Meet our Counselor Advisory Board

Name: Mark Rasic (he/him/his)

Title: Director of College Counseling

School: Polytechnic School

City & State: Pasadena, CA

Biography: Mark has spent his entire career in education as a teacher and an admission officer, and now as a college counselor and dean at Polytechnic School. He began his career as a middle school teacher at Our Lady of Talpa School in Los Angeles and spent four years as an English teacher at Providence High School in Burbank. After teaching, Mark worked 12 years in college admission, the last seven at USC. He earned his bachelor’s degree in English literature from USC and his master’s degree in rhetoric and composition studies from California State University, Los Angeles.

Name: Vivian Gonzalez (she/her/hers)

Title: College Placement Advisor

School: Academia Maria Reina

City & State: San Juan, PR

Biography: Vivian has been helping high school students with their post graduation plans since 1994.  Her first professional job was with a CBO that provided academic counseling services to underrepresented students in North Philadelphia. Upon completing her M.A. in Clinical Counseling Psychology in 1998, she moved with her husband to Puerto Rico where she has been joyously working as a College Placement Advisor ever since.

Name: Crys Latham (she/her/hers)

Title: Founding Director of College Counseling

School: Washington Latin Public Charter School

City & State: Washington, D.C.

Biography: Crys is the founding Director of College Counseling at Washington Latin Public Charter School in Washington, D.C., where she is starting her 11th year, teaches Financial Literacy, and is the head coach of the varsity volleyball team.  She previously worked in admissions at three selective and highly selective institutions before switching to post-secondary planning.  Crys sits on the Colleges That Change Lives board of directors and is involved in three PCACAC committees as well as serving in the role of delegate to the organization.

Name: Scott Chrysler (he/him/his)

Title: Academic Dean and College Counselor

School: Episcopal School of Acadiana

City & State: Cade, LA

Biography: Scott is an independent school educator with over thirty years experience as an English teacher, department chair, head varsity coach, admission officer, dormitory head, dean of students, and academic dean. He was appointed Dean of Students and College Counselor at Episcopal School of Acadiana in July 1997. Scott has served on the Board of Directors of SACAC, served as co-chair of the SACAC Admissions Practices Committee, and is a member of the national Admissions Practices standing committee. He has also served on other college counselor advisory boards as well as that for the Common Application. He is married and the father of three grown boys.

Name: John Hawkins (he/him/his)

Title: Associate Director of College Advising

School: Hawken School

City & State: Chesterland, OH

Biography: After years of working in college admissions at Birmingham-Southern College, John switched to the “other side of the desk” and moved to Memphis, TN, where he started working as the Director of College Advising at Lausanne Collegiate School before finding his way to the Hawken School in Ohio. John graduated from Samford University with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. It is also at Samford where the “admission bug” bit him during his time working in the admission office as a campus tour guide. He is an active member of both the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC) and the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). In his spare time, John enjoys volunteer work, finding the perfect restaurant, photography, the Memphis Grizzlies, as well as following New Orleans Saints football.

Name: Kate Coddaire (she/her/hers)

Title: Director of College Advising

School: Cheverus High School

City & State: Portland, ME

Biography: Kate has been the Director of College Advising at Cheverus High School for 15 years. She is an active member of the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC).

Name: Raynette Lumas

Title: College Counselor

School: Holy Cross School

City & State: New Orleans, LA

Biography: Raynette is in her sixth year as College Counselor at Holy Cross School in New Orleans, LA. Prior to making the switch to the secondary side, she spent twelve years working in undergraduate admissions. Ten of those years were at Loyola University New Orleans, in which she is also an alum.

Name: Sherry Brouillette (she/her/hers)

Title: Director of College Counseling

School: Catholic High School

City & State: Baton Rouge, LA

Biography: In recognition of “her years of outstanding leadership and dedication to her students and to the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling”, Sherry earned the Larry West Award, the highest award given by SACAC, in 2010.  She served on the Board of Directors for the National Catholic Colleges Admission Association from 2010-2012, on the Board of Directors for the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling from 2014 – 2017, and on the Baton Rouge NACAC National College Fair committee since its inception in 2006.  She currently serves as the Director of College Counseling at Catholic High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where she began in 1998.

