Expertise

List of 6 members.

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  Julie Taylor-Vaz 

  Dean of College Counseling

  248-645-3624

  Bio

  Julie Taylor-Vaz’s career in college admissions counseling began in the admissions office of her alma mater, Stanford University. There, she coordinated African American recruitment and served on the athletics subcommittee in addition to fulfilling more general professional responsibilities. During her time in admissions, Julie also served as a Resident Fellow in one of the University’s undergraduate residence halls. When she moved to Los Angeles and assumed the role of Director of College Counseling at Oakwood School, she also joined the faculty of UCLA Extension’s College Counseling Certificate Program, for which she taught a course that focused on professional ethics.

   

  In recognition of her early-career achievements and impact on the profession, Julie received the Western Association for College Admissions Counseling’s Steve Hankins Award. She returned to her hometown of New Orleans when she became Co-Director of College Counseling at Isidore Newman School. During her years there, she trained new college admissions officers and prepared them for their first year of recruitment travel through the Southern Association for College Admissions Counseling’s Dry Run program. She was also among the founding faculty members of the National Association of Independent Schools’ Summer Institute for College Counselors, which evolved into the professional organization now known as the Association for College Counselors in Independent Schools.

   

  Julie returned to Los Angeles to serve as Director of College Counseling at The Buckley School. While there, she gained national recognition for uncovering several of the unethical (and illegal) practices of the independent educational consultant at the center of the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal.

   

  Julie is currently Cranbrook’s Dean of College Counseling. In this role, she leads the team of experienced educators who support the school’s students and their families in what Julie frames as the “college search and selection process,” emphasizing student choice in the search for and selection of the colleges where they enroll upon graduating from Cranbrook. She is also a residential faculty member who enjoys the lifestyle of living on campus with her family (including a recent graduate and a current student of Cranbrook) and building relationships with students, faculty, and other members of the community both in and outside of the Cranbrook and Kingswood Residence Halls.
• 

  William Hancock 

  Associate Dean of College Counseling

  248-645-3615

  Bio

  Bill came to the Cranbrook Schools with his family in 1998 and served for six years as Dean of College Counseling before moving into the Associate Dean role. In 2013-2014, Bill reprised that roll and served as Acting Dean for the office while Cranbrook conducted the successful national search that brought our current Dean, Deren Finks, to campus. In addition to his duties in College Counseling, Bill is currently serving as a Junior Class Advisor, Assistant House Adviser in Coulter and as an Assistant Coach for the Freshman Basketball team. In 2012, Bill was awarded The Cranbrook Educational Community’s President’s Award for Excellence. Prior to Cranbrook Bill served in leadership, teaching and coaching positions at Hilton Head Preparatory School, The Hill School and in the admission offices at Allegheny and Union colleges.

  
  

  Bill stays active professionally by serving as the Chair of the Past-Presidents’ Council for the Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling (MACAC) and as a member of the Finance Committee for the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC). Bill will presenting two sessions at this year’s Affiliate Treasurer’s Workshop being conducted in conjunction with the 2015 NACAC National Convention. Bill has served as a Delegate to the National Assembly for MACAC multiple times and is a founding member of MACAC’s Finance Committee.
  
  

  Beyond Cranbrook, Bill serves on the faculty for the Joyce Ivy Foundation's Counselor Symposium each spring, and during five of the last six summers, he has been on the faculty of the Royal Thai Scholar (TS) Summer Orientation Program; beginning next year, Bill will serve as the Lead Counselor and Coordinator for the College Counseling portion of the program.
  
  

  Bill lives with his wife, Winnie, in the Cranbrook Boys' Dorm. Winnie is also a part of the Cranbrook faculty, serving in the Early Childhood Center. Their two boys, Evan and Brendan, are members of the CK Classes '06 and '09 respectively.
• 

  Sheila Bailey 

  Associate Dean of College Counseling

  248-645-3771

  Bio

  Sheila joined the Cranbrook College Counseling office in 2010 after giving almost thirty-four years to Bloomfield Hills Schools as a counselor and teacher. Prior to coming to Cranbrook, she worked as a department head for the Counseling Department at Lahser High School, department head for the Special Education department, teacher consultant and teacher.

  
  

  Sheila is a member of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors and American Counseling Association and has served on the executive board for Michigan Association of College Admissions Counselors (MACAC) on both the Membership and MACRAO (Michigan Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers) committees. Sheila has undergraduate degrees in Psychology as well as Speech and Language with an endorsement in Hearing Impairment, a Master’s Degree in Counseling and an Education Specialist Degree with endorsements in Emotional Impairment and Learning Disabilities. Sheila is a licensed professional counselor who has taught both career planning and self-esteem classes as an adjunct faculty member and counselor at the college level.

