Our Team

Lorraine Serra
Founder + Managing Director

Lorraine Serra is the Founder and Managing Director of Portfolio College Counseling (PCC). The services offered by PCC are inspired by her four decades of experience as a design professional, business owner, and educator. Lorraine balances her dedication to mentoring young people with an innovative approach to helping students bring their artistic, academic, and career goals into focus.

Holding a Certificate in College Counseling with Distinction from UCLA, an MA in Graphic Design from Savannah College of Art & Design, and a BS in Visual Arts from Purchase College, Lorraine is a demonstrated expert in her field. She is an active member of several professional organizations, including HECA and NACAC.

Previously, Lorraine founded Chiaro Design, a creative services firm specializing in packaging, type, and print design. She taught at the Fashion Institute of Technology and continues to lecture, publish articles, and present workshops for college-bound creative students. Lorraine judges student portfolios for the National Scholastic Art Awards and is the recipient of a Puffin Foundation Grant.

Portfolio Advisors

Our Portfolio Advisors are highly skilled art and design professionals excelling in creative careers. If you need help developing your portfolio for college, our Portfolio Advisors will guide you in sharpening your creative skills and crafting your best work. Your advisor will evaluate your art pieces, discuss and organize your artwork with you, help brainstorm projects, and provide constructive feedback.

DAN GUNN Portfolio Advisor

Dan Gunn is an artist, writer, and educator based in Connecticut. He received an MFA in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) in 2007, where he has been an Adjunct Assistant Professor since 2010. He has also recently taught at UCONN and CT State Community College. Throughout his teaching career, he has led high school, undergraduate, and graduate courses in contemporary art history, theory, painting, and drawing. Gunn exhibits widely in the US, including a recent solo show, Sawyer, at KMAC Contemporary Museum in Louisville. Gunn’s painting, wood sculpture, and ceramics work reference Americana and craft traditions.

MARK FITTON Portfolio Advisor

Mark Fitton is a Brooklyn-based artist and educator. He received a BFA in Photography from Parsons, The New School for Design. For several years, Fitton worked professionally as a freelance photographer in the fashion and beauty industry. Additionally, Fitton has a decade of experience in arts higher education, assisting prospective students in developing their work for college-level portfolios. Fitton continues to have an active fine art practice, specializing in portraiture and narrative-based photography.

BRANDY FRANSEN Portfolio Advisor

Brandy Fransen has worked in international higher education and admissions for over twenty years. She was raised as a third-culture kid in Latin America before attending art school in the US. Brandy has a BFA in Graphic Design and worked as a designer before transitioning to international admission.

Brandy was formerly the Director of International Admission at the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). There, she led workshops and conducted portfolio development tutorials. She has conducted hundreds of interviews and portfolio reviews with art school applicants. She later worked as Director of Operations at Linden Educational Services, leading educational tours in China and India. In 2015, Brandy began working at Rollins College as the Senior Associate Director of International Admission. She has advised students seeking guidance and portfolio curation for the past five years.

ABBY GASKIN Portfolio Advisor

Abby Gaskin is a fashion designer, fine artist, entrepreneur, and Japanese Language and Culture graduate student at the University of Toronto. After earning a BFA in Fashion Design from Parsons, The New School for Design, she gained experience designing, creating, and consulting at New York Fashion Week shows and interned at luxury brands such as BODE. Abby showcased her fashion collection at Hong Kong Fashion Week 2019 as a ReDress Design Awards finalist. She was a womenswear designer on the women’s knitwear and lounge clothing design team at UNIQLO headquarters.

In 2022, Abby combined her passion for studying Japanese and working in fashion by deepening her study of the Japanese language. Abby has previous experience with art and design students, launched a notebook company, Kanji Knit, and designed custom garments under her own label.

DEBRA SOKOLOW Portfolio Advisor

Debra Sokolow is an artist and educator. She has designed and developed discipline-based visual arts programs with expertise in architecture and design. Sokolow’s background in art education allows her to guide teens and adults in the successful development of art and design portfolios for college admissions and career advancement. Sokolow exhibits her artwork locally and nationally. Her artwork ranges from realism to abstract expressionism and includes a variety of media exploring light, form, and space.

Sokolow has received a California Arts Council grant and a Fulbright Memorial Fund Scholarship. She is actively involved in community-minded arts organizations. Her passion is inspiring students to explore new design methods that strengthen artistic skills and enhance creative design solutions.

