Focus Collegiate provides innovative, dynamic support to equip college students for success on campus and beyond.
Our outstanding team is composed of professionals who have worked extensively in traditional college environments and are experts in helping students bridge the gap between high school and college, regardless of their learning profile. Most have extensive experience in the collegiate offices of student support, academic advising, accessibility services, residence life, or first-year experience. Many have also guided students toward independence at the secondary education level.
Our students attend their college of choice!
Whether they are getting in-person support in the Boston area, or virtually around the country, our services are robust and unbounded for all students.
Grant Leibersberger
Grant Leibersberger is a visionary educator and entrepreneur who has dedicated his career to empowering young people through experiential learning. As the Founder & Principal of Focus Collegiate, he champions a unique approach that fosters growth and development beyond traditional…
Ann-Marie Stripling
Enrollment and Outreach Director
Ann-Marie is a connector who sees the potential in others. Her superpower is building relationships. In the context of Focus Collegiate, that means connecting students who learn differently and their families to the educational resources they need to flourish. It…
Rich Davino
Rich Davino is our Managing Director. Proud of his twenty-five years in higher education, Rich is a skilled and talented leader with an extremely broad knowledge of how higher ed does (and sometimes doesn’t) work. He is an optimistic pragmatist…
Rachel Dayanim
Collegiate Learning Specialist
Rachel has dedicated her career to education and student support across disciplines and spectrums of need. She strongly believes in the value of every student and their remarkable potential to succeed. She prioritizes building meaningful relationships: “I hold a deep…
Emily Leif
Summer Cohort Residential Director
Emily Leif loves people. She is passionate about working with students with ADHD, and with those who have no diagnosis, but struggle with executive function. We are very happy to have her as one our Summer Cohort Residential Director. She…
Shawna Graichen
Collegiate Life Specialist
Shawna Graichen is one of our most enthusiastic Collegiate Life Specialists. She is passionate about supporting individuals in becoming self-determined agents of their own lives, as they transition from adolescence into young adult life. She supports each student in the…
Amy Breton
Collegiate Learning Specialist
Amy Breton is one of our Collegiate Learning Specialists. She comes to us after ten years working in accessibility. Most recently at Holy Cross, she was Associate Director of the Office of Accessibility Services where she created the student-directed organization…
Brenda Hackett
Collegiate Life Specialist
Brenda creates opportunities for her students to shine. By focusing on their strengths, students start to realize they are more capable than they have been led to believe. Through this lens, students can envision and reach new goals. She has…
Robin McCatty
Collegiate Life Specialist
Robin has a great talent for making her students feel understood. Her skill is borne of her insatiable curiosity and enhanced by her depth of experience and training. She has worked closely with neurodiverse students for more than a decade.…
Mary Hickey
Parent Coaching Consultant
Mary Hickey is our Parent Coaching Consultant. She helps parents of new college students be better parents. As a Certified Parent Coach with more than 20 years of experience working in therapeutic and transitional programs for adolescents, young adults, and families, she…
C. Jane Taylor
Jane’s talent is communication. She is a published author who has been working in communications for more than 25 years. Her personal mission statement is to “further human potential through writing.” And that’s exactly what she does as Media Strategist…
Amber Lechner
Summer Cohort Residential Advisor
Amber Lechner is enthusiastic, and we are thrilled to have her on board as a Summer Cohort Residential Advisor. “I’m so excited for the opportunity to be doing all the things I love at the same time,” she said in…
Sharon de Klerk
Collegiate Learning Specialist
Sharon de Klerk is a strong advocate for students. With more than 20 years of experience in executive functioning and disability access coaching, she brings a great depth of practical knowledge to her role as College Life Specialist. “Having worked…
Emma Lang
Collegiate Learning Specialist
We are delighted to introduce Emma Lang as one of our Collegiate Learning Specialists. Emma has a talent for connecting quickly with students by making them feel comfortable being and knowing themselves. “I believe in seeing students make not only…
Sydney Sansbury
Collegiate Learning Specialist
Sydney Sansbury started at Focus Collegiate as Graduate Intern on our Summer Cohort team. She is now a full-time Collegiate Learning Specialist. Sydney comes to us from Boston College, where she received her Master’s in Higher Education Administration. She has…
Chelsey Cole
Chelsey Cole is our Operations Specialist. She began her career with us as a Collegiate Learning Specialists. In her operations role, she brings clarity, structure, and efficiency to complex systems. Her background in education leadership and executive functioning underscores her…
Sam Prince
Collegiate Life Specialist
Sam Prince is a Collegiate Life Specialist at Focus Collegiate. He helps students stay on top of their coursework, connect with campus resources, and build routines that actually work, while keeping an eye on the bigger picture: balance, well-being, and…
Emily Armbrecht
Residential Advisor Summer Cohort
Emily Armbrecht serves as a Residential Advisor for the Focus Collegiate Summer Cohort, where she brings seven years of experience working closely with students as a music educator and choir director. Passionate about mentorship, student engagement, and cultivating belonging, Emily…
