Emmi Harward
Executive Director
ex officio member of Board of Trustees

Emmi Harward has served as the Executive Director of ACCIS since January 2017. After serving in that role in a part-time, volunteer capacity for three and a half years, she became the Association’s first full-time employee. As executive director, Emmi is tasked with the day-to-day operations of the Association, whose mission is to support the essential role of college counselors as leaders in independent schools through professional development and support. She is a frequent presenter and panelist at regional and national conferences and a speaker at professional meetings. Emmi’s experience in college admission and counseling spans over 25 years in the profession. Early in her career, she served in the undergraduate admission offices at Emory University in Atlanta and Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Emmi then served as director of college counseling at Hampton Roads Academy in Newport News, Virginia and The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California. It was at Bishop's where she began her involvement in ACCIS as a committee member, chair, and ultimately executive director. She is based in San Diego, California.

Linda Pierre
Director of Member Services and Operations

Linda Pierre joined ACCIS in January 2022 as the Director of Member Services and Operations, where she takes a lead role in association operations, member services and outreach, and managing membership and systems to benefit ACCIS member schools and organizations. Additionally, she is responsible for managing the logistics of the Association’s professional development offerings, along with their respective chairs. Linda has worked with several national associations and higher education institutions and brings more than 15 years of experience in association management, program management, events, and operations. Prior to joining ACCIS, Linda worked with the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) as a senior director. She is also a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP), holds a Certificate in Exhibition Management (CEM), and Digital Events Specialist (DES). She is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Michelle Niles, Accountant (part-time)

Katrina Proctor, Accounts Payable Specialist (part-time)

Ashley Armato
The Lovett School, Atlanta, GA
Organizational Accountability for Access and Equity Committee chair (term through 2024)

Ashley Armato joined the ACCIS Board in 2021 and was named the first chair of the Organizational Accountability for Access and Equity (OAAE) Committee in 2022. She was formerly the Senior Associate Director of College Counseling and Co-Coordinator of Equity and Inclusion at Palmer Trinity School in Miami, Florida. She has also worked with the CBO Thrive Scholars as their Summer Academy Director since 2018. Prior to joining the college counseling department at Palmer Trinity in 2010, she worked in college admission at Amherst College. Ashley served on the ACCIS Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee from 2018-2021.  From 2017-2019 she served as Co-Chair of the Latinx Special Interest Group for SACAC and joined the SACAC Board in 2019. 

Brian Burbank
Isaacson, Miller; Houston, TX (term through 2025)

Brian Burbank joined the ACCIS Board in 2022. He was formerly an Upper School Dean at The Kinkaid School, where he has also taught English, coached basketball, and helped to advance DEI initiatives. Brian previously worked at St. Mark’s School (MA) as a college counselor, coach, dorm head, and member of the Community & Equity Committee. He has worked in college admissions at Tufts University and Hobart and William Smith Colleges, directing much of his attention to athletic recruitment and high school counselor outreach. Brian was a member of the ACCIS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee from 2021-2022. He enjoys strategic planning and lending his perspective to conversations that inspire organizational change.

Lisa Clay
The Out-of-Door Academy, Sarasota, FL
Board chair (term through 2024)

Lisa Clay joined the ACCIS Board of Trustees in 2020. She served ACCIS as Summer Institute Chair from 2016-2022, having previously served as chair of Organizational Advancement. She is currently the Director of College Counseling at The Out-of-Door Academy (FL). Prior to her move to ODA, Lisa was the Director of the Center for College and Life Planning at Parish Episcopal School (TX) for two years and also served as the Associate Director of College Counseling for three years. Before arriving at Parish, Lisa served as a College Counselor at Casady School (OK). Before college counseling, Lisa was a Senior Admission Counselor at Texas A&M University (TX) and an Admissions Counselor at the University of Texas at Austin (TX).

Rafael S. Figueroa
Albuquerque Academy, Albuquerque, NM
Governance & Nominating Committee chair (term through 2023)

Rafael S. Figueroa joined the Board in 2020. He is Dean of College Guidance at Albuquerque Academy in New Mexico and a former admission officer at Occidental College in Los Angeles and Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He is former President of the Rocky Mountain Association for College Admission Counseling. He has served on the numerous committees for the National Association for College Admission Counseling, including the Governance and Nominating Committee, the Ad Hoc Committee on Leadership, the Task Force on Standardized Admission Testing for International and US Students, the Steering Committee on Admission Practices, and the Commission on the Use of Standardized Testing. He is a former Board Member of the Common Application and served on the Common Application Outreach Advisory Committee.

Jeff Fuller
Strake Jesuit College Preparatory, Houston, TX
Finance Chair/Treasurer (term through 2023)

Jeff Fuller joined the ACCIS Board in 2019 as Treasurer. He currently serves as the Director of College Counseling at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston, Texas. In this role, Jeff oversees all college counseling department initiatives while also leading a team of 8 professionals. Before joining Strake Jesuit in 2017, Jeff served for 24 years at the University of Houston in a variety of roles in UH’s admissions office ultimately serving as Director of Student Recruitment and Admissions. Jeff has been actively engaged in both NACAC and Texas ACAC, serving as president of both in 2015 (NACAC) and 2007 (TACAC). Jeff previously served as NACAC’s Finance Committee Chair and TACAC Treasurer. 