Name: Vanessa Rodriguez (she/her/hers)

Title: College Counselor

School: Our Lady of Lourdes Academy

City & State: Miami, Florida

Biography: Vanessa is a college counselor at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, an all-girls Catholic high school in Miami, Florida. She previously worked in Human Resources for over twenty years before switching to secondary education four years ago. Vanessa assisted with testing coordination and reporting before transitioning to the role of college counseling.

Name: Jamon Pulliam (he/him/his)

Title: Associate Director of College Counseling

School: Viewpoint School

City & State: Calabasas, California

Biography: Jamon believes in building meaningful relationships and allowing young people to be heard. After graduating from Tuskegee University with a Bachelors in psychology with a focus on child clinical psychology, he spent a year at the University of Chicago taking coursework in psychology while doing research at Northwestern University. He started his admissions career at Morehouse College, an all-male Historically Black College, in Atlanta, GA (where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. graduated from!). Then, he shifted his career to the west coast as the Associate Director of College Counseling at Drew School in San Francisco, where he also advised the Yearbook production and coached swimming. He is now in Southern California working at Viewpoint School in the LA-area. Outside of college counseling, he advises the Black Student Union, teaches 9th grade Human Development, and leads a step team.

Name: Steven Johanson (he/him/his)

Title: University Counselor

School: United World College Costa Rica in Santa Ana

City & State: San Jose, Costa Rica

Biography: Currently in his tenth year counseling students through the university process, Steven's path started in admission for Ohio Wesleyan University before a return to Memphis (home to his alma mater, Rhodes College) at Memphis University School. After a wonderful few years at MUS, Steven and his wife, Meredith (also an educator), moved to Dubai working at GEMS Dubai American Academy before finding their way to Costa Rica. Steven is honored to serve on the advisory board of an amazing school whose mission ties so closely with his own passions in education.

Name: Kerri Caruso (she/her/hers)

Title: College Scholarship Coordinator

School: Mount Carmel Academy

City & State: New Orleans, LA

Biography: Kerri has been working with students on their journey to college for over a decade. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations from Spring Hill College and a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Regis University. Her career began as a major gifts officer at Spring Hill College. She then found her way into college counseling after taking students on college tours around the country for seven years. She is currently the State and Area Initiatives Chair for SACAC. Born and raised in New Orleans, Kerri is happily married and enjoys being a mom to her six-year-old son.

Name: Maura Brennan (she/her/hers)

Title: Director of College Counseling

School: Loyola School

City & State: New York, NY

Biography: Maura Brennan was first introduced to Jesuit education as an undergraduate at Loyola University Maryland.  Upon graduation she began her career in undergraduate admissions.  In the latter part of her 8-year tenure in the admissions office, she coordinated the admission and scholarship decisions. Maura moved to “the other side of the desk” and became the Director of College Counseling at Fordham Preparatory School in the Bronx, NY. After 16 years at the all-boys, Jesuit school, Maura now holds the position of Director of College Counseling at Loyola School a co-ed, Jesuit school in New York, NY.

Name: Fernando Rodrigues (he/him/his)

Title: Director of College Counseling

School: Jesuit High School

City & State: Tampa, FL

Biography: Entering his 8th year at Jesuit High School, Fernando's professional career also spans over a decade of experience in college admissions. He previously served as a member of the advisory board at The University of Alabama and St. Joseph's University, and is an active member of NACAC and the Jesuit High Schools College Counseling Association.

Name: Nick Spaeth

Title: Director of College Counseling

School: Brookfield Academy

City & State: Brookfield, WI

Biography: Nick has been the Director of College Counseling at Brookfield Academy for nearly three years. Prior to joining the college preparatory school, his entire career was spent in enrollment management at small liberal arts and science institutions throughout the Midwest. He currently serves as the President of the Wisconsin Association for College Admission Counseling.

Name: Michelle Borleske (she/her/hers)

Title: Director of College Counseling

School: The Gregory School

City & State: Tucson, AZ

Biography: Michelle has worked in higher education and secondary school counseling for nearly 30 years, including eight years as an Assistant Director of Admissions with Northern Michigan University. In 2015, she was named WACAC's High School Professional of the Year. Michelle holds two Masters Degree in School Counseling and Administrative Services, and a Bachelor's Degree in Communication. Since 2008, Michelle's work has been focused on developing college counseling programs within private and independent schools. Michelle lives in Tucson with her husband and their two chihuahuas. They are the proud parents of two adult daughters and a new granddaughter.

