Guidance this important deserves people who know the work.
CGN brings together educators, counselors, technologists, content creators, and experienced operators around one goal: helping schools give every student the guidance and support to figure out what comes next.
Technology helps us scale the guidance. People and expertise make it worth trusting.
Built to expand access to great guidance.
Students are being asked to make increasingly complex decisions about college, careers, cost, and their futures. At the same time, school counselors are managing enormous workloads and a rapidly changing landscape.
CGN was built to help schools close that gap.
We combine expert knowledge, personalized technology, and actionable insight so students can explore possibilities, make informed decisions, and keep moving forward, while counselors remain at the center of the moments that require human judgment and connection.
Great guidance shouldn’t depend on a student’s ZIP code or their counselor’s caseload.
K12 education
Built with the school context in mind.
Counseling practice
Designed to keep counselors central.
AI and technology
Applied carefully to guidance decisions.
Career services
Connected to real pathways after school.
Content and media
Expertise translated into engaging student experiences.
District leadership
Informed by the needs of public school systems.
Meet the team behind CGN.
Our team spans education, counseling, technology, AI, media, business, and career services. That range of experience helps us build guidance that works for students while solving real problems for the schools and counselors who support them.
Leadership
Jon Carson
CO-founder and ceo
Jon is a longtime education and technology entrepreneur who has built and scaled businesses serving students, families, schools, and nonprofits.
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He previously helped build CollegeVine, Family Education Network, and BiddingForGood, creating large-scale platforms and partnerships across education and technology. At CGN, Jon leads the company’s mission to expand access to high-quality college and career guidance.
Bob Block
CO-founder and head of partnerships
Bob brings extensive experience building partnerships across education and assessment, with a career spanning schools, assessment, and education networks.
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He previously served as Vice President of Corporate Development at ACT, led Professional Examination Service, and helped build the partner ecosystem at Family Education Network. At CGN, Bob works with schools, districts, and strategic partners to expand access to the platform.
Christine Griggs
Chief Financial Officer
Christine has more than 25 years of finance and accounting experience, with particular expertise in startups and early-stage growth companies.
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Her background includes helping take T2 Biosystems through the IPO process and supporting the integration of Chil Semiconductor into International Rectifier. She leads CGN’s financial strategy and operations.
Alexis McLaughlin
Chief Operating Officer
Alexis is an experienced CEO and growth leader who has built and scaled consumer, healthcare, and education-related businesses.
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Her background includes serving as CEO of 20/20 Onsite, founder and CEO of Parker & Ace, and SVP and General Manager of Target Optical, as well as leadership roles at General Mills and Pepperidge Farm. At CGN, she leads operations and helps translate the company’s strategy into scalable execution.
Michael Kolowich
Chief Product Officer
Michael is a longtime technology and media entrepreneur with deep experience building digital products and companies.
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He has founded and led multiple technology ventures, served as a partner at Bain & Company, helped launch ZDNet, and held leadership roles at AT&T New Media and other pioneering digital businesses. At CGN, he has helped shape the platform and student experience.
Ian Marlier
chief technology officer
Ian brings deep experience building and scaling tech.products across education, knowledge platforms, and high-growth software teams.
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His background includes serving as VP of Applied AI at McGraw Hill, CTO of Authess, and CEO of Ternium.AI. At CGN, he leads the development and application of AI across the guidance experience.
Steve Stalzer
Head of ai
Steve is an experienced AI and technology executive focused on applying artificial intelligence to learning and decision support.
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His background includes serving as VP of Applied AI at McGraw Hill, CTO of Authess, and CEO of Ternium.AI. At CGN, he leads the development and application of AI across the guidance experience.
Mike Leber
VP Content and Production
Mike is an Emmy award-winning producer with extensive experience creating complex, high-quality content for large audiences.
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Before CGN, he served as a Senior Coordinating Producer at ESPN and led production across major events including Super Bowls and Olympic Games. At CGN, he leads programming and production that turns expert knowledge into engaging guidance for students.
College, Career, & Content Expertise
Brennan Barnard
Director of College Counseling
Brennan is a nationally recognized college counselor and author who has spent his career helping students and families navigate college admission.
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He has served as Director of College Counseling at independent schools, advised the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and co-authored The Truth About College Admission. At CGN, he helps ensure that college guidance reflects the realities counselors and students face.
Diana Carson
Director of Career Programming
Diana brings vast experience across education, publishing, content development, producing, and student support.
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She has taught at the high school and college levels, developed educational content, and worked within Boston Public Schools on strategic partnerships supporting students. At CGN, she leads programming designed to help students better understand themselves, careers, and the pathways available to them.
Nicole Konstantinakos
Senior Content Producer & Editor
Nicole is an experienced editor, researcher, and content developer whose work has spanned education, publishing, and digital products.
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Her background includes editorial leadership at America’s Test Kitchen, UX research at Sapient, higher education initiatives in California, and teaching support at Brown and Harvard. At CGN, she helps ensure that student-facing content is clear, engaging, and useful.
