About

Lisa Kahan, Ed.M., M.A.
Educational Consultant / College Admissions & School Counselor

As a school counselor with over twenty years of experience in some of the top ranked high schools in the country and prior history in human resources management, I have successfully guided students throughout their academic path to college.

My philosophy is to be student-centered. I have a reputation for developing personal relationships with the students and families with whom I work and for alleviating the stress and anxiety associated with school and the college process. I believe strongly in finding the "right fit" in terms of a college or university for a student to thrive and will go above and beyond what is expected.

I have a double master's from Columbia University -Teacher's College and have worked with students in both the middle and high school levels. I have counseled students in a variety of settings; individually, in small groups, in classroom environments, and remotely. I have also created and led workshops on a variety of topics.

Qualifications

  • Ed.M. Counseling Psychology

    Columbia University - Teacher's College

  • M.A. Organizational Psychology

    Columbia University - Teacher's College

  • Licensed School Counselor

    NY State and New Jersey

  • Prior History as Human Resources Generalist with Emphasis in Training and Development, Recruitment and Employee Relations

  • Membership in IECA, ASCA, NYSSCA, WPRCA

  • Educational Leadership in a Multi-Cultural Environment

  • Specialized Training in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention, Multicultural Counseling, Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills (DBT) - Steps A, Myers Brigg Type Indicator (MBTI), Crisis Management, and Mediation

  • Designed and implemented developmental guidance lessons and workshop presentations

  • Testing Coordination and Master Schedule Development

Testimonials

 

"When Scott and I met Lisa she immediately made a connection with Scott and she was able to get to know him in a way that is absolutely commendable. Her insightful conversation with Scott led him to think more seriously about his college plans and helped him to arrive at a decision to apply early to Wake Forest. Lisa was totally accommodating and proactive. She was always one step ahead of us in gathering materials and checking our status. She was able to help secure a teacher recommendation over the summer as well as the school report card and transcript. She also checked and double checked the status of Scott's application and called us to make sure we were feeling good about everything prior to submitting. I am proud to say that Scott was accepted to Wake Forest and I truly owe much of this success to Lisa Kahan. This is truly an emotional process for a parent and I am actually moved by the level of support we received because I feel that Lisa truly cared about us every step of the way".

— Lisa Purdy, Parent

"The enormous job that Lisa inherited was seeing my senior through the final and most important stages of the college process. I believe that Lisa was very instrumental in my daughter's early decision acceptance. She made many important judgement calls, like which schools to focus on, whether or not to submit very polar ACT scores, and how to handle an unexpected request for first quarter grades. Not only did Lisa make intelligent decisions based upon years of guidance experience, but she also personally placed two calls to the college to give the process a final finesse. A parent really could not ask for more".

— Robin Goodman, M. Ed. (Parent), (Daughter Attended Skidmore)

"Just reaching out to you to say hi, to catch up with you and to share Jordan's successes in college. I want to say thank you again. You made a word of different for that girl and and she has found her path and her tribe at SUNY Potsdam!"

— Sean Bugara, Parent