainings in Brisbane Queensland Australia, June 20
Back in the day, I graduated Columbia University summa cum laude with degrees in Literature, Writing, and Secondary Education. I’m pleased to be a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and a state-certified teacher on both coasts. I’ve built both of my educational services companies, Valley Prep Tutoring and GATE College System, by hiring only the best and brightest educators in the field today.
Imagine how thrilled I was to learn I had a #1 bestseller on Amazon with SWAT Team Tactics for Getting Your Teen Into College. When my second book 4 Keys to College Admissions Success was published by Morgan James Publishers in New York, it was made available in all major bookstores and has continued to receive consistent five star reviews on Amazon.
And yes, the rumors are true…prior to becoming an educator, I was an actress on soap operas for five years, playing central characters on ABC soap operas (All My Children, One Life to Live) throughout the early and mid 80s. Although those were fun years in many ways, I share openly that for me I was happy to trade the “fool’s gold” of fame and fortune for the genuine value of a purpose-driven life that includes mentoring teens.