Name: Chad Gapinski (he/him/his)

Title: Executive Director of Advisement & Counseling Services

School: Interlochen Arts Academy

City & State: Interlochen, MI

Biography: Chad serves as the Executive Director of Advisement and Counseling Services at Interlochen Arts Academy. His oversight ranges from academic and college advisement to mental health services. He began his work at Interlochen 2007 and specialized in international student advisement until becoming the director of academic and college counseling in 2014. He possesses a Masters of Arts degree in Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology with an emphasis in Secondary Education.  He is certified by the National Board for Certified Counselors.  In addition, he holds a masters level certification in Substance Abuse Prevention and spent 5 years working with individuals suffering from chemical dependency.  Before that, he earned a Bachelors of Science in Education and taught high school courses in business, economics, and marketing.

Name: Allie Levey (he/him/his)

Title: Director of College Counseling

School: Maret School

City & State: Washington, D.C.

Biography: Allie began his career in admissions at Wesleyan University before founding the college counseling department at Sci Academy (now Abramson Sci Academy), an open-enrollment public charter school serving an all first-generation student body in the New Orleans Recovery School District. Allie later served as the Upper School Admissions Director at Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C., the Director of College Partnerships at the Center for Student Opportunity, and as the Associate Director of College Counseling at Greenhills School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Allie holds a B.A. in African-American Studies from Wesleyan University and an M.A. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Michigan.

Name: Rebecca (Becki) Rutsky 

Title: College & Career Counselor

School: Alabama School of the Arts

City & State: Birmingham, AL

Biography: Rebecca (Becki) has been named one of the "Counselors That Change Lives."  Becki edited Fundamentals of College Admission Counseling (1st edition), which earned her the Addis Service Award from the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). She has served in multiple leadership roles for NACAC and Southern Association for College Admission Counseling. 

Her background includes teaching and communications roles at the University of California at Los Angeles Extension, University of Alabama School of Medicine, University of Virginia, and Kenyon Young Writers Workshop.

Name: Jeff Fuller (he/him/his)

Title: Director of College Counseling

School: Strake Jesuit College Preparatory

City & State: Houston, TX

Biography: Jeff has been the Director of College Counseling at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory since June of 2017.  Jeff previously served in higher education for 24 years in various leadership roles, ultimately serving as admissions director at a large public comprehensive university.  Jeff is an active member of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling (NACAC) and the Texas Association for College Admissions Counseling (TACAC), serving as president of each in 2015 and 2008, respectively.  Jeff is also an active member of the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools (ACCIS) and currently serves on the ACCIS board of directors.  Jeff holds bachelor’s degrees in journalism and radio and television and a master’s in higher education administration from the University of Houston.

Name: Desvan Moody

Title: Manager of High School Support

School: KIPP Baltimore

City & State: Baltimore, MD

Biography: Desvan Moody is a Baltimore city native and brings over six years of college attainment experience to the advisory board. An alumnus of York College of Pennsylvania, Desvan serves as the Manager of High School Support on the KIPP Forward team with KIPP Baltimore. In addition, Desvan is a M.A. Candidate at Loyola University Maryland's School Counseling program. Desvan is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Name: Shannon Donaldson '14

Title: Assistant Director of College Counseling

School: Academy of the Holy Cross

City & State: Kensington, MD

Biography: Shannon Donaldson completed her B.A. in Mass Communication-Journalism from Loyola University New Orleans in 2014, and her Master of Arts in Higher Education from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2018. Shannon previously served Loyola as an Admissions Counselor before departing to pursue her graduate studies full time at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she served the Department of Fraternity & Sorority Life as a Resident Director. Prior to her current role as Assistant Director of College Counseling at the Academy of the Holy Cross in Kensington, MD, she worked in the Office of Student Life at George Washington University. Shannon is a native of Mobile, Alabama and currently resides in Washington, D.C.

Name: Traci Flowers (she/her/hers)

Title: Postsecondary Counselor 

School: Deerfield High School

City & State: Deerfield, IL

Biography: Traci began her admission career at Loyola University Chicago over 20 years ago. Traci also worked for Grand Valley State University, and Hawaii Pacific University before transitioning to the "other side of the desk" as a college counselor at Loyola Academy. She is currently starting her 3rd year at DHS. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology, Masters in Higher Education from Loyola University Chicago and her master’s degree in School Counseling at Northeastern Illinois University. Traci has served as a NACAC Delegate for IACAC and continues to be involved in both professional organizations. She is married and the mother of two toddlers and her mini-dachshund.