Verto Education offers the onlyfirst year abroad experiencethat keeps you on-track to graduate in four years with world-class academic providers and 70+ partner colleges.
Our Mission
Verto prepares global leaders and transforms access to higher education through a coming-of-age first-year start to college abroad.
Our Values
Verto Education was founded to make travel the path of least resistance to a college education. We believe in inclusion, transparency, access, equity and, above all, the power of travel to foster empathy and kindness across cultures.
What Verto Education Offers
An Accessible, Global Academic Year
Verto Education helps participants discover themselves and the world around them by making education abroad a foundational and accessible part of a four-year college plan.
With Verto, students can begin college with a study abroad experience with world-class academics offered by our Academic Providers, while having the option to gain admission to Verto’s 70+ partner college.
Verto participants walk away with much more than incredible memories and transferable credits; they gain the confidence, self-awareness, and global perspective needed to thrive in college and in life.
Direct Admission to a Verto Partner College
Students can use their Verto Application to gain direct admission to our 70+ partner colleges, where the credits earned from our Academic Providers during the Verto experience will transfer seamlessly. Students have many available options after their time with Verto, allowing them to stay on track for a 4-year college graduation timeline.
A Well-Rounded Cross-Cultural Experience Focused on Personal Growth
Semesters foster self-discovery through journaling, mindfulness training, mentorship, service learning programs, and—for some locations—a homestay experience. Weekly structured reflection gives students a sense of who they are and want they want from their university career.
Meet Our Team
Executives & Leaders
Mitch Gordon
President & Co-Founder
Ben Welbourn
Chief Enrollment Officer & Co-Founder
Michael Kabbaz
Senior Vice President of Strategy & Chief of Staff
Emily Sauey
Head of People Operations
Nataly Huff
Vice President of Marketing
Ahmad Refky
Vice President of Operations
Sara Troy
Director of Program Development
Aline Parnagian
Director of Revenue Operations
Rick Silvestrini
Chief Operation Officer
Paige Butler
Vice President of Academic Affairs
Michael Goldstein
Executive Director, Verto Fund
Faculty & Program Staff
Andrés “Fofo” Zúñiga
Program Director, Costa Rica
Ananda Casanova
Academic Success Coordinator, Costa Rica
Antoine Callo
Student Life Coordinator, Costa Rica
Adam Nadel
Faculty, Photography, Costa Rica
Blaire Modic
Associate Country Director, Costa Rica
Andrea Bravo
Student Life Coordinator, Costa Rica
Edgardo Arevalo
Faculty, Environmental Science, Costa Rica
Eliza Wilton
Student Life Coordinator
Claire Kibblewhite
Program Director, England
Cristiana Gallai
Program Director, Italy
Amanda Cummings
Academic Success Coordinator, Spain
Laura Romero Calero
Student Life Coordinator, Spain
Fabricio Arguedas
Student Life Coordinator & Club Coordinator, Costa Rica
Johel Chaves-Campos
Faculty, Environmental Science, Costa Rica
Karen Masters
Country Director, Costa Rica
Marissa Ryan
Student Life Coordinator, Italy
Leslie Jernigan
Faculty, English Language Arts, Costa Rica
Manuel Ramírez Cordero
Program Coordinator, Costa Rica
Manuel “Manolo” Rufete
Program Coordinator, Spain
Michaela Hill
Student Life Manager, Spain
Maria Batista
Faculty, Social Problems, Costa Rica
Nadia Sousa Garzón
Academic Success Coordinator, Spain
Nicole Horvath
Program Manager, Spain
Rosario Sivianes
Faculty, Introductory Spanish I & Intermediate Spanish II, Spain
Oscar Ceballos
Center Director, Spain
Samantha Wasek
Student Life Coordinator, Spain
Juan Antonio Campos
Faculty, Comparative Religions, Spain
Stefanie Ramírez Brenes
Program Coordinator, Costa Rica
Rebecca Liebeskind
Change the World Manager, England & Costa Rica
Yesenia Obando Diaz
Faculty, Spanish, Costa Rica
Sarah Hughes
Academic Success Coordinator, England
Miguel de Lucas
Faculty, Comparative Politics & International Relations, Spain
Jorge Sánchez-Torres
Faculty, Intermediate Spanish I, Spain
Dan Manuel Serradilla Avery
Faculty, Western Civilizations I, Spain
Carlos Pineda
Faculty, Public Speaking, Spain
Laura Ludtke
Faculty, Rhetoric & Research, England
Gemma Miller
Faculty, Introduction to Theatre, England
Neil Coade
Faculty, Introduction to Business England
Scott Mclean
Faculty, Western Civilization, England
Faissal Hameed
Faculty, Comparative Government and Politics, England
Katy Layton-Jones
Faculty, Cultural Geography, England
Kristi Bauer
Administrative and Operations Assistant, Italy
Jill Cefalo
Program Director, Czech Republic
Sheriden Kuech
Associate Program Director, England
Admissions
Our Regional Admissions Counselors frequently present at all-school assemblies, college fairs, High School lunchrooms, community events, and we even offer home visits for prospective Verto families (we’ll bring the coffee). Schedule a presentation with one of our regional admissions counselors using the links below.