Dr. Holly Hinderlie
Holton-Arms School/Hinderlie and Associates (term through 2025)

Bio coming soon!

Jamie L. Kim
St. John's School, Houston, TX (term through 2025)

Jamie L. Kim joined the ACCIS Board of Trustees in 2022. She currently serves as the Director of College Counseling at St. John's School in Houston, TX. Prior to St. John's, she was the Director of College Counseling at St. Agnes Academy. She has also worked in public and charter schools in various capacities (teaching, counseling, dean of students) and as an admission officer at Vanderbilt University. She has served ACCIS on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, and also sits on the Texas Association for College Admission Counseling Executive Board.

Matt Lane
Branson School, Ross, CA (term through 2025)

Matt Lane (he/him) joined the ACCIS Board in 2022. He currently serves as Director of College Counseling at the Branson School in Ross, CA. Previously, Matt worked in the college counseling offices of Hopkins (CT) and Loyola Academy (IL) and in the admission offices of Boston College (MA), Babson College (MA), and Providence College (RI). Matt has served in multiple capacities in regional and national organizations, including serving on NACAC’s committees for Admission Practices and the Ad Hoc Committee on Reimagining the National/Affiliate Partnership. Matt co-chaired the ACCIS Summer Institute in 2019. Matt also sits on the national scholarship selection committee for the Point Foundation, an organization that provides scholarship, leadership, and mentorship opportunities for LGBTQ+ college-bound students. 

Greg Miles
Waterford School, Sandy, UT (term through 2024)

Greg Miles has been the CFO at Waterford School (K-12, Sandy, UT) since 2004. Prior to working in the non-profit school world, he worked in "corporate America" for 6 years. He has served on various accreditation teams as part of the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS). 

Megan Murphy
International Coalition of Girls' Schools, Charlottesville, VA (term through 2023)

Megan Murphy serves as the executive director of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS), the leading advocate membership organization for K-12 girls’ schools. Previously, Megan served as the chief advancement officer and/or chief enrollment officer at several institutions, including her alma mater, Allegheny College; Semester at Sea, a non-profit global education program in partnership with the University of Virginia; and at ICGS and ACCIS member Marlborough School.

Stacy Richardson
The Potomac School, McLean, VA (term through 2025)

Rod Skinner
Milton Academy, Milton, MA
Strategic Planning chair (term through 2023)

Rod joined the ACCIS Board of Trustees in 2020. He is currently Dean of College Counseling at Milton Academy, where he just finished his 21st year. In his 40+ years in secondary education, Rod has worked at schools in Boston, Connecticut, California, and Florida. During those years, he has coached football, wrestling, lacrosse, and soccer; sponsored on-campus singing groups; run dormitories; chaired curriculum committees; taught English, European history, and ethics; organized Special Olympics basketball tournaments; written on educational and counseling matters for alumni magazines and other journals; and served as a faculty trustee. Rod has also chaired the NACAC and NEACAC Admission Practices Committees. While in Florida, he directed the SACAC Summer Institute for Secondary School Counselors. Presently, Rod teaches on the faculty of the Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions, chairs the advisory board and oversight committees for the Mountain School in Vershire, Vermont; and serves on the board of Boston Collegiate Charter School and on the national selection committee for United World College.

Vicki Thompson
Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg, PA
Board past-chair (term through 2023)

Vicki Thompson joined the ACCIS Board of Trustees in 2018 and currently serves as its chair. Vicki moved to Pennsylvania in the summer of 2021 and is now part of the college counseling team at Mercersburg Academy. Prior to that, she served as Dean of College Counseling at St. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis, TN for six years and as Dean of College Counseling at Lake Highland Preparatory School in Orlando, FL for thirteen years.  She is a Past-President of SACAC and a former member of the NACAC Governance and Nominating Committee.

Louis Trujillo
Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY 
Board chair-elect (term through 2025)

Louis Trujillo joined the ACCIS Board of Trustees in 2021. As a member of ACCIS, he served on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Data, Trends, and Analytics Committee. Currently, he is a college counselor at Saint Ann's School (NY). Before Saint Ann's, he was an Associate Director of Admission at Brown University, responsible for domestic and international recruitment. He was selected as an Equity and Inclusion Fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in the 2020-2021 academic year leading conversations with different stakeholders about diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice. He is also a member of the Advisory Board for Mt. Holyoke College (MA) and a core faculty member of College Horizons (NM), which helps Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students apply to college. He is a Foundation Reader for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and for the past three years, he is also a Session Reviewer for NACAC's National Conference and NACAC's Guiding the Way to Inclusion conference.

