About Us

With over 30 years of experience as a newspaper journalist and nine years as a journalism professor, Cat brings a wealth of knowledge to Optimal. In addition to teaching, Cat also advised the student newspaper at Whatcom Community College, where she absolutely loved connecting with students about their futures and helping them reach their goals. At Optimal, she is passionate about continuing to help students attain their goals through helping create clear, high-quality content. Cat holds a BA in Cultural Anthropology from UC Santa Barbara and a MA in Journalism from Syracuse University. Outside of work, Cat pursues her love of books through her position on the board of her county library system and volunteers at her local performing arts theater.

Bailey came to Optimal with experience as an academic editor, where she was helping authors around the world publish their manuscripts in prestigious journals. In her current role, Bailey edits our content for grammar, flow, and tone and manages our comprehensive style guide. She has always been passionate about the pursuit of higher education, especially for the sake of knowledge. Bailey graduated from University of Oregon with a degree in Folklore, which she studied due to her fascination with what is meaningful to people. Outside of work, Bailey enjoys studying Spanish and Italian, photographing wildlife, writing historical fiction, and singing/songwriting.

Prior to joining Optimal, Taylor spent six years writing for higher education newspapers and magazines. Through this experience she gained a unique perspective on college students' needs and challenges. She now uses this background to generate creative article ideas and produce insightful content for our site. Taylor holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism with a News/Editorial focus from Western Washington University. When Taylor isn't writing, she enjoys hanging out with her cat, listening to 90s hip hop, and visiting any place that has palm trees.

In his ten years as a professional journalist, Shadi has developed strong reporting skills and a drive to always be searching for news stories and developments. His experience spans from producing breaking news at CNN to reporting for Reuters in London, Egypt, and Sudan. As an immigrant and first-generation student, Shadi felt incredibly adrift in the college application and financial aid processes. Looking back, he wishes that his current job, accurately gathering and clearly presenting data-driven college graduate information, was one that had existed back when he was researching college and graduate schools. For Optimal, Shadi researches and reports on data studies and trends relating to college outcomes. He holds a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University and an M.S. in Investigative Journalism and Digital Media from Columbia University.

A seasoned veteran of the publishing industry, Jennifer enjoys exploring education-related topics and writing informative content about higher education for our program and resource pages. Before joining Optimal, Jennifer worked in content development and creation for two of the largest higher educational textbook publishers in the U.S. Her recent experience pursuing an online Master of Arts in Marketing through Southern New Hampshire University only furthered her enthusiasm for distance learning. Jennifer also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from California State University Fullerton. In her free time, she enjoys fiction writing, painting, upcycling furniture, and traveling.

Drawing upon his 11 years of experience in writing and editing, Michael creates content for multiple facets of our site. His ambition as a writer is to present prospective students with the information they need to make good choices when selecting a college. Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from DePaul University, a Master of Arts in Teaching from Washington University, and a Master of Arts in International Relations from the University of Chicago. Outside of work, Michael can be found teaching and training in krav maga or volunteering with Seal Sitters, an organization in West Seattle that seeks to protect marine mammals resting on shore.

With over nine years of experience writing for newspapers and academic journals, Usmaan is well positioned to develop strong content for prospective students. The education industry combines two of his interests: working with students and doing research. Having spent years teaching, Usmaan is excited to be in a position where he gets to do research that helps students make decisions about higher education. He holds a BA from the University of Edinburgh, an MA from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Outside of work, Usmaan is a huge mythology fan and enjoys playing guitar.

With 10 years of writing experience, Liz is passionate about creating the best content to help students achieve their goals. She earned her bachelor's in Communications, Advocacy, and Relational Communications from Marylhurst University. During her time there, Liz did some student advocacy work when the school administration unexpectedly announced a school closure. She enjoyed helping students by researching solutions and connecting them to resources to help them navigate their futures. Liz describes herself as a kid at heart, naming Beverly Cleary as her inspiration in the fifth grade to pursue a writing career. In her free time, she enjoys learning about British history, customs, and country life.

After six years with the company, Taitum now leads the content team, which is dedicated to providing the most informative and insightful resources and articles to help with college decision making. She describes herself as “privileged and lucky” to have a career that allows her to provide people with the information they want and need about colleges, degree programs, and career opportunities. Taitum earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Whitworth University. When she's not working, Taitum enjoys listening to music and playing old-school arcade pinball.

Emily is a new addition to the Optimal team, joining as a Senior Managing Editor. She is passionate about creating content that helps users answer questions and truly enriches their lives. Prior to joining Optimal, Emily focused on credit cards and personal finance, and she can still be found scouring the web for travel deals to maximize her hoard of points and miles. Emily has a bachelor's degree in English Writing and Rhetoric from St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX, where she still lives with her partner and two kitties.

In her current content role, Celeste focuses on enhancing our content opportunities by connecting with experts and focusing on providing essential advice for students. Based on her own successful college search experience, Celeste highly recommends using Optimal's resources to thoroughly research schools, degree programs, and tuition costs before making a decision. Her own investigation took her to Washington State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Media Production while minoring in Business Administration. When she’s not researching content opportunities, Celeste enjoys traveling—15 countries and counting—cooking, hiking, and dance.

As a Content Manager, Paige is dedicated to creating content that truly addresses prospective students' needs. She surveys users, researches industry and content trends, and manages a team of writers. After volunteering in her kids’ school with special needs and low-income students, Paige became passionate about the power of accessible, online education. These experiences have helped mold her desire to continue improving the content. Paige has a Bachelor's in Business Administration - Marketing from Western Washington University and is an avid marathon runner, completing marathons everywhere from Boston to France.