Staff | Pro Bono Support

Nina W. Marks, President and Board Chair
Having been an independent schoolteacher and administrator for 30 years, Nina Marks left the National Cathedral School ("NCS") in Washington, DC to found Marks Counseling Associates, LLC in 2004, and Collegiate Directions, Inc. in 2005. After spending many years as an AP English teacher, Nina became NCS' Director of College Guidance in 1992. She wrote the National Cathedral School College Handbook, which was copyrighted and sold. During her tenure, she created and directed a nationally recognized college guidance program. In 2002, she assumed additional responsibilities as Assistant Head. (Read full bio)

Theresa O. Atta, Executive Director
Theresa Atta became CDI's founding Executive Director in October 2005. Theresa's deep, personal commitment to social justice and issues of equal access in higher education derives from her own background. Her mother immigrated to the United States from Kenya with only a seventh-grade education, but she was determined that Theresa and her brothers would work hard and benefit from the learning opportunities she never had. With the assistance of the Washington-based Black Student Fund, Theresa enrolled in the National Cathedral School in seventh grade and graduated as the Senior Class President. (Read full bio)

Ana I. Hilton, Counselor
Ana Hilton joined CDI in 2008 after having worked at the College of Wooster in Ohio in the Dean of Students' office. While at Wooster, she served as a Resident Director for first-year housing. She coordinated New Student Orientation and established Summer Connect, a new student transition program. Ana also worked with a peer mentor program, which primarily focused on the support and retention of multi-ethnic students. (Read full bio)

Tiara L. Gantt, Counselor
Tiara Gantt joined CDI in January 2010 after having worked at the Robinson Career Management Center at Georgia State University.  While at GSU, she served as a Career Counselor and Adjunct Faculty member to students within the College of Business.  She provided individual career guidance and support throughout the career exploration process. (Read full bio)

Juliana Avery, Office & Outreach Coordinator
Prior to joining CDI in March 2010, Juliana Avery spent two years as the Administrative Assistant at Dana Press, the publishing branch of the Dana Foundation.  She graduated with honors from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2008, double majoring in Playwriting and History.  She originally is from Rockville, Maryland and proudly attended Montgomery County Public Schools from kindergarten through twelfth grade.

Pro Bono services provided by Marks Counseling Associates (MCA) by the following:

Tutoring and Test Preparation

Nitin Sawhney, Director of Tutoring and Test Preparation
Nitin Sawhney has more than ten years of experience as a standardized test instructor. Before he started the Tutoring and Test Preparation division of MCA, he worked as a senior tutor and materials developer for the SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT at PrepMatters, Inc. He has also worked at Kaplan, Inc., and the USDA Graduate School. Nitin joined Marks Counseling in 2006. He teaches test preparation and study skills, and provides tutoring to CDI Scholars.

Daniel L. Bloss, Tutor
Daniel Bloss has considerable tutoring experience at both the high school and college level, most recently as a private tutor specializing in high school academic tutoring. He joined Marks Counseling in December 2006 as a member of the Tutoring and Test Preparation division. He also offers test preparation and tutoring to CDI Scholars.

Jill E. Salisbury, Tutor
Jill Salisbury joined Marks Counseling in March 2008. She has considerable experience with students from the pre-kindergarten through the high school level, most recently as a Tutor and the Director of Sales at Score! Educational Centers (a division of Kaplan). She also offers test preparation and tutoring to Scholars in the Collegiate Directions, Inc. program.

Phillip Chang, Tutor
Phillip Chang was awarded a National Merit Scholarship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and graduated in three years with a degree in Computer Science. In March 2010, he joined Marks Counseling and CDI, where he follows the same three-part test preparation method as the rest of the tutoring team: Customized Test Planning, Targeted Skill Building, and Test Strategy.

Counseling

Denise C. Buchanan, Board Member and Counselor
Denise has spent her professional life working with children and families in independent school settings. Until June 2006 Denise served as Director of Admission and Financial Aid at National Cathedral School (NCS). In September 2008 Denise joined Marks Counseling, where she counsels families navigating the school admission process. With over thirty years of experience as a teacher, advisor and administrator, Denise's knowledge base of independent schools, both boarding and day, extends throughout the eastern United States.

Barbara K. Hancock, Counselor
Barbara Hancock taught tenth and twelfth grade English and served as an academic advisor at The Madeira School. She joined Marks Counseling in June 2008. In addition to working with MCA clients, Barbara assists in providing similar counseling services to the Scholars in the Collegiate Directions, Inc. program.

Brooke R. Fernandez, Counselor
Brooke Fernandez worked as Assistant Director of Admissions and Coordinator of the Alumni Admissions Support Program at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She joined Marks Counseling in March 2006 and now works part-time. In addition to working with MCA clients, she assists in providing similar counseling services to the CDI Scholars.

Maureen R. Hamilton, Executive Assistant to the President
Born in Tanzania and educated in Kenya, Maureen immigrated to Chicago with her family.  She spent 17 years as a legal secretary at law firms in the Chicago area, before taking time to raise her daughters, both of whom are now in college.  Maureen joined Marks Counseling Associates in July 2004 and serves as Nina Marks’ Executive Assistant.  She began working with CDI in 2005, and, among other responsibilities, she helps to organize special events.

Pro bono services provided by MARKSADR, LLC by the following:

Jonathan B. Marks, Board Treasurer
Jonathan has been a full-time dispute resolution professional since 1981, when he co-founded ENDISPUTE. From 1994, when ENDISPUTE merged with Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, until 1999, he was Vice-Chairman of JAMS-ENDISPUTE and Chairman of the firm’s Executive Committee, which set professional practice policies and standards for the firm’s 400 former judges and attorney neutrals. In 1999, Jonathan founded MARKSADR, LLC, where he now practices.

Donna Deaton, Board Recording Secretary and Strategic Development Advisor
Donna Deaton joined the CDI team in November 2006 shortly after being hired as Case Manager for MARKSADR, a high-stakes mediation practice run by CDI Board Member, Jonathan Marks.  Donna led the team in the development of a grant proposal template and continues to pursue additional development research. Previously, she worked at The Dana Foundation, focusing on educational events and the Dana Press. Prior to that she worked at The Chronicle of Higher Education where, as the National Director of Display Advertising, she helped launch The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

Veronica Wilson, Office Manager
Veronica Wilson joined MARKSADR as Office Manager in January 2008 with over eight years of experience in the accounting/finance, human resources, and administrative fields. She served as senior accountant at the Community Academy Public Charter School in Washington, DC and as comptroller/human resource administrator at Diplomatic Language Services, LLC. Veronica oversees financial transactions and bookkeeping for MARKSADR, LLC, Marks Counseling Associates, LLC, and Collegiate Directions, Inc .