Jordan Richards

Director of Career Planning Services

COLLEGE PLANNING CONSULTANT

Jordan comes to Advantage College Planning from a background in mental health and college admissions. She has held many different roles that center on helping younger people as they make plans for the future and strongly believes in the empowerment that comes from learning how to best use your resources.

Jordan earned a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from UNC Chapel Hill and after spending time working in mental health, she returned to UNC to earn her Master’s degree in Clinical Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling. During graduate school, Jordan collaborated with a research group studying adolescents and young adults with chronic illnesses as they transition from pediatric to adult health care. This research focused on teaching patients self-advocacy and independent living skills. Through this work, Jordan realized she had a passion for working with younger people as they make important decisions and transition into new phases of life - making higher education a great fit for her next career move.

Following graduate school, Jordan worked in Admissions at Meredith College for close to five years. Working in higher education allowed Jordan to utilize her strengths of empathy and individualization as well as the counseling skills she learned in her Master’s program. Her favorite part of the job was meeting with students and talking with them about their interests, experiences, and hopes for the future. As a College Planning Consultant, Jordan gets to do this every day! She's excited to support and empower students with knowledge as they discover more about themselves and dig into their college search process.

Outside of working with Advantage College Planning, Jordan is an avid podcast listener, reality TV enthusiast, and enjoys spending time with her husband, two sons (one human, one Chihuahua/Pug), and two daughters (one human, one Golden Retriever).