We are excited to get to know you! Your Admission Representative will work with you throughout the admission process, reading your application, advocating you to the Admission Committee, and addressing your questions and concerns.

Admission Reps manage specific territories based on where you attend school. To get in touch with your personal Admission Representative, select the option below that best represents you.

Kieron Miller

Vice President of Enrollment
kmiller@whittier.edu

Territory
Hawaii

As vice president of enrollment at Whittier College, Kieron Miller is responsible for oversight of the admissions and financial aid offices and operations. Miller was appointed Vice President in 2016. 

Prior to his appointment, Miller served as director of admission at the College since 2003 and has worked at Whittier for nearly two decades. During his tenure as director, Miller was instrumental in achieving the College's recruitment goals and helped attract diverse incoming classes who embrace the College's values. 

A native of Los Angeles' Reseda neighborhood, Miller earned a bachelor's degree in history at Loyola Marymount University in 1996. He joined the College the following year as an admission counselor. Miller later earned a master's degree in organizational leadership from Azusa Pacific University in 2013.

Janine Bissic '08

Director of Admission
jbissic@whittier.edu

Territories 
New Mexico
California: Imperial Valley (Palm Springs, Hemet, Hesperia, Victorville, Apple Valley, El Centro)

Before joining the team, Janine traveled the world wearing a giant curly wig and never using her arms. That's right - she was a competitive Irish Step Dancer (yes...think Riverdance). Janine has since left her dancing shoes behind and is happily married to a super famous musician with whom she has two hilarious children. She is a passionate Lakers fan, even going so far as to plan the birth of her son to land on the birthday of Kobe Bryant. This fact is a good example of her planning expertise as well as her love for the purple and gold, which just so happen to be Whittier College's colors too! 

Susan G. Maxwell

Assistant Director of Admission
smaxwell@whittier.edu

Territories
Oregon, Washington
California: Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area

Admission is very excited to have Susan as our first Regional Admission Counselor! This evil twin sister considers herself an amateur sleuth due to her love of the true crime genre. Susan was born and bred in Sacramento, but has decided that Seattle is the place for her so feel free to ask her where the best coffee in town can be found (hint: it’s not Starbucks). Susan also enjoys local restaurants, experimenting in the kitchen, and selling candles out of the backseat of her car when she’s in town (we think she’s in cahoots with Eunice Gonzalez).

 

David Laine '07

Assistant Director of Admission
dlaine@whittier.edu

Territories
U.S. Southern and Southeastern States
U.S. Midwest (excluding Illinois)
Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands
California: Central Coast (Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Pebble Beach, Salinas), Santa Barbara, Ventura, West Los Angeles/Hollywood (Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Malibu)

David graduated with a B.A. in English and Music from Whittier College in 2007, and received his M.S. in Environmental Studies from Green Mountain College in 2015. He can often be found singing in the style of Ben Folds or David Bowie, depending on how his day is going, but his signature song is Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now." David is rarely without a book, unless he's traveling with his Nook. David loves A Game of Thrones; he pores over Gaiman's tomes. He loves to read Lovecraft and Poe, but Bradbury is best, you know. When not reading weird fantasy and horror, David writes grants for environmental organizations and plays board games that most people have never heard of.

Veronica Ortiz

Senior Associate Director for International Recruitment and Admission 
vortiz1@whittier.edu

Territory
International

Veronica is the known in the office as ‘Tinkerbell’ since she was raised by fairies. She has been to every known and unknown magical castle in Ireland, and attends every fairy tale convention in the USA (423 and counting!). Veronica owns the largest collection of necklaces in the world.

She’s incredibly interested in knowing everyone’s astrological signs, and her colleagues often find themselves gravitating to her office for its calming Feng Shui design…and of course Veronica’s great company!

Megan Poston

Assistant Director of Admission/Campus Visit Coordinator
mmcdevit@whittier.edu 

Territories
California: Inland Empire (Chino/Hills, Corona, Ontario, Redlands, Riverside, San Bernardino), Long Beach, South Bay (Torrance, Palos Verdes, Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Gardena, Hawthorne, El Segundo)

Megan is obsessed with all things Taylor Swift. On weekends she can be found "Shaking off" the work week by spending time with her two dogs, Max and Blue. Outside of the company of her dogs, she can be found doing homework or researching for her master's program in Organizational Leadership and Management. Megan's favorite hobby is organization, thus making her event planning second nature to her. She enjoys being the admission event coordinator at Whittier and seeing the prospective students discover the Poet pride.

Adrianna Prejna '07

Assistant Director of Admission
aprejna@whittier.edu

Territories
Arizona, Illinois, Nevada
California: East Los Angeles (Pico Rivera, Montebello, Rosemead, Alhambra, El Monte, Temple City), Los Angeles, Whittier, North Orange County (Fullerton, La Habra, La Mirada, Santa Fe Springs)

The wheels on the bus go round and round…"  Adri can often be heard singing this earworm throughout the day thanks to the eclectic musical tastes of her children. You're welcome. This choir nerd certainly feels at home with the Admission's own hip-hop group, Kieron and the Funky Bunch. Besides her penchant for the existential nursery rhyme, Adri wastes a lot of her time meowing back to cats when they meow at her. This book worm can proudly boast that she has read 50 out of the 100 most popular books (thanks in no small part to her Audible account), and loves Pride and Prejudice with or without Zombies... NO SPOILERS!

Richard Scaffidi '76

Associate Director of Admission
rscaffid@whittier.edu

Territories
Colorado, Vermont, New York
New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island
California: Glendale, Pasadena, San Marino, Arcadia, San Gabriel, Burbank, La Cañada, Altadena Azusa, Claremont, Covina, Diamond Bar, Hacienda Heights, Pomona

This "Dramalum" directed or acted in dozens of plays at Whittier either as a student or faculty member. In Hollywood he gained renown as an entertainment journalist; notably 13 years on the select L.A. Drama Critics Circle. Yet Richard's zeal for theater is matched by his love for dogs, and for baseball ("Go Dodgers!"), including 30-plus years as the wheeler-dealer "owner" of a championship Rotisserie League team named "Richard's Poor Almanacs." Besides that, he was a winner on TV's "Wheel of Fortune"; his older brother Roy also graduated Whittier; and he's worked in Admission for colleges founded by Quakers, Taoists, Jews, and Catholics – but not simultaneously.

Isaiah Sneed

Admission Counselor
isneed@whittier.edu

Territories
California: Central/ San Joaquin Valley (Bakersfield, Fresno, Stockton, Clovis, Lancaster, Palmdale, Tulare, Visalia), San Diego, San Fernando Valley, South Los Angeles (Bell Gardens, Downey, Huntington Park, Compton, S. Gate)

Isaiah just relocated from Seattle (literally, like 5 minutes ago) and the Office of Admission couldn’t be happier to have acquired this 2014 Whittier alum. Naturally, this Seattleite has been addicted to coffee since the age of 8, so his new profession in admissions should suit him just fine. Such a big move has required him to cut down on his large shoe collection, which means he entered the Golden State with a mere 45 pairs. When not strutting around Weingart Hall, Isaiah raps his way around the country with his group Brothers From Another… though we may have to recruit him as lead singer for Kieron and the Funky Bunch since the last guy decided to go solo.

Colleen Bass

Assistant Director of Admission
ctuohy@whittier.edu

Territories
Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington D.C.
California: Orange County

Colleen, Mother of Dogs, is not unlike Daenerys Targaryen in that she prefers her 4-legged familiars to most humans. Our resident Khaleesi hails from Maryland and studied Hearing and Speech Sciences so, when she says ears are gross we listen. As far as food preferences, she’ll take an order of chicken tenders and two cups of coffee everyday, please. When not enjoying her daily bill of fare, Colleen can be found cuddling with a wooly mammoth plush and rocking back and forth singing Justin Timberlake songs. It’s really bizarre actually, but if we say anything she’ll let Camden the Fire-Breathing Canine loose on us.

Jaimis Ulrich '15

Transfer Admissions Counselor
julrich@whittier.edu

Territory
Transfer

Do you hear that honey-sweet voice? Beware the sirens of the sea! Jai is our resident mermaid and was an extra in the movies Splash, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, and The Little Mermaid. Jai is also the lead singer for the super group Watch & You’ll See…Someday I’ll Be Part Of Your World (they are so big in Germany, that only David Hasselhoff out sells them). When Jai isn’t in the ocean, she can be seen participating in local roller derbies for the King Trident’s Daughters team. She has the sharpest elbows in the West. Her best friends are a guppy named Peaches and a seadog named Diego. They enjoy spending hours debating whether Sebastian is a crab or a lobster.