Miss Porter’s School

Katie joined Porter’s in March of 2019, after spending 8 years with an
early literacy nonprofit organization in Boston, MA. She received a
B.S. in Journalism from Texas A&M University and a J.D. from Boston
College Law School. Katie has worked in various roles in government
affairs and development throughout her career, and is excited to bring
these skills to the Office of Admission. Katie lives in Farmington
with her husband, Mike, daughter Maddie, son Graham, and 14-year-old
rescue pup, Bauer.

Ericka held a variety of roles in educational settings prior to joining the College Counseling Office at Porter’s in 2019. After a short stint teaching first grade, she spent several years working with low-income, first generation college bound students through the MIT Educational Talent Search and University of Maine Upward Bound programs. She then worked at the University Resource Center at Boston University, where she advised struggling students, presented workshops on student skills, and coordinated a peer advisor program for incoming first year students. For the past 18 years, Ericka has worked at Amherst Regional High School in Amherst, MA, as a school counselor and an assistant principal. She is passionate about facilitating access to novel experiences, connecting students to resources, and helping young people gain the skills they need to live the lives they envision for themselves. Ericka holds a B.A. in Psychology from Amherst College, an M.Ed in Elementary Education from Boston College, and an M.Ed. in School Counseling from Springfield College, where she was inducted into Psi Chi, the National Honor Society in Psychology. She splits her time between Farmington and Amherst, MA, where she lives with her husband, Alfie, and their children, Mason and Anika.

Brittany is a board-certified athletic trainer with Select Physical Therapy and holds certification with the NSCA as a strength and conditioning specialist. Working out of the Select-Farmington clinic since 2017, her primary duty is to serve as the Head Athletic Trainer and Strength and Conditioning coach at Miss Porter's School. She also serves as the Concussion Coordinator for the state of Connecticut, helping to bring awareness surrounding education, diagnosis and early intervention for the concussed patient. Prior to joining Select Physical Therapy and Miss Porter’s School, she served as an athletic trainer at the University of Vermont where she provided primary coverage for several men’s and women’s varsity sports. Brittany holds a bachelor's degree in athletic training from Merrimack College and master's degree in exercise science and nutrition from Sacred Heart University.

Tricia Jorden is the Associate Director of College Counseling at Porter’s. Prior to coming to Farmington in 2011, she held faculty positions at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Georgetown University. Her professional experience includes program development, academic and career advising, and graduate and undergraduate admissions. Tricia is member of the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), and the New England Association of College Admissions Counselors (NEACAC). Tricia holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Boston College. She received her M.S. in Public Health from Tufts University School of Medicine where she was an Albert Schweitzer Urban Fellow.

She has an BA in Psychology and Latin American Studies from Mount Holyoke College and an MBA from Bryant University. She has a certification from Boston College in Leadership for Change and a Digital Marketing Certification from Yale University. She lives off campus with her husband, Asante K. Mendes, M.D. and their four children Isabel '23, Ezra, Sarai and Matias. In addition to her background in Marketing, Ruth held roles in Human Resources, Organizational Effectiveness, and Pharmaceutical Sales. She's been an active member of the Greater Hartford Chapter of Jack and Jill, Inc. for 10 years and has served on the executive board as Community Service Chair and Editor for 8 years. She's been recognized nationally for her community service involvement and was the Greater Hartford Chapter's 2019 - 2020 Distinguished Mother. Ruth is fluent in Spanish and enjoys traveling, outdoor sports, dancing and is a second degree black belt in taekwondo.

• 2020 Undefeated dual meet season
• 2020 Founders League Champions (1st time in school history)
• 2020 New England Prep School Athletic Conference Division 2 Champions
• 2019 New England Prep School Athletic Conference Division 2 Champions
• 2018 New England Prep School Athletic Conference Division 2 Runner-Up
• 36 Founders League Champions
• 11 New England Prep School Athletic Conference Division 2 Champion

Amy has worked in admissions and college counseling for over 20 years at schools including her alma mater, The Ethel Walker School, as well as Yale University, The Taft School, and Chase Collegiate School. She began at Porter’s in 2009 and lives on campus with her two children, Charlie and Annie. Amy has visited over 75 colleges and universities throughout the United States, the UK, Ireland, and Canada. She regularly attends national conferences to stay current on issues relating to the college admissions landscape, including the National Association of College Admissions Counselors (NACAC), the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools (ACCIS), The College Board Forum, and others. Amy is the chair of the ACCIS Board of Trustees and served as co-chair for the 2017 ACCIS Summer Institute at Trinity College. Amy majored in English as an undergraduate at Bucknell University and holds an Ed.M. from Harvard University.

Ms. Rumsey earned her B.S. in Mathematics and Economics from Haverford College. After graduating from Haverford, she worked at Pomfret School where she taught math, coached cross country and squash, and lived on campus as a dorm parent. While at Pomfret, she earned her master's degree in Mathematics for Educators at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Ms. Rumsey then worked at The Madeira School where she taught math, coached cross country, swimming, and track and field, lived on campus as a house adult, and contributed to student life as a lead advisor and diversity practitioner. More recently, she completed a dual degree Ed.M in Private School Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University and an MBA from
Columbia Business School. Before joining Porter's, Ms. Rumsey worked as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group, advising large organizations across Strategy, Organization, and Leadership topics across sectors including education and social impact. She has also partnered with the Enrollment, Development, and Business office leaders in schools to
support student experience and drive systematic change in DEI curriculum and programming.

Ms. Rumsey comes to Porter's as the Associate Director of Admission for Financial Aid and Class Dean for the Class of 2024. She lives on campus with her husband, Math Teacher Ian Rumsey, and their two daughters, Noni
and Ellie.

Christina, an alumna of Miss Porter’s class of 2013, graduated Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude from The College of the Holy Cross in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Co-chair of Psi Chi, the National Honors Society in Psychology, Christina completed an independent study titled “The Self: Created and Discovered,” a narrative thesis reflective of her nuanced experience with her Asian-American identity. Additionally, she minored in studio art with a focus on digital and graphic design and also pursued a concentration in Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies. In her final year, she studied social and corporate sustainability and is considering pursuing a Master’s degree in that field. Following her graduation from Holy Cross, Christina worked at Miss Porter’s in the Office of Admission as Office Manager, managing visits and also designing both digital and print marketing materials for the Office. In the spring of 2018, she continued her design work as a freelancer from Prague, Czech Republic, where she and her partner moved to teach English to Czech elementary children and adults. Christina rejoined the Office of Admission as the Assistant Director in 2019, and she continues to create marketing materials, as well as admissions web content.