A-List Management Team
Scott G. Farber (Founder and President)
Scott earned a degree in International Relations from Harvard University in 2001. After graduation he accepted a position as the CFO for an environmental program in Ecuador coordinated through the British Embassy. Upon his return, he served for three years as a Director for a Long Island based SAT-preparation company before founding A-List in September 2005. Since A-List's inception, Scott has overseen all aspects of the company's growth while continuing to work directly with students and schools – tutoring, training teachers, developing innovative education products such as Vocab Videos and speaking at conferences and educational organizations across the country. Scott also co-founded CollegeEssayOrganizer.com, an online tool designed to help students streamline the college essay process, and serves in a variety of educational consulting capacities for nationally recognized non-profit programs.
Robert K. Hay (Co-Founder and Managing Director)
Robert has been working in the SAT preparation industry since the age of 18. During his first year at Columbia University in the spring of 1997, he was hired by a Long Island based company that runs premium courses for the SAT. After teaching for all four years of college, he graduated in 2000 with a B.A. in Philosophy, training that has honed his reasoning skills and enabled him to more fully understand the logic of the test.
After graduating, he began to work full-time at a leading test preparation company and has since performed virtually every role to be played in the company at one time or another. He has recruited, hired and trained new teachers. He has also personally taught hundreds of students.
His primary concern for the past few years has been developing materials at all levels, from training documents and manuals for staff to drills, lectures, and practice tests for students. Most notably, he had a pivotal role in updating the curriculum for the new version SAT, by doing research, writing problems and lectures, and examining pedagogical strategies for the new test.
It is this expertise that he now brings to A-List. He is the principal author and editor of all A-List's tutoring materials, most notably the Book of Knowledge. His extensive research has ensured that the materials are accurate reflections of the nature, style, and content of the test. His personal experience in the classroom has ensured that the materials are fun, easy to understand, and geared toward the material kids need the most. He is continually revising existing materials and developing new ones in order to perfect the A-List experience.
Edward G. Smallwood (Executive Vice President)
Mr. Smallwood was born in London and moved to the U.S. to attend Harvard University from which he graduated cum laude in Romance Languages. He subsequently served as Project Director for an innovative environmental development project in Ecuador funded by the British Government, working to rebuild communities devastated by El Nino. After moving to New York City, he worked as an Account Executive at a global advertising agency managing integrated campaigns for several Fortune 500 accounts. Mr. Smallwood has extensive marketing and strategic planning experience and holds an MS in Integrated Marketing from NYU.
Mr. Smallwood serves as Executive Vice President at A-List and is responsible for strategic planning, business development, and marketing. He is currently enrolled in a Global MBA program at Columbia Business School and London Business School.
Allen Springer (Vice President of Test Prep & Admissions)
Allen Springer grew up in St. Louis, Missouri and graduated from Emory University.
He spent a year traveling after college, and upon his return, Allen was accepted to the MA/PhD program in American Literature at New York University; however, with the change in atmosphere of academics at the time, he left after two plus years of study. While in graduate school, he taught SAT, GRE, and LSAT courses for the nation's two largest test-preparation companies.
After graduate school, he was briefly an editor for the leading qualitative marketing research company.
Allen then found his niche, blending his business acumen and fondness of education, working for a successful Long Island test-preparation company, where he spent eight years teaching literally thousands of students and directing the company.
While looking for a new experience, Allen was presented with an interesting opportunity to work for the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). As the Acting Director of a non-profit initiative and research center at UCSD, he was tasked to improve the education and training opportunities of information and storage management professionals. The program was a nexus for industry, end users, and academia.
Allen now finds himself happily back in New York, working for A-List as one of its Directors.
Sherwyn A. Fullington (Director of Test Prep & Admissions)
Raised in New York City, Sherwyn has spent his whole life in the pursuit of excellent education. He was accepted into the prestigious Collegiate School in the 7th grade and graduated in 1997 after spending six invigorating years there. He went on to attend Harvard College, from which he graduated in 2001 with a degree in Psychology.
