Johanna Baum – Founder & President
Through college counseling and career development for over 15 years, Johanna has helped hundreds of students and professionals.
She has assisted high school and college students, business professionals, and senior executives transition to the next phase of their academic or professional development. In addition to independent consulting, Johanna has advised students in the guidance department at Princeton High School, worked as a writing and composition instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, and served as a counselor at the student career centers of Columbia University and Baruch College (CUNY). Prior to starting her business in college counseling and career development, she enjoyed interviewing prospective students for Dartmouth as an alumni interviewer for Dartmouth’s undergraduate admissions office. In the corporate world, Johanna coached analysts and their managers on Wall Street, senior executives in transition for Right Management Consultants and has worked with numerous private clients around the world.
A Certified NJ School Counselor and Certified Professional Resume Writer, Johanna graduated from Dartmouth College. She earned master’s degrees in Comparative Literature from the University of Pennsylvania and in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University. She is an associate member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC).
Johanna combines her training in writing and counseling to ask the right questions, draw out the stories that make you unique, and help you tell them in a compelling way.
Nick Fels – Essay Specialist & Academic Tutor
Nick Fels is a highly skilled teacher and school administrator with two decades of success teaching K-12 students with diverse backgrounds and abilities. Coming from a family of distinguished educators, Nick’s first job was in a nursery school. After earning a BA in English at Temple University and an MSEd in Education with a dual-certification in high-school mathematics and English at the University of Pennsylvania (4.0 GPA), Nick went on to teach both subjects at Germantown High School in Philadelphia. He later joined Freire Charter High School, also in Philadelphia, where he served as a teacher and assistant head of academics before moving into school leadership as principal.
As an educator, Nick focuses on developing independent learners, empowering students by helping them develop awareness of their individual learning style, strengths, and areas for growth. As each student is a human being with unique needs, Nick tailors his approach, seamlessly weaving organization, time management, self-advocacy, confidence, meta-cognition, and methods for alleviating anxiety into the work as necessary. Students enjoy their time with Nick, gain confidence, and are quickly inspired to push themselves further.
Nick is available for essay consultation and academic tutoring in a variety of subjects.
Kirsten Kahn – Career Counselor
Kirsten is a certified career coach with over twenty years of experience hiring and managing high-performing, cross-functional teams for global tech companies and start-ups. With two decades of mentoring and developing employees under her belt, Kirsten is an expert at helping clients discover and launch purpose-driven careers and negotiate successful promotions and career transitions. In addition to being a Certified Career Services Provider (NCDA), Kirsten holds an MA in Education from the University of Colorado, and a BA from Dartmouth College. She teaches high school entrepreneurship and career development classes in Denver, Colorado.
Matthew Baum – Fine Arts Portfolio Advisor
Matthew Baum is an educator and photographer who has worked with a wide spectrum of students on their writing and photography, from at-risk youths and continuing education adults to university undergraduate and graduate students. He earned a BA in American History from Brown University, studied architecture at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design, and received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts. Matthew has served on the faculty at NYU-Tisch School of the Arts, the University of California-Davis, Hunter College, and the School of Visual Arts in New York City, where he has taught historical, conceptual, and technically-based seminars and studio classes. Utilizing a variety of creative approaches, Matthew’s work explores the social and cultural fabric of the United States through both its historical record and present-day circumstances. Matthew’s photography has been exhibited widely at venues in the United States and abroad. He is the founder of PhotoPhlo, a photography education platform which offers real-time learning opportunities and events online.
Matthew is available for essay consultation, art portfolio advising, and instruction in photography.