Rod Bugarin
Director of Marketing and Business Development
Areas of expertise: Students seeking need-based financial aid and merit scholarships; students seeking admission to non-selective institutions.

Rod joined IvyWise in August 2007 and will be responsible for all marketing and business development functions including public relations, website management, and event planning.

A native of Honolulu, Rod attended the University of Rochester as a Xerox Scholar in the Humanities and Social Sciences. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and Health and Society, and received a Certificate of Management Studies in Marketing and Public Policy Analysis from the Simon School of Business.

His decade long career in admissions and financial aid started at Hampshire College in Amherst, MA. As the Assistant Director of Admissions, he coordinated Hampshire's on-campus, hosting and information technology efforts. He continued his career at Wesleyan University (Middletown, CT) as the Assistant Dean of Admissions. His efforts to promote equity are chronicled by New York Times reporter, Jacques Steinberg in his novel, The Gatekeepers (Viking Adult Press, 2002.)

Rod joined the Ivy League when he served as the Assistant Director of Financial Aid at Brown University. Here, he managed the endowed scholarship program and advised prospective NCAA-Division I athletes about the need-based financial aid policies. Before joining IvyWise, Rod spent four years as the Assistant Director of Admissions and Financial Aid for the undergraduate colleges of Columbia University. During his tenure, he worked closely with foreign and transfer students while completing the requirements for a Master of Arts degree in Higher and Post Secondary Education at Teachers College.

Throughout his career, Rod has conducted workshops on college admissions, financial aid and information technology to students, parents and professional colleagues. Finally, he has held leadership positions in several professional organizations, such as:

• Webmaster, New England Association for College Admission Counseling (NEACAC)
• Member, Marketing and Technology Committee for the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC)
• Treasurer of the Association of Black Admissions & Financial Aid Officers in the Ivy League and Sister Schools (ABAFOILSS)

In his free time, he enjoys college sports (Go Tarheels!) New York City's cultural resources and finding ways to earn more frequent flier miles.