It’s been a busy year and I’m delighted to share with you that the team at Matlack Educational Consulting has been growing!  While we continue to focus on providing our clients with personalized care and attention, we have expanded our services to include school and college placement for students with moderate to severe learning differences.

We’re thrilled that Carol Kinlan has joined us as senior educational consultant. Many of you know Carol from her work both in schools and as an educational consultant and she brings with her an impressive history of school and college placement experience. Carol comes to us from the Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, MA, where she has served as the Director of Enrollment and Evaluations since 2016. She has also worked at the Shady Hill School as Director of Learning Resources, at the Dedham Country Day School as Learning Coordinator, and at The Institute for Learning and Development (ILD) in Lexington, MA, where she conducted neuropsychological assessments. Carol has deep expertise in working with students with learning, communication, and attentional challenges and will be serving our clients who seek placement in schools and colleges that will support their learning differences. She will also be working with our early elementary school-aged clients as well as our traditional school and college-bound students. Carol can be reached at carol@matlackedcon.com or by phone at (617) 417-0826.

We also excited to welcome Gayle Schafer to our team. Gayle comes to us with New England boarding school and college admissions experience. A graduate of the UNH Whittemore School of Business and Economics, Gayle began her career in technology sales and marketing in Greater Boston, calling Middlesex School in Concord, MA, where her husband worked, home for 10 years. When he took the job as Head of School at Kimball Union Academy, Gayle joined the admissions team there, serving as Assistant Director of Admissions and Admissions Marketing and Communications Director during a period of remarkable growth and success for the school. Currently, Gayle works part-time in the Office of Admission and Financial Aid at Dartmouth College and is excited to see applications from the other side of the desk.

Gayle’s extensive global networks and experience have given her tremendous insight and compassion guiding students along their academic journey. She looks forward to helping students confidently navigate the school search process and find academic environments that will give them joy and purpose. Gayle can be reached at gayle@matlackedcon.com and at 603-398-3003.

Last year, Martha Seretta also joined us on a part-time basis while maintaining her own educational consulting practice in Greenfield, MA. Martha brings with her experience in working with domestic and international students seeking traditional school and college placement. Martha has over a decade of experience working in boarding schools where she has advised, coached, and guided hundreds of families from around the world through the admissions process. Martha served as the Associate Director of Athletics at Deerfield Academy before moving to admissions at Northfield Mount Hermon in 2010. Martha can be reached at martha@matlackedcon.com or at (413) 376-5192‬.

Finally, Brennan Barnard joined Matlack Educational Consulting three years ago and specializes in working with our college-bound athletes. Through a mindful approach, Brennan also helps students craft their personal statements and supplemental essays. He is the Director of College Counseling and Public Relations at The Derryfield School in Manchester, NH and also serves serves as the College Admissions Program Manager for Harvard’s Making Caring Common Project. Brennan has worked as teacher, coach, admission officer and student affairs administrator at a number of independent high schools and colleges including Westtown School, Northfield Mount Hermon School, Hyde School, Franklin & Marshall College, and the University of Vermont.  Brennan is an elected member of the College Board’s New England Regional Council and was named NEACAC’s Counselor of the Year in 2018. He is a regular contributor to The Washington Post, Forbes, and The New York Times. The book he co-authored with Rick Clark, The Truth About College Admissions: A Family Guide to Getting In and Staying Together, will be published this fall.

I couldn’t be prouder to be working with such an exceptional group of people who bring with them not only years of teaching and placement experience, but also a deep commitment to helping students of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds find the school or college where they will achieve their greatest potential and happiness.

Allison