Lydia Mann Appointed Director of College Counseling

Lydia Mann, an accomplished college admission leader with a background in boarding school college counseling, has been named Taft’s next director of college counseling. The appointment comes after a five-month nationwide search led by Assistant Head of School for Faculty and Academics Edie Traina in partnership with the search firm DovetailED.

“We are thrilled to welcome Lydia to the Taft community,” said Head of School Peter Becker ’95. “Her experience in college admissions, coupled with her background in boarding school college counseling, position Lydia to strategically lead Taft’s college counseling work. Lydia stood out in the search for her ability to build on Taft’s student-centered process, ensure that it is integrated into the school’s overall program, and result in college options that are great for Taft students.”

Mann will begin her tenure at Taft on July 1. She will lead the college office’s staff of six as they support Taft students and their parents/guardians through the college selection, application, and admission process.

Mann currently serves as the director of admissions outreach at Clark University, where she has built a student-centered college admissions process, managed and mentored nine staff members, made strategic improvements to the university’s recruitment efforts, developed innovative marketing and outreach materials, and has been instrumental in developing admissions access and inclusion initiatives.

Prior to her work at Clark, Mann served as senior associate director of college counseling at Pomfret School and as senior assistant dean of admission at Reed College.

“Lydia’s accomplishments in creating student-centered admissions processes and spearheading initiatives for admissions access and inclusion reflect her commitment to students,” said Traina. “We are confident that under her leadership, Taft students and families will receive excellent support through the college admissions journey.”

Mann is the product of a boarding school, having graduated from Miss Porter’s School before earning a B.A. from Smith College and an M.Ed. from Northeastern University. She has written about college admissions for a number of higher ed publications, including Inside Higher Ed and the National Association for College Admissions Counseling’s Journal of College Admission.

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