The Edvice Princeton team is listed below. Our educational advisors work with students and families applying to boarding and independent schools, undergraduate colleges and universities, transfer, and various graduate school admissions.
Steve LeMenager
Founder, College/University Advisor
Steve brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise at the university level and is a highly regarded leader in U.S. college and university admissions, having served for many years as the Dean and Director of Admission at Princeton University. He spent 24 years at Princeton in senior leadership roles, not only in the Office of Admission, but also in the Office of the Executive Vice President, the Office of the Vice President for Campus Life, and the Office of the Vice President for Advancement. Steve has presented at numerous national conferences, including the College Board, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), and the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA). Prior to Princeton, Steve was a high school teacher and basketball coach in Massachusetts. He is a graduate of Bowdoin College (A.B.) and Harvard University (Ed.M.) and is an active member of his community, having served as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, in Princeton, New Jersey. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the Gap Year Association and was featured on Slate’s podcast on college admissions, Getting In.
Edward “Ted” de Villafranca
College/University, Independent/Boarding School Advisor
With over 25 years of experience in all areas of admissions work from selective college and university admissions to independent boarding school admissions, Ted has a sterling national reputation. He worked at the Peddie School for 17 years as the Director of College Counseling and Dean of Admissions and College Counseling and served on the Arts Faculty as a choral director. He directed the college counseling programs at Berkshire School and Virginia Episcopal School and worked in college admissions at Manhattanville College and the University of Richmond. Known within the admission and counseling community as someone who works tirelessly for his students, Ted has a broad and deep network both in the United States and Canada. Having traveled and recruited abroad, he knows school systems far and wide. A graduate of Kent School, Columbia University (M.A.) and Rhodes College (B.A.), Ted has presented at national and regional conferences and sits on the advisory board of the Fiske Guide to Colleges. Often quoted in the New York Times, Ted most recently served as their on-line expert for college admissions. Ted currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the American Gap Association, and on the Board of Trustees for Doane Academy.
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Kathy Probasco-Stizza started with the Edvice team in 2014. She joins us with an extensive background in sales and marketing, most recently running multiple businesses from home while raising her four children. She is a lifelong New Jersey resident and a graduate of Rutgers University.
Jeremy LeMenager
Digital Specialist
Jeremy’s background is in software engineering, digital marketing, and data science. He has worked in sales and digital marketing for a sustainable fashion startup and as a software engineer for a career services tech startup. Jeremy utilizes his skill set in digital marketing and data algorithms to run our outreach and social media channels and keeps our online presence current. He is also a film actor and a competitive pickleball player. Jeremy graduated from Colorado College (2020) with a B.A. in Organismal Biology & Ecology and is excited to be part of the Edvice team.
Affiliate Advisors
Alison Almasian
College/University Advisor
Alison is a seasoned professional bringing over 30 years of college admissions experience to her Edvice Princeton students and families. Upon graduation from Georgetown University, where she had been an admission volunteer, she began her career in college admissions, working for 22 years, seven as director, at St. Lawrence University. At St Lawrence Alison was recognized for her collaborative spirit and student-centered approach to admissions. In fact, this student focus took Alison back to her alma mater, the Taft School, where she served as the director of college counseling for 10 years. Throughout her career, she has served on leadership teams for her institutions and has been an active member of state and national professional organizations. Alison’s expertise includes all aspects of the application process: academic and extracurricular review, list development, essay work, interviewing skills, crafting a strong application, and guidance during the decision process.
Erik Bertelsen
College/University, Independent/Boarding School Advisor
Erik has served as a sought-after presenter at numerous regional and national admission conferences, drawing on a rich background of over 4 decades working with students applying to both college and boarding school. A former “Counselor of the Year” in Massachusetts, and Director of College Counseling at Belmont Hill, Erik has extensive leadership experience at other premier independent schools including serving as Dean of Admission at the Pomfret School. Collegiately, he has served as an admission dean at Bates, Colby and Williams. His experience is broad, having worked with a range of students both in terms of their academic and extracurricular talents and interests. Whether a top scholar or a late bloomer, Erik helps students identify the “right fit” for the next step in their educational journey and then be at their very best in presenting their candidacy. In addition, as a former college and high school coach, and an admission-athletic liaison at the collegiate level, Erik is also well positioned to work with students hoping to compete at the high school and collegiate levels. A graduate of Bates College, Erik has served as President of the Alumni Association and was named an “Alumni Scholar-Athlete.”
