MIT admissions officers are involved with all aspects of the recruitment process, from conducting information sessions for high school students and their families, to reading applications and making admissions decisions. Admissions officers have a wide variety of backgrounds and interests and look forward to learning more about you during the admissions process.
Please note that MIT’s Office of Admissions is not regionalized and we don’t consider demonstrated interest—so there is no reason to get in touch with a particular representative. If you do have a question or need to get in touch, just email us.
| Name and title | Fun facts | |
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Aya AL-Namee Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite book: “How to be Antiracist” by Ibram Kendi
Favorite beverage: Vietnamese cold brew
Favorite TV show: “Abbott Elementary”
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Kari-Elle Brown Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite shoe: Chunky sandals
Favorite video game: “To the Moon”
Favorite Cambridge restaurant: Bagelsaurus (favorite bagel: chocolate chip pretzel)
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Trinidad Carney Associate Director of Admissions |
Favorite vacation spot: South-East Asia island hopping
Favorite spot on campus: Killian Court—specifically watching the hawks who live on Killian Court
Favorite invention: Google (or Cat Snake)
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Nicole Cooper Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite drink: An iced lavender latte, especially on a warm summer afternoon
Favorite vacation spot: I love going back home to Wyoming and hiking in the Wind River mountains
Favorite way to relax: Tending to my plants with a candle lit and some chill indie music in the background
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David duKor-Jackson Director of Admissions |
Favorite “temporary” campus art installation: Jaume Plensa’s Alchemist
Favorite beverage: Vanilla Chai
Favorite book: “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint Exupéry
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Kris Guay Director of Communications, Admissions and Student Financial Services |
Favorite book: “Written on the Body” by Jeannete Winterson
Favorite vacation spot: Scotland
Favorite quote: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” –Mary Oliver
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Ariana Gueranmayeh Admissions Counselor |
Favorite tv show: “Schitt’s Creek”—10/10 would stay at the Rosebud Motel
Favorite ice cream flavor combination: Vanilla, salted caramel, and coffee—especially from Gelati Celesti in my hometown of Richmond, Virginia
Favorite winter activity: Skiing—preferably when I am not dangling from the lift…yes, this happened when I was a kid
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Clare Head Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite tv show: “New Girl”
Favorite food: New Haven-style pizza
Favorite sports team: New York Giants
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Michaye Ledford Senior Admissions Counselor |
Favorite drink: Earl grey, earl grey, and more earl grey (also a London Fog… which is Earl Grey)
Favorite ice cream: Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla
Favorite book: Trick question, there is no favorite (“Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett)
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Ariel Leitao Leonelli Associate Director of Admissions |
Favorite card in the award-winning board game Wingspan: House Finch
Favorite vacation spot: Anywhere in Maine
Favorite musical artist: Celine Dion
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Julianne Lesch Admissions Counselor |
Favorite musical artist: Taylor Swift
Favorite place to visit: Yellowstone National Park
Favorite ice cream flavor: Moose Tracks
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Jessica Mu Senior Admissions Counselor |
Favorite artist: Taylor Swift (ofc)
Favorite TV show: “Grey’s Anatomy”
Favorite fruit: Mangosteen
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Erin Murray Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite book: “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern
Favorite spot on campus: Barker Engineering Library’s Reading Room
Favorite quote: “And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” –John Steinbeck, “East of Eden”
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Chris Peterson Director of Special Projects, Admissions and Student Financial Services |
Favorite drink: 1 gallon of iced tea daily
Favorite spot on campus: Other people’s offices (when they’re not there)
Favorite musical genre: no 💖
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Suzanne Driscoll Plump Senior Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite food: NY pizza
Favorite MIT hack: Tetris on the Green Building
Favorite topic of conversation: My kids and my dogs! (not necessarily in that order! 😊)
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Julia Potts Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite musical artists: Beyoncé & Bruno Mars
Favorite drink: Hot Chocolate
Favorite quote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.” –Marianne Williamson
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Ceri Riley Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite way to relax: Jigsaw puzzles
Favorite mineral: Ulexite
Favorite pie: Mixed berry
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Lauren Rodriguez Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite quote: “If you can dream it, you can do it.” –Walt Disney
Favorite movie: “School of Rock”
Favorite drink (other than coffee): Hot Chocolate with the little marshmallows on top
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Stu Schmill Dean of Admissions and Student Financial Services |
Favorite musical artist: Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band
Favorite book: “The Princess Bride” by William Goldman
Favorite spot on campus: The Boathouse balcony in the summer
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Cami Spellman Admissions Counselor |
Favorite song: “Betray My Heart” by D’Angelo
Favorite movie: “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”
Favorite condiment: “il mig” by Onima (a hot sauce whose flavor profile is described as “silk, allium, light at the end of the tunnel”)
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Molly Thompson-Vander Heyden Associate Director of Admissions |
Favorite fun fact: I am a left-handed, opera singing, barista from South Dakota
Favorite way to relax: A thunderstorm, a crackling fire, and snuggled on the couch with my cat and a good book
Favorite local spot near MIT: Flour Bakery (my favorite are the Raspberry Poptarts!)
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Maura Tierney Associate Director of Admissions |
Favorite musical artist: Bruce Springsteen
Favorite book: “Persuasion” by Jane Austen
Favorite quote: “The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” –E. E. Cummings
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Yi Tso Director of the Educational Council |
Favorite food: Red bean shaved ice
Favorite book: “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari
Favorite movie: “It Happened One Night”
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Carlos Vega Senior Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite athlete: Rafael Nadal
Favorite movie: “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back”
Favorite drink: Nitro Cold Brew Coffee
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Tiffany Velez Associate Director of Admissions |
Favorite musical artist: 80s music!
Favorite drink: All things coffee
Favorite vacation spot: San Juan, Puerto Rico
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Jeremy Weprich Senior Assistant Director of Admissions |
Favorite spot on campus: MIT’s underground tunnels between buildings 66 and E17.
Book I’m currently reading: “The Three-Body Problem” by Liu Cixin
Favorite class at MIT this semester: 21M.585: Interactive Music Systems
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Olivia Whalen Associate Director of Admissions |
Favorite musical artist: Adele
Favorite book: “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen
Favorite drink: Rhode Island’s own Del’s Lemonade
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Michael Yang Senior Admissions Officer |
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