ALLISON WARREN Portfolio Advisor

Allison is an artist, textile product designer, educator, and business owner. Her studio produces textiles for the interior design trade. Allison has also made fabric-based sculptures and drawings and exhibited them at venues such as the Banff Centre (Ontario, Canada) and The Drawing Center (New York). Her work has received critical acclaim from the Houston Contemporary and the Whitney Museum of American Art.

Allison holds an MFA in Painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art and a BA in Rhetorical Writing from UC Berkeley. As faculty at SAIC, she taught in the foundations and fiber departments, helping students refine their techniques and concepts in drawing, painting, textile, color, and sculpture. Allison worked in SAIC admissions and reviewed creative portfolios and written statements of prospective students nationwide. Before this, Allison taught at the University of Illinois, managing teams of instructors to deliver the architecture foundations design program.

Abigail Zola Portfolio Advisor

Abigail Zola is a designer, researcher, and educator based in Brooklyn, New York. She earned her BFA in Interior Architecture from the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design and a Masters of Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design. While at RISD, Abigail worked at the Arts and Language Center where she assisted students from across years, skill levels, and disciplines with written, verbal, and visual work including artist statement composition and portfolio design. Abigail has previous experience working in architecture and design studios, and has great familiarity with representing artistic concept and intent through portfolio, presentation, and written methods.

Essay Advisors

Our Essay Advisors are exceptionally talented writers with expertise in guiding you to develop compelling narratives for academic and creative purposes. They’ll support you in crafting captivating artist statements and counsel you on creating and editing engaging essays for your application that showcase your unique personality, experiences, and perspective.

REBECCA SARVADY Essay Advisor

Rebecca is a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, and educator. She graduated from UCLA with a BA in English Literature and spent several years working in their Office of Admissions. After teaching English in a public school in Madrid, Spain, via a government grant, she moved to New York, where she teaches English Literature, Math, and Spanish. She specializes in working with students with learning disabilities and practices alternative teaching methods that emphasize engagement, multidisciplinary work, and creativity. A musician and creative writer, Rebecca is passionate about helping fellow artists uncover their unique voices and land their next stepping stones.

CHRISTINE PAKKALA Essay Advisor

Christine Pakkala is the author of the Last-But-Not-Least Lola series and Jasmine and Maddie from Boyds Mill Press. Her essays and articles have appeared in numerous magazines and journals, including Salon, BrainChild, Serendipity, and Ladies Home Journal. A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop (MFA, Poetry, 1993), she received a Fulbright grant to translate modern Finnish poetry. Christine has taught 7th and 9th grade English and teaches at the Westport Writers’ Workshop. She received a Scholastic award for excellence in teaching. Christine has been a freelance editor and writing coach for over ten years, helping clients achieve professional, academic, or personal writing goals.

CLAIRE MOSKOWITZ Essay Advisor

Claire is a Brooklyn-based writer with a passion for storytelling in all its forms. She holds a BA in Film Studies and English, with a concentration in creative writing, from Wesleyan University. Currently, Claire brings her expertise to a film production company, where she advises on film and television projects. When not reading scripts, Claire loves helping students cultivate confidence and individuality in their writing.

CONSTANCE CLEMMONS Essay Advisor

Before she taught writing at New York University, Constance was the co-director of The Writing Center at Pace University’s White Plains campus. Her goal as a writing coach is to have her students be excited about writing and ready for the college classroom. Constance has a BA from Bard College, an MA from Columbia University, and an M.Phil. from New York University.

JENNI SARIKAS Client Manager

Jenni, a musician and creative writer, earned a BA in Popular Music Studies at William Paterson University of New Jersey. She worked as an intern in music publishing, took a risk, and followed her true passion for songwriting. She then earned a master’s degree in Songwriting from Bath Spa University in Bath, England.

Jenni has continued writing songs, released a full-length original album, and periodically releases new work. Along with music, Jenni has always enjoyed researching and exploring college programs just for fun! Jenni is a member of NYSACAC (New York State Association for College Admission Counseling). At Portfolio College Counseling, she works behind the scenes to provide students with up-to-date access to college and application information and onboarding for their personalized application trackers.

