I was born in Seattle and have lived here most of my life, attending John Muir Elementary, Asa Mercer Junior High, and Franklin High School, and eventually graduating from Helen Bush School in 1968.

I hold a BA in Psychology from Swarthmore (1972) and a doctorate in Social Psychology from Dartmouth College (1979), which I attended on a National Science Foundation Fellowship. In 1972, I married fellow Swarthmorean Robert Vaughan, now manager of the Seattle Public Schools' Advanced Learning Office.

Following graduate school, I worked in a variety of capacities in the field of education, most recently for 7 years as a Research Associate at the University of Washington College of Education on a National Institute of Health grant to study the prevention of writing disabilities in children. In 2000, after a successful and surprisingly entertaining stint as "support staff" during my son Daniel's college application efforts, I decided to start my own college counseling business, hoping to share with other families what he and I had learned.

Since 2000, I have enjoyed working with kids from many different high schools in the area, including Ballard, Blanchet, Bush, Center School, Franklin, Garfield, Hale, Interlake, Issaquah, Juanita, Lake Sammamish, Lakeside, Mercer Island, O'Dea, Redmond, Roosevelt, Seattle Academy, Seattle Prep, University Preparatory Academy, West Seattle, and others. I am a member of the Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA), the Pacific Northwest Association of College Admissions Counselors (PNACAC), and Seattle Area College Counselors (SACC).  

Click here for a complete listing of colleges where my clients have been accepted.

My other "projects" are a son, daughter, and niece. Daniel (Garfield High School 1999, Harvey Mudd College 2003) graduated in 2005 with a Masters in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the University of Washington. He joined the Boeing Company as an engineer in the 787 flight controls program in 2004. Elizabeth graduated from Garfield in 2004, Dartmouth College in 2008, and is working a variety of odd jobs in Boston to finance her true passion as a singer-songwriter.  Our niece Sarah Bassuk has just received her Illinois teaching certificate, and is working as a Science Specialist at Chicago Latin School after graduating from Northwestern University's Masters of Science in Teaching program.  In case it's not obvious, I will confess I am bursting with pride about all three.