Ali Springer
Former Colorado College Associate Director of Admission & Collegewise Counselor
A career-long educator, Ali has spent the last fifteen years helping students on their educational journeys. She served as an Associate Director of Admission at Colorado College, her alma mater, for eight years, where she read thousands of applications, interviewed hundreds of students, and oversaw strategy on the leadership team. Working in the admissions office of a school that typically admits less than 15% of applicants imbued Ali with a thorough understanding of highly selective admissions. Ali now enjoys teaching families about the secrets of admissions and guiding students on how to best distinguish themselves in a compelling, competitive applicant pool.
Sara Llansa Petty
Director of Pre-College Success at TeenSHARP & Collegewise Counselor
Sara earned her bachelor's in Education and International Relations at Brown University and went on her earn her master's in Human Dimensions of Organizations at UT Austin. Sara spent a year as a Freshman Seminar Instructor and Summer Opportunities Coordinator at YES Prep in Houston and then transitioned to EMERGE, a college readiness organization within the Houston Independent School District. They began with four students in one high school, and now serve 1,000+ students across 42 high schools in Houston. Sara has worked her way up to Director at EMERGE and is unofficially known as the "O.G." She supports her own caseload of students, in addition to training everyone from her own team to district employees. Outside of EMERGE, Sara is the co-chair of the Brown Alumni Interviewing Program in Houston and a member of TACAC's Admission Practices committee.
