Counseling

Alex Newgard is from Southern California and is starting his ISM journey this year. With 5 plus years of school counseling experience, Alex comes most recently from Hyderabad, India where he worked for 3 years as a Grade 6-12 counselor with a focus on creating inclusion and diversity programs, developing student mentorship initiatives, and cultivating a Middle School community of clubs and passion projects. At the same time, Alex ensured that effective referral systems were in place to best support family needs and enrich school resources. As a participating member of "Parents as Partners", Alex is a strong believer in working in collaboration with families and that children benefit most from being heard and not solved.
 

With a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California (USC) and Psychology from the University of Westminster in London along with a professional license in teaching, Alex values the importance of working towards understanding the relationship with ourselves as individuals, as well as with others.
 

When Alex is not working, he can often be found playing hide-and-seek with both his 4-year-old son and daughter, enjoying a good meal with his best friend, who just so happens to be his wife, and many video calls with his family in the US. Alex looks forward to being a Bearcat and helping in any way he can.

Marco Tello is originally from New Jersey and grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He obtained his bachelor's degree in Psychology from Kutztown University and his master's degree in Counselor Education at Penn State University.

After graduating from Penn State, he decided to move to Charlottesville, Virginia where he pursued a career in school counseling. He became a counselor at Agnor-Hurt Elementary School for four years and at Albermarle High School for two years. Marco is passionate about working in diverse communities and is a culturally responsive certified educator. He led and established professional development and practices around this work as well. He loves building partnerships within the community he works and lives in, and building family partnerships are important to him. Marco is also a member of the American School Counselor Association.

Marco is passionate about spending time with his family and friends. He loves traveling and engaging in experiences and cultures that are traditionally different from his own. He is very enthusiastic about sports... both playing and watching them! Marco is very excited about working at ISM and can't wait to serve the students and families!

Abbey is from Baguio, Philippines, and is a graduate of St. Scholastica's College in Manila, where she obtained the degrees BS in Psychology and BA in Guidance and Counseling. She went on to pursue her Masters Degree in Guidance and Counseling at Saint Louis University, Baguio and is currently finishing her Doctorate Degree in Counseling Psychology at De La Salle University, Manila. Ms. Abbey also holds an Early Childhood Education Certificate from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
 

She is a licensed Counselor and Psychometrician in the Philippines and is a member of the Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association and the American School Counselor Association.

She joined ISM this school year after almost 20 years of service with Brent International School, Inc. where she was the K-12 Counselor and Learning Support Coordinator. She has worked with children, teens, adults, and families from diverse backgrounds. She is very passionate about social and emotional learning, and children and adolescent wellbeing. She is also an advocate for mental health and self-care.
 

Outside of her work she loves spending time with her husband and her wonderful ten-year-old son. She also enjoys reading, listening to music, playing the ukulele, and traveling.