COC University Center Workshop - College Planning Experts

Jose Ireta, College Counselor

Jose Ireta was born and raised in California and retired from public education in 2021. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Speech Communication from the California State University system and holds two master’s degrees, one in Counseling and one in Educational Administration, both were earned from the Graduate School of Education at California Lutheran University, where he was named Outstanding Graduate Student in Counselor & Guidance in 2002.

Mr. Ireta began to work as a private college counselor in 2017 in addition to his work at the high school. His multiple positions have allowed him to work with a diverse student body. It is his goal to guide all students to achieve their goals, regardless of their background or academic abilities. As a dedicated counselor with over 25 years of experience assisting students with college applications, he possesses a deep understanding of the challenges and nuances involved in the college admissions process. His previous roles as both a private college counselor and a public school counselor at an International Baccalaureate high school have honed his skills in essay editing, building realistic college lists, and supporting students from diverse backgrounds.

Omeed Alizada, College Planner

Lucy Tahmasian, Operations Manager

With over 10 years of experience as an Assistant Vice President overseeing compliance at Bank of America, Lucy brings a strong attention to detail that is crucial in the college planning process. As someone who attended CSUN and a mother of two, she is passionate about helping families turn the college planning journey into an exciting and positive experience. She loves supporting parents during this important time, guiding them with confidence and ease to create an environment where their children can thrive and succeed.

Melissa Royal, College Counselor

I am a dedicated professional with over 10 years of higher education experience concentrating in a variety of student affairs areas including admissions/outreach, academic advising, orientation/transitional programming, and student support services with a comprehensive understanding of the enrollment management funnel and retention/completion initiatives.

In addition, I have over four years of administrative management and supervision experience with as many as nine direct reports in high-volume and high-impact departments. All of my professional experience has focused on the development, success, and retention of community college, transfer, and non-traditional students and academic transfer pathways.

Jennifer Rasmussen, College Counselor

Jennifer has over 20+ years of experience and expertise working in college admissions counseling with both public and private school students. She has a great amount of knowledge of top-tiered colleges across the U.S. In addition, her contribution as an External Admissions Reader for UCSD and UCD provides her with an up-to-date understanding of how the world’s leading public research universities are selecting a freshman class. She has an M.S. in Counseling with a PPS Credential and a B.A. in Child Development.

Affiliations
National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC)
Western Association of College Admission Counseling (WACAC)
Jesuit High School College Counseling Association (JHSCCA)

I have a passion for leading and supporting high school students through creating a college list that is tailored and personable to each young person. I have worked as a high school counselor for over 17 years at a California private college prep school where over 90% of students apply to 4-year colleges. My years of dedication to students and the college admission process have also given me amazing opportunities to create professional relationships with reputable colleges and admission representatives.

My focus is on the student through creating a trustworthy communication, listening, and direction relationship. Students work well with me because the relationship is honest, direct, and supportive.
I have two adult kids who have both been through the college application cycle which gave me a great insight into understanding what parents are also going through during the process. Now that I am an “empty nester”, I spend a lot of time training and competing in my favorite sport of running.

Student Testimonial
“I loved working with Ms. Rasmussen! She was there right by my side throughout the college application process. I never felt stressed because of her support, guidance, and having my interests first. She believed in me and in the end, I accepted admission to the college which was the right fit for me.” – Austin F.

Randy Narciso,
VP Product Innovation
& Client Services

With over three decades of strategic leadership in the high-technology sector, Randy Narciso has forged a distinguished career in high-tech product management and strategic marketing, while delivering groundbreaking AI and ML solutions within the ed-tech, retail, government, networking, renewable energy, and enterprise sectors. He holds a BSEE and MBA from the University of Southern California.

Randy is happily married to his wife Peachie of 20+ years and has two young boys, Reid and Logan. Randy’s journey with College Planning Experts is deeply personal and emotionally resonant, drawing from his vast experience in educational technology, entrepreneurship, and youth sports. Randy’s knowledge of the complexities of college planning is enriched by his own family’s experiences with the college planning process. He has navigated the complexities of college admissions, scholarships, and financial planning with Reid, his oldest son who was accepted at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in 2023 and is currently guiding Logan, his youngest son who will be a freshman at Alemany HS in the fall of 2024.

At College Planning Experts, Randy assumes the pivotal role of Vice President of Product Innovation and Client Services, where he spearheads efforts to ensure unparalleled client satisfaction while pioneering the development of cutting-edge educational products, solutions, and services. Leveraging his extensive technological expertise, Randy is instrumental in the launch of transformative solutions aimed at optimizing business operations and unlocking new revenue streams through software automations and AI-driven processes. As a trusted client advisor, he offers invaluable counsel, services, and solutions to families embarking on the complex journey of college admissions, financial aid, and financial planning.

