Decades of Experience. A Shared Commitment to Families.
Our team has dedicated their careers to supporting teenagers and their families. Together, we bring practical guidance, compassion, and perspective to the challenges of parenting through the college admission process.
We have presented this workshop at the National Association for College Admission Counseling’s annual conference, Phillips Academy Andover, Buckingham Browne & Nichols School, and the Lexington Community Center.
We’d love to bring this conversation to your community. Whether you represent a parent association, school, faculty group, or community organization, reach out to explore how our workshop can support your audience.
Melissa Abraham, PhD
Melissa Abraham, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist with a psychotherapy practice in Concord, Massachusetts (melissaabrahamphd.com). She is on the faculty at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Dr. Abraham earned her doctorate at Northwestern University Medical School and holds a master’s degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. She has worked with adults and older adolescents for over 25 years. Her practice offers shorter- and longer-term individual therapy, often for parents of adolescents and young adults, combining practical strategies for managing emotions and navigating family relationships with deeper, insight-oriented work as needed. She helps parents navigate the uncertainty, stress, and emotional complexity of college admissions while maintaining perspective and connection with their children.
Katie Gayman
Katie is most fulfilled when helping young people articulate their purpose and identity. Upon graduating from Dartmouth College in 2001, she became a middle and high school science teacher at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. She earned her master’s in Educational Administration and Training at Boston University in 2007 while teaching at Buckingham Browne and Nichols School, then transitioned to college counseling shortly thereafter.
Katie currently serves as Associate Director of College Counseling at Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts. In addition to counseling students, she has served as a senior class dean, varsity soccer coach, faculty representative to the board of trustees, and Chair of the ACCIS Communications Committee from 2022 to 2025. She loves coaching and playing soccer and is most at home adventuring in New Hampshire's woods with her husband and two middle school-aged children.
Amy Selinger
Amy Selinger is the Senior Associate Director of College Counseling at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts, where she also teaches Honors U.S. History and coaches lacrosse. She brings nearly three decades of experience in college counseling, having spent twenty years at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, most recently as Director of College Counseling. Amy is also the Co-Director of Blackberry River Retreat, a professional retreat that trains independent school college counselors. She holds a Master of Education in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies, with a minor in Women’s Studies, from Colby College. She is the proud parent of two daughters—one a recent college graduate and one currently in college—both of whom successfully navigated the college process, largely by ignoring their mother’s advice.
Lauren Watson
Lauren Watson has spent more than 22 years helping over 1000 families navigate the college admission process. A former admissions officer at Boston College, she has held college counseling roles at Bellarmine College Preparatory, Stuart Hall High School, The Harker School, and Buckingham Browne & Nichols School.
Lauren founded Watson College Consulting in 2021 to provide thoughtful, relationship-based guidance that keeps students’ confidence, independence, and well-being at the center. Her approach gives parents practical tools and perspective while helping families keep the college process from taking over family life. A national and regional presenter on college admissions and student well-being, Lauren also brings the everyday perspective of raising three teenage sons.