Tags
College selection Application guidance Essay review Test prep Graduate school advising Learning Differences ADHD Executive Skills Gifted Aspergers Learning Disabilities Anxiety Academics Law School Individualized attention Interview for College OCD Learning Strategies Study Skills Writing instruction Grammar Reading Comprehension English skills Listening and Note Taking Time Management SMART Goals
Biography
My passion is teaching and helping individuals successfully navigate through their educational experiences. I am a certified/licensed teacher and learning specialist with a concentration in learning differences. After teaching eight years in a classroom in a suburban school near Chicago, my husband and I started our family. Currently, our three adult sons have advanced education/degrees in physics, business, and law. In addition to classroom teaching and private practice, I also worked as a learning specialist for a school district helping individual students become more academically focused and confident. My holistic approach to coaching students includes assessing academic and personal strengths. For college planning, I interview students and parents to learn preferences and interests. Then I help with the college search, essay assistance, interviewing skills, executive skills training, test prep, academic instruction, guidance, and support through the admissions process as needed.
As an experienced educator, I have successfully taught students academics and study/executive skills for over twenty-five years in the classroom and in private practice. Utilizing knowledge of executive functions, I work with students throughout the Chicagoland area to develop their time management, planning, organization, and efficiency. In addition to speaking on executive skills, I have written for a national college newsletter on executive skills for high school and college students. I am certified to teach over a dozen University of Kansas Learning Strategies Curriculums enabling me to expertly approach English and writing skills as part of the individualized college essay guidance and test prep.
For the past nineteen years, I successfully worked with students for college placement in schools across the U.S.A. I participated in a Summer Training Institute at Swarthmore College for college consultants in 2012. For ten years, I volunteered in the college guidance department of the local high school serving as a liaison between admissions officers and students. Additional volunteering involved more than twenty years on the executive board and as president of a cancer service organization raising money for children and families dealing with catastrophic illnesses. Other board positions have included professional organizations, schools, and a theater in my community.
To keep current, I attend three or more conferences annually for college consulting and other educational topics, and I tour college campuses throughout the year. I increase my knowledge by meeting with admissions officers, listening to webinars, and partaking in discussions with other consultants online and in person. As a past proctor and supervisor for ACT, SAT, and AP testing at a local high school, I gained insights to the testing process students undergo, which helps my instruction as a test prep tutor.
I love working with students of various abilities; I have a masters degree in special education including specialties of gifted, learning differences, ADHD, OCD, Aspergers, and anxiety issues. I strive to help students discover their passions, interests, and confidence with a patient, enthusiastic methodology. By combining knowledge and working as a team with parents, I guide students to find the best college fit for undergraduate and graduate programs. I love my work!
Experience
President and Founder
College Comprehensive Consulting LLC
January - January
* Classroom Teacher (eight years)
* School Learning Specialist/LD teacher (two and a half years)
* Private Practice Tutor, Independent Educational Consultant, College Admissions Consultant (twenty years)
* Professional Member of Education Organizations IECA, HECA, IACAC, PLD/SE, CHADD, LDA
* Attend three to five Education and College Conferences each year
* Visit over twenty-five campuses each year
* Test Prep Consultant (ten years)
* Executive Functions Coach (twenty years), Presenter on Executive Skills, and IECA Article on Executive Skills in 2016
* Learning Strategies Curriculums- Trained to teach over a dozen University of Kansas curriculums to students on topics such as test taking, writing sentences, paragraphs, and essays, and notetaking/listening.
* Supervisor and Proctor at a local high school for ACT, SAT, and AP tests
*Liaison between high school students and college admissions representatives at local high school college representative visits, Volunteer for ten years to assist in the college guidance department to assist the secretary
Education
University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana
Bachelor's Degree
I graduated Summa Cum Laude, with highest honors, majoring and minoring in Education. I student taught in classrooms as a freshman and continued with classroom experience all four years. As a junior, I studied abroad for one semester near Bristol, England.
For one month, I student taught in the celebrated Sea Mills Infant School to observe and learn about open classrooms.
Northeastern Illinois University
Master's Degree
I earned my Master's Degree in Special Education with a concentration in Learning Disabilities with a 4.0/4.0 GPA. I volunteered in an after school clinic for one school year to gain experience while teaching full time during the days.
Swarthmore College
2012
To further my skills as a college consultant, I attended an IECA Summer Institute Training program at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania.
Other
Publications
President and Founder
IECA - Independent Educational Consultants Association
October 2016
I wrote an article about students transitioning to college and important executive skills needed to be successful.
Certifications
Secondary Education
Illinois State Board of Education
Learning Behavior Specialist
Illinois State Board of Education
Learning Disabilities Specialist
Illinois State Board of Education
Elementary Education
Illinois State Board of Education
Courses
Rush NeuroBehavioral Center Executive Functions Learning Management System
Rush University Medical Center, Skokie, Illinois
Workshop with Dr. Peg Dawson, Author of Smart, But Scattered
Rush University Medical Center, Skokie, Illinois
ADHD Conference with speaker Dr. Thomas Brown, author of Smart, but Stuck
Yale Clinic for Attention and Related Disorders
The Organized Student
Swarthmore Summer Institute for Independent Educational Consultants
Independent Educational Consultants Association(IECA)
Learning Strategies Curriculums
University of Kansas
Volunteer
President and Executive Board Member
For All The Children (Children)
January 1986 - January 2006
For three years, I served as President of United Order True Sisters/For All The Children, a nonprofit organization raising money for children with cancer and other catastrophic illnesses, hospice grief group programs, cancer wellness, patient support, and hospital playrooms for children. For over two decades, I raised funds as part of the executive board as Treasurer and cochair of Programs, Philanthropy, Social Activities, and Auctions. We supported One Step At A Time Camp and ski retreats for children with cancer. I thoroughly enjoyed helping children and their families!
Co-chair of Educational Therapists
Professionals in Learning Disabilities and Special Education (PLD/SE) (Education)
January 1986 - present
I have helped match students with learning differences to Educational Therapists for academic remediation and enrichment. I served twice as Educational Therapist Co-chair for about ten years, and I have been a member of PLD/SE for thirty years.
Volunteer for grammar school, middle school, and high school
PTO Board member (Children)
January 1989 - January 2011
I volunteered as Book Fair chair, serving hot lunches, and working on fundraising activities. In high school, I volunteered for ten years in the college guidance department helping the secretary and as a liaison between admissions representatives and students. I helped with the college fairs during that time as well.
Paint, Install Windows, Operate Power Saw, Teach, Assist Community Members
Habitat for Humanity and Native American Reservation Volunteer (Disaster and Humanitarian Relief)
January - January
After Hurricane Katrina, I joined other volunteers to rebuild homes in New Orleans as part of Habitat for Humanity. I also spent a week on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota helping to renovate a community center, teach summer school, paint buildings, and work in a food pantry.
Founding Board Member for Professional Theater
Oil Lamp Theater (Arts and Culture)
January - January
I served as Vice President along with my husband who was President of The Oil Lamp Theater in Glenview Illinois in its inaugural year bringing in audience members, fundraising, and enthusiastically supporting this new cultural addition in the suburbs.
