Harvard Business School, Former Associate Director of Admissions
Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, MBA
21 years
Insightful, direct, positive
Private equity, consulting (former Bain & Company consultant), investment banking, consumer/retail, education
To celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary, Brooke and her husband hiked the Grand Canyon rim to rim in just 14 hours (26 miles and 12,000 feet of elevation change). Brooke loves pushing herself to the max physically. She is also a huge Survivor fan and hopes that one day, there will be a “family” season, and she can compete alongside her husband and three kids.
A former Associate Director of Admissions at Harvard Business School, Brooke served on the HBS MBA Admissions and Interview Board for a total of 13 years. She reviewed more than 10,000 MBA applications and traveled globally to conduct more than 1,000 interviews while overseeing candidate evaluation and online application processes. Prior to HBS, Brooke was a management consultant at Bain & Company. She earned her MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia with highest distinction.
Brooke’s coaching philosophy is to be honest, supportive, and demanding. She is motivated by understanding who her clients are at their core, guiding them to come to their own personal realizations and tell their own authentic story. As Special Advisor, Brooke enables Gatehouse Consultants to deliver a 360-degree perspective to their clients—as MBAs, as admissions consultants, and as the admissions committee.
When I was an admissions committee [adcom] officer, it was an incredibly voyeuristic process where every day, I got to read about fascinating people doing incredible things. It was easy to review GPAs, test scores, and resumes, but the individual underneath it all is what matters most! Therefore, as a coach, I’m incredibly motivated by understanding who my clients are at their core, helping them come to their own personal epiphanies, and then guiding them in telling their unique story. That is what the adcom wants to see. They truly just want to get to know you as you—what you think, how you feel.
My first session with Brooke was worth 20 hours of my own time. I had spent weeks trying to think through my application before finally reaching out to Brooke. In the first 30 minutes, Brooke was able to help me shape my story in a way that I never would have been able to on my own. She pushed me to construct my story by asking targeted questions, which forced me to think and helped hone my writing so it captured my voice. Brooke (also) understands that you may be working 80 hours a week and helps you make thoughtful trade-offs/prioritize ruthlessly. Without Brooke, there is little question in my mind that I would not have gotten into the top-tier programs which I was targeting and would have been miserable trying to. She made the process easier, more enjoyable (though it is still an application) and has demonstrated results. Cannot sing her praises enough and am incredibly appreciative of her help throughout the process.
Brooke’s mock gave me a sense of the reality of 30 minutes of an HBS interview—she was professional, had carefully read through my resume and HBS application, and made it feel like the “real thing.” Afterward, Brooke called me after collecting her thoughts and gave me a lot of helpful pointers, everything from certain mannerisms/word use changes to the overall storyline and narrative preparation. What I appreciated about Brooke was that she was very honest and frank in an encouraging way. She helped me remove some of the “glossiness” of my answers that was me overperforming and pulled out more authenticity from my story. She also helped me to gauge which examples would most effectively answer various questions.
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Harvard Business School, MBA & Former Admissions Board Member
Director, Strategic Projects
