Rick Bischoff -
Case Western University
Rick is the vice president for enrollment management at Case Western Reserve University. Rick's areas of responsibility include enrollment operations, first-year experience and family programs, strategic marketing, undergraduate admission and university financial aid. Rick previously served as director of admissions at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California. He has also served as associate director of admissions at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minn., and as associate director of admissions/director of recruitment strategy at the University of Chicago. Rick is a frequent speaker at national and regional conferences on current trends in higher education enrollment and the strategic use of data and technology. He speaks frequently on college search, selective college admissions and essay writing at high schools across the country. Rick holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics from Macalester College and an MBA in information systems from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.
Julie Smith -
Glenbrook South High School
Julie is the Transition Specialist at Glenbrook South High School. She works with students with disabilities on college, career and full life planning. She earned an undergraduate degree from The University of Missouri-Columbia and a graduate degree from National Louis University. Julie regularly visits college campuses to explore options for students with disabilities and it a member of the CHOICES consortium promoting college options for students with disabilities.
Julie Nelson
Xavier University
Julie is the Regional Recruitment Director for Xavier University in Cincinnati, OH. She has worked in the field of college admissions for more than 20 years. Before becoming part of the Xavier staff, Julie was the Director of Transfer Admission at Lewis University and the Associate Director of Admissions at Bradley University. She has also worked at MacCormac College in Chicago and at her alma mater, Loras College, in Dubuque, IA. In 2006-07, Julie served as President of the Illinois Association for College Admissions Counseling which is an organization dedicated to educating its members to guide parents and students in the transition from high school to postsecondary education. As the Regional Recruitment Director, Julie works from her home in Batavia and is the admissions representative for prospective Xavier students throughout Chicagoland and Wisconsin. Her son, Andrew, will be starting his college search in the spring of 2019, and her daughter, Charlotte, will begin her search in the spring of 2025.
Michele Brown
Oakton Community College
Michele, Director of Student Recruitment & Outreach at Oakton Community College, has over 25 years of professional experience in Admissions and Higher Education. Her work prior to the past 15 years at Oakton, include eight years in admissions at Illinois Institute of Technology, and two years at University of Illinois at Chicago. Michele has a MS in Higher Education from the University of Southern California and a BS in Psychology from Illinois State University. Michele currently serves on a National Admission Committee and on multiple statewide committees.
Megan O'Rourke
Providence College
Megan is currently in her 14th year in admissions, all spent working for private institutions. She is the current President of the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling, and an active member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling. She currently serves as one of two regionally based admission staff members for Providence Colleges, and works with the entire Midwest. Prior to her time at Providence, Megan worked for Marquette University and her alma mater, Butler University. Megan is based in Oak Park, IL.
Mike Melinder
University of Iowa
Mike is entering his fourteenth year in college admissions. He is the President-Elect of the Chicago Area Regional Representatives group, serves on the Executive Board of the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling, and is a Molly K. Arnold President’s Service Recognition Award recipient. During his admissions career he has worked for small, private colleges as well as large, flagship universities. Mike and his family live in Glen Ellyn and his son will be a Hawkeye this coming fall! He is an avid Cubs fan, is proudly left-handed, and coaches high school rugby in his free time.
Jackie Hoefler
Lake Forest College
Jackie started her career at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in graduate recruitment overseeing the marketing and communication for all master's and PhD programs. Jackie then worked at Northwestern University for the Medill School of Journalism and Integrated Marketing Communications in graduate admissions. She currently works for Lake Forest College, which she calls, "my home". This is Jackie's seventh year at Lake Forest College where she holds the position of Senior Director of Admissions where she manages the admission counseling staff, oversees admission decisions and scholarship offers, and leads the recruitment efforts for the college.
Elizabeth Orehovec
University of South Carolina
Elizabeth Orehovec has worked in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of South Carolina for 15 years. She currently serves as the Senior Associate Director and oversees recruitment, marketing and merit scholarship awarding. After earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami, Elizabeth moved to South Carolina to earn her M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration. She has also earned her MBA and Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina. Elizabeth frequently presents on college admissions topics and loves talking with high school students and their parents about things to keep in mind during this critical time.
Ashley Meczywor
Depaul University
Ashley has worked in admissions since 2013, and currently serves as the Assistant Director of Admission for The Theatre School at DePaul University. In her current role, she works with both undergraduate and graduate students in performing arts admissions. Before moving to Chicago, Ashley worked as an Admissions Counselor at Bennington College, a progressive liberal arts college in Vermont. She holds a B.A. degree in Psychology and Theatre Arts from Williams College and is currently working toward her M.Ed. in Counseling (focusing on college counseling & student affairs) through DePaul University.
Scott Siegel
Scott Siegel is the Senior Associate Director of Admissions for Regional Recruitment at his undergraduate alma mater, Indiana University – Bloomington. A regional admissions director at IU since 2002, Scott lives in Milwaukee Wisconsin and manages a recruitment territory that includes Illinois,
Wisconsin and Minnesota. Scott also manages IU’s team of 8 regional admissions directors based around the country in key non-resident markets, directing the team strategy to recruit, admit, and enroll high ability, diverse non-residents to Indiana University. Scott earned an M.Ed in Higher Education and Student Affairs from Miami University in Ohio and worked in student programming at California State University - Sacramento before returning to IU and the Midwest.
Jill Countryman
Jill has 29 years of college admission experience. For the last 16 years she has worked at TCU – serving students in seven Upper-Midwest states. Prior to recruiting Horned Frogs, she was an admission counselor at Southern Methodist University (TX), Simpson College (IA), and Butler University (IN). Earlier in her career she worked as a college counselor for the Upward Bound program at Briar Cliff University (IA). She has twin sons who just turned 21.
Jenn Paar Gross
Jenn is the Senior Associate Director and Midwest Regional Director for the University of Denver. She has been in the admissions field for 31 years with 21 of those years being at U of Denver. She has a BS in Art and a minor in Theatre from Coe College. Her favorite quote is from her father, "Education is a gift that your mom and I can give you that will never be taken away."