The doran+scalora model is a four-year approach that is designed around the student and his or her individual needs. We provide our students and their families with patient, professional counsel during this exciting journey.
Robin Doran Biography
Robin’s career in admission actually began as an undergraduate student at Southern Methodist University, where she was a tour guide, student panelist, and intern in the Office of Admission. After graduating, she became a professional member of the office as an admission counselor. After one year in the office, Robin married one of those crazy actor types, so they packed up and moved to Los Angeles for her husband Justin to pursue his MFA in acting at UCLA, and Robin began her time in the Office of Admission at the University of Southern California. During the five years Robin was at USC, she moved from Assistant Director to Senior Associate Director of Admission in charge of recruitment. Robin loved her time at USC and remains an avid Trojan fan to this day.
After the birth of her second child, life on the road of an admission officer was very difficult for her family, so Robin decided to make a change to the “other side of the desk” at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, California. When Robin was hired at Oaks, the school had not yet opened. She was appointed the inaugural Director of Admission and College Counselor since they wouldn’t have seniors for a couple of years. Robin was hired in March of 2000, and there were no students enrolled at the school. That August, the school opened with 200 students in grades 6, 9, and 10, and today, Oaks is a thriving school with 1400 students and excellent academic, athletic, and arts programs.
In 2003, Robin and her family decided to move to Houston to help her mother-in-law as she neared the end of her long battle with cancer. They planned to be in Houston for a couple of years and then return to Los Angeles. As those things typically go, over 20 years later, the Dorans are still proud Houstonians.
After one year helping out at The John Cooper School as a part-time college counselor, Robin became the Associate Director of College Counseling at The Kinkaid School. She helped to bring the dean system to Kinkaid in the fall of 2008, which created a much more student-centered, relationship-based approach to college counseling that serves as the model for our approach to private counseling at doran+scalora college consulting.
In 2010, Robin became the Lead Upper School Dean, and she served on the Administrative team of the school. In addition to all her responsibilities as dean, Robin started the Habitat service program, served on the Admission Committee, was an adviser to the Peer Mentor program, served on numerous search committees, and started the Big Sister/Little Sister program.
In order to help more students understand the college admission process, Robin joined the Board of Directors at One Goal Houston in 2019. One Goal works to solve the degree divide in our lifetime so that all students have the opportunity to graduate from college.
Personally, Robin’s husband, Justin, is an actor, director, and the incoming Associate Head of School at St. Francis Episcopal School. They have three children, Ty, Kinkaid ’16 and Northwestern ’20, Caleigh, Kinkaid ’18, Vanderbilt ’22, and Harvard Law ‘26, Jackson, Kinkaid ’22 and USC ‘26.