Meet our college counseling team.

Director of College Counseling

805-684-4127 x235
tamar_adegbile@cate.org

BA, Vassar
Appointed: 2015

After graduating from Vassar College with a degree in film studies, most people assumed that Tamar would move back to her hometown of New York City to pursue a career in entertainment or film. A chance visit to her alma mater, Vassar College, however changed the course of her life. She accepted a position in the Admission Office five months after graduation, and thus she discovered a passion for working with young people as they navigate their path toward higher education. After Vassar, Tamar worked in undergraduate admissions at Columbia University. After five years in highly selective college admission, Tamar transitioned to “the other side of the desk” to become the Senior Associate Director of College Counseling at the Riverdale Country School in New York. Tamar comes to Cate from Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles where she spent twelve years as a dean and college counselor. In her spare time, Tamar enjoys hiking, traveling, and spending time with her husband and two young sons.

Associate Director of College Counseling

805-684-4127 x248
margot_dorion@cate.org

BA, Colby College
Appointed: 2002

Margot started her career in education fulfilling the triple-threat duties at a boarding school in Connecticut—teaching history, coaching soccer and tennis, and serving as a dorm parent. Not long into her teaching career, she was asked to consider trying her hand at college counseling—she’s worked in this capacity ever since. The challenge of identifying the nuanced differences in the abundant choices at the higher ed-level, the enjoyment she derives from developing deep and meaningful relationships with her counselees, and the unique and individual process that is required to marry the right school to the right student is a powerfully fulfilling process for Margot.

When she’s not in the College Counseling Office, you may see Margot on her bike training for a road race or preparing for a triathlon. An avid reader, adventurous traveler, and mother of three children, she looks forward to a time when she can get her whole family overseas and around the country to discover new places together.

College Counseling Office Manager

805-684-4127 x296
amy_giles@cate.org

BA, Denison University
Appointed: 2012

Amy worked for several years in event planning and marketing at the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 2005, the Giles family moved to Santa Barbara, where she joined Marymount of Santa Barbara’s administrative team and worked closely with the Head of School, Board of Trustees, and Admission Director.

Amy and her husband, Major Gifts Director Chris Giles, live in Carpinteria. They have two children who graduated from Cate, Eliza ’13 and Warren ’15, and are now host parents to Daniel Boateng ’22.

College Counseling Associate

805-684-4127 x277
sara_boardman@cate.org

BA, University of California, Santa Barbara
Teaching Credential, CSU, Channel Islands
Appointed: 2018

Born and raised in Carpinteria, Sara worked for many years in retail management in Santa Barbara. Since 2003, Sara has worked in Carpinteria Unified School District as a long-term substitute teacher and cheer coach. She also coaches cheer at Santa Barbara City College. Sara and her husband Evan live in Carpinteria with their two children.