Happy Mother's Day to everyone who celebrates it! This week's episode features Melissa James, a Managing Director and Vice Chairman of Global Capital Markets at Morgan Stanley. She is a mother of three boys and is recognized as one of the most powerful women on Wall Street. Melissa's perspective on redefining success is invaluable, as she is always analyzing and sharing practical advice.

Well-informed and compassionate are only words to describe the way Yetunde Daniels-Rubinstein moves within the world. As a seasoned college counselor and mother of teenage daughters, she knows what it takes to approach the college process with ambition and grace. 

A Bucknell University grad, she’s a former college athlete, independent school educator, college counseling instructor for aspiring counselors and a respected and necessary leader within the Private School Village community, Yetunde honors our podcast by sharing valuable insights that are wise and thought-provoking. More than anything, her voice and knowledge is what we all need right now as we try to make sense of this year’s college admissions cycle. 

Please listen and thank us later. 

From our March 2024 SXSW presentation, Redefining Success in a Changing Higher Education Landscape we’re thrilled to share this recording. It’s the story of the birth of our book, The Black Family's Guide to College Admissions: A Conversation about Education, Parenting, and Race, and the mission we’re committed to leading in evolving college admissions landscape.

Our mission is to close the information gap and support students and families as they prepare for the college admissions process. Sometimes our own resources do not address the needs of everyone, hence why we need help. Since we cannot do this alone, and we’re grateful for educators and allies like disabilities and accommodations expert, Elizabeth Hamblet.  

Wondering what happens for students with IEPs or 504 plans at college? Elizabeth offers information for parents and students to learn all about the college accommodations system and how disabilities are handled in the admissions process. She used to be a high school special education teacher and saw the lack of preparation students had for the transition to college. They were unaware of how the system for accommodations changed and for what accommodations weren’t available. A modern day champion for those in need, she authored a book and became a speaker and consultant. The 3rd edition of her book, Seven Steps to College Success: A Pathway for Students with Disabilities, is a regularly used resource that we are honored to endorse. 

As a guest on our podcast, we know that the information she shares is timely and critical. Listen and learn!

It’s that time of year again! It’s our 3rd annual Junior Year To Do episode! We are honored to have counselor extraordinaire, Keeon Gregory, share his insights from 30 years in the college admissions profession. We talk about testing, visits, parent and student expectations, essays and all things you need to know. Folks, this is what an excellent and experienced school counselor looks like.

A passionate, resourceful and innovative leader, Keeon

Keeon is a first and foremost a father. Thankfully, he has the expertise to navigate this process with his own children and many others. His students and their parents’ ultimate happiness is his aim and highest testimony. Get ready to learn what juniors need to be doing now to win.

College access is a popular trope these days. Some organizations mean and do well and others just exist. One of the standout community-based organizations is AKcess Granted, LLC, led by Founder Kissena Frazier, MSW. With over a decade of experience in the field of social work in many capacities, she is a higher-ed professional, first-gen grad and parent. Kissena recognized that students of historically marginalized communities have limited resources as it pertains to

Given her vast and genuine experiences of serving and making an impact, we needed to have Kissena on Application to Admission. She is one of many great Black educators we are honored to have in our orbit. Listen and learn!

This is what educational leadership looks like. As a fourth-generation educator and DEIJ practitioner and strategist, Danica Tisdale Fisher is fascinating. With over 15 years of experience in the development and oversight of academic programs, policies, and initiatives in higher education and independent schools, she currently serve as Dean of Inclusion and Belonging at St. Andrew's School in Delaware.

After earning a B.A. from Spelman, a M.A. from Temple, a Ph.D. in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from Emory, she is an educational powerhouse. Her interdisciplinary work includes extensive study of African American literature, feminist theories, and popular cultural studies. 

Isn’t that enough?!!! No. Dr. Fisher is the daughter of the former president of Claflin University (SC), a past participant in the Miss America Program and the first African American woman to win the Miss Georgia Pageant in 2004. We had the pleasure of interviewing this extraordinary wife, mother, member of AKA, The Links and Jack and Jill (whew!!!) who shared her perspective on education, parenting and race. Listen and love. ❤️

Organizations rise and fall on the strength of leadership.  Fortunate for the school counselors, college admissions professionals and other educators affiliated with the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), we have Dr. Angel Perez. 

His story is too extraordinary to capture in a podcast bio. Just know that he has been a supernova in our industry for 25+ years. As the current CEO of NACAC, he has earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues while simultaneously being an active advocate for college access when engaging with government officials. Versatile and visionary, Angel is everything that college admissions needs now. 

Spending time with Angel is like being with a wise, old griot and innovative, intellectual hipster. He meets us all where we are and this episode is a master class in the state of college admission 2024. Listen and learn. 

Parenting website juggernaut Grown and Flown is a household name. With almost 300K dedicated parents in their private Facebook group and over 700K instagram followers, founders Lisa Heffernan and Mary Dell Harrington have created a community for parents where vulnerability and veracity reign. Add their commitment to having college admissions veterans

Lisa was generous to offer her time and simply talk. Sharing reflections from her own educational experiences to how she navigated the process with her own children to what’s happening in college admissions now, this is a rich, must-hear conversation. From one company making an impact to another, we are appreciative of her heart, mind and time. Enjoy!!