Profiles

Nina W. Marks
Denise C. Buchanan
Barbara K. Hancock
Brooke R. Fernandez

Nina W. Marks

Having been an independent school teacher and administrator for 30 years, Nina W. Marks left the National Cathedral School in June 2004 to found Marks Counseling Associates, LLC. In October 2005, she founded Collegiate Directions Inc., a non-profit organization. After spending many years as an English teacher, Mrs. Marks became NCS's Director of College Guidance in 1992. She wrote the National Cathedral School College Handbook, which was copyrighted and sold. During her tenure, she created and directed a nationally recognized college guidance program. In 2002, she assumed additional responsibilities as Assistant Head.

Mrs. Marks was educated in India, the United Kingdom, and at Harvard, where she graduated magna cum laude in English.

According to a December 2000 Washingtonian article on area college guidance programs, "Beating the Odds":

When it comes to the most selective colleges, admission is something of a crapshoot.
Nina Marks, director of college guidance at National Cathedral School [says], "Nobody understands why very bright kids don't have the choices that were much more clearly available a generation ago."
Marks helps her relatively small class of seniors refine college lists, critiques their application essays, and generally advises them.

Mrs. Marks was quoted in another Washingtonian article in "Getting the Inside Edge" in November 2003:

"About 80% of NCS graduates are accepted to their first- or second-choice school. At least a quarter enroll at Ivy League schools. Parents and students say that Marks, a Harvard alum who has directed NCS’s college-counseling office for more than a decade, deserves a lot of credit for this success. She is so plugged in to admissions offices that college reps even call her at home to talk about applicants." The parent of a senior says that "the girls 'are taught to do not an A job but an A-plus job on college applications. Marks is emphatic about perfection.'"
"At NCS, parents are convinced that Marks is a counselor colleges listen to. She calls every school that each of her students has applied to, although she says she won’t oversell her kids."
"According to a parent of another senior, Mrs. Marks 'is in a class by herself. I don't think there's anyone in the DC area -or probably the country -who does as good a job as she does.'"

Mrs. Marks is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and for several years served as co-director of NACAC’s program on Counseling for Selective College Admission (formerly known as the Advanced School Counseling Institute), an annual workshop to facilitate communication between experienced high school counselors and college deans and directors of admission. She currently directs NACAC's "Ask the Deans and Directors" workshops. She is also a member of the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling.

Mrs. Marks has spoken on issues relating to U.S. and international college admissions at national conferences, including NACAC, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and the National Association of Independent Schools. Mrs. Marks also has participated in regional and local events sponsored by such organizations as the Association of Independent Maryland Schools, the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington, and the Parents Council of Washington.

In addition, she has participated in Brown University’s Alumni College Advising Program. Before becoming NCS’s Director of College Guidance, Mrs. Marks served for 10 years as a member of Harvard University’s Schools and Scholarships Committee.

Denise C. Buchanan

Denise Buchanan has spent her professional life working with children and families in independent school settings. Until June 2006 Mrs. Buchanan served as Director of Admission and Financial Aid at the National Cathedral School. She joined Marks Counseling Associates, LLC (MCA) in September 2008.

Before heading the NCS Admission Office, Mrs. Buchanan served on the School’s Middle School Admission Committee for several years and was a member of the English faculty for 20 years, during which time she taught courses at every grade level in the middle and upper schools. With her NCS colleague Nina Marks, Mrs. Buchanan co-designed the School’s expository writing course, which quickly became a requirement in the upper school and served as a springboard for seniors embarking on the college application process. As an 11th and 12th grade English teacher, Mrs. Buchanan wrote hundreds of recommendations for students’ college applications, and she conducted as many writing conferences with students to help them refine their own essays. As an 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Buchanan introduced into the curriculum a thorough course in grammar and mechanics that led to NCS students receiving a national award for excellence in this area of the English curriculum.

In 2001 Mrs. Buchanan left the classroom to direct the NCS Admission and Financial Aid office. To ensure an academically vibrant and diverse school community, Mrs. Buchanan oversaw every facet of the admission and financial aid effort. She created new admission materials, designed the admission pages of the School’s new web site, planned admission open houses and information sessions, administered admission tests, interviewed applicants, met with parents, read all applications, headed the School’s three admission committees, and administered a financial aid budget of more than $1.8 million.

As Director of Admission, Mrs. Buchanan represented NCS at local and national meetings and workshops sponsored by the Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington (A.I.S.G.W.), the National Association of Independent Schools (N.A.I.S.), the Secondary School Admission Test Board (S.S.A.T.B.), the Educational Records Bureau (E.R.B.), the National Council of Girls’ Schools (N.C.G.S.), the Latino Student Fund, the Higher Achievement Program, the Washington Scholarship Fund, and the Black Student Fund, on whose Board she currently serves. Mrs. Buchanan also sits on the board of Collegiate Directions, Inc.