Frank Betkowski
College/University Advisor
For more than 20 years, Frank Betkowski has helped students navigate the ever-changing college admission landscape. As a seasoned college counselor at Wakefield School and Mercersburg Academy, Frank has helped students gain admission to the nation’s finest schools. Known nationally, he has served on both state and national admission associations in various capacities. On multiple occasions, Frank has been invited to run for the Board of Directors of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. His writing on admissions has appeared in major media outlets nationwide, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. Frank graduated from St. Peter’s Preparatory School and then received his bachelor’s degree in English from Georgetown University. He later earned his masters degree from the Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College, while also studying at Lincoln College, University of Oxford.
Jeanie Grimm
College/University Advisor
Jeanie attended Brown University and translated her love of her education into work there as an Admissions Officer. She then traveled to the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she completed a masters degree in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy, with a particular interest in counseling and the high school to college transition. She served as a Harvard College Residential Dean and Assistant Dean of Freshmen, as well as an in-residence dorm proctor. At Harvard, she served as Senior Admissions and Financial Aid Officer. In 2001, Jeanie moved to the Finger Lakes region of New York State where she has taught for fourteen years. Jeanie began service as a member of her school district’s board of education in 2005, and as its elected president since 2008. As the parent of college and graduate students, she brings another valuable and relevant perspective to the college admissions process.
Jenny Gage
Portfolio Advisor
Jenny received an MFA from Yale University and has worked as a photographer, filmmaker and educator for 25 years. She has taught at Bard College, School of Visual Arts, Parsons/New School and Yale University. She began her photography career showing at Luhring Augustine Gallery in New York City and her work has shown in galleries worldwide and hangs in the permanent collection of SFMoMA, Centre George Pompidou and The Corcoran Gallery among others. As a sought after commercial photographer, Jenny has been commissioned to create campaigns for Estee Lauder, Ralph Lauren, The Gap, Missoni and many others. Jenny is also an accomplished film director and screenwriter whose credits include both documentary films and narrative features released worldwide. Throughout Jenny’s multidisciplinary career she had maintained a long standing commitment to mentoring students and emerging talents. Jenny currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and three children.
Anne Hatch
Essay/Writing Specialist
Anne has worked as an English teacher, writer, and editor for three decades, including more than 15 years at Brentwood School in Los Angeles and The Colorado Springs School. As an AP Language and Composition teacher, she also served as a college essay coach, mentoring hundreds of students to develop their voice and personal writing style. For several years she scored SAT essays for Pearson Education Group. In addition, she served as the copy editor for a national publisher, wrote grant proposals (some resulting in multi-million-dollar awards), and developed middle and high school curriculums for schools as well as the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs. A published writer, Anne earned a B.A. in English at Carleton College and an M.A. in Education at UCLA. She resides in Colorado with her husband and two college-aged daughters. She enjoys running and recently completed her first marathon.
Mark Hatch
College/University Advisor
For nearly four decades, Mark has held top leadership roles in a variety of educational settings. A native of New England, Mark earned a B.A. from Bates College and Ed.M. from Harvard University. He worked in both the Bates and Harvard admission offices before moving to Los Angeles in 1991 to become a college counselor and teacher at Harvard-Westlake School, and later joined Marlborough School as the Director of College Counseling. In 1997, Mark returned to the college side as Director of Admission at Occidental College, and completed a 23-year tenure as Vice President for Enrollment at Colorado College and retired as the Vice President Emeritus in 2024. Mark also has served on numerous boards, including as President of the Common Application, Vice Chair of the High Mountain Institute, and Foundation Trustee for the Cloud Forest School in Monteverde, Costa Rica. He is the co-founder of the Gap Year Research Consortium and served on the Advisory Board for the Mastery Transcript. Mark is currently on the Board of the Island School in Eleuthera, Bahamas. He plays recreational ice hockey, enjoys trail running, and has competed in several mountain races.
