Led by Rachael Barron, the Effective Students® team is a group of successful professionals, educators and counselors imparting skills to a generation of students. The Effective Student™ Method is designed to help students strengthen executive function skills and build confidence for academic success. Each coach brings a unique set of study tools for students, leveraging their personal experience. Students and coaches build a trusting relationship that prepare them to navigate challenges, self advocate and chart their own path forward.
Learn More About Our Trusted
Executive Function Coaches for College Students
Rachael Barron
Founder, Principal Executive Function Coach & Author of The Effective Student™ Curriculum
Effective StudentsMeet Rachael.
A graduate of Emory University, Rachael has spent her professional career coaching and solving complex educational problems. From applying problem solving and vision casting skills in the business environment through applying these principles to the education realm, she excels at helping individual students and families find educational success. Prior to founding Effective Students, Rachael solved complex educational problems in her role as an educational advocate mastering the maze of finding solutions for families within Georgia’s public and private schools, helping the most difficult learners find success.
Rachael now spends all of her time working with children, young adults, and families who are focused on achieving success in their school environment and acquiring a set of self-management skills that last a lifetime.
Catherine Sherrard Ed.D.
Executive Function Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Catherine.
Dr. Sherrard comes to the Effective Students team in Louisville following 25 years of experience
in higher education including roles in admissions, student life, and most recently as the chief
academic officer at a large campus within a statewide community college system. Her career in
education includes a number of community initiatives focused on student success and credential
completion.
As a lifelong Kentuckian, Catherine earned her Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice from
Kentucky Wesleyan College and Master of Science in justice administration from the University
of Louisville. She spent her early career working in local government at a criminal justice
planning agency. She earned her Doctor of Education in leadership education from Spalding
University.
As the mother of two boys, a young adult with Down syndrome and a soon-to-be college
freshman, Catherine has a passion for working with students of all ages and abilities. She and her
husband own two assisted living homes in the Greater Louisville area. In her free time, she
enjoys traveling with her family and close friends.
Maureen Carlomagno
Executive Function Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Maureen.
A creative and compassionate educator with 20 years of coaching expertise, Maureen Carlomagno provides educational experiences with an empathy-led approach to individual growth.
With a belief that everyone deserves to be supported and connected, Maureen enjoys collaborating with students to implement strategies that are rooted in best practices. She also integrates both academic and self-care principles in her work with students.
Maureen is a Master-level Certified Intrinsic Coach, Certified Health Education Specialist, and National Board Certified Health Coach. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology and Spanish from Salem College, a Masters in Public Health from Boston University, and a Certificate in Program Management from Boston University.
While she is delivering coaching with Effective Students techniques, her approach can be summarized by the following Stephen Spielberg quote,
“The delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image but giving them the opportunity to create themselves.”
When she is not coaching, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, trying new recipes or working in her garden, and volunteering in her community.
Maureen works with college students virtually around the country and in person in Charlotte.
“Maureen has been a very big help with my son’s college courses. My son has a tendency to start off doing well then loses his momentum and focus mid way through the semester. Maureen has a way of knowing how to connect with him. Her approach is calm, caring, straightforward, and effective in knowing how to strategically help plan for what tasks to help in achieving his goals. She has been a great asset for him and his adapted way of learning since his injury. ”
Lazuli Cristol
Executive Function Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Lazuli.
Lazuli grew up in Virginia and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia. She has a background empowering middle school students from underserved communities and supporting college students navigating mental health challenges. After moving to Atlanta in 2023, Lazuli was inspired to help students of all ages build confidence, independence, and life skills through a patient and caring approach.
Lazuli is deeply connected to the Atlanta community, volunteering her time with Holocaust survivors and contributing to a local mental health clinic. Her long-term goal of becoming a Marriage and Family Therapist shapes her holistic and empathetic coaching style.
In her free time, Lazuli loves exploring Atlanta, discovering new restaurants, and diving into mystery novels.
Mallory Woods
Executive Function Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Mallory.
Mallory comes to Effective Students with experience teaching in both elementary and middle school. During her teaching career, she worked in a variety of school settings- public, private and charter schools. She has a passion for teaching life skills and social emotional learning tools to help students become better people in this world.
Mallory is an Atlanta native and attended Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School on full academic scholarship. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts in Human Services from Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina on full academic scholarship. She then earned a Master of Education in Early Childhood Education from University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
During her time earning her Masters, Mallory enrolled in Teach for America where she spent 3 years working in Title I schools in Las Vegas, Nevada. After her time in the classroom, she worked across various school settings in school administration. No matter what position, Mallory has a flair for working with students of all ages to gain tools that help us grow as healthy, high functioning human-beings.
Leighann Mattson
Executive Function Coach
Effective StudentsMeet Leighann. Leighann is originally from Indianapolis, IN and comes to Effective Students with 9 years of education experience. Education and athletics have been an important part of her life from an early age. She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Ball State University, where she was also a Division 1 swimmer.
Following her bachelor’s degree, Leighann earned her master’s degree in elementary education from Johns Hopkins University. Throughout her teaching career, she has moved to a few different places, due to her passion for travel and new experiences. She has lived and taught in New Orleans, LA, Bangkok, Thailand, and Memphis, TN. While working as an educator, she also founded a swim team at a school she was teaching at, where she took on the role as head coach. Leighann is happy to now be in Charlotte, NC and is excited to be on the Effective Students team. She is passionate about teaching the whole child and wants to set students up with valuable skills that can help them in school and beyond.
In her free time, Leighann enjoys working out, trying new restaurants, and traveling.
“Maureen has been a very big help with my son’s college courses. My son has a tendency to start off doing well then loses his momentum and focus mid way through the semester. Maureen has a way of knowing how to connect with him. Her approach is calm, caring, straightforward, and effective in knowing how to strategically help plan for what tasks to help in achieving his goals. She has been a great asset for him and his adapted way of learning since his injury. ”
Curious about how we help students in College?