  
  She lives in Troy with her husband and has one son and two daughters.
• 

  Hannah Reed 

  Associate Dean of College Counseling

  248-645-3459

  Bio

  Hannah's love for college admissions started when she attended Earlham College, a College That Changes Lives, and discovered firsthand the impact of a "perfect fit" college. She is passionate about helping students align their personal mission with the values of the institutions and communities they seek to join. Hannah has worked in several independent schools as a Spanish teacher, dean of students, athletic coach, dorm parent, and international student coordinator. Hannah also serves as an IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Access) Coordinator in the Upper School. She has completed extensive professional development in this area including training as a SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) facilitator. At Cranbrook, she is a recipient of the Class of '45 Faculty Enhancement Award (2020) and The Rosalie and Morrey Harris Award for Faculty Excellence (2023).

   

  As a member of the Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling, Hannah has served on the Professional Development Committee and on the Executive Board as Secretary. She also handles all social media for the MACAC Communications Committee. Hannah received both the MACAC Rising Star and ACE (Advocate, Collaborate, and Educate) awards.  Hannah is also an active member of ACCIS (Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools) and serves on the planning committee for its White Antiracist and Accountability Group. 
• 

  Malin Aladlouni 

  Associate Dean of College Counseling

  248-645-3430

  Bio

  Malin Halladay Aladlouni joined Cranbrook in 2022 from an independent IB high school in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where she served for three years as Counselor, Safeguarding Lead, and CAS (Creativity-Action-Service) Coordinator. Prior to that, Malin held the roles of College Counselor, Dean of Student Learning, and Librarian at the American School of Marrakesh in Morocco, where she also served as Model UN Advisor for five years.

   

  Malin is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Michigan State University (BA International Relations) and a graduate of Georgetown University (MS Foreign Service). Following graduate school, she spent over two years as a maternal and child health volunteer with the Peace Corps in rural Morocco and moved from Michigan to Marrakesh five years later to raise her family.

   

  She belongs to several professional organizations related to university guidance and career counseling, including the Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling (MACAC), the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools (ACCIS), and the College Board, as well as International ACAC, where she volunteers as a Scholar Mentor and serves on the Support, Access & Success Committee that provides professional development to counselors from under-resourced schools in developing countries. Malin is also an Associate Member of IECA (Independent Educational Consultants Association) and serves as a volunteer with the Matchlighters Scholars Program.

   

  Over the years, her students have represented over 50 nationalities, and she has helped them identify and secure “best fit” university options throughout the world including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Australia, Hong Kong, and South Korea. She enjoys supporting students as they explore their interests, motivations, values, strengths, and concerns, as well as helping them to articulate these points in their essays, personal statements, and supplements. Her advice to students is to be open to looking beyond rankings and prestige to discover their best fit college.

   

  At Cranbrook, she is a residential faculty member who serves as a House Advisor in Kingswood Dorm. She also serves on the Admissions Committee and as spring advisor for the Garden Club. She and her family – husband and three young adult children – divide their time between Michigan, New York, and Morocco.
• 

  Anne Levy 

  Associate Dean of College Counseling

  248-645-3614

  Bio

  Anne Boles Levy took a zig-zag path into college counseling before finally landing at Cranbrook in July of 2022, where she draws on decades of writing, editing, and teaching experience to help students present their most articulate, authentic selves in their college applications. A graduate of Smith College, Anne has a BA in English Literature, and an MS in journalism from Columbia University. Her career as a newspaper reporter took her to the Philly suburbs, then Tampa and West Palm Beach before she headed west for marriage and motherhood. She worked as a radio news writer on the overnight shift, and for a time blogged about picture books and founded the annual Cybils awards, which rewards the best in new children’s literature. She even published two Young Adult fantasy novels of her own.  
   
  In 2012, Anne switched to teaching and helped open a charter school in Phoenix, Arizona that swiftly made US News’ Top 50 high schools. She started with middle school English and promptly moved up to high school for Honors and AP English Language and Composition, until both her school’s college counselors quit mid-pandemic. Heeding her Head of School’s SOS, Anne moved into the college counseling suite and found she loved helping students map out the next stages of their educational journey.
   
  At Cranbrook, Anne also acts as head advisor to the Crane-Clarion newspaper, finding herself in a hectic newsroom once again. She resides on Faculty Way with her husband, two adult children, and a cat named King, and converted her largest closet into a mini jewelry studio. She does dorm duty in the spacious foyer of Marquis Hall. She’s active in a number of professional organizations, including Michigan Association for College Admission Counseling, National Association for College Admission Counseling, Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools and the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA).