It’s all about the fit.
Applying to college on your own is daunting. But it can be life-changing with the right partner.
That’s why we started ECAP. You’ll be so glad we did!
The ECAP Story
Hear from Dr. Diane Graves, co-founder, about the origins of ECAP and what you and your family can expect from our program.
Meet the ECAP Team
Based on their collective passion to empower college-bound students and their families, Dr. Diane Graves, Dr. Kathleen Bands, and Ms. Susanna Smith designed ECAP – a unique interactive learning opportunity for high school students.
-
Co-Founder / ECAP Director 2025Dr. Graves, a child clinical psychologist, has mentored and advised students since 1998. She has extensive teaching experience, serving as a professor at Kenyon College in Ohio, the University of North Texas near Dallas, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Hood College and currently serves as a professor and Assistant Program Director for the Clinical Psychology Doctoral program at Divine Mercy University.
Dr. Graves completed her undergraduate degree at Brown University, and she has conducted alumni interviews for Brown for the past 14 years. Dr. Graves earned her doctorate at the University of Washington and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Dr. Graves is the proud parent of a Junior at Northwestern University.
-
Co-FounderDr. Bands brings significant experience in working with college students through her teaching, advising and program development experience to the Excellence in College Admission Program (ECAP). She completed her doctoral work at the University of Maryland in Curriculum and Instruction and her master’s and undergraduate degrees from the University of North Carolina. Dr. Bands has taught at Meredith College in Raleigh, North Carolina, James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia and the University of South Carolina in Columbia. In addition to her work with high school and college students, she held senior leadership positions in Enrollment Management.
As the former Vice President for Enrollment Management at Hood, Dr. Bands brings experience in how the college admission process works. She has worked with countless families to help them understand financial aid and paying for college. Additionally, Dr. Bands knows first-hand the importance of selecting the right college (“fit”) and how to help students through this transition from high school to college. Dr. Bands has completed extensive work in grant projects designed to help students achieve academic and personal success.
-
Co-Founder | Co-Director ECAP 2025Ms. Susanna Smith currently serves as a school counselor at Bishop O’Connell High School. She has served in many student success positions throughout her career with a focus on assisting high school students and their families navigate the college admissions process. She brings experience as both a high school administrator and college admissions consultant to ECAP. Susanna has spent many years working at both Hood College and the University of Maryland, College Park in admissions and academic advising roles.
In addition, she is a training and development practitioner having supported local government agencies through presentations and workshops fostering workplace success. She holds a M.Ed. from American University and a B.A. from Hood College.
Susanna is committed to the admissions process with the goal of finding the best “fit” for every student wishing to pursue a degree in higher education.
More ECAP Experts
-
Matty Steiner, Senior Director, Outreach at Compass Education. So much is happening right now with standardized testing, you will not want to miss this research-based and hot-off-the-press content from a national expert.
-
(2023) Virginia (VJ) Iannone, Ph.D. is a sports psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Stevenson University. Coach VJ has extensive experience coaching and supporting high school and college athletes.
-
Ms. Karen Joostema, M.B.A., Director of Communications and Marketing at The Madeira School
-
We’re closely monitoring the 2024 FAFSA process (debacle?!) and scholarship trends and will be sharing the most current updates with you this summer.
-
Part of going to college is making sure you take care of yourself. Period. You can’t flourish in college if you aren’t okay. We’ll show you how to ensure the colleges you apply to will have what you (and your future friends and classmates) will need to stay healthy and safe.
-
Former college chaplain will provide guidance for assessing safety and support across faith traditions for all students.
-
Ms. Sarah Goodfriend, Director of Employee Engagement, Leadership Development & Wellness - Kelly Benefits. Your future college needs to be a place where you feel you belong. We’ll go over what that means for you and for any college you’re considering. This will include a discussion of Greek life, student government, professional clubs and organizations, affinity groups, and more!
Interested in becoming an ECAP volunteer this summer? Help is always welcome. Reach out anytime!
Own the college search process. Join us at ECAP this summer!