After finishing college Sherwyn paired his interest in working with kids with his interest in non-profits by working for a city run technology training program in the Roxbury section of Boston. The program, Technology Goes Home, focused on training low income families in computing basics, and the use of computers to advance educational and professional careers. At the end of the program, each family was given a free computer. Sherwyn left Technology Goes Home in 2002 to attend the Graduate School of Education at Harvard. He finished in 2003 after receiving his Master's in Administration, Planning and Social Policy.
After graduating, Sherwyn strove to find a means to continue his interest in working with kids while also learning about how educational systems function. He decided to return to his alma mater, Collegiate School, to work in the admissions office. To keep more in touch with his love for teaching, Sherwyn also joined a successful SAT preparation company and taught for two years. These two jobs have given Sherwyn a keen insight into the minds and needs of young teens and high school students. He enthusiastically hopes to take this knowledge and experience with him to A-List to refine one of a kind services for young teenagers.
Laura Horn (Director of Nonprofit Programs)
Laura grew up in Southern California. She attended Concordia University on a volleyball scholarship where she received All-American Scholar Athlete honors and graduated with a Psychology degree. Shortly after graduation Laura enrolled at Azusa Pacific University and completed her MA in Educational Counseling. For two years she worked in classrooms and counseling offices throughout the Orange Unified School District and fell in love with the daily routine of helping students develop and learn academically, emotionally and socially. Laura ran several student-focused counseling groups on various subjects including: bullying, grief, aggression, and self-esteem. She also developed and implemented college readiness courses at the high school level to prepare students and student-athletes for their post high school education. After joining A-List, Laura began to manage the growing relationships with A-List nonprofit partners. She works directly with program directors and students at Harlem Children's Zone, Year Up and Boys & Girls Clubs - not to mention the number of students whom she still personally tutors. Laura believes her extensive experience working with students from diverse backgrounds in various educational environments paired with her passion for building relationships and connections make her a dynamic member of the A-List team.
Libby Perkins (Director of Sales)
Libby grew up in Ormond Beach, Florida and attended the University of California, Berkeley where she earned her B.A. in Theater and Performance Studies and played on the Division I NCAA Women's Golf Team.
After graduating Berkeley she worked as a sales and marketing account executive covering the western United States for a global automotive data and intelligence provider. Subsequently, Libby moved to New York City, where she earned her Juris Doctorate from Brooklyn Law School. During school Libby worked at the Kings County District Attorney's office, Brooklyn Legal Aid Society and for an appellate court judge. Upon graduating from law school, she worked for a commercial litigation firm in New York City.
At A-List Libby combines her legal and sales background serving as Director of Sales and In-House Counsel. Her responsibilities include legal counseling, business development and strategic planning.
Caroline Romano (Marketing Manager)
Caroline was born and raised on Long Island (though she regularly tries to convince Scott to bring A-List to the West Coast, so she can make her way to sunny California). She graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University with a BA in American Studies, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society.
Having been tutored for her SAT by A-List's own Scott Farber, Caroline knows, firsthand, A-List's commitment to education and test prep and admissions services. She is currently working as part of the marketing team to bring A-List's innovative educational resources, like Vocab Videos and College Essay Organizer, to as many students and educators as possible. She also regularly maintains the A-List and Vocab Videos websites and aims to improve A-List's online and social media presence. With her love of learning, Caroline is excited to be a part of an organization that is committed to helping students from every imaginable background realize their dreams of higher education.
Dianna Block (Client Services Manager)
Dianna was born and raised in Long Beach, NY. She graduated from SUNY Geneseo with a BA in Economics and returned to Long Island to care for her father and pursue a career. After college, Dianna worked for a small defense contractor for five years, managing subcontracts and purchasing as well as ensuring the viability of day to day operations. She's come to A-List in an effort to become part of the spectrum of education, to learn about students and testing and bring her experience in operations management to the offices of A-List.