Why do you belong to The Enrollment Management Association?
The professional development resources and opportunities to connect with others in independent school admission are invaluable. I appreciate the data, research, updates on important enrollment trends, and new ideas; this is work I could not do on my own. Without my membership, I could not be confident in leading the admission charge at my school.

If you could tell yourself one thing when you took your first job in admission, what would it be?
Leave your office more. You will have more authentic stories and be in a better position to talk about your school if you spend time with students and faculty.

What is the one piece of advice you’d pass along to your admission/enrollment colleagues?
Build collegiality among the admission teams at the peer independent schools in your market. Prospective families win when independent schools work together; don’t be the admission office that is wildly out of sync with what others in your area are doing.

What was the last book you read that really helped you think about your job?
Our admission team read Be Our Guest by the Disney Institute with Theodore Kinni over the summer. It was immensely helpful to us as we think through what a high-touch admission process looks like for our school. We moved to a paperless admission process that gave us new opportunities to be intentional about the prospective family experience from inquiry to enrollment. We’re having some fun dreaming big about each admission touch point.

What is the number one attribute needed to succeed in your role?
The ability to move quickly between macro and micro. Throughout the day, I’m engaged in conversations at the 30,000 foot level, and other times I find myself talking about something hyper-specific. Being able to seamlessly transition between the big picture and the details is key.

What's the best advice you ever received?
Begin with the end in mind. I learned this in graduate school, and it helps me frame challenges by beginning with the desired outcome and working backwards; I use it every day.