2019 College Counselors Speaker Bios

Speaker Bios

Jed Applerouth-Founder & President of Applerouth Tutoring

Jed Applerouth is a teacher and an educational innovator. A Nationally Certified Counselor with a PhD in Educational Psychology, Jed has researched student cognition, memory, motivation, and learning strategies to enhance the pedagogical strategies of Applerouth Tutoring Services. Jed is also a trained artist. He has found a way to merge his counseling and educational insights, visual talents, and whimsical sense of humor into a highly effective and original method for teaching academic subjects and preparing students for college and grad-school admissions tests. Jed continually seeks new ways to improve the methods and materials of ATS, researching the most innovative pedagogical strategies to keep his tutors on the cutting edge of the education industry. No stranger to assessments, Jed scored a perfect 2400 on the SAT and a super-scored 36 on the ACT.

Michael Russell, The College Funding Coach

Michael was born and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where he attended Chapel Hill High School. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Michael joined The College Funding Coach® team in 2017. His focus is on helping parents find ways to finance a college education without hindering their own retirement savings. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf, basketball, and cheering on his UNC Tar Heels and Carolina Panthers. Michael currently resides with his wife, Lauren,, their son, Joey, and their dog, Peaches, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Michael is the Regional Director of North & South Carolina and is located in our Charlotte, North Carolina office.

Gerry McCrory, founder and CEO of Scoir, redefining the approach to college search and connecting students, parents, counselors, and colleges for an improved admissions process. In 1999 Gerry started The Crucible Corporation, an early stage venture capital fund headquartered in Dublin, Ireland and Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, a venture capital fund headquartered in Philadelphia, USA. Prior to starting Crucible Mr. McCrory was the Managing Director of Cambridge Technology Partners (Ireland); started his own software services company, The Information Mosaic; held various senior commercial responsibilities at Cap Gemini in Ireland, Great Britain and the United States; and worked as a CPA with Coopers & Lybrand in both Ireland and the Cayman Islands. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, has a primary degree in Economics from the University of Ulster, a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting from Queens University of Belfast and an MBA from University College Dublin.Gerry is a founding board member of the US-Ireland Alliance whose flagship program is the George J. Mitchel Scholarship Program, established in 1998, which allows future American leaders to pursue a year of graduate study in Ireland and Northern Ireland. For two decades, the program has allowed these future leaders to experience Ireland firsthand. The program's goal is to provide tomorrow's leaders with an understanding about, an interest in, and an affinity with the island of Ireland.