Myra Simpson joined Shorecrest as the Director of College Counseling in July 2022 after an extensive national search. With over 20 years of experience in college admissions at both the college and secondary school levels, Myra arrived most recently from Oak Hall School in Gainesville, FL, where she has served as the Director of College Counseling. In addition to overseeing the College Counseling program at Shorecrest, Myra will sit on the School’s senior administrative team. 

Myra has a demonstrated history of success running a comprehensive college counseling program for students in grades 9-12. Prior to joining Oak Hall School in 2016, she served as Co-Director of College Guidance at Ranney School in Tinton Falls, NJ, for 10 years. At both of her prior independent schools her leadership supported diverse classes of students in finding their best-fit college choice, with 100% of students matriculating to college.

Ms. Simpson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Mary Washington and a Master of Arts in Counselor Education from The College of New Jersey. She has served in leadership roles for industry professional associations at the state and national levels for over 17 years. In April 2020, she was elected to a three-year term as a Board Director for the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling and currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Grants and Fiscal Oversight Committee. From 2012-2015, Myra served in the presidential cycle for the New Jersey Association for College Admission Counseling while serving as an At-Large Member for the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools (ACCIS). She initiated both Ranney School and Oak Hall's memberships in ACCIS. She is involved with the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and has served on committees including Current Trends and Future Issues, Admissions Practices, and the Governance and Nominating Committee. 

John Fanning joined the Shorecrest community in July as the Senior Associate Director of College Counseling with more than 20 years of experience in college counseling and educational leadership. Passionate about helping students and families navigate the path to higher education, John has served on the undergraduate admissions team of Stanford University, as the Director of Post-Secondary Access and Success at Aspire Public Schools, and the Senior Director of Early College Pathways at Wonderful Education, a regional non-profit that offers college access programming. He came to Shorecrest most recently from College Track, a national non-profit headquartered in Oakland, CA, where he was Vice President of Program Design. John shares, “At my core and in my heart, I am a high school academic and college counselor, working closely with students and their families to help them better understand higher education and to prepare to navigate those systems successfully and fulfillingly, fully through to graduation and what comes next.” He is a member of and presenter for the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) and its regional affiliates, and is a committee participant with NPEA, the National Partnership for Educational Access.

John holds an undergraduate degree in business from the University of Illinois, an M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, and a master of social work degree from the University of Chicago.