Meet the OCC
Graded's Office of College Counseling (OCC) is located in Office B7. Our phone number is +55 (11) 3747 4800, extension 250. If you are unsure of whom to contact, please feel free to email occ@graded.br.
Jeffrey Neill
Director of College Counseling
jeff.neill@graded.br
Jeff joined the Graded community in July 2021, beginning his twenty-first year in education – a career that has led him to six schools spanning four continents. Most recently, he served as comprehensive counselor and director of student support services at the International School of Dakar (ISD) in Senegal and director of college counseling at Taipei American School (TAS) in Taiwan – his first international position. Before moving overseas, Jeff worked for four years as the director of college counseling and institutional research at Western Reserve Academy (WRA) in Hudson, Ohio. Formerly, he spent seven years at his alma mater, Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) in Gill, Massachusetts, serving in various roles, including college counselor, English teacher, dorm head, and coach of the girls’ soccer and boys’ lacrosse teams. Jeff began his career at the Salisbury School in Salisbury, Connecticut, where he similarly worked in a number of positions. Throughout his career, Jeff has been involved in the international school community, presenting, consulting, and regularly mentoring around the globe. He has also volunteered his time broadly, serving on faculties and boards for various groups, organizations, and companies, including the College Board and Cialfo. Jeff holds a BA in government and legal studies and German from Bowdoin College and an MA in English from Middlebury College’s Bread Loaf School of English. In addition, he will complete his EdD in curriculum, teaching, learning, & leadership from Northeastern University in 2022.
Trevor Rusert
Director of College Counseling
trevor.rusert@graded.br
Trevor's 27-year career in university admissions and college counseling includes roles at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA, USA), Sewickley Academy (Sewickley, PA, USA), and Chadwick International (Incheon, South Korea). Originally from Buffalo, NY, he received his BA in political science from Allegheny College. As a student at Allegheny, Trevor was actively involved in the campus community as a member of the 1990 Division III National Championship Football team, a disc jockey for the campus radio station, a student athletic trainer, and a recipient of the Order of Omega (awarded to men and women who exemplify leadership in and service to the community). Trevor's first foray into the world of college admissions was as a student tour guide at Allegheny College. After graduation, he worked in the Carnegie Mellon University Admission Office from 1994 to 2005, most recently serving as the associate director of admission. During his time at Carnegie Mellon, Trevor oversaw the Campus Tour Guide Program, Alumni Interview Program, and Athletic Recruitment Program. He also served on the Foreign Student Advisory Committee and chaired the Financial Aid and Scholarship and Admission committees for the School of Computer Science, Tepper School of Business, and Carnegie Institute of Technology. In 2005, Trevor was hired by Sewickley Academy as associate director of college counseling and eventually became director of college counseling. In 2015, Trevor assumed the same role at Chadwick International in Songdo, Incheon, South Korea. He has been a member of various professional organizations, having served on the Executive Committee of the Pennsylvania Association of College Admission Counseling (PACAC) as the Delegate to the Assembly of the National Association of College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and on the Pittsburgh National College Fair Committee. He co-founded the Korea World University Virtual Fair and has presented professionally at various regional, national, and international conferences.
Janan Sabeh
Director of College Counseling
janan.sabeh@graded.br
Janan is the daughter of an international student from Syria, which inspired her decision to study abroad in Egypt as an undergraduate. Her semester abroad turned into a year and, eventually, a job assisting other American students do the same. After graduating from the University of San Francisco with a BA in politics, she returned to Egypt to continue studying Arabic. There, she discovered the world of college counseling. She began her career as an EducationUSA Advisor in Egypt, where she crisscrossed the country, assisting students applying for admission to undergraduate and graduate programs in the US. After six years in Egypt, she moved to Jordan and joined the university counseling team at King’s Academy, a liberal arts boarding school that enrolls students from over forty countries. Janan returned home to California five years later to work as the director of college counseling at Khan Lab School. She counseled the school's first graduating class and worked with the Mastery Transcript Consortium to develop a mastery transcript for the school. Janan has more than ten years of experience advising students from around the world in their pursuit of higher education, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. In addition to working with Graded students, she is excited to be learning Portuguese and exploring a different part of the world. When Janan’s not walking or cuddling her dog, you can find her reading the news, traveling, and hiking — most likely with a cup of coffee in her hand.
Mariana Mardegam
Registrar
mariana.mardegam@graded.br
Ms. Mardegam joined the Graded Office of College Counseling at the start of 2021. After growing up in São Paulo, she earned a Bachelor's degree in advertising and marketing (publicidade e propaganda) at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. After graduation, she moved to Australia in 2015, where she continued her education, earning certificates and diplomas in English, IT, business, and project management. Additionally, she worked in a variety of industries, eventually owning and running her own company. While in Australia, she also met her husband, with whom she returned to Brazil in September 2020 due to the pandemic. Mariana comes from a family of educators and was excited to join Graded. In her role supporting the Office of College Counseling and overseeing standardized testing at the school, Ms. Mardegam loves working with and learning about so many different areas of school life. However, she loves working with students the most! More specifically, she loves being a part of students’ processes for determining the next stages of their lives. As such, she can always be found talking to students in the OCC and helping them in any way she is able. Away from work, she is an active crafts hobbyist and a loving mother to her cat, Muffy.
Natalia Perides
College Counseling Office Manager & Testing Assistant
natalia.perides@graded.br
Natália joined the Graded community in 2017 after two years aiding directors and the CEO of Hyundai Heavy Industries as an executive assistant. With a family background in education, Natália graduated earning a BA in pedagogy. She then worked at her family’s school, which her family sold after many years. This challenge encouraged Natália to pursue a career as an executive assistant. She went on to obtain an MBA in executive advisory (assessoria executiva), as well as a post-graduate degree in project management (projetos) from Fundação Getúlio Vargas. Due to her passion for education and desire to work in an international environment, Natália left Hyundai to pursue a career at Graded, where she assisted Superintendent Richard Boerner for five years. She left Graded for nine months in 2022 to focus on professional and personal development, returning in April 2023 as College Counseling Office Manager & Testing Assistant. In her new position, Natália is excited to work with students. When not in the office, Natália enjoys exercising, roller skating, and spending time with her dog, Betina. An adventurous person, she loves to travel and speaks four languages, English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Arabic.
