Emmi Harward

Emmi Harward is the Executive Director of the Association of College Counselors in Independent Schools, known as ACCIS. After serving in a volunteer version of the role for several years while still a college counselor herself, she became the Association’s first full-time employee in 2017. Emmi is tasked with fulfilling the organization’s mission to be an educational leader and professional community that empowers members as they educate and support students, families, and institutions through a lens of equity, inclusion, and belonging in an ever-changing college admission landscape.

Emmi is a frequent presenter and panelist at professional meetings, regional, and national conferences. Her experience in college admission and independent schools spans 30 years, and she fell into the work during her time as a member of the undergraduate admission offices at Emory University in Atlanta and Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Emmi returned to her home state of Virginia and Hampton Roads Academy, serving as director of college counseling, government teacher, swim coach, testing coordinator, and "other duties as assigned." Five years later, she joined The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California, where she helped to grow the college counseling office from two co-directors to a team of four full-time college counselors. It was also at Bishop's where Emmi began her involvement in an upstart group called ACCIS as committee member, chair, and ultimately executive director. She earned a BA from Emory University and an M.Ed. from The College of William and Mary. She is based in San Diego, California.