Barbara F. Simmons

Adjunct Consultant
Guidance and College Counseling Assessments
csmoffice@cbservices.org

Barbara Simmons has been associated with educational institutions and positions in business organizations her entire career. She taught English at the secondary level, in both public and private schools in Massachusetts, and has been a college counselor and director of college counseling at two Catholic secondary schools in California – Bellarmine College Preparatory and Notre Dame High School, San Jose, respectively. During a transition from the East Coast to the West Coast in the 1970s, Barbara served as the training and development manager for The Gap Stores, Inc. – creating and presenting communication skills workshops, time management seminars and performance review seminars to management at corporate and store levels.

Barbara also worked on the college and university side of education, serving as assistant director of admissions at Wellesley College, assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Santa Clara University and Santa Clara's director of admissions for graduate programs in counseling psychology and education. She has served as an external reader for the University of California, Berkeley campus.

Barbara's education includes an undergraduate degree in English from Wellesley College, a master's degree in The Writing Seminars from The Johns Hopkins University, and a master's degree in Educational Administration with Certification in Career Counseling from Santa Clara University. She holds professional memberships in the National Association of College Admission Counseling, the Western Association of College Admission Counseling and the Higher Education Consultants Association and has served locally on the WACAC Board of Directors for Regional Conferences as program committee member. In addition, Barbara has presented at numerous educational conferences with topics ranging from writing college essays to finding one's voice in spiritual writing.

When not involved with individual college counseling in her private practice, Barbara continues to polish her skills as a writer and has broadcast many pieces for "Perspectives" on the local NPR station in San Francisco. Her poetry has been published in magazines. Called by her church, St. Jude the Apostle, to be a leader in Stephen Ministry, Barbara has recently completed extensive training in the art of Christian caregiving through the Stephen Ministry organization.

Barbara serves Catholic School Management and its clients on a part-time basis, specializing in guidance and college counseling assessments.

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