Josh Sadagursky
Associate Director of Admissions, West Coast
Amy Wruck
Regional Admissions Counselor, Midwest
Chrè Davis
Regional Admissions Counselor, Houston
Edward “Ned” Liggett
Regional Admissions Counselor, NYC
Emma Tillman
Regional Admissions Counselor, Atlanta
Janet Currier
Regional Admissions Counselor, New England
Kaylee Koenig
Regional Admissions Counselor, Florida
Neal Crosson
Regional Admissions Counselor, VA/D.C.
Catherine Malcolm
Associate Director of Admissions
Daniel Marion
Associate Director of Admissions
Hillevi Johnson
Associate Director of Admissions
Gabriela Granote
Admissions Manager
Dan Quick
Senior Associate Director of Enrollment Services
Shaunene Edwards
Senior Admissions Counselor Team Lead
Hailey Darrow
Senior Admissions Counselor
Dan McSweeney
Senior Admissions Counselor
Hannah Swangler
Senior Admissions Counselor
George Goldman
Senior Admissions Counselor
Marla McLeod
Senior Admissions Counselor
Bradley Good
Senior Admissions Counselor
Michelle Korczynski
Senior Admissions Counselor
Nayshia Streator
Senior Admissions Counselor
Kristen Korkowski
Admissions Counselor
Student Onboarding
Brittni Weimer
Senior Manager of Onboarding Operations
Nicole Feliciano
Student Onboarding Advisor
Priscilla De Lara
Student Onboarding Advisor
Regina Roberts
Student Onboarding Advisor
Stuart Robbins-Butcher
Student Onboarding Advisor
Allie Hidy-Lukacs
Student Onboarding Advisor
Higher Education & Student Success
Brandi Turner
Associate Director, Student Accounts
Janice Johnson Shephard
Senior Associate Director for Academic Success
Jessica Willis
Strategy and Operations Manager
Matteo Travers
Community Manager
Derek Russell
Student Financial Services Advisor
Maurissa Miller
Billing and Scholarship Coordinator
Academics
David Collier, Ph.D.
Sr. Associate Director of Academics
Colleen Dutton
Assistant Director of Academic Scheduling & Registrar
Steven Mockler
Academic Affairs Manager
Programming & Operations
James Lorello
Dean of Students
Stephanie Collens
Assistant Director of Student Life
College Counseling & Partner Relations
Stephanie Espina
Director of College and University Relations
Escely Marr
Assistant Director of College Counseling
Lakota Bowen
Assistant Director of College Counseling Operations
Nicole Holmberg
Assistant Director for College & University Relations
Uyen Yasmine Vu
College Counselor
Analee Giordano
College Counselor
Revenue Systems & Operations
Akilah Arthur
Systems and Revenue Operations Manager
David Smith
Product Manager—Programming & Academics
Hilary Peterson
Senior Product Manager: Student Financial Services
Nicoholas Holly
Technical Systems Lead & Developer
Sheridan Gill
Senior Salesforce Developer
Joed Emile
Digital Product Systems Administrator
Steven Radabaugh
Full-Stack WordPress Developer
Christopher Lappe
Salesforce Developer
Marketing
Brynna Rao
Director of Brand & Content Marketing
Elaine Diekroger
Senior Partnerships Marketing Manager
Meaghan Conly
Marketing Lifecycle Manager
Jeff Geisinger
Senior Graphic Designer
Parrish Preston
Student Communication Coordinator
Samantha Nani
Marketing Coordinator
Allie Chatas
Social Media Manager
People Operations
Nicole Simonds
Talent Acquisition and Onboarding Manager
Syed Ali
IT Manager
Jeremy Cantu
People Operations Generalist
Advisory Board
The Advisory Board guides Verto on its initiatives for student services, equity, inclusion, and access, curriculum, partnerships, and student recruitment.
Verto’s Advisory Board members were each selected for their demonstrated commitment to college access, their leadership in the field, and their expertise in educational advising.