About Us

Lois Zuckerman was born and raised in Colorado. She received her B.A. from The Colorado College and her M.S. and Ph.D. in Psychology from St. Louis University. Most of her work focused on medical psychology and anxiety disorders. She and her husband, Dave Zuckerman, raised three children in St. Louis. As their children navigated the college selection and application process, Lois and Dave realized they had gained significant expertise in the process themselves; and that other parents would have that same expertise. Recognizing that school counselors are stretched thin, and seeing this as a way to extend the school counselors’ reach, they worked to create Mentors 4 College: a community of volunteer mentors to assist and support families in the college selection and application process. Their goal is to find the right fit for each student after high school.

Dr. Jenny Marquart is a retired high school educator. She spent 17 years as the principal at Parkway North High School in St. Louis, Missouri, and six years as an assistant principal at Parkway West High School. Prior to this, Dr. Marquart taught Spanish in Greater St. Louis area schools. She attended community college and Missouri State University to earn her bachelors degree in education. She received her masters degree in school administration from St. Louis University and received her doctorate in educational leadership from Maryville University. While principal at Parkway North High School, Dr. Marquart partnered with Mentors 4 College to implement the program.

Gwyeth "Smitty" Smith is the former head college guidance counselor at Oyster Bay High School, Long Island NY with decades of experience in the college application process. He was also the subject of Acceptance, the acclaimed book written by David L. Marcus that chronicles the stories of seven students through the college application process, and was featured in the Newsday series, College Quest. He has been featured in Newsweek magazine, and has written columns for the Washington Post and New York Times. He currently is on the board for the Nassau BOCES Educational Foundation and Mentors 4 College.

Vicki Horwits received her bachelor’s degree in communication from Stanford University. She worked for 28 years in the entertainment industry, serving as the Vice President of Current Comedy at NBC and writing and producing several situation comedies on network television. Having watched her own son go through the college application process, Vicki saw firsthand the challenges many families face in navigating the complex, often overwhelming process. After retiring from the entertainment industry, she turned her passion towards supporting and guiding other families through the college application process, so that each family can feel educated and empowered during the process and can find the “right fit” college for their student. She resides in Los Angeles and is currently finishing the certificate program in Independent Educational Consulting at the University of California at Irvine.

Skip Williamson is a 30-year veteran in commercial banking and finance. Skip holds an BSE from Princeton and an MBA in finance from Columbia University. He and his wife, Wendy, put two very different children through college: a highly focused engineer and a wide-ranging liberal arts major. Skip has spent time volunteering with preschoolers and tutoring GED candidates in math. He lives in Longmont, CO, and enjoys the outdoors.