Design Mentors

Our Design Mentors are college and graduate art and design students. They provide specific insights about their particular art field, including first-hand knowledge about courses, internships, studio time, job prospects, and industry trends. You’ll have the chance to speak with a design mentor who specializes in the type of art you want to study.

Natalia Trevino Amaro Fashion Design

Natalia graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology with an AAS in Fashion Design. She participated in the international program and spent her first year at Polimoda in Florence, Italy, and studied in NYC for her final year. She currently runs a self-titled company, creating hand-made clothing and accessories with an emphasis on sustainability. She also post videos on YouTube every week about life, business, fashion school experiences, Q&As, and a lot more! If Natalie not sewing or editing videos, she is most likely playing piano, reading, or hanging out with her dog.

Isa Hanssen Animation, Storyboarding, Character Design

Isa Hanssen is a narrative artist (storyboard and comics), indie game developer, and occasional writer. She is a Filipino/Mexican/American artist who loves magical girls and mundane mythological weirdness.

Isa studied at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where she produced several films about girls fighting and two games about the apocalypse. She has since worked for Tic Toc Games Studios and BOOM! Studios and attended the Cartoon Network Story Academy.

Tommy Cheng Animation

Tommy Cheng is a Boston-based 2D animator specializing in Character Animation. He graduated from Lesley University in 2019 and joined Poke Gravy Studios, a boutique firm. Since then, Tommy has worked on various projects for clients like Billy Ray Cyrus and the Boston Children’s Hospital, from music videos to educational films. Tommy attended the MFA Animation program at SMFA/Tufts University.

Artistically, Tommy is drawn toward narrative-based works with robust and clear messaging. He is a voracious reader, a dedicated consumer of film and television, and a foodie with an insatiable appetite.

Veronica Drescher  Animation

Veronica Drescher is a 3D and 2D animator and storyboard artist. She is currently studying 3D Animation at Ringling College of Art and Design. Veronica often produces animated shorts that involve animals in funny situations. She is inspired by the antics of her pets and the world around her.

When she isn’t animating, Veronica spends time with her cats, explores the outdoors, or seeks inspiration from books, media, and games.

Lauren Gaston Costume Design, Illustration

Lauren Gaston (she/her) works as a costume designer, illustrator, and entrepreneur. Her work has been featured by The Juilliard School and Time Lapse Dance in NYC, and the A.A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum in Russia. She is a co-creator of The Sustainable Production Toolkit, and a former LMCC Arts Center artist-in-residence, where she explored ways to animate and activate the climate movement on Governors Island. Most recently, Lauren served as Interim Director at the Broadway Green Alliance in NYC.

Umut Guney Architecture

Umut received a Bachelor of Architecture with high distinction from Syracuse University. He has interned at architecture firms in New York City, Washington DC, and Istanbul. He has experience advising students as a peer advisor at Syracuse University School of Architecture and as an undergraduate teaching assistant for freshman architecture students. He says, “In my experiences, I realized that I enjoy advising younger students as I learn from their questions and thoughts.”

Since graduating from Syracuse, Umut collaborated on an exhibition in Berlin and participated as a guest critic in a design studio review. The pandemic allowed him to explore new ways of creating while adapting to changing conditions. Umut is pursuing a Master of Architecture at Yale University.

Iris Xie Graphic Design, Illustration

Iris Xie is set to graduate in 2023 as an undergraduate Graphic Design student at Iris Xie graduated in 2023 with a major in Graphic Design from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), with strengths in illustration, typography, and traditional animation. Iris served as Creative Director at Brown Political Review and a Resident Advisor for RISD Residence Life. Off-campus, she worked at several design internships and freelance assignments for Nickelodeon, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Black Math, Inc.

Her works include narrative animation, comics, book design, editorial illustration, and branding systems. She is interested in blending effective concept-driven work with a solid aesthetic voice.

“My students always bring me fresh ideas and stretch my thinking and abilities as a counselor and designer,” says Lorraine. “I’ve learned a tremendous amount from the many young artists and designers with whom I’ve worked.”

Let's Connect

Finding the right college counselor is the key step in a successful college planning process. To help decide whether our services are the best path forward for students, we offer a 20-minute, complimentary phone meeting to introduce ourselves, get to know you and explain our process. Afterward, we’ll prepare a written proposal to outline our plan for working with you, that includes a suggested sequence and associated fees. Each plan for counseling is customized, based on the student’s abilities, skills and educational objectives.