Kathleen understands and excels at the hardest part of mentoring young people - earning their trust. With our son, she started off slowly, asking him questions, giving him assignments, and guiding him to find his story and his voice. Over time, as his writing improved, his confidence grew and the work they did together turned into a process he knew he could rely on. When the chaos of the high school application process got close to overwhelming, there in the midst of it all, was his trusted partner in Kathleen and the space they created together. When he got feedback from his teacher or mom and dad, he brought it to Kathleen and the process they created. She asked him more questions and he did more writing. In the end he found a voice he is proud to have and a discipline that will serve him well. - David M.D.

Working with my high school senior daughter to craft a handful of different college essays, Kathleen spun gold out of straw. Her approach was to help my daughter hone her passions, interests, and intelligence into a coherent voice that would connect with the reader on the page. For single or busy parents who don't have the time or skills to dive into the college application process with their teens, Kathleen's super guidance makes a world of difference. My daughter feels the same--we both recommend Kathleen without reservation, and with heartfelt enthusiasm! - Anna V.L.

When putting my manuscript together, I needed an extra set of eyes to look over the pages, Kathleen was that person. She not only caught typos and misspellings, but had suggestions for edits. It really helps having another poet to be able to look over another poet's work. Kathleen brings her experience as a writer to the page, and also her love and appreciation of writing is evident in her work. I have been a repeat client as I appreciate and value Kathleen's help. - Soraya S.

My daughter absolutely loved working with Kathleen! She had dreaded writing her college essay, and was surprised to find that with Kathleen’s support and guidance, it turned out to be fun. Kathleen helped her find her voice and craft an essay that was moving and genuine, and most importantly truly reflective of who she is. I cannot recommend Kathleen highly enough, it was the best decision we made in terms of supporting our daughter's college process! - Birgitta N.

I collaborated with Kathleen on my debut memoir, titled "That Mean Old Yesterday," during my early 20s as a graduate student. Our weekly sessions, held at her kitchen table with her adorable cat keeping watch, were a source of enjoyment. Under her guidance, I felt empowered to take creative risks, and she consistently motivated me to highlight my strengths, enhancing my writing with each interaction. Kathleen's keen sense of phrasing, tone, and pacing, combined with her attentive listening, made every session invaluable. It was evident that she not only cared about the success of my book but also about my growth as a writer and as an individual. Kathleen effortlessly blended professionalism and meticulous attention to detail with warmth, kindness, and humor. I am profoundly thankful to her for playing a pivotal role in crafting a first book that was published by Simon & Schuster and launched a productive 20-year writing career. - Stacey P.

Kathleen took the challenging, and emotional, work of the college application essay and made it fun, interesting, and manageable. My daughter loved her weekly meetings with Kathleen, and I witnessed her confidence soar throughout the process. Not only did my daughter write beautiful essays under Kathleen's guidance, she began to share them with me, her mom. She had always been reticent to share her work but Kathleen gave her confidence in her work, and in herself. Kathleen is a highly skilled, and truly gifted, writing mentor. - Kara V.C.

Kathleen, Your work with J has been nothing short of transformational, in terms of his writing, but in many, much deeper ways as well… you have supported and facilitated his growth as a writer, and as a person. And for that, we are profoundly grateful. -Alex S.

Kathleen worked with our son to craft his main college application essay, as well as a few of the supplemental essays that some colleges require. Our son is creative and energetic, not extremely academic-minded, and was not terrifically excited about working on his essay. Kathleen was able to quickly develop trust and demonstrate sincere respect for what he cares about, who he is and what he chose to write about. His main essay developed as a result of their partnership, with minimal input from either parent. Kathleen was very reliable and responsive, both to my son as he updated his drafts, and to me, his parent. Every week, in a timely fashion, she provided updates to me and my husband, so we always felt like we were in the loop. In the end, my son's essay was well written and structured, unique and a true reflection of who he his. He has already been accepted to his top schools and we believe his somewhat non-traditional essay, with Kathleen's support, has played an important part of his success. - Stacey S.