Ann McCurties
College/University/MBA Advisor
Ann is a seasoned admissions officer who has worked at both of her alma maters, Washington University in St. Louis (MBA) and DePauw University (BA), where she was a member of the National Championship-winning women’s basketball team. Given her breadth of experience, Ann has developed a keen insight into the competitive world of college/university admissions. As a senior member of the Wash U admissions team, Ann trained the Wash U staff in application review and evaluation and served on many admission committees. She enjoys helping students hone in on their distinctive stories while showcasing their many talents and future goals. Also experienced as a managing consultant, Ann understands the intrinsic value an MBA brings to the corporate workplace. Her own MBA path gave her first-hand experience in crafting a vibrant and compelling MBA application. She recognizes how critical it is to support students of all ages with practical advice and empathy during the application process.
Cornelia McNeal
College/University Advisor
Cornelia McNeal (Nelie) attended Harvard College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education and began her post-graduate career as a residential and academic advisor at Harvard. Later as a Harvard admissions officer, Nelie evaluated and presented thousands of American and international candidates to the colleges’ admissions committee. Following Harvard, Nelie served as director of college counseling at Francis Parker School in San Diego and most recently at Villa Duchesne/Oak Hill School in St. Louis. Nelie is known for her hands-on approach while preparing students and families for the college transition. At Villa, Nelie also developed programs, resources, and workshops that helped families and students define their individual academic and career goals to advance their collegiate and personal achievements.
Andrew McNeill
College/University Advisor
Andrew was born into a family of educators, and he has dedicated his life to the field. After graduation from Lawrence University he joined their admission office and later served on their Alumni Board. As an associate director in admissions at Lawrence, Andrew worked with their world-renown conservatory of music, and he has stayed current with how musical talent interplays with college admission. In college he played hockey and soccer, and has coached six different sports at boarding schools. Andrew came to the independent school world starting at The Frederick Gunn School (formerly, The Gunnery) as Director of Admission, and then moved into college advising. Thereafter he worked in the field at Choate, Gunn and Taft, serving as the Director at Gunn and Taft. He has served as a consultant to the Soros Open Society Institute’s educational initiatives as well as with multiple independent schools, and has published about the admission world. Andrew is the father of four adult children, fretting through every minute of their college processes.
Jeff Miles
Graduate School Advisor
Jeff Miles served as the Director of Graduate Admissions at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs for 26 years, making final admission and financial aid/fellowship decisions on tens of thousands of applications. Before that, he served as an Assistant Director in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at GW. Jeff played an important role in the growth and development of the Elliott School, where he helped build one of the world’s leading schools of international affairs. At Edvice Princeton, Jeff helps students gain admission to top-ranked graduate programs in international/public affairs, MBA and other graduate business programs, global/public health, journalism, international education, and other professionally oriented master’s degree programs. Jeff serves on the GW Fulbright Fellowship Selection Committee and also volunteers for the Dream Project, assisting DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) “dreamers” in Northern Virginia. He is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara (M.A.) and Ithaca College (B.A.).
Stephen Schreiber
Law School Advisor
Stephen Schreiber has spent his career in education, most notably as the Executive Vice President of the LSAT Testing Program at Educational Testing Service. Earlier, he was Director of Men’s Housing at Wake Forest University, Director of Orientation at the University of Texas, Associate Dean of Students at the University of Chicago, and Director of the GMAT Testing Program. He has been consulting with testing organizations and most recently worked in admissions at Princeton University. With the LSAT, Stephen met regularly with law school deans, directors of admission, and faculty. He has quite literally worked with admissions officers at every US and Canadian law school. He was instrumental in the LSAT being used internationally in Australia, China, and India. Stephen has a BA from the College of Wooster, Wooster Ohio, and a master’s and doctorate from Indiana University. Stephen has had success helping students earn admission to top law schools including Berkeley, University of Chicago, Columbia, Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, NYU, Stanford, and Vanderbilt.
Paul T. White
Medical School Advisor
Paul co-founded Medical School Advisory in Oct. 2023, after a distinguished 40-year career in admissions, culminating at Johns Hopkins University. His affiliation with Hopkins began in 1994, first as Director of Undergraduate Admissions and then as the Assistant Dean for Admissions and Financial Aid at JHU’s School of Medicine. From 2006 until 2012, Paul served as the Associate Dean of Admissions at the University of Minnesota Medical School. His professional career began at Yale where he was an Assistant Director of Admissions. He later served in senior leadership admission roles at both Hamilton College and Colgate University. Paul is a graduate of Yale University (A.B.) and Georgetown University (J.D.). He has served as a member and as a past chair of the board of trustees for the SEED School of Maryland, a state-wide public boarding school.
