About us
Why Choose Us?
At the core, we provide sound and ethical advice to our clients based on our years of accumulated experience at both the high schools and admission settings
Our Team
Mr. Leslie Yuen
Co-Founder & Co-Managing Partner
Professional Background
- Mr. Yuen is the co-founder and Co-Managing Partner of SkyBridge Educational Partners (SEP). In addition, he advices selective students in their search for boarding schools in the USA. Furthermore, he is passionate about student athletes recruiting.
- Prior to co-founding SEP, Mr. Yuen spent 25 years working in the pharmaceutical industry in various roles in marketing, sales, operations and product development.
- Mr. Yuen has been an admission representative for his alma-mater, Lafayette College for 8 years in the Princeton area. Annually, Mr. Yuen interviews between 30 to 50 high school applicants for the college.
- Mr. Yuen has a stellar record of coaching and assisting middle school students to get into the most selective boarding schools in the US. Among his successes, his students have been admitted to Philips Academy, Philips Exeter Academy, The Lawrenceville School, Mercersburg Academy, St. Paul School, Peddie School, Blair Academy & St Andrews School, DE
Educational Background
- MBA Marketing & Entrepreneurship Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ
- BA, Economics, Lafayette College, Easton, PA
Languages spoken
- Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese
- English
Ms. Sally O’Rourke
Founding Partner & College and Boarding School Consultant
Professional Background
- Ms. O’Rourke has over 25 years of college counseling experiences in both public schools and private schools.
- Among her many roles, she was the former Director of College Counseling at Mercersburg Academy, where she implemented the new and innovative college counseling process.
- Prior to joining forces at SEP, Ms. O’Rourke was the founder & Principal Counselor at Fresnel College Navigation. In addition, she has worked as a college counselor at Andover High School, Our Lady of Nazareth Academy and McLean High School.
- Ms. O’Rourke has also been an application reader at two of the top universities, Bucknell University and Northeastern University
Educational Background
- MA, Education (counseling), Catholic University of America, Washington, DC
- BA, History & Religion, Tufts University, Boston, MA
Languages spoken
- English
Mr. W. Austin Curwen
Founding Partner & College and Boarding School Consultant
Professional Background
- Mr. Curwen has had extensive experience in college counselling. He has over 11 years of college counseling experience at both US boarding school, Mercersburg Academy and at a UK boarding school, KinghamHill School.
- Mr. Curwen has worked at several elite boarding schools in the US. These include Mercersburg Academy, PA and the ThacherSchool, CA. In addition, he worked for a decade as an Instructor for the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School, ME.
- Mr. Curwen is a proud veteran of the US Army and other professional roles have included work as a volunteer firefighter and as a licensed USCG Captain.
Educational Background
- MA, Maritime History and Archaeology 2009, University of Bristol (UK)
- MA Educational Leadership 2007, Columbia University (Teachers College)
- MED Secondary Teaching (Social Studies) 1997, University of Washington
- BA Geography & History 1991, Syracuse University
Languages spoken
- English
Mr. Steve Silver
Founding Partner & Admission Strategist & College Consultant
Professional Background
- Mr. Silver is an admission strategist. He has over 30 years of professional experience working in the admission office at some of the finest institutions in the USA. Namely, Dartmouth College, Lafayette College and Clarkson University.
- Former Roles. Senior Director, International Students’ admission, Dartmouth College; Associate Director, International Students’ Admission, Lafayette College; Admission officer, Clarkson University
Educational Background
- MA, Education (College Student Development) George Washington University
- BA, History, Colgate University
Language spoken
- English
- Ms. Carol Rowlands
Admission Master & Senior Advisor
Ms. Roland is a master expert at college admissions. She has 35 years of admission experience with Lafayette College. She has served one institution all her life. She is a graduate of Lafayette College. After getting her Masters degree in counseling, she joined the admission office at Lafayette College and has stayed there for 36 years. She retired from Lafayette College last June at the conclusion of the school year.
Mr. David L. Marcus
Master Writer & Speaker, Founding Partner & College Consultant
Professional Background
- David L. Marcus shared a Pulitzer Prize—the most prestigious prize for American journalism.
- Prior to joining forces with SkyBridge Educational Partners, Mr. Marcus has been an independent counselor and essay coach, Mr. Marcus has worked with scores of college applicants from around the world with a focus on students from Latin America.
- Mr. Marcus is author of a highly regarded book on college admissions, Acceptance: A Legendary Guidance Counselor Helps Seven Kids Find the Right Colleges – And Find Themselves (Penguin Books).
- Mr. Marcus was the higher education writer for U.S. News, which publishes the annual U.S. News Best Colleges rankings.
- Mr. Marcus had a fellowship at Deerfield Academy (Deerfield, MA), where he taught writing.
Educational Background
- B.A. with Honors, American Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI
- Nieman Fellowship, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
Languages Spoken
- English
- Spanish
