Our Team
Biographies
Edward L. Bigelow III
Ned Bigelow assists families with secondary school and college admissions.
Ned has devoted his professional life to the educational community. Following graduation from Lake Forest College in 1968, he taught at the Dexter
School in Brookline, Massachusetts until 1974.
Ned then returned to his alma mater, the Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, where he worked until 1995 as a teacher, coach
and administrator. For 15 of these years, he worked in the admissions office and served as its director from 1980 to 1990. . For the next five
years, Ned served as director of the school’s annual fund and alumni/ae office before joining Dunbar in 1995.
« Back
to Our Team page
Romalda Clark Blanchard
Roe Blanchard assists families with secondary school and college admissions.
Roe’s interest in the admissions process began when she served on the student admissions committee at Middlesex School. This early interest
became a full-time job when she was named Assistant Dean of Admissions at Bates College, following her graduation from there in 1990. In addition
to her duties as an admissions officer, Roe also headed up the Athletic Department’s recruiting efforts (she was twice an All-American athlete
at Bates).
Relocating to the Boston area in 1993, Roe joined Carney, Sandoe and Associates, where she worked with heads of independent schools throughout
the country, evaluating teachers and administrators applying for positions with these schools. She joined Dunbar in 1995.
« Back to Our Team page
Gloria Choy
Gloria Choy, a graduate of Maryknoll Sisters’ School, heads up our office in Hong Kong, where she was born and raised. She lived in the
United States and Canada, while pursuing degrees and qualifications from Washington State University, the University
of California and the American Society of Clinical Pathologists.
In both her career as a medical professional and her current career as an educational consultant, Gloria has pursued her deep concern for the education and welfare of children. She has served on the Council
of Early Childhood Education and Services, and is currently a member of the Board of Governors of Hong Kong Preschool.
Gloria’s experience with the U.S. education system spans many years, first through her research and now through her work with students in their quest for U.S. independent
boarding school and college admissions. She started our Hong Kong office in 2001.
« Back to Our Team page
Dr. Henry Choy
Dr. Henry Choy is based in our Hong Kong office along with his wife, Gloria. As a counselor, Henry’s expertise is identifying students’ strengths,
interests and talents, and helping them formulate their best academic and extra-curricular programs.
Henry attended St. Joseph’s College in Hong Kong and obtained his medical degree from the University of Sydney in Australia. He did his
post-graduate work in England and Canada, and has been in practice as a pediatrician for over 20 years.
Henry’s post-graduate research in learning disorders led to his long-term focus on the areas of normal and abnormal learning processes,
and the achievement of children in relation to their academic and emotional development. He has served on several educational policy boards and
has been a member of the Basic Policy Committee of the German Swiss International School in Hong Kong. Henry is also on the Board of Governors of
the Canadian International School of Hong Kong.
« Back to Our Team page
Robert Cummings
Robert Cummings works primarily with families of students seeking college admission and transfers.
Robert counsels both American and foreign students bound for college. He is a graduate of Milton Academy and the University of Pennsylvania.
Following a 25-year career in international banking and finance in New York, London and Bahrain, Robert’s long-standing interest in higher
education led him to join Dunbar in 1999.
Robert is a former trustee of Rippowam Cisqua School in Bedford, New York, and has three children whom he has guided through the independent
school and college process.
« Back to Our Team page
G. Frederick Dickson
Rick Dickson advises families of students bound for independent schools, as well as families in crisis dealing with troubled teens. He graduated in 1975 from Sarah Lawrence College with a concentration in history which included a teaching internship in American and Chinese history at The Gunnery School in Washington, Connecticut.
In 2002, after 25 years in sales and marketing, Rick joined Dunbar and returned to his passion, education. He arrived with considerable firsthand experience, having guided his three children through public schools, independent boarding schools and college. In the course of his counseling work for Dunbar, Rick has visited scores of secondary schools, developing extensive knowledge of their curricula and programs.
Rick, a Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association, is the Chairman of the Schools Committee. He is also an affiliated member of the National Association of Therapeutic Schools and Programs and has served in numerous school volunteer positions, most recently, as co-chair of the Alumni Parents’ Committee at Westminster School.
