The Team

This isn’t our first rodeo—together, we have over 60 years of college admissions experience!

We are experts dedicated to facilitating an efficient college admissions process that encourages integrity, self-discovery and growth.

kate augus

Kate has 25 years of experience educating teenagers in the Bay Area. She started her classroom career in 1994, teaching Latin at Cathedral School for Boys in San Francisco and then at Head-Royce School in Oakland, CA. In 2003 Kate began working with high school students and their families as an independent college admissions advisor and created the College Blast Summer Workshop, which she has been honing ever since. In 2008, Kate became Director of College Counseling at Head-Royce School, a role she served in for 11 years.

During her time at Head-Royce, Kate developed a data-driven, yet student-centered approach to her work with students and families. Communication lies at the heart of Kate’s guidance, with the goal of taking as much stress as possible out of the college application and planning journey. Kate’s years as a classroom teacher influence her counseling -- the curriculum of the college process is “skills for a lifetime.” Over the last decade, Kate has taken on several national leadership roles, serving on advisory panels to the admission offices of UC Berkeley, University of Chicago, and Miami University of Ohio. In 2014, she developed and ran an educational colloquium at Santa Clara University for school-based college counselors from across the country.

Kate speaks frequently to large groups on various topics of college admission, including “Creating a Balanced College List,” “The Importance of an ‘Intentional’ Summer,” “Writing the College Essay” and “Parenting the Sophomore Student”. Kate has served on the Advisory Board to UC Berkeley’s certification program in College Admissions and Career Planning, a credential she herself earned in 2004. Her professional affiliations include the National Association for College Admission Counseling and the Western Association for College Admission Counseling.

Kate holds a B.A. in Classics from Brown University, magna cum laude; she was raised in Virginia Beach, VA and graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover. Kate lives in Rancho Mirage, CA with her family and two beloved dogs and has guided her own three children through the college application process.

email: katecaugus@gmail.com

martin bonilla

Martin is a nationally-recognized leader in college admissions with over 30 years of experience counseling thousands of students and families at three nationally-ranked high schools across the United States. In working to build authentic relationships, Martin aims to make the college search and application process fun and enlightening for the kids, while instilling knowledge and confidence in their parents.  

From 2006-2023, Martin served as the Director of College Counseling at The College Preparatory School in Oakland, CA. From 2002-2006, Martin served as Director of College Counseling at the Ransom Everglades School in Miami. Prior to arriving in Miami, Martin was the Director of College Counseling at the Saint Mark’s School of Texas in Dallas. He previously spent eight years as Senior Regional Director of Admission at the University of Pennsylvania. At Penn, his duties included chairing the admission selection committee, and the recruitment of international students and multicultural students, as well as being appointed the chair of the recruitment of student-athletes for all 32 varsity sports. 

Martin was a resident faculty member (1 of 2 college counselors) for the Harvard Summer Institute on College Admission, an annual program organized jointly by Harvard University and The College Board. At Harvard, Martin presented and moderated sessions, led discussions on case studies, and mentored the participants. His session topics included: how to build a dynamic college counseling program, early decision/action programs, college rankings, selecting a college in a highly competitive climate, and working effectively with the diversity of individuals in our communities. Martin served as the Co-Chair for the University of Chicago Counselor Advisory Board (2017-2023). He has previously been on the advisory boards for University of California, Berkeley, University of Toronto, Northwestern University, University of Michigan, and Villanova University. 

Martin is a 1991 graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a first-generation college student. He is bilingual in Spanish and English. Martin currently resides in San Francisco.

email: martinebonilla@gmail.com

Joanne Levy Prewitt

Joanne has been an independent college admissions advisor in the Lafayette-Moraga-Orinda area since 2003. Prior to that, she was a California Credentialed public school teacher and a published short-fiction writer. Until 2008, she wrote a weekly, nationally syndicated column called “College Bound” which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Portland Oregonian, the Seattle Times and others. In her private practice, Joanne has worked extensively with engineering and computer science applicants and enjoys helping students of all levels find appropriate colleges where they can thrive.

Joanne’s years as a classroom teacher inform her counseling philosophy. She believes that a student’s mental health and happiness must always come first; students should be spending their teen years growing and learning and college preparation should be one small part of the teen years. Joanne takes great pride in knowing that her students learn about their strengths and interests during the college process--and in the best circumstances they can become self-reflective and expressive.

Joanne’s personal path to college was non-traditional. She lived at home and worked full-time while attending Santa Monica College (a community college) and ultimately graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Ten years later, while a young mother, she earned her teaching credential from St. Mary’s College of California. In 2004, she earned her certificate in College Admissions and Career Planning at the University of California, Berkeley. Joanne believes her educational experiences have helped her understand that there are many paths to higher education.

Joanne’s professional affiliations include: HECA (Higher Education Consultants Association) and WACAC (Western Association for College Admission Counseling).  She is a past member of the Advisory Board for the College Admissions and Career Planning Certificate Program at UC Berkeley Extension, and has been part of the National College Counselor Advisory Board for the Princeton Review since 2009. In 2021, Joanne joined the Contra Costa advisory board of 10,000 Degrees, a Bay Area non-profit dedicated to supporting low-income, first-generation, and students of color as they prepare for and attend college.

Joanne created the first iPhone app for college bound high school seniors, CollegeMapp, in 2010. She has one grown son and lives with her husband and dog in the San Francisco East Bay.

email: jklprewitt@gmail.com