Laura Padilla, College Counselor

Laura received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She majored in Anthropology and minored in Education. Laura’s passion for education, led her in pursuing her Master of Science in School Counseling from California State University, Long Beach as well as a Certificate in Higher Education and College Counseling from California State University, Los Angeles.

Laura has worked in education since 2011. At that time, she facilitated various educational workshops on the college application process. In 2014, she started providing comprehensive college counseling services to students in grades 9th-12th. She’s guided hundreds of students through the college application process. Laura is passionate about helping students apply and prepare for college. She loves college application season. She strongly believes the college application is a great place for students to reflect on their accomplishments and highlight the various qualities that make them unique.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time in nature. She enjoys camping, gardening and spending time with her dog and husband.

Coco "Corinne" Greiner, College Counselor

Corinne (Coco) Lee has been a college admissions counselor for more than six years. She considers herself to be a cheerleader for students’ higher education dreams and especially enjoys helping clients to discover and celebrate their strengths. Her clients have received millions of dollars in merit and talent scholarships.

Ms. Lee has been certified by Columbia University in college advising, and she has been certified by Harvard University in editing/publishing. She received her Master’s in writing from the University of Texas-Austin on a fellowship and also studied at the prestigious Iowa Writers’ Workshop on a fellowship. Her undergraduate degree is from U.S.C., where she majored in English, was a Thematic Option honors scholar, and studied, through an exchange program, at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Ms. Lee is an award-winning author; she won the National Poetry Series and has had two books published by Viking Penguin. Six of her poems have been included in Best American Poetry. She also has won numerous teaching awards, including honors from the University of Texas-Austin’s alumni association. She is a proud mother of two seniors at Columbia University (Columbia College, Barnard College) and enjoys sculpting, gardening, and parenting several quirky rescue animals.

Andrew Wallop, Funding Analyst

Andrew’s background is in finance and education. After graduating from Denison University in 1987, he got his training in merchant and investment banking in London before moving to Taiwan where he spent the next 18 years building a business advising students interested in integrating into schools in The United States. Since moving back to California he has combined his passion for education and finance by helping students and their families navigate the waters of maximizing financial aid and, just as importantly, developing ways to pay for college without sacrificing their other goals in life. After seeing firsthand how heartbreaking and frustrating it is for families to not be able to send their children to the college of their dreams due to finances, Andrew has made it his mission to help tilt the odds in the student’s favor. No two situations are the same, and this makes working with each family a unique experience with many options and opportunities to explore together.

Makou Aboli, College Counselor

Makou was born and raised in Los Angeles. She attended California State University, Long Beach, and earned both a B.A in Spanish and an M.S in Counseling with a PPS Credential. In addition, she also earned a College and Career Counseling Certificate from California State University, Los Angeles.

She has worked with high school students for the past 10 years in preparing them for college. She has had a lot of success with students getting into their dream college with the intensive workshops that she has conducted.

She became a College Counselor because she felt that when she was in high school her counselor never helped her reach her full potential as a student. In fact, she only saw her counselor once a year and that was to get her class schedule. When she went to college she was not prepared. She had to teach herself everything. She did not know what was financial aid and what support services she had on campus. Her first-year experience in college was a bit scary and she knew that she did not want anyone to go through the same struggles as she did as a first-time freshman.

Fast forward, she now has been a College Counselor for 10 years and can say that she has helped students be successful through the entire college-going process at ease. She has worked closely with high school students in the Los Angeles area. She is currently a UCLA reader which allows her to be able to help students understand what is needed to have a competitive and comprehensive application. When she became a College Counselor 10 years ago she knew that this was the best and most rewarding decision she have ever made. She truly enjoys working with each and every one of her students and she wouldn’t change this career for anything. When Makou is not doing College Counseling, some of the things she likes to do for fun are hiking, lifting weights at the gym and she is part of a Salsa team.

Genessy Safdari, CFO

Genessy is a graduate of Alemany High School and is a former student of Pierce College. Genessy, like Brian, didn’t understand the college planning process. She assumed she’d attend Pierce College after high school because she wasn’t aware of any other options. She didn’t know in what she wanted to major, and she didn’t take any of the admission exams required for four year colleges while she was in high school. After trying to navigate the transfer process alone she made a tough decision and decided to enter the workforce. Needing to support herself financially she turned to real estate.

She made the switch to college planning in 2006 when she found a deep seeded passion for helping students. She enjoys being a part of a team that ensures families are educated on the options available to them.

In her free time she enjoys traveling and spending time with her husband, 2 kids, and 2 dogs.

Brian Safdari, CEO & Founder

Brian Safdari is the founder of College Planning Experts. He is the leading authority on getting your child into his/her dream school and on finding ways to pay for your child’s college costs without going broke.

