Finding the Patterns. Telling the Story. Navigating Pathways that Expand Opportunity
Two Kinds of Work, The Same Approach.
Connecting the pieces of a puzzle that don’t look related- yet.
Hi! I'm Margaret Sullivan. For 25 years, I've worked at both ends of education- as a district leader, researcher, evaluator, policy advisor, and now independent consultant. With students and families, I guide the college admissions process, finding the "why" behind a school list and shaping an essay that best reflects the student's goals and personality. With organizations, I bring 16.5 years of experience at Mathematica conducting high-level research and evaluation for foundations, nonprofits, school districts, and government agencies. These aren't two separate businesses; they're two expressions of the same instinct:
Take disparate information and find the pattern everyone else has missed.
A student benefits from someone who understands how admissions offices really think. An institution benefits from someone who's sat across from the students whose policies it affects. Neither side of this work is on the sidelines; they sharpen each other.
Certificate in College Advising, Columbia University M.P.P., Georgetown University B.A. University of Virginia
Student & Family College Coaching
Hands-on guidance through school lists, deadlines, and essays; built around who your student actually is, not a checklist.
Organizational Evaluation and Strategic Learning
Evaluation and strategy grounded in how institutions actually work, not just how they're supposed to- built on 13+ years inside state agencies, universities, and school systems.
Testimonials
Student and Family College Coaching
“Margaret’s support during my daughter’s college application journey was invaluable. Her confident guidance helped my daughter find her voice and structure her essays so her story was more impactful. She supported her through every deadline— offering polite reminders and firm nudges to ensure every application was completed on time. I didn’t think I needed an advisor for this process, but now I couldn’t see myself walking this road any other way.”
“As a funder, I was fortunate to have Margaret as the lead on multiple grants. She was a go-to when the work called for a deep understanding of evidence-building, engaging communities, and translating findings for multiple audiences. A perfect example was Margaret’s expert management of a multi-year, multi-site evaluation of community colleges. This multi-faceted project involved a funders collaborative with shifting priorities, interventions at differing stages of development and implementation, and very diverse populations. Margaret navigated the layers of complexity masterfully. Further, Margaret was an active contributor to the dissemination plan of key findings (sadly, the pandemic interrupted some of those plans). She met with leaders at the community colleges and students to explore how lessons learned from our studies could inform improvements in services, communications, and other areas of student support.
I highly recommend her and look forward to the opportunity to work with her, again.”
“Working with Margaret on my college essays was an amazing experience, and I’m so grateful for all her help. I had trouble getting started on the essay, but Margaret guided me through brainstorming ideas and helped me figure out which topics would best reflect who I am and how I’ve grown. She showed me how I can format my essays to best fit my prompt and explained what colleges will typically expect so that I knew what to include and was able to make my essay more descriptive. Margaret helped me talk through what I was thinking when I couldn’t decide what to write next, making the whole process feel far less overwhelming. As my application deadlines got closer, she checked in with me to make sure I was on track and was available if I had questions or wanted feedback on drafts. When I finished my essays, she helped me revise, edit, and cut them down to the required word count without losing my voice or message. Margaret was very supportive, knowledgeable, and incredibly dedicated throughout the entire process. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking for guidance with their college applications.”
“Margaret is wonderful, insightful, encouraging, and deeply knowledgeable. Working with her made the overwhelming college application process feel manageable and even empowering. She possesses a remarkable gift for helping students uncover and articulate their authentic voice, crafting essays that are both deeply personal and strategically compelling. Her feedback is incisive yet supportive, consistently challenging students to reflect more deeply and think with greater nuance. With Margaret’s expert support, what could have been a stressful process became one of growth and clarity. I wholeheartedly recommend her to any student or family navigating this journey”
Institution and Policy College Consulting
“Margaret is a trusted advisor and thought partner. She understands how to intuit client needs and help them navigate technical waters to make informed decisions. I had the good fortune of working with her on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Equity Technical Assistance Center. I asked her to join the project to serve as a quality assurance lead for which she was responsible for helping me review the large volume of deliverables our project produced on a weekly basis. Because she is such a skilled researcher and technical assistance provider as well as a thoughtful and empathetic leader, her role expanded quickly. She was often one of the first people I turned to whenever there was a fire to put out. With more than 100 people billing the project and a portfolio of over 30 TA engagements (each with their own teams and budgets), fires were inevitable. Ever respectful and discrete, she helped me and other project leaders address staffing challenges. She masterfully helped TA teams who struggled to complete their engagements on time or on budget get back on track. To prevent future fires, Margaret helped mastermind a staff development and mentoring program to help our less experienced team members build their skillset and confidence. Most importantly, she is trustworthy, reliable, compassionate, collegial, honest, and kind. Margaret is an extraordinary colleague.”
“Few education and social policy experts can claim the vast experience that Margaret can. With her research savvy and thought leadership, combined with her direct ground level agency experience, Margaret brings a unique perspective to all she does. And she is a pleasure to work with as well. In my long career I have seen few professionals with her combination of social, emotional, and academic expertise combined. We worked together on a legislatively-mandated report for a state and it was amazing to watch her navigate complex relationships and add value. She is a great addition to any team working on education and related social policy issues.”
“Margaret was absolutely incredible throughout the entire college application process. She guided us step-by-step, helped us stay organized, and offered thoughtful feedback that truly strengthened the essays. Her support took so much stress off our plates, and we genuinely couldn’t have done it without her. Highly, highly recommend!”
“I must strongly recommend Margaret! We worked together for many years at Mathematica. Over that time, I have been consistently impressed with her passion, thoughtfulness, and dedication to our work and helping achieve the goals of our clients. She has a versatile skill set, ranging from traditional research skills to technical assistance and strategy advising skills. Margaret is well-equipped to tackle just about any task: I’ve seen her effectively implement evidence-informed continuous improvement frameworks, conduct root cause analyses, lead success project and proposal efforts, and support a strong, inclusive, and accountable workplace culture. Margaret is truly a delight and a great addition to a community.”
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The Northgrid Project
