I grew up in Southern California, a short walk from the beach, mostly public school educated, with a childhood that was as carefree as the era and the locale allowed. I had zero college counseling… in fact, I'm not sure I even knew I had a school counselor?! So when it came time to choose a college, I did what any resourceful teenager would do: I went to the local library and worked my way through a book of colleges, alphabetically.

I was a January admit at “B”: Bates College in Maine, which I never actually attended, because the summer after Palisades High’s graduation, I enrolled in UCLA summer school, where my professor happened to be the coach of their top nationally-ranked Debate Team. He saw something in me I hadn't seen in myself, and asked if I'd like to stay at UCLA and be a part of the team. To be clear, I'd never been on a debate team in my life. But I said yes. Looking back, I realize that recognizing talents and potential are two of the greatest gifts a mentor can give a young person.

I soared as a member of the Debate Team and I loved every minute of my time at UCLA, but I always wanted that quintessential “East Coast college experience”. So I went back to the book of colleges a second time, found my way to “C”, and transferred to Colgate University in rural New York. (Spoiler: I visited on a spring day when everyone was hanging out in the quad. For the next three years, I got that “quintessential East Coast weather” I’d only dreamt about.)

During and after college, my career took me from the White House to investment banking, brand management, nonprofit leadership, and creating one of Forbes' Top 10 Parenting Websites. Looking back, each role taught me something I rely on today: how to carefully listen and compellingly write, how to understand an audience, and how to uncover and share the stories worth telling.

I met my husband at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, where I earned my MBA in Marketing and Strategy. We settled in Fairfield County, CT, and raised two (awesome) children.

When my children were older, I began volunteering as a Pro Bono College Coach at Future 5, a Stamford, CT-based organization that helps local students access higher education, while I was pursuing my post-bacc Certificate in College Counseling at UCLA. That experience inspired me to move to the other side of the admissions desk, where I spent seven years reading applications at some of the country's most selective institutions, developing a deep understanding of how admissions decisions are made.

Once my kids were both successfully launched and the house was very quiet, Ridgeline College Consulting was formed. And here I am, having so much fun sharing my first-hand admissions knowledge while mentoring teens and their families through their college admissions journeys.