Felicia Fahey, PhD Founder

Felicia graduated from UC Berkeley with a BA in Comparative Literature and completed a PhD in Literature and Cultural Studies at UC Santa Cruz. She is the author of The Will to Heal: Narrative Recovery in the Novels of Latina Authors and of numerous academic articles. Her academic experience, in learning, teaching and advising spans the Small Ivy Leagues, faith affiliated colleges, and both public and private educational institutions worldwide. She currently serves as a Director of Independent Studies at the Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. Felicia is fluent in Spanish and has lived abroad in Vienna, Madrid, and Buenos Aires.  

Felicia has a unique gift for connecting with students and their families to facilitate their desired academic trajectories. With a solid understanding of the complex, competitive and stressful academic environment for this generation of young people, Felicia creates a safe, structured process and elicits the essential qualities that bring student applications to life. As a college instructor of creative writing, autobiographical narrative, and expository composition, Felicia's work is grounded in multiple teaching methodologies and current practices in academia shaping the admissions process, classroom learning, career development and graduation trends.

In an effort to improve access to college for all families, Felicia presents many times a year on various topics for libraries and public high schools throughout the Bay Area. Additionally, Felicia offers her advising and workshops to underserved communities and provides comprehensive pro bono consulting to selected students. 




Meg Levad, MFA, Poet

Meg Levad directs the San Francisco office. Meg received her BA in English from The University of Iowa, then earned her MFA in poetry at the University of Michigan. The author of Why We Live in the Dark Ages and What Have I to Say to You, her poems and essays have appeared in Boston Review, Granta Online, Poem-a-Day, and Tin House, among other places. She is currently at work on a book about rural America in 1987, for which she was awarded a Summer 2017 MacDowell Colony Fellowship.

Meg has taught writing, literature, ecology, and ethics in a variety of settings (including on top of Mt. Washington, the windiest peak in the U.S.). She has also worked in student development in many different capacities, including on the admissions team at NYU and as the Assistant Director of the Helen Zell Writers' Program at Michigan. She enjoys using Felicia’s process to help students identify the moments that have shaped their character and perspective so that they can craft college essays that showcase their unique gifts and goals. Meg coaches students through the writing process in workshops and weekly meetings that focus on developing a distinct voice and organizing ideas for compelling impact. This summer she is running writing workshops in San Francisco and the East Bay. Stay tuned for updates on these additions!

Jill Reyna-Jones, Branding Artist 

Jill Reyna-Jones directs the Pasadena office.  Jill grew up in Los Angeles and holds a BA from UC Berkeley. She brings over 15 years of experience in communications, marketing, and content development for National Geographic, medical research institutions, museums, startups, and educational organizations. Her own writing and editing background spans works in fiction, non-fiction, academic writing, technical writing, editorial, and script writing.  Jill spent years helping individuals and companies to identify and breathe new life into their unique vision and mission.
 
Jill loves working with young students to support their creative process and to provide them with insightful advice about how they can present their own personal perspective and to see that they are already in the process of creating their own "brand". Her goal is to empower her students to write thoughtfully, applying their genuine, nuanced voice in a well-crafted and compelling essay.