Adnan Sehic
Senior Marketing manager
Adnan brings more than 14 years of experience building and scaling digital marketing programs across B2B and B2C organizations.
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His expertise includes multi-channel strategy, audience growth, and digital campaign execution. At CGN, he leads marketing efforts that connect schools and education leaders with the company’s mission and solutions.
Kara O’Toole
Partnership manager
Kara is an operations leader and transformation consultant whose work centers on building scalable systems in EdTech.
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Her background includes leading operational scaling and customer success at CollegeVine, serving as COO and Board Treasurer for Step Up Tutoring, and advising executive teams through her own consulting practice. At CGN, she leads operational execution and district implementations to bring AI-powered guidance tools seamlessly to students and families.
James Donald
Executive Producer
James is an Emmy and Peabody award-winning documentary filmmaker and education content producer.
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His career includes nearly two decades of documentary production, multiple Emmy nominations and wins, a Peabody Award, and five years at edX developing digital learning experiences. At CGN, he helps translate expert knowledge into compelling student experiences.
Jon Castro
AI Content Producer and Tester
Jon brings extensive experience advising students through the college process, including international school work.
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Jon spent more than nine years in college advising and several years working with students and schools internationally. His background also includes classroom teaching. At CGN, he helps develop, test, and improve AI-supported guidance from the perspective of real student and counseling needs.
Eliot Martin
AI Content Editor and Tester
Eliot is an AI content editor, working at the intersection of content quality and CGN’s expert AI-led guidance experience.
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He helps review, test, and refine AI-generated guidance so that student-facing information is clear, useful, and aligned with CGN’s standards.
Jermon Clark
Associate Producer
Jermon supports CGN’s production team in creating and delivering college and career guidance content for students and schools.
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His work helps translate CGN’s expert knowledge into accessible student-facing experiences.
Advisors leading the work.
CGN’s advisors bring direct experience leading career services, career pathways, and large public school systems.
Susan Brennan
Advisor, Career Services
Susan is a nationally experienced career services leader whose work has spanned MIT, Wellesley College, Bentley University, and Hult International Business School.
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She brings deep expertise in career education, employer engagement, and helping institutions prepare students for the transition from education to work.
Dan Restuccia
Advisor, Career Pathways
Dan advises CGN on the changing landscape of career pathways and the ways students can connect education, skills, and career opportunities.
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His perspective helps CGN ensure that career guidance reflects a broader range of pathways beyond the traditional four-year college route.
Dan Domenech
Advisor, Superintendent-in-Residence
Dan is one of the country’s most experienced public education leaders, with deep superintendent and national association leadership experience.
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He previously served as Executive Director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools, and Chairman of the ACT Board of Directors. He advises CGN on the needs of superintendents, districts, and public school systems.
Our advisory board.
We know we don’t have all the answers, so we have built a world-class advisory board that can give us guidance, tell us the hard truths, and provide input as we develop our programming and technology platform.
Anne L. Bryant
Executive Director, Emeritus
- Executive Director, National School Boards Association
- Executive Director, American Association of University Women
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- Trustee and Board Chair, Simmons College
- Trustee, National Teachers Hall of Fame
- Board Chairperson, National Student Clearinghouse
Diane Cano
CIO, Cambium learning Group
- General Manager, IT at Educational Testing Service
- Adjunct Professor, Mechanical Engineering at The College of New Jersey
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- Parent of two students currently at public research universities
- BS, Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University; MS, Technology Management at University of Pennsylvania; PhD, Education at Rutgers University
Diane Campbell
educator, counselor of the year
- Director of Counseling, Liberty Commons High School
- President, Rocky Mountain Assoc. of College Admissions Counseling (RMACAC)
Jim Larimore
Former Chief Officer, ACT
- Dean of Students, Amherst College
- Deputy Director, Post-Secondary Success, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
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- Dean of Students, Swarthmore College
- B.S. Texas A&M University, MA Education, Stanford University
Rob Lippincott
Senior Editorial Advisor
- SVP of Education for PBS
- SVP Product Development for Discovery Education
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- SVP & GM of Programming for Family Education Network (acquired by Pearson)
- Member of College Guidance Network advisory board
- Parent of two college graduates
Mike Marriner
Founder/CEO, Road Trip Nation
- Executive Producer, PBS series Road Trip Nation
Candice Mackey
College Counselor, LAUSD
- Undergrad Admissions Reader, UCLA
- College Instructor, UCLA College Counseling Certification Program
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- Editorial Advisory group, Fiske Guide to Colleges
Dorletta Payton
Director of College and Career Readiness, Valley View SD 365u
- Former Director of Education, Quad County Urban League
- Chairperson Emeritus, DuPage County ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics)
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- BA, Economics at Stanford University; MBA, Finance and Marketing at The University of Chicago
Mike Sexton
Former Admissions Officer
- Former VP Enrollment, Santa Clara University
- Former Dean of Admissions, Lewis & Clark
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- Former Director of Admissions, Rhodes College
Stephen Smith
Founder, Naviance
- Founder and CEO of Intellispark
- Founder of Naviance
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- VP Digital Product Development, Peterson’s