About | CGN

About College Guidance Network

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to empower school counselors to better support their college and career-bound students--along with their families--to confidently navigate the college admissions process to make good, financially responsible decisions. Our goal is to provide all students and parents access to top experts and unbiased information to achieve the best possible outcomes and greatest long term success.

The college admissions process is complex and can often feel overwhelming. School counseling departments are stretched to their limits, yet are expected to address a myriad of vital needs, with the typical counselor supporting over four hundred students. Only a small slice of families can afford hours of individualized guidance from an expensive college consultant. Those who can’t are on their own. The playing field is anything but level for the majority of students and their parents.

That’s why we started College Guidance Network. We use virtual technology and high-quality audio-visual production to bring the best experts into the living room of every college-bound student. We give students and their families the tools they need to navigate the college selection and admissions process.

OUR TEAM

Our backgrounds are diverse. We are entrepreneurs, CEOs, and educators. But most importantly, we are parents. We have experienced the challenges of the college admissions process with our own children, and are concerned that this often highly stressful and confusing experience results in less than optimal outcomes.

Our team is supported by the experts--admissions leaders, financial aid professionals, counselors, authors, professors, and more--who join our live events to give timely and practical advice to our audience.

View Our Experts

School Relations Manager

August Stover

Several years of experience in urban secondary education at traditional and charter public schools, including classroom teaching and SEL curriculum development
Former low-income college student with a passion for equity in education
Master's Degree in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Production Intern

Brianna Ostwinkle

Mount Mercy University, Class of 2022
Pursuing BAs in Graphic Design and Media Communication
Mount Mercy Student Ambassador
Interned at Cedar Rapids Kernels baseball team

Executive Producer

James Donald

Parent of two middle-schoolers
Seventeen years of documentary filmmaking
One Peabody Award, six Emmy nominations, two wins. 15+ other awards.
Spent five years at edX.org, where he learned the core principles of successful e-learning

Founder & CEO

Jon Carson

Scaled first national college admissions advisory brand in U.S. to over 500 advisors while striking large strategic partnerships with Fidelity, US News, NPR, and Care.com (CollegeVine)
Built largest event management and fundraising platform for school/charity fundraisers with half a billion dollars raised (Bidding For Good)
Built largest K-12 education website with 25% of all U.S. school districts building their first website (Family Education Network)

Vice President of Programming

Karen Nathan

Parent of one high school student and one college student
Over 20 years of experience in educational programming and instructional design; Account Manager and National Education Consultant for FamilyEducation Network (acquired by Pearson)
Practice area expertise in educational technology, social-emotional learning, health promotion
Community Fellow, Princeton University

Vice President of Production

Mike Leber

Father with college up ahead
Senior Coordinating Producer ESPN
Led production for 10 Super Bowls and 6 Olympics
Coordinated content production across TV, radio, print, digital, and social
Nominated and winner of multiple Emmy awards

Superintendent-In-Residence

Sandy Husk

CEO, ASCD
Former CEO, AVID
Superintendent, Salem-Keizer School District
Superintendent, Clarksville Montgomery County School System

Co-Founder

Bob Block

Parent of one student entering college and another who is a rising junior.
Former VP of Corporate Development for ACT
CEO of Professional Examination Service (acquired by ACT)
Built and managed partner ecosystem for Family Education Network (acquired by Pearson in 2000)

Application Curriculum

Heather Ayers

College advisor, Ayers Education
Director of Admissions, Wellesley College
Senior K-12 educational Mgr, The College Board
Assistant Dean Arts & Science, The College of William and Mary

Production Intern

Jermon Clark

Emory University, Class of 2022
BAs in Human Health and Integrated Visual Arts
Selected to Emory's Leadership Oxford program
Lead Diversity Ambassador at Emory
Interned at City of Atlanta

Head of Product

Julie Murphy

Over a decade of experience serving educators and learners through innovative products, technology, and community service
- Chief Product Officer and Learning Division Executive, ACT, Inc.
- General Manager, Knovation, Inc.
- Elected School Board Member, Oak Hills Local School District
Entrepreneur and consultant to small- and medium-sized businesses
Seasoned Fortune 500 technology and financial leader

Senior Product Manager

Melina Prentakis

5 years of experience as a college admissions counselor at multiple institutions
Traveled to and worked with students in 29+ states on their college application process
Planning committee member for New England Association of College Admission Counseling's Annual Meeting & Conference
Presenter at Southern Association of College Admission Counseling's conference for new counselors
Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration from Vanderbilt University

Senior Editorial Advisor

Rob Lippincott

Parent of two college graduates
SVP of Education for PBS
SVP Product Development for Discovery Education
SVP & GM of Programming for FamilyEducation Network (acquired by Pearson)
Member of College Guidance Network advisory board

OUR ADVISORY BOARD

We know we don’t have all the answers so we have built a world-class advisory board that can give us guidance, tell us the hard truths, and provide input as we develop our programming and technology platform.

Executive Director, Mass School Counseling Association

Bob Bardwell

Former member - Board of Directors of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)
Board Director, Secondary Level VP and Assembly Delegate of the American School Counselor Association (ASCA).
Past-President of the New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC)

SVP of the Enterprise Technology Program Management Office, Audacy

Diana Cano

General Manager, IT at Educational Testing Service
Adjunct Professor, Mechanical Engineering at The College of New Jersey
Parent of two students currently at public research universities
BS, Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University; MS, Technology Management at University of Pennsylvania; PhD, Education at Rutgers University

Former Chief Officer, Center of Equity in Learning, ACT

Jim Larimore

Dean of Students,
Amherst College
Deputy Director, Post-Secondary Success, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Dean of Students, Swarthmore College
B.S. Texas A&M University, MA Education, Stanford University

College Counselor, LA Unified School District

Candice Mackey

Undergrad Admissions Reader, UCLA
College Instructor, UCLA College Counseling Certification Program
Editorial Advisory group, FIske Guide to College

Senior Vice President of Product and Business Development, Common App

Jonell Sanchez

Jonell emigrated from Cuba as a child and was an ESL student who grew up in an underserved community in New Jersey. His personal learning journey fuels his professional commitment and lifelong passion for educational opportunity, access and impact at scale.
Jonell is an internationally recognized leader in education and business, who was formerly a senior executive with ACT, the National Student Clearinghouse. Pearson Global, and the College Board