Jill Ortman joined SCK after working as Director of College Counseling at Dwight School in New York for ten years, as well as head of the college counseling program at the High School Attached to Capital Normal University-Dwight school in Beijing. Prior to that, she was the Director of College Counseling at Colegio Menor San Francisco de Quito and Liceo International in Quito, Ecuador and served for many years as President of the School Board at Academia Cotopaxi in Quito.

After graduating from Brown University with a BA and MA in German Literature, and working in San Francisco as a paralegal, Jill and her husband volunteered with the Peace Corps in Ecuador, where they raised their two daughters, both of whom also graduated from Brown. In 2000, she earned a M.Ed. from Boston University specializing in teaching English as a second language.

Over the years, Jill has worked with students taking AP courses, working towards IB Diplomas, and students from schools offering their own advanced curricula. She has successfully guided families with children needing academic support as well as those seeking entry into highly competitive schools in the United States, Canada, the UK, and Europe. Reducing the stress and anxiety that families often feel as they navigate the college selection and application process is Jill’s forte. Her goal is for her students to gain entrance to colleges that not only meet their aspirations but also are good academic and social fits for them.

Jill is skilled at gaining rapport with teenagers in order to provide student-centered counseling but is very conscious of the need for parents to be included in the conversation and final decision. Her dry sense of humor along with her ability to help students maintain a positive yet realistic outlook as they select their high school classes, develop their interests, build a balanced college list, and complete their applications provides the right amount of support, allowing students to feel empowered throughout the process. Over the past 25+ years, Jill has had the opportunity to visit colleges and universities all over the United States, in Canada, China, the UK, Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Austria, and Germany.

She loves traveling to new destinations as well as to Paris, where her younger daughter’s family resides. She also enjoys reading, cooking and knitting in her spare time.