Our Story

We (Dean and Pedro) met working together on the Bates College Admissions team. Pedro had just graduated from Amherst College, where he served as an Amherst Admissions Student Interviewer, tour guide, and Admissions assistant. Dean had just graduated from Bates as an athlete, actor, and dorm advisor. Although Amherst was Dean’s top choice, Bates turned out to be the perfect fit—teaching us early on that finding the right type of school matters more than chasing a dream school.

We immediately clicked. Together we tried novel recruitment strategies and drove record numbers of applicants and yield of students from our managed territories and specialized focus areas such as sports and the arts. We were promoted and given more responsibilities to help Bates increase its national presence. Pedro and Dean were inspired by the students and families we met. Listening to them, we realized how personal the decision to attend was to each family.

After Bates, we took different paths: Dean went to “the other side of the desk” and began working as the Director of College Counseling at some of the most prestigious secondary schools in the U.S. (Choate Rosemary Hall, Princeton Day School, & Alburquerque Academy) and Europe (American School of Madrid and St. John's International School in Waterloo), guiding thousands of students and their families through the college search and application process. He has direct experience guiding all types of students to the school that best fits their needs from the Ivies to state universities, liberal arts colleges to specialty programs. 

Pedro worked as an independent college counselor and went on to earn an MBA from Duke, serving as an interviewer for the Fuqua admissions office. Pedro proceeded to spend the next 20+ years at Microsoft, leading entertainment and advertising efforts for Xbox and becoming an expert in the 12-24 age group. He was repeatedly recognized as a top people manager and career development leader as shown by his appointment to managerial training boards and coaching certification. In parallel with True North Advisors, he serves as a career mentor at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business, guest speaker/panelist for marketing discussions, and avid supporter/former coach of his kids' sports.

Recently, as parents helping our own children through the college process, we had our approach tested and our thoughts verified, landing our kids into the schools that were right for them. Our conversations during our childrens' process led us to partner up, supporting other families facing this unique challenge from the perspective of experienced counselors from both sides of the decision process and as fellow parents.