About us

Whitney Shashou is the Founder and CEO of Admit NY and one of New York City’s leading middle and high school admissions consultants. With more than 12 years of experience in school admissions and placement, Whitney is known for her strategic insight, deep institutional knowledge, and trusted relationships across the independent school landscape.

Whitney is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and holds a Master’s in Teaching from Relay Graduate School of Education. She is a Professional Member of the Independent Educational Consultants Association (IECA) and the Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY).

Over the course of her career, Whitney has served as a classroom teacher, curriculum developer, middle school program director, and high school placement director at a NYC-based nonprofit. She has successfully guided hundreds of students through highly competitive public and private school admissions processes, helping families navigate decisions with clarity, confidence, and long-term vision. At Admit NY, she brings together rigorous admissions expertise and longstanding relationships with admissions offices to help families identify and secure their strongest educational fit.

Whitney began her career teaching in public schools in West Philadelphia. Her commitment to educational equity took her to Cape Town, South Africa, where she taught at an underserved high school, and later to Brooklyn as a Teach For America corps member and curriculum developer. As High School Placement Director at Breakthrough New York, Whitney managed admissions and placement for more than 65 students annually, increasing independent school acceptances by over 50% and achieving a 100% matriculation rate to college-preparatory high schools nationwide. In that role, she built and sustained relationships with over 100 independent day and boarding schools, expertise she brings to every Admit NY family.

Whitney founded Admit NY with the belief that every child deserves to thrive in the right school environment and that thoughtful, strategic guidance can make that possible. That belief continues to shape the company’s work and its reputation for excellence, integrity, and results.

Emily grew up in Philadelphia, where she attended a local private Friends school before matriculating to Choate Rosemary Hall. She received a B.A. in psychology from Boston University and then moved to London, where she taught nursery and pre-kindergarten in a prestigious independent school. During her 11 years in London, Emily continued to pursue her passion for education and received her M.S. in Child Development and PhD in Psychology from University College London.

Emily moved to New York in 2012 upon finishing her postdoctoral research at Imperial College London. Shortly after moving to NYC she co-founded MyOptions (formerly Admittedly), an online college admissions tool which has since been acquired by test-prep giant ACT. One of the main tenets of the company is that students should prioritize cultural and emotional fit when looking at colleges as much as academic fit. During her time at Admittedly, Emily developed an algorithm to match students with colleges that are the right fit for them based on their personality traits and interests. Hundreds of thousands of students worldwide have used this tool in their college admissions journeys.

When it was time for Emily to move onto her next endeavor, she was eager to combine her interest in admissions with her love for early childhood education. She joined the admissions team at The Browning School and conducted kindergarten evaluations and interviews. In addition to working with applicants on-site, Emily also visited with preschool directors and spent time in preschool classrooms across Manhattan.

After her children were born in 2016, Emily began consulting for JCC Brooklyn as their Child Development Specialist. She works with teachers and families to ensure children are on track to reach their developmental milestones. As a Brooklyn resident and a parent, Emily also counsels local families through the exmissions process from preschool to pre-kindergarten to kindergarten.

Emily is thrilled to join the Admit NY team and shares the same mission of using a holistic approach when helping families identify their child’s best-fit schools. She enjoys working with families at any stage of the admissions process and tailoring her services to each family’s specific needs.

Stacy grew up in New York City, where she attended The Dalton School on the Upper East Side. She then attended Syracuse University, where she received a B.S. in Communications and Rhetorical Studies and graduated Summa Cum Laude. After spending time in advertising sales, Stacy realized her desire to work with children and went on to receive a dual Master’s in Early Childhood General and Special Education at Bank Street College of Education.

While completing her master’s, Stacy worked at the Montclare Children’s School on the Upper West Side, and she has since spent almost a decade teaching Pre-K at Temple Emanu-El Nursery School. As a teacher by training, Stacy has a thorough understanding of cognitive and social-emotional development at the early childhood level and a true appreciation for what best encourages children to learn and grow. Throughout her years of teaching, she honed her skills for supporting families while they navigate the often stressful kindergarten admissions process, and she is keenly aware of how this affects both parents and children. Stacy also participated in admissions playgroups at both of the nursery schools she taught at, thus giving her a unique understanding of the full early childhood matriculation cycle, from nursery admissions through kindergarten exmissions.

Stacy believes that finding the right fit at the early childhood level leads to a love of learning in the future, and she is excited about helping Admit NY’s families build that important foundation. She is eager and excited to share her knowledge about New York City schools from her personal and professional experiences.

Kate grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts, where she attended the Noble and Greenough School. Her experience at Nobles inspired her to pursue a 20+ year career in independent school education which has taken her from New York City to South India and home to the Boston Area. 

Kate studied history and French at Barnard College. Kate also played lacrosse for Columbia and captained the team her senior year. She has taught internationally, helping to develop the curriculum at the Kings English School in Tamil Nadu, India, where she served on the Board of Trustees for ten years. 

After college, Kate began working as an elementary school associate teacher and lacrosse coach at The Brearley School as well as The School at Columbia. While teaching, Kate attended graduate school at Teachers College, where she received an M.A. in international education development with a focus on curriculum and teaching. Kate spent five years as the lead fourth grade teacher at LREI where she developed curriculum, mentored associate teachers, and worked closely with the admissions office.