​Kathleen is a remarkable writing teacher. She has an uncanny ability to meet children right where they are, to acknowledge their uniqueness, and to build an intimate and trusting relationship immediately. She does this all while making the skills she's teaching feel like a fun and pleasurable adventure. My daughter worked with her in a homeschooling context and it was consistently her favorite class. In addition to learning many critical skills that took her writing far above grade level, she also adored the books she and Kathleen chose to read together, their lively conversations about the reading, and the short stories, poetry, and critical essays she was assigned to write by Kathleen. I can’t recommend this teacher highly enough. - Arielle P.

Kathleen took the time to sit with me and guide me through my resume. I tend to get in my own way. She has a great eye for editing, and she makes a great cup of tea. - Kimberly T.

Kathleen worked wonders with my daughter. Over a matter of months in 8th grade, she went from feeling very insecure about her writing skills to feeling extremely capable. She not only learned how to craft better essays but she also began writing for her own pleasure, an unexpected bonus! - Sarah J.

Kathleen is absolutely amazing!!! She is full of skill and warmth. She was enthusiastic, kind, patient, inspiring, innovative, practical, flexible, generous, encouraging and overall just incredibly helpful. Our daughter began working with her for help with essays for her high school applications- this was a huge relief during an otherwise overwhelming process and really made it so much less scary and more manageable for parents and child alike. She really helped our child bring her work to another level. After applications were completed, our daughter wanted to continue working with Kathleen "just for fun". They worked on poems and short stories. Kathleen was full of ideas for wonderful, inspiring writing exercises. She really opened up a new world for our child, who always looked forward to their meetings. I recommend her most highly- for help with high school applications, for general tutoring, and also in a supplementary way for kids who just enjoy writing. She is full of grace. - Marcy R.

After working on two books with Kathleen, I've come to rely on her not only for better grammar and tighter phrasing but overall editorial feedback that has made my work sing and the books far better than they would ever have been. - Maxwell R.

Kathleen was my son's writing coach during his 7th grade year. We wanted someone to boost his confidence and interest in writing, not do ELA or SHSAT test prep. She provided clever writing "prompts" and always gave him topic options during their sessions. She also helped him break down complex homework assignments into manageable chunks. She has a patient, creative approach but also pushed my son to expand on his ideas on paper. I can strongly recommend Kathleen for students struggling with writing. - Julie S.

I strongly suggest you get in touch with Kathleen. She is superb, a published writer herself. She literally changed my son’s life, established a totally different logic of working. She sends a weekly detailed report about the work she did with my son. I was looking for a while for a good teacher and I knew from the first call that I found an excellent person to help my son. - Miro G.

After a few sessions with Kathleen, my son’s middle-school essays painlessly expanded from single-sentence “answers” into some of his best writing.  His middle-school writing improved, his high-school essays improved and his high-school grades continue to indicate that his work with Kathleen was an investment in his future. Kathleen instantly created and maintained an upbeat, collaborative relationship with clear, proactive and positive communications. My son was always willing and happy to meet and work with Kathleen and proud of his improvement. She seemed to effortlessly establish rapport, tap into just what was needed and set a game plan that my son could easily use and realize improvement.  Thanks to Kathleen, I still have a good relationship with my son and he continues to grow as a strong writer, earning good grades, even a year after their work. - Art Y.

Dear Kathleen, Thank you so much for truly putting your heart into supporting and teaching L this year. His school work improved a lot thanks to you and your approach to finding ways to motivate him. All my best. - Vanessa B.

Kathleen, I don't know how you work your magic, but you certainly have many talents. F has a few essays to write for school this past week and the process has become so much more easeful for him. - Rhonda G.

Plain and simple, Kathleen is inspiring, talented, fun, amazing, smart, entertaining... basically, there's no limit to our praise. - Peter C.

Dear Kathleen, I really want to thank you again for all your help and will forever be grateful for the hours spent! I got into X College. I am very excited for what the future has in store but will always remember that I never could have made it this far without all your time and consideration! Thank you so much Kathleen! - Tyesha D.

My son worked with Kathleen as well and loved her. Super fun and creative, I recommend her highly. - Tammie C.

Kathleen came back with some brilliant feedback on my high school senior's college essay. She is the mom of two boys and is a lovely person to work with. -Carolyn C.

I see how much A has grown as a writer since working with you, Kathleen. He is so much more confident as well. He even seems to enjoy writing now and is so proud when he gets positive feedback from his teacher. Thank you for working so patiently with him. - Euna L.