About me

Who am I?

I'm a UC Berkeley Haas grad who spent eight years in tech, venture capital, and consulting while running admissions coaching on the side. The corporate work taught me how to take something with real potential and build a strategy that makes its value undeniable. When I officially established The Leeway, I realized I was better at this than anything else I'd done. More importantly, I cared about it far more.

Why admissions coaching?

Before The Leeway, I was inside Carnegie Mellon’s admissions office and worked with UC Berkeley TAP. I went through thousands of applications. Most blurred together and lacked a unique edge. Naturally, the strongest applicants were the ones who'd had help turning who they actually were into something an admissions officer would advocate for during decision time.

The students who got rejected usually had everything they needed except that one thing. I kept thinking: with the right person in their corner, most of them would have gotten in, and thrived once they did. The Leewayis my answer to that.

What I do differently

Here's what it comes down to: I care about this on a level that's probably irrational for a business. I lose sleep over my students’ progress. I turn down students I don't think I can place into top schools, rather than take their money.

This isn't a side hustle, and it isn't on its way to becoming another big firm that charges a premium and hands you off to junior staff. I coach one student at a time, start to finish, no associates and no ghostwriters. I've built my whole professional life around getting students into schools that change where their lives go, and doing it at the highest level I'm capable of.

Beyond The Leeway

I'm a Program Lead with Minds Matter, a national nonprofit that coaches high-achieving students from low-income backgrounds toward college access. The system should reward effort over privilege. Working with students who have the most to gain keeps me sharp and keeps me honest about why this work matters.

I'm based out of Berkeley, but you’ll frequently find me up and down California and overseas in Asia as I travel for my students.