In 2012, Kate joined the founding faculty of Avenues: The World School where her team planned the curriculum and established the culture for the Nursery-12th Grade West Chelsea campus. After two years in the classroom, Kate was chosen as the Associate Director of Admissions for the Upper Division (Grades 5-12) at Avenues where she stayed for three years. Each year, Kate worked with over 400 families, guiding them through a customized admissions process. Her goal with each family was for them to have a positive and informative application experience. Kate redesigned the admissions process for incoming 5th and 6th graders to include a “Design Challenge” which replaced a formal interview so students could show their skills in a classroom-type setting. This model has now been extended to all upper division applicants. 

When her first son was born in 2017, Kate and her husband moved back to Boston and she returned to her alma mater, Nobles, a top ranking day and boarding school, where she worked as the Director of Graduate Affairs in the Development Office for seven years. At Nobles, Kate supported the admission office by interviewing applicants during the admissions season and coaching girls varsity soccer.

Throughout her career, Kate has worked as a private tutor for all ages. Specifically, she has experience helping older students tell their story to admissions committees through essays and interviews, and supporting parents while navigating the process, from school lists, to selecting the best educational environment for their child. Her background as a teacher and her years in admissions provides her unique insight into how students learn and the settings in which they will thrive. She keeps up to date with independent schools around the country through alumni and admissions work and has a passion for helping families find the right fit for their children. 

Kate has a strong ability to forge and maintain relationships with students and families and uses her expertise in school admissions to guide Admit NY families to their best fit schools. In the words of one of Kate’s clients: “And all we can say is THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. You made a stressful process manageable and helped us reach such a great outcome – real choice among strong options that make sense for our kid.”

Rachel grew up in Connecticut, where she attended Choate Rosemary Hall as a day student. She received a B.A. in Psychology from Hamilton College, and then moved west to San Francisco, where her career as an educator began. After two years of teaching Pre-K, she returned to the east coast, and earned an M.A. in Childhood Education from NYU Steinhardt School of Education, where she graduated with honors.

Rachel taught at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School on the Upper West Side for three years, followed by nine years at The Browning School, on the Upper East Side. While teaching at Browning, Rachel took on various additional roles, such as assisting the admissions department by observing and evaluating prospective students. She was also the Associate Teacher Advisor, who hired and then mentored new teachers. At both schools, Rachel enjoyed the relationships that she developed with her students, as well their parents, and the opportunity to advise the latter on the best path forward for their child.

After becoming a parent, Rachel left Browning, and started her own private tutoring company, where she created in-person and online individualized instruction for students. She also guided families through the independent school application process, editing essays, and preparing them for admissions interviews. Rachel is eager to integrate her skills with Admit NY, and optimize the educational opportunities for her Admit NY families.

Soeurette grew up in the New York City area and attended both top independent and public schools. She received a B.A. in History from St. Lawrence University and went on to receive an M.A. in History & Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, concentrating on the history of education in New York City. 

Soeurette began her career in admissions at Trinity School. She was responsible for interviewing prospective upper school students and families while working as a first grade teaching assistant. Since then, Soeurette has taught and worked in upper and lower school admissions at multiple top independent schools in Manhattan. Most recently, she was responsible for coordinating and overseeing early childhood, lower, and upper division admissions at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s. In this role, Soeurette evaluated hundreds of applications and helped make admissions decisions across grade levels based on several criteria including academic readiness and community fit. Because she has been in the room where difficult admissions decisions are made, Soeurette understands what differentiates one applicant from another.

As an Admit NY School Admissions Expert, Soeurette combines her knowledge of admissions and the New York private school landscape with her steadfast commitment to holistically understanding a student’s needs and assisting families in finding the perfect fit school.

Katie Miller has been advocating for parents and children in public school education for the last 13 years, starting when her now 12th grader began kindergarten at P.S. 87 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Katie is an expert on navigating the complex New York City public school admissions process and works closely with families to ensure they feel confident, informed and supported. Katie also works extensively with students on essays, personal statements, and supporting documents for public school. Katie has  served in a number of volunteer positions at her children’s public schools, including 2 years as the Co-President of P.S. 87’s Parents Association, 2 years as the Co-President of the PTA at M.S. 54 (Booker T. Washington Middle School), and 2 years as an elected parent member of the School Leadership Team (SLT) at Beacon High School. She is currently serving as the Vice President of Middle School on the WESS Parents Association Board and is the co-Director of West Side Soccer League’s High School Travel Program. Katie also acts as a consultant to a variety of youth arts organizations and sits on the advisory board for Her Story Mentorship, a female-led mentorship program with an emphasis on digital wellness and entrepreneurship.  Before her career as an education and small business consultant, Katie was the Director of Civil Justice at Common Good, and a Litigation Associate at Cleary Gottlieb. Katie graduated from Amherst College and received a joint J.D./ M.A. from Cornell Law School and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Katie is excited to support Admit NY families through the public school admissions process and help them make informed decisions about their public school options.