In addition to her work at NCS, Mrs. Buchanan has tutored students in English, grammar, and writing skills. Before moving to Washington in 1980, she tutored and taught classes in English and study skills at Noble and Greenough School in Dedham, Massachusetts, at Salisbury Summer School of Reading and English in Salisbury, Connecticut, and at Choate Rosemary Hall Summer School in Wallingford, Connecticut.

Mrs. Buchanan graduated cum laude in English from Wheaton College. She went on to earn her teaching certificate in the Smith College teacher certification program, and her Master’s degree in Secondary School English Education at Boston University. With over 30 years of experience as a teacher and administrator, Mrs. Buchanan’s knowledge of independent schools, both boarding and day, extends throughout the eastern United States. Above all, however, she takes pride in her ability to help parents and children set appropriate educational goals; and she especially enjoys the time she spends working directly with students to help them meet those goals.

Barbara K. Hancock

Barbara Hancock taught tenth and twelfth grade English and served as an academic advisor at The Madeira School from September 2006 to May 2008. She joined Marks Counseling Associates, LLC (MCA) in June 2008. In addition to working with MCA clients, Mrs. Hancock assists in providing similar counseling services to the Scholars in the Collegiate Directions, Inc. program.

At Madeira, Mrs. Hancock carried out many duties in addition to her classroom teaching. She developed curricula for two elective courses and for English Supplemental, a skill-building course for non-native speakers of English. In addition, she worked closely with students and advisees in one-on-one conferences. In these conferences, Mrs. Hancock provided advice and support on topics such as reading comprehension and retention, grammar, essay writing and revision (including revision of college essays), study skills, curriculum planning, and internship applications. Mrs. Hancock also co-taught a World Religions course in the Co-Curriculum program, served on the Curriculum and Learning Committee and the 403(b) Committee, assisted with admissions revisit days, and coached the JV Tennis Team.

Prior to working at Madeira, Mrs. Hancock was a graduate student at Georgetown University, where she received her M.A. in English and American Literature and earned the highest possible distinction on her oral exam. Her thesis was entitled "Mothers out of Bounds: Representations of Maternal Deviance in the Fiction of Ellen Price Wood." While at Georgetown, Mrs. Hancock served as a graduate student mentor in the English Department, an Adjunct Instructor of English-001, a Writing Center Graduate Tutor, and the Coordinator of the University Writing Center. In the Writing Center, Mrs. Hancock conducted sessions with graduate students in various academic disciplines; many of her clients were English Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students.

Before attending Georgetown, Mrs. Hancock worked as a Business Affairs Associate for The Hotline, a publication of Atlantic Media Company, and as a Legal Assistant at Hogan & Hartson LLP.

She is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling, and a graduate of The Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions.

Mrs. Hancock attended a Fairfax County Public School (Chesterbrook Elementary) before entering National Cathedral School (NCS) in the seventh grade. After graduating cum laude from NCS in 1997, Mrs. Hancock attended the University of Virginia, spending a semester of her junior year abroad, studying at Oxford University (St. Catherine's College). In 2001, she received her B.A. with distinction in English and earned a minor in Economics. While in college, she wrote for The Cavalier Daily, co-founded UVa's chapter of Alpha Phi Fraternity, and tutored local elementary school students through Madison House student volunteer center.

Brooke R. Fernandez

Brooke Fernandez worked as Assistant Director of Admissions and Coordinator of the Alumni Admissions Support Program at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. She joined Marks Counseling Associates, LLC (MCA) in March 2006. In addition to working with MCA clients, Mrs. Fernandez assists in providing similar counseling services to the Scholars in the Collegiate Directions, Inc. program.

As Assistant Director of Admissions at Trinity College, Mrs. Fernandez was responsible for a variety of tasks. She interviewed and reviewed applicants to the college, presented group information sessions to both prospective students and their parents, recruited students from high schools around the country, and participated in writing personalized letters to every admitted student. She also trained student workers to conduct interviews and group information sessions. In association with other admissions officers, Mrs. Fernandez moderated and participated in numerous panel discussions on admissions-related topics.

As Coordinator of Trinity College’s Alumni Admissions Support Program, Mrs. Fernandez assigned college fairs and interviews to alumni volunteers around the world. She also assisted in planning numerous on-campus events, including VIP Days and the programs for Preview and Alumni Weekends. She ran Mock Admissions Programs for over 200 alumni parents and their children. These mock sessions were designed to illustrate the complexity of the college admissions process.

Mrs. Fernandez is a member of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, the Potomac and Chesapeake Association for College Admission Counseling, and a graduate of The Harvard Summer Institute on College Admissions.

Mrs. Fernandez attended a Montgomery County Public School (Westbrook Elementary) before entering National Cathedral School (NCS) in the seventh grade. After graduation from NCS in 1997, Mrs. Fernandez attended Trinity College, spending a semester of her junior year abroad, studying in Rome, Italy. She received her degree in Political Science in 2001.