I had to ponder this question for a while since we are all very complicated, multi-dimensional individuals with a variety of interests. But if I had to boil it down, I would say that at the heart of who I am is someone who is passionate about education, enjoys working with people from all over the world, and relishes using my psychology background to help my clients gain more self awareness to empower them to achieve their dreams.

I studied Psychology in college and graduate school and while working on my Ph.D., I came to the realization that I didn't want to become a professor. Yet, I wanted to do something that still allowed me to be connected to education. So after completing my master's degree I took a job at Carnegie Mellon University advising students on academic and adjustment issues. I loved my job. The shift to the Admissions world occurred after doing some recruitment events for Carnegie Mellon undergraduate admissions office. I felt at home “selling” education and advising applicants about college opportunities. Shortly after, I served as the Director of Admissions at Carnegie Mellon School of Public Policy and Management followed by a two-year stint on the Admissions Board at Harvard Business School. These two experiences coupled with being married to a serial entrepreneur paved the way for me to create EXPARTUS, an admissions consulting company that uses personal branding and coaching approach to empower applicants to pursue their educational goals.

I wrote this book because of two main reasons. First, I have heard many prospective students express frustration about deciphering admissions myths from reality. By writing this book, my goal was to dispel many of the misconceptions that shadow the application process and create transparency for applicants. Second, at EXPARTUS, we choose to take on a limited number of clients each year and I wanted to use this book to reach a broad audience and share the admissions insights I had gained from 10 years in the industry.

I am a full time entrepreneur and mom! Running EXPARTUS is a time intensive process but extremely rewarding as well. I enjoy working with clients from over 30 countries and counting. Because I am international, I have a strong affinity for the unique challenges international applicants confront in the competitive application process. I am also a wife and mom and it has been great fun seeing the world from the point of view of a twenty month old little guy. Finally, my faith is very important in my life and shapes a lot of my altruistic and community involvement.