By Rachel Williams, NACAC Communications

With support from Strada Education Foundation, NACAC is launching a Designing Your Life (DYL) Fellowship that will train high school counselors and college access advisors in a proven life-design curriculum that’s been adapted to help students make informed college and career decisions.

Rooted in Stanford University’s renowned DYL framework that is based on the No. 1 New York Times Best Seller Designing Your Life book, the fellowship will train counselors on how to help students build self-awareness, explore career pathways, and create meaningful education-to-career plans that are aligned with their values. This human-centered approach to life and career planning is one of Stanford’s most popular undergraduate courses, and is implemented at over 100 colleges, universities, and organizations.

“As someone who has taught the DYL curriculum, I’ve witnessed firsthand the profound impact it can have on young people. It empowers them to ask big questions, reflect deeply, and design lives filled with purpose and joy,” said NACAC CEO Angel B. Pérez. “I’m thrilled that our inaugural fellows will bring this powerful framework into their advising work, helping thousands of students navigate college and career decisions with greater clarity, confidence, and a sense of meaning.”

The fellowship also reflects Strada’s commitment to high-quality coaching that helps students build a strong sense of purpose, belonging, and agency. By integrating the DYL framework with Strada’s coaching principles, the program equips counselors with evidence-based practices that connect student self-discovery to college and career pathways, ultimately supporting long-term success and economic mobility.

“We are pleased to collaborate with NACAC on the Designing Your Life Fellowship, which will offer innovative training support for high school counselors guiding learners through critical transitional phases on their path to college and career. This fellowship, aligning with Strada’s Principles for Quality Education-to-Career Guidance and building upon the life design principles, will empower learners to identify their talents and interests, choose career goals, map education pathways, and navigate challenges,” said Strada’s Senior Vice President of Quality Coaching Craig Robinson.

Participants of the fellowship will complete a 12-month hybrid training experience taught by leading innovators at New York University and Dartmouth College. The inaugural cohort will begin with a one-day, in-person convening on Sept. 17 in Columbus, Ohio ahead of NACAC Conference 2025. The remainder of the fellowship experience will be virtual, with sessions on how to help students clarify their values, navigate uncertainty, and take ownership of their goals.

The DYL Fellowship is an initiative within NACAC’s new Center for Innovation in College Admission. NACAC’s long-term vision is that life design coaching is embedded into the broader counseling ecosystem — equipping professionals with tools and frameworks that prioritize student purpose, identity, and potential in a rapidly changing world.

The new fellowship comes at a time when the college and career advising landscape is at a critical inflection point. Students are navigating increasing uncertainty about the value of higher education, the rising costs of college, and a rapidly changing job market. At the same time, counselors — particularly those serving low-income and first-generation students — face overwhelming caseloads and a shortage of effective, scalable tools to guide students through purpose-driven planning.

By training counselors in a proven life design framework, the fellowship addresses an urgent need for tools that help students reflect on who they are, what they value, and how they can build lives of meaning and economic stability. This moment presents a powerful opportunity to shift the college advising paradigm — moving from transactional checklists to student-centered coaching that fosters agency, belonging, and long-term goal setting.

Congratulations to the inaugural DYL Fellowship cohort:

  • Fred Baker, Director of College Counseling, Catholic High School for Boys
  • Eunjee Choi, Director of College Counseling, Democracy Prep Public Schools
  • Amy Christie, Senior Director of College and Career, Achievement First Public Charter Schools
  • Shaniece Devieux, College Counselor, Democracy Prep Harlem High School
  • Kristen Dickerson, Director of Guidance and College Counselor, St. Charles Preparatory School
  • Billie Downs, District Administrator and Career Center Director, Groton High School
  • Jonathan Ferrell, Director of College Counseling, Pace Academy
  • Carla Geary, Counselor, Compton High School
  • Dominique Gunn, Assistant Director of College Advising, I Know I Can
  • Norma Gutierrez, Post Secondary Counselor, Minnetonka High School
  • Michael Hennicke, Co-Director of College Counseling, Marquette University High School
  • Judy Henriquez, Director of Postsecondary Counseling, The Bronx Center for Science and Mathematics
  • Jennifer Kirk, High School Counseling Curriculum Leader, Upper St. Clair High School
  • Ann Kjorstad, College and Career Counselor, Academy of Holy Angels
  • Sara Kyle, Director of College Counseling, The Blake School
  • Lisa Maloney, Future Ready Coordinator, Avonworth High School
  • Maria Martinez, CAP Advisor, Miami Sunset Senior High School
  • Adam Materasso, Dean of College Counseling, The Pennington School
  • Maggie McGrath, Executive Director, Higher Education Compact of Greater Cleveland
  • Carol Moreno, School Counselor, Animo Venice Charter High School
  • Tricia Morgan, Director of College Counseling, Episcopal Collegiate School
  • Emmanuel Moses, Director of Guidance and Transition, The Opportunity Network
  • David Quinn, Director of International Baccalaureate, Harlem Village Academies High School
  • Warren Quirett, Associate Director of College Counseling, Episcopal High School
  • Richard Ramirez, Higher Education Coordinator, Compton Unified School District
  • Alyssa Frank Reichman, Schawbel College Resource Center Director, Boston Latin School
  • Elise Rodriguez, Director of College Counseling, Thaden School
  • Andrew Sanchez, Director of College and Career Readiness, District of Columbia International School
  • Brian K Smith, Dean of College Counseling and English Instructor, Marlborough School
  • Chad Terry, Licensed School Counselor, Rosemount High School
  • Javon Thomas, Associate Director of College and Career, Washington Leadership Academy
  • Alyson Tom, Director of College Counseling and Academic Advising, Pinewood School
  • Michelle Wilson, Director of Post-Secondary Transition, Imhotep Institute Charter High School