« Back to Our Team page
Donald M. Dunbar
Donald Dunbar founded Dunbar Educational Consultants in 1984. His career in education spans more than 30 years, having served as teacher, chaplain,
coach, guidance counselor and admissions consultant at a number of schools, including St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire, Institut Le Rosey
in Switzerland, Brent School in the Philippines, the Weston, Massachusetts public schools and Phillips Academy, Andover in Massachusetts.
Don earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Colby College and Master’s Degrees in Literature from Wesleyan University, Theology from the
Episcopal Divinity School at Harvard and Education from Boston College.
« Back to Our Team page
Nancy Edmiston
Nancy Edmiston works with students seeking admission to graduate schools.
Nancy has spent over 20 years working with students at Yale University, where she worked in undergraduate admissions and held a variety of positions
at the School of Management and at the Center for International and Area Studies. Her specialty was in the area of career development and job placement
for MBA students.
At both the School of Management and the Center, Nancy developed and implemented comprehensive programs for the nearly 500 students in those
programs. She wrote “Job Search Techniques,” a publication to accompany “The Career Management Partner”, a job-search software.
Nancy holds a B.A. in French from Southern Connecticut University and a M.A. in International Studies from American University.
« Back to Our Team page
Emily FitzHugh
Emily Fitzhugh works primarily with students seeking college admission.
For the past eleven years Emily has been the Director of College Counseling at The Gunnery School. Since 1998 Emily has guided over 1000 students through the college process. She has visited most of the colleges her students have attended and regularly attends conferences related to the college admissions process. She also developed a seven-day intensive SAT preparation course offered in Litchfield County every August.
In addition to her professional work Emily is a former vestry member of St. John's Church in Washington, CT, where she currently serves on the scholarship committee, and a former trustee of the Gunn Museum. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the Washington Montessori School in New Preston, CT. She has a B.A. degree from Sweet Briar College, an M.A. from Columbia University, and an M.S.W. from Fordham University.
« Back to Our Team page
William Goodman
Will Goodman works primarily with families of students seeking college admission.
Will has an extensive career in education, as both the president of a leading educational media publisher and as a principal in a number of education-related
start-up ventures that have capitalized on new technologies.
In 1999 Will launched Final-exam.com, a website providing college students with sophisticated course tutorials, including customized feedback
to aid in preparation for final exams in introductory courses. Final-exam.com has developed textbook correlated content with the support of professors
from many of the country’s leading universities.
Will received a degree in History at Princeton and his M.B.A. from Columbia. He has been a member of the Princeton Alumni Schools committee for
over 20 years.
« Back to Our Team page
John Greenwood
John Greenwood works with families of students seeking college admission.
John graduated from St. Lawrence University and then joined Morgan Stanley & Co. in New York, where he worked for 18 years, culminating in
his appointment as Managing Director.
John’s long-standing interest in educational counseling led him to join Dunbar in 1993. He is currently a Trustee of The Gunnery School
in Washington, Connecticut and serves as an Advisory Director at Morgan Stanley. John is past chairman of the President’s Circle at St. Lawrence
University.
« Back to Our Team page
Emilie Hinman
Emilie Hinman advises families of secondary school and college-bound students, including those with special needs. She joined Dunbar with considerable experience in education, having served on the Parents’ Board and as a teacher at Greenwich Country Day School, where she was also Associate Director of Admissions for four years.
Emilie is a Director of The Independent Educational Consultants Association and serves as the Chair of its Schools Committee and the Chair of TriState, a sub committee of the parent organization.
Emilie served as a member of the board of The Greenwich Council on Youth for five years and has guided three children through independent boarding and public secondary schools, as well as college. She is a graduate of Manhattanville College, with a B.S. in Psychology followed by graduate-level courses in special education.
« Back to Our Team page
Susan Jones
Susan Jones works with college and boarding school placements, and provides career coaching advice to current college students and recent graduates.
Susan comes to Dunbar Consultants with over 20 years of experience in the Washington, D.C area helping young people surmount learning differences and navigate transitions between college and careers. Susan received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and her Master’s of Social Work from New York University. She is an experienced speaker on parenting issues and has developed a unique Critical Reading SAT workshop.
