Sean Smith
Shane Munson
John Damato
Lisa Williams
Dr. Kristin Scott
Mary Piper
Sean Smith, President
President and founder of The College Project, Sean Smith has been an independent college planner for almost 20 years. He has a passion for working with teenagers and their families as they attempt to navigate the sometimes murky waters of college admissions and financial aid.
A resident of Lexington, KY for over 40 years, Sean is a graduate of both Lexington Catholic High School and the University of Kentucky. Sean is married to his lovely wife, Ashley, and they are proud parents of twin boys, Kyle and Landon.
During his time as a college planner, Sean has worked with hundreds of high school students and seen them get accepted to such schools as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Duke, Vanderbilt, Stanford and countless other prestigious institutions. But while being accepted to and graduating from any of these fine universities is impressive, the name of the school isn’t nearly as important as finding the right fit for a particular student. And that is his goal and the goal of The College Project: to assist students in finding the right college or university that will best prepare them for whatever the next phase of their life might be.
Contact Sean directly at 859-619-0439 or sean.collegeproject@gmail.com
Shane Munson, Vice President
Vice President of The College Project, Shane Munson, has over five years of experience in the field, and many more years of being awesome. He enjoys helping teenagers and their families plan, and prepare, for college.
A resident of Lexington, KY for over 28 years, Shane is a graduate of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School (2003). He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Georgetown College and his Master’s in Teaching from the University of the Cumberlands. He is also a member of Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education. Please, hold your applause until the end. Shane is married to his lovely and very forgiving wife, Lindsay, and they have two dogs, Crosby and Emma-Belle. Before getting involved with college planning, Shane went to college and worked for the YMCA Child Development branch as a counselor and assistant site director. He also coached youth league baseball for three years.
During his time as a college planner, Shane has worked with many great high school students throughout central Kentucky and southwest Ohio. While many students think of researching colleges, taking the ACT/SAT tests, applying for admissions, scholarships, and financial aid as “boring,” “tedious,” and “no fun at all, I have better things to do,” Shane understands that it is necessary and tries to make the experience fun and enjoyable for everyone. While making college more affordable is awesome, going to a prestigious school is great, Shane’s main goal is to help a student find the college that they will be proud to visit on homecoming weekend, a place that prepared them for their next step in life, and a place where they will make many memories.
Contact Shane directly at 859-229-4133 or shane.collegeproject@gmail.com
John Damato, Vice President
John recently joined The College Project as Marketing Director. He is an engineering graduate of Penn State University with over 40 years management experience in the energy and financial service industries.
Through John’s life experiences he recognizes the challenges associated with obtaining a college education.
His goal is to make high school students and their families aware of the experience and value that The College Project Team offers.
He believes college bound students should be afforded the maximum opportunity to attain their college admission aspirations.
John and his wonderful wife Lori have two daughters and four grandchildren. He and Lori have resided in Lexington for 36 years.
Contact John directly at 859-230-5981 or john.collegeproject@twc.com
Lisa Williams, College Planner
Lisa is a lifelong educator and mentor who brings more than thirty years of education experience to The College Project. She is passionate about education and guiding students toward bright futures.
Originally from the Cleveland, Ohio area, Lisa moved to Lexington to complete her graduate degree and has since spent more than thirty years as a middle school math teacher in the Fayette County Public School System. In addition to full-time teaching, she spent many years as a soccer and volleyball coach, was Team Leader and head of the Math Department, and participated in countless other educational activities including academic team and student council.
Lisa has been fortunate to work with thousands of students over the years and is dedicated and invested in the success of each one. Some of her greatest joy comes from observing her former students flourish in the next stages of their education and into professional life. Following her retirement from the classroom, she has brought that passion for student success and educational development to The College Project.
Lisa is a national-board certified teacher with a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development and Teaching from Michigan State University and a Master’s Degree in Middle School Education from the University of Kentucky. She lives in Lexington with her husband Jackie and their golden retriever Chester. She also has two grown children, Tyler, a graduate of Clemson University, and Becca, a graduate of Vanderbilt University.
Contact Lisa directly at 859-396-6196 or lisa.collegeproject@gmail.com
Dr. Kristin Scott, Higher Education Consultant
Kristin recently joined The College Project as Higher Education Consultant. She received a Bachelor of Business degree from Villanova University, a Masters Degree in Human Resources from The University of South Carolina and her Doctorate in Business Management from The University of Kentucky. She has been a professor at Clemson University for over 10 years.
Kristin’s experience across a variety of higher education institutions will afford clients the opportunity to gain additional insight into the world of higher education. This knowledge could be valuable helping prospective college students make acceptance decisions and be better prepared to transition into the college environment. Her consultative services are available for all clients through their Planner.
Kristin and her husband, Tim, are the proud parents of two children, Emily and Ian.
Kristin can be contacted at KScottCProject@gmail.com.
Mary Piper, College Planner
Mary has worked with students, molding them for the big step into the collegiate world for many years. She joins us at The College Project after teaching high school business and marketing courses her entire career. One of her favorite parts of teaching is preparing students for their next steps. Before graduating they knew their true worth and the direction they wanted for their future.
Mary grew up in the Bluegrass and attended The University of Kentucky where she graduated with a B.A. in Education. She went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Business Education at U.K. as well and became a leading business and marketing teacher in Fayette County Public Schools. In those years of teaching, Mary took great pride in leading senior students into the job market as well as preparing them for their next steps into college. Her focus in teaching was marketing as Mary had a knack for the fashion industry, and presented her students annually in fashion shows, as well as taking them on trips to New York City and other areas of the country on college visits. Investing in her students was key, so together they opened the first school store at their high school where it was seen as an award winning store. Success was a key focus for Mary’s students so she became their sponsor of DECA, a marketing club that required preparing students for competitions in areas of marketing in which they excelled. Her greatest joy was seeing her students succeed and complete their high school pathway in marketing and technology and send them off to college.
Mary’s most proud of her role as a mom in adopting, raising, and sending her 4 children off to college who are attending or graduated from Asbury, Morehead and The University of Kentucky. She also continues to work in the school system keeping her certification up to date and helping students daily in many areas of education. Still a proud Lexington resident, Mary lives with her husband, Jimmy and her two miniature aussie doodles, Benji and Lula. Recently, Mary has become a grandmother for the first time and couldn’t be more excited.
You can contact Mary directly at (859) 539-5842 or mary.piper2018@gmail.com