Group of People with Education Concept

Who We Are

Lisa Mulligan is a college counseling professional and the Founder of Finn Educational Consulting. As a former Wall Street research analyst, Assistant City Manager and Executive Director of an education nonprofit, Ms. Mulligan brings a unique and relevant personal experience to her educational consulting practice.

Ms. Mulligan graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University, where she was a member of the NCAA Division I Swim Team. She continued her studies at Harvard University in Social Policy and American University in Journalism and Public Affairs, receiving two Masters degrees. Ms. Mulligan also serves on the Alumni Review Committee for the Columbia University Office of Admissions, evaluating students for acceptance to Columbia College.

Ms. Mulligan is a proud foster parent who loves cycling, reading and fiction writing. She is also an ardent advocate for equal access to all education for the deaf in support of her son, as well as all students with learning differences.  Through her past positions and personal experience as the parent of a gifted deaf child with learning differences, Ms. Mulligan has experience with gifted and talented students with learning disabilities (GTLD), auditory and sensory processing disorders, dysgraphia, visual perceptual/visual motor deficiencies, special education policies and procedures, accommodations and adaptations and assistive technology.

Ms. Mulligan lives in Greenville, North Carolina with her family and two dogs, where she gives her time to her church, the Cub Scouts and various community organizations.

Ms. Mulligan had always envisioned herself owning a business. When serving as an alumna interviewer for the Columbia University Admissions Committee, she had an epiphany. She was meeting some of the best high school students in the eastern North Carolina area, and yet they were completely unprepared for their interviews, a critical component of the Columbia admissions process. Ms. Mulligan wondered how much she could have impacted their interview outcome if she could have just coached them beforehand.

With a little research, she learned there was a burgeoning industry dedicated to coaching high school students through the entire college process, one that was still small but growing in North Carolina. Ms. Mulligan continued to work for several more years while she mulled over entering this business, and started to lay some of the foundation for starting a practice.

Starting Finn Ed was the expression of her strong belief in the power of education to change the trajectory of one’s life.  Ms. Mulligan is an Associate Member of the Independent Educational Consulting Association (IECA) as well as a member of the Southern Association of College Admissions Counselors, (SACAC) the North Carolina Counselors Association (NCCA) and the Higher Education Consulting Association (HECA).