« Back to Our Team page
Jeannie Liakaris
Jeannie has a wealth of knowledge working in career services and currently heads up the career advisement team for the largest AACSB-accredited business school in the U.S. Jeannie has been quoted and featured in a variety of media outlets for her expertise in career development. Prior to career services, she worked in marketing and grew up in a family business learning early on the importance of finding and doing what you love. She is certified to administer the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and earned her MBA from Hofstra University.
« Back to Our Team page
Ruthe Poma Lloyd
Ruthe Lloyd works with families of students seeking college admission.
A graduate of Michigan State University, Ruthe spent 22 years working in banking in Los Angeles, London and New York and was appointed Partner and Managing Director at Banker’s Trust Co. of New York.
Ruthe guided her son through independent school and college. Her interest in college counseling and desire to work with families led her to Dunbar in 2007.
« Back to Our Team page
Lisa V. Nelson
Lisa Nelson works with families of students seeking college admission.
Lisa grew up in Garden City, New York, and graduated from the University of Richmond in 1983. Prior to joining Dunbar, Lisa spent several years in the financial services industry; her interest in college admissions and guiding families through the process led her to Dunbar in 2004. While her work at Dunbar over the past several years has exposed her to all aspects of our consulting, her experience with her own children’s school searches have led Lisa to focus on college admissions. Lisa currently resides in Fairfield, CT with her husband and three children.
« Back to Our Team page
Geoffrey B. Stearns
Geoff Stearns works primarily with students seeking college admission. He graduated from Harvard University in 1982 and then worked for 27 years in the financial industry.
Geoff has been a member of the Harvard Alumni Schools committee since 1997. He has served as an advocate for hundreds of high school seniors, working closely with Harvard admission officers to determine admits. Geoff has familiarity with hundreds of colleges and universities nationwide, including campus visits to those institutions. Geoff also has extensive experience advising high school athletes with the recruiting process in multiple sports.
Geoff joined Dunbar in 2009 and looks forward to working with families and sharing his knowledge and passion for the college admissions process.
« Back to Our Team page
Caroline Brokaw Tucker
Caroline Tucker works with families of students seeking admission to college and graduate school.
Caroline grew up in New Canaan, CT, attending the same local schools her children now attend. Her first career was in marketing and advertising, followed by a hiatus from the workforce as she focused on raising her young children. A long-standing interest in working with children and their families, combined with work as a private tutor and essay coach, brought her to Dunbar in the spring of 2005.
Since joining Dunbar, Caroline has visited 15-20 campuses per year, meeting with admissions officers both on those campus visits and at the Dunbar office. She attended the NEACAC Summer Institute in July 2005 and regularly attends professional conferences and panels. Caroline presents publicly on college admissions topics several times a year and is also the editor of Dunbar’s online newsletter. Her students include both the academically gifted and those whose learning differences require structured academic support programs; she has worked with recruited athletes across a variety of sports, including swimming, squash, lacrosse, track and field, baseball and rowing. Her graduate school applicants are now attending graduate programs in law, medicine, business, education, social work and liberal arts.
Caroline graduated from Princeton University in 1985 with a degree in Comparative Literature and in 1989 from Columbia Business School with an MBA. She has been interviewing Princeton applicants as a member of the Princeton Alumni Schools Committee for almost 25 years.
« Back to Our Team page
Jean Wolf
Jean Wolf works out of our offices in Chevy Chase, Maryland and Paris, France, counseling clients in both the Washington D.C. area and Europe with respect to college admissions.
After graduating from Smith College, Jean joined the Library of Congress’ Congressional Research Service, where she was an analyst specializing
in youth issues in the Education and Public Welfare Division. Upon completing her Master’s Degree in Education at Harvard, she spent several
years at the National Gallery of Art, heading up the docents’ program for students.
Having guided five children (including quadruplets) through college, Jean has many years of hands-on experience with a range of educational issues which has
translated into the skills she provides to our clients. These include her expertise at matching schools to different learning styles and teaching students
how their evaluators think.
Jean has also served as a member of the Stanford University parent and alumnae admissions team.
« Back to Our Team page