Raised in the San Fernando Valley, Brian was a four-year varsity soccer player. As Chatsworth High School’s soccer captain and center midfielder, he was one of the highest ranked soccer players in the West. He was a player for the Valley League, he was on the Olympic Development Program for the California State Team, and he was on the U.S. Junior Tournament Team at the France ’98 World Cup. Brian thought he’d have a full ride to play NCAA Division I Soccer in college, but during his senior year of high school he had a career ending injury. It changed everything. Instead of going to his dream school, Duke University, Brian ended up settling on a local state school simply because of cost. What Brian didn’t know was that he could have gone to his dream school for less money than the sticker price indicated. Then, after procrastinating and making multiple mistakes on his financial aid forms, Brian took on over $50,000 in student loans to attend his local state school. He graduated college in debt and without a targeted passion for a specific career. It was only after attending debt consolidation conferences that Brian learned the insider strategies he missed out on during his college planning process.

After his personal experience, he decided to devote his life and career to helping parents and children learn the truth about the college planning process. He now directs families on what it takes to get accepted to a dream college, how to receive thousands of dollars in financial aid, regardless of income or assets, and how to properly fund for the cost of college without going broke.

Today, Brian has helped over 25,000 families in helping them achieve their college dreams. His clients come from afar and attend educationally diverse schools. Brian has also published his own book, College Planning Made Easy.

Stuart Siegal, Financial Aid Director

The financial aid system is complicated. Depending on circumstances it could be less or more so. Can it be aggravating? Yes. Is it sometimes frustrating? Absolutely. What can anyone expect from a 40-year-old federal bureaucracy? Be that as it may, if you don’t have at least a working knowledge of how aid is awarded and to whom, I can practically guarantee you will pay more than you might otherwise.

I’ve been in your shoes before. 25 years ago when I was getting ready to send my oldest child to college, I didn’t know how to navigate the financial aid process any more than you do now. After spending 30+ hours trying to figure it out on my own, I sent in the forms, only to be let down by the amount my daughter received. And back then the cost of a college like Wellesley in Massachusetts was about $33,000 all in. That was a lot of money! Twenty-four years later it’s now $81,000. All of the colleges are almost three times what they used to be in 1997.

Fortunately, I was a licensed financial planner and buried myself in books and thousands of pages of financial aid rules and regulations. And I have to admit learning over ten thousand pages of congressional language (Higher Education Reauthorization Act of 1965 and subsequent updates) was painful. But I learned more than enough to win more money for my other two and that made up for what I lost on Child #1.

Over a few years of study, I learned from financial aid professionals, admissions counselors, and others to earn a reputation as THE Financial Aid Negotiator. From then on, I started doing for others exactly what I did for myself. I learned how to unlock tens of thousands of dollars–dollars that I thought were out of reach for families like mine. After a quarter of a century, my peers and clients have come to see me as ‘the’ financial aid experts expert.

During those years 25 years, I’ve helped tens of thousands of families navigate the financial aid process and access millions of dollars in free aid.

Just as I’ve done for more than 104,000 families, I can help you get more free money for your child and even show you how to pay next to nothing for college if you want to go that route. I can’t guarantee you the same kind of success most of our clients have enjoyed. Some of it is up to you. To get what you want have to participate. We provide you with the information, advice, and tools to get through this thing relatively unscathed.

Heather McKay, College Counselor

Heather serves exclusively as the Diamond Membership College Counselor for College Planning Experts. A graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara with both a B.A. in English and a M.A. in Educational Leadership, Heather’s education in writing and higher education policies makes her an exceptional advisor and essay guide. She also has unparalleled experience to share with her students.

Heather has held various roles in higher education for the last decade. She spent four years working for an international test preparation company, becoming an expert on standardized tests and college entrance exams. She knows how to best approach admissions tests. She then worked as a college counselor, both for a boutique college consulting firm and for a large public school. Working with hundreds of students, she has expertise in all types of personalities and goals. Her students have been accepted to schools ranging from Stanford, to USC, to UCLA, to Cal Poly SLO, UT Austin, Michigan, etc. She also worked closely with admissions reps from various colleges and universities, bringing presentations with new information to her families. During the course of her career, she also obtained her teaching credential in Career Technical Education, so she is an expert on creating curriculum to showcase various career opportunities to her students.

Before coming to work with our Diamond clients, Heather founded her own college admissions firm, giving her an in-depth understanding of college consulting. Her prowess in this industry is unparalleled. She understands how to a create custom college plan for each student and how to successfully team with schools for your child’s success. But more than that, college is an exciting experience, and she wants to make the application process fun! She wants her students to succeed and be happy with their journey and goals. When she is not working, Heather enjoys spending time with her husband, two kids, and two dogs. She loves hiking and is a country music enthusiast.

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