About Me

I did my psychoanalytic training at the National Psychological Association for Psychoanalysis (NPAP) after earning a BA at CUNY: Hunter and a PhD at Princeton and after a career in higher education that took me from Princeton to Harvard to Columbia and, finally, to Marymount Manhattan College on the Upper East Side of Manhattan where I served as Special Advisor to the President.

That may all sound quite fancy, but I was actually a first-generation college student who meandered quite a bit before completing college, at CUNY Hunter in German and Music. With the encouragement of an extraordinary advisor, I headed to Princeton where I earned a Ph.D. in German by writing a dissertation and then later publishing a book on the evolution of the German novel from the Baroque to the Enlightenment periods. If you know anyone who suffers from chronic insomnia, this book just might do the trick.

My second book, Countdown to College: The Essential Steps to Your Child’s Successful Launch, is designed to help parents transition their children into college successfully. It was published in 2019 by Penguin Random House. I frequently give talks to parents on ways they can help their children face the enormous changes and challenges they encounter as they set foot on their new campuses.

Why the hummingbird?

Hummingbirds are symbols of joy and healing, vibrancy and diversity, and stability and strength, among other things. These tiny powerful colorful creatures seek out and are sustained by the sweetness that life can offer.