University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Chicago, IL (term through 2024)

Sharon Williams was elected to the ACCIS Board in 2021 after serving on the inaugural ACCIS DE&I committee for three years. Currently, Sharon is a College Counselor at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and serves her school community as a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator. Sharon has worked on the high school side of college counseling at Maret School, Chatham Hall, and Elgin Academy. She began her career in college admissions as an Assistant Director at Binghamton University responsible for admissions to the Educational Opportunity Program and moved to the University of Rochester as an Associate Director overseeing Minority, Transfer, and International Admissions. Sharon has been a member of NACAC throughout her career, and active in NYSACAC, and PCACAC, She was elected to the Board of IACAC in 2020, where is currently a Delegate Director – Secondary, member of the New Counselor Institute Committee, and co-chair of the Equity and Access Ad-Hoc Committee.

Leilani Arita-Takayama
'Iolani School, Honolulu, HI
New Counselor Workshop and Series

Leilani Arita-Takayama joined the ACCIS leadership team in 2021 as the New Counselor Workshop and Webinar Series Chair and has served on the faculty since 2020. She has been a member of the college counseling team at ‘Iolani School in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi since 2017, serving as Associate Director of College Counseling. Before this current role, she also served as Academic Dean and College Counselor at another institution in Hawaiʻi and has spent time in graduate advising at Hawaiʻi Pacific University. 

Charlotte Burkly
Hillbrook School, San Jose, CA
Summer Colloquium

Charley Burkly joined the ACCIS Leadership Team in July of 2022 as the Colloquium Chair. She currently serves as founding Director of College Counseling at Hillbrook School and previously was Associate Director of College Counseling at University School (OH). Prior to University School, Charley worked in undergraduate admissions at Princeton University and MBA admissions at Columbia Business School. While at Columbia, she also served as program administrator for the School Law Institute at Teachers College. Charley began her career as a middle school science teacher in the New York City Teaching Fellows program.

Michele Davis
The Walker School, Marietta, GA
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Michele Davis is co-chair of the ACCIS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She is the director of college counseling at The Walker School in Atlanta, was previously a member of the college counseling team at Hutchison School (TN), and has also worked in independent schools in Maryland and Georgia. Before stepping onto the secondary school side, Michele worked in undergraduate admissions at Emory University (GA) and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Aleny Garcia
Posnack School, Davie, FL
Membership

Aleny Garcia is the Director of College Counseling at Posnack School in Davie, FL. Before joining Posnack School, she worked at Ransom Everglades School in Miami and led the college and academic advising office at Cardinal Gibbons High School in Fort Lauderdale. Aleny recently co-led NACAC's Antiracist Education Institute and served as a member of ACCIS's Data Trends and Analytics Committee. Aleny has also served on SACAC's Communications Committee and currently volunteers as a reader and interviewer for the Gates Scholarship.

Katie Gayman
Phillips Academy, Andover, MA
Communications

Katie joined the ACCIS Leadership Team in 2021 as chair of the Communications Committee. Katie is most fulfilled when helping young people articulate their purpose and identity. She began her career as a science teacher at Harvard-Westlake School and transitioned to college counseling in 2009 while working at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, MA. She is currently an Associate Director of College Counseling at Phillips Academy in Andover, MA. Beyond counseling, Katie has served as senior grade dean, faculty representative on the board of trustees, and was a founding member of an early childhood center for the children of local educators. She loves coaching soccer, running on trails with friends, and discussing her favorite shows, articles, and books with colleagues in the office.

Lesley Klecan
St. Mary's School, Medford, OR
Summer Institute

Lesley Klecan joined the ACCIS leadership team in July 2022 as the Summer Institute Chair after co-chairing SI for two years. She is the Director of College Counseling and Head of Academics at St. Mary’s School in Southern Oregon. Lesley was a member of the Counselor Advisory Board for the University of Oregon, an Executive Board member for PNACAC, and the Chair of the Inter-Association Committee. She’s presented at state, regional, and national conferences as well as volunteering her time with local community-based organizations.

Gregg Murray
Vistamar School, El Segundo, CA
Data Trends and Analytics

Gregg joined the ACCIS Leadership Team in 2022. He is Director of Life Planning at Vistamar School in Los Angeles and a former admission representative for Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He has also been an Admission Coach for USC's Bovard Scholars, an Instructor for UCLA Extension's College Counseling Certificate program, and a longtime Application Reader for UCLA. An active member of ACCIS, he has served as an inaugural member of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee and the Data Trends and Analytics Committee and co-hosts the DTA Today webinar series. Gregg was an Executive Board member for WACAC, Chair of the Inter-Association Committee, Co-Chair for the Los Angeles Share, Learn & Connect program, and a member of the Annual Conference Steering Committee.

Warren Quirett
Episcopal High School, Alexandria, VA
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Warren joined the ACCIS Leadership Team in July of 2022 as the Co-Chair of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee. Currently, Warren serves as the Associate Director of College Counseling at Episcopal High School (VA). He began his career in higher education, working in undergraduate admission at his alma mater, Louisiana State University, and Miami University. Warren has served as a College Counselor at Holy Innocents' Episcopal School (GA) and St. John's College High School (DC). He is active within the profession, as he has served on the Board of Directors for the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC) and advisory boards of various colleges and universities throughout the country. He is the Co-Leader of the Black and African Diaspora Special Interest Group for the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and has served in a variety of roles within the organization.