Susan received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Rochester and was a doctoral candidate in methodology at the University of Chicago. She has 30 years of leadership experience in community and nonprofit organizations including 16 years as Executive Director of College Bound Opportunities (2009-2025), where she oversaw all aspects of the organization. She was responsible for all programming and for ensuring each student’s success throughout the 6+ years of their CBO and college journey. She worked directly with the Scholars and their families, helping them complete their college applications, financial aid forms such as FAFSA and CSS, and helped decipher financial aid and loan packages. .

Prior to CBO Susan was a volunteer for 11 years in Deerfield High School’s College and Career Resource Center (CCRC) where she conducted scholarship and college searches for students and parents, maintained the school’s scholarship database, and was instrumental in implementing Naviance, a K-12 student success planning program.

Susan has a wealth of expertise in financial aid and a Financial Aid Certification from ISAC (Illinois Student Assistance Commission) and is a member of IACAC. She has been a Gates Scholarship application reader for 15 years and an interviewer of Gates Scholarship finalists for 10 years.

Elissa graduated with a BA in English from Colgate University. Her first career was in publishing and then advertising at three advertising agencies. While raising her two children, Elissa obtained a certificate in Early Childhood Education and worked as a preschool teacher for 12 years. 

After obtaining a College Counseling certificate from UC Irvine Elissa worked as an Independent College Consultant for several years before joining College Bound Opportunities (CBO). As CBO’s Director of College Persistence and college consultant for 12 years, Elissa helped students research colleges, create their college lists and complete all parts of the college application process, including essay brainstorming and editing. She also worked with college admissions representatives across the country, visiting college campuses and keeping up-to-date on admissions trends. 

Once CBO Scholars entered college Elissa assisted with their college journey learning about and helping students with college academic requirements, resources, and any other needs they had. Elissa and Susan built this persistence program together which resulted in a 98% college graduation rate for their students.

As a member of IACAC and IECA, Elissa attends conferences, visits campuses and meets with college representatives to stay current with the admissions landscape.