Who We Are
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ForWord Consulting LLC is a small company of independent college admissions counselors and educational consultants in the DC metro area. We specialize in Northern Virginia, Maryland, Washington, DC, and private schools. Cathy Ganley, MA, Owner and Lead College Counselor, member IECA Cathy Ganley has a background steeped in higher education. She understands the admissions process and hand holds each client through it, from choosing colleges, creating a working resume, preparing for the SATs/ACTs, completing applications, understanding financial aid, and applying for scholarships. Cathy grew up in Arlington County, attended O'Connell High School, and raised her own three children in Fairfax County (TJ and McLean High Schools), which means she's got some serious insight into what's happening and why. Many call Cathy the "teen whisperer" because she understands how teens think and what they need for motivation. Cathy thinks that it's because she's tired of talking loudly to get her own children to listen but she's grateful for the praise nonetheless. Dr. Jay Bass, Senior College Counselor Jay Bass brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and success to ForWord Consulting in assisting secondary school families and their students. In addition to a rewarding career in Fairfax County and Montgomery County Schools as a teacher, trainer, counselor and Director of Student Services, Dr. Bass has been assisting students with their college admissions process for over twenty years. Dr. Bass has delivered seminars nationally to educational staff and parents on topics ranging from risk, violence, and substance abuse prevention; to bullying, effective parenting and school staff collaboration. Dr. Bass resides in Falls Church and is the proud parent of three happily launched adult children. Coach Robert Bean, Senior College Counselor and Executive Function Coach Robert Bean, MA & NACAC, has been working with teenagers for more than 20 years as a teacher, counselor, basketball coach, and executive function coach. He is a certified teacher and holds a master’s degree in School Counseling. During 14 years as a counselor in public high schools, Coach Bean provided comprehensive support to more than 900 students and their families in the process of choosing and applying to colleges. Through contacts with college admissions officers, he’s gained insight into the many variables that colleges consider when choosing incoming first-year students. Coach Bean applies coaching technique to the application process to help students improve their self awareness, time management, and their ability to multi-task. Robert lives in Chevy Chase, MD and he has his hands full with one teenager and pre-teen of his own. Emily Klipper, Senior College Counselor For more than 10 years, Emily has provided hands-on College Advising for over 3,000 highly sophisticated and diverse students in two of the highest-rated districts in the country: Arlington, VA, and Bellevue, WA. She has helped optimize the college advising process through precise academic course selection, extracurricular planning, essay development, school research, engagement/networking best practices, and guidance through the AP and IB processes. Emily’s experience has provided her with strong relationships with college admissions officers and a deep understanding of the technology associated with applying, including Naviance, Common App, Coalition App and College Board. Kristina DeVesty, Essay Coach Kristina DeVesty attended James Madison University, where she obtained a degree in English and a minor in Creative Writing. She has a Master of Arts in Teaching and spent five years teaching high school English with Arlington Public Schools. She has certifications in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate, and is a Certified Wilson Dyslexia Practitioner. The past several years she has exclusively worked on college essay writing. She believes in student ownership of the writing process, and aims to empower students to level-up the skills they have in order to tell a story that matters. When Kristina's not talking about writing, she's chasing her own kiddos -- she has four under the age of seven; that's why she looks so tired. Amy Kossoff Smith, Essay Coach Amy Smith brings decades of journalism and PR experience to help students get creative and stand out in the college admissions process. She loves inspiring teenagers to find their Wow Factor, keep it real and authentic, and engage interest in their fabulous stories. Amy graduated in the top 10% of her class from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. Amy’s published writing and business ventures have been featured on The Today Show, ABC National News, and in The Wall Street Journal and New York Times. Married to Mitch for 26 years, Amy has three sons: graduates of Vanderbilt and Duke plus a junior at the University of South Carolina. Her two Labradors, Zoe & Whiskey, frequently pop into editing sessions to steal an apple core out of the trash can when they know Amy is too focused to stop them. |
What We Do
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ForWord Consulting builds relationships to help your family meet its academic goals. We do this by asking questions, listening, creating plans, and encouraging your children in their pursuit of their academic goals, with as little family stress as possible. |
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Where We Work
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We serve all areas of the Washington, DC metropolitan region using Zoom as well as occasional in-person meetings.
We have worked with students from McLean, Oakton, Langley, Thomas Jefferson, Falls Church, Meridian, Yorktown, H-B, W-L, Sidwell Friends, Holy Child, Bullis, Landon, Oakcrest, O'Connell, Gonzaga, The Heights, Georgetown Prep, Dominion High School, Woodson, Arlington Tech, Marshall, Visitation, Herndon, Annandale, James Madison and many other DC, VA, and MD private and public high schools |
What We Stand For
We proudly support all students without regard to race, religion, sexual orientation, belief, residency status, politics.