Inspire Communication: Meet Our Advisors

Lisa Russo, M.A. Corporate & Public Communication

transitioned from a ten year career in corporate communication to fulfill her lifelong goal to be a college professor. She earned a Master’s Degree in Corporate & Public Communication from Monmouth University in 2000, winning the award in her major for Academic Excellence. Upon graduation, the university hired her as an adjunct communication professor and later to teach full-time for a short-term contract. She expanded her teaching experience by accepting part-time positions with three other New Jersey colleges before teaching exclusively at Monmouth University.

A passionate believer in experiential education, Lisa’s unique curriculum has transported more than 2,000 students beyond text book theory by bringing a Nobel Prize nominee, a Pulitzer Prize winning author and nationally renowned television journalists to her classroom so students have been able to witness, first hand, the power and prestige of successful communicators. Post-graduate students seeking her professional coaching and mentoring have acquired careers and internships in high-profile organizations.

As an enthusiastic educator and college advisor, Lisa has helped countless students gain acceptance to their dream colleges. She is an expert at developing a plan with her high school students to navigate the application process with clarity and ease so they may discover the path to a rewarding future

Tim Dowd, Consultant, Ed.D. Higher Education Leadership, Mangement & Policy 

has devoted his professional life to improving students’ comprehension, communication, and analytical skills. After taking graduate courses at Erasmus University in The Netherlands, he earned a Master’s Degree in Teaching from The College of New Jersey in 2007 and has been involved in English education ever since. By 2012, he earned an additional Master’s Degree in Education and holds a certificate as an Educational Specialist. In 2023 Tim earned a Ed.D. from Seton Hall University. 

Under his direction as an English instructor, his students not only receive a working knowledge of mechanics and style of writing, but also an expertise in comprehension and critical analysis. Moreover, as a high school administrator, Tim collaborates with guidance teams, writes curriculum with content-specific supervisors, and works with students to create an inclusive school climate and culture, making him fully aware of how colleges view the well-rounded and dynamic student.

Since the college application process is such a marvelous transition in a student’s life, Tim embraces this natural momentum urging his students to confidently embrace their dreams and aspirations. Through this perspective, he seeks to motivate his students to earn admission to one of their top college choices by helping them navigate their applications, and by finding true expression their essays.

John Bazley, M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts 

is a writer, high school English teacher, and adjunct professor of composition, literature, and creative writing. After graduating from Monmouth University with a bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education, he earned an MFA in Writing from Sarah Lawrence College. He currently teaches at both Long Branch High School and Monmouth University. He previously worked with the Sarah Lawrence College office of Community Partnerships and Engagement to facilitate creative writing workshops for incarcerated writers at Westchester County Corrections in Valhalla, NY.  As an essayist and cultural critic, his writing has appeared in Catapult Magazine, The Asbury Park Press, Substream Magazine, Alternative Press Magazine, and elsewhere. 

John teaches his students to write with clarity, organization, and appropriate brevity, regardless of their grade level and experience as a writer. As an experienced instructor of college-level English—particularly of first-year college composition—he brings knowledge of university-level academic expectations to his high school students. He looks forward to working with your child to shape their college essay into something surprising, exciting, and well-formed. Tutoring for the reading and writing sections for the SAT and ACT is another of John’s specialties.