Raising Debt-Free College Grads: Entrepreneur Shellee Howard on College Prep and Empowering Kids for Self-Discovery
Release Date: 11/18/2025
Wings of Inspired Business
Erin Mills is a visionary serial entrepreneur, salon owner, and advocate for women’s healing and empowerment, driven by a mission to create spaces where safety, growth, and authenticity thrive. From real estate to salon stylist, Erin built her salon business, Theory Salons, to challenge the male-dominated salon industry and its often-unsafe environments, before walking away from all but one of her locations to reinvent herself as a software entrepreneur with a new technology, Flamingo Salon Software, launching later this year. Her journey of reinvention also inspired her to create the Be...
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Arjita Sethi is a serial entrepreneur, physical therapist, certified yoga teacher, Ayurveda practitioner, and meditation expert, recognized as a leading voice at the intersection of AI and wellbeing. She is the founder of Shaanti, an AI-powered wellness platform creating personalized rituals rooted in Ayurveda, and New Founder School, which equips entrepreneurs with practical strategies to launch and grow sustainably. Arjita sits on the advisory board of the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center, teaches entrepreneurship at San Francisco State University, and has impacted hundreds of thousands of...
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Martine Cohen is a transformative coach and former corporate attorney dedicated to empowering individuals to lead themselves authentically, separate their identity from their emotions and thoughts, and make choices from a place of deep inner awareness and alignment. Author of No More Layers: Discover Your Inner Power and Reclaim True Freedom From the Inside Out, Martine believes that true success comes from within, and she is passionate about guiding others to find ease, joy, and fulfillment by removing the layers that obscure their inner light. As both a lawyer and corporate leadership...
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Celi Arias is the CEO and Founder of The Grown Ass Business, where she guides entrepreneurs through her proprietary methodology, Key Growth Systems, to build strong business foundations. Recognized as a top coach by The Upside in 2024, Celi helps clients break free from revenue plateaus and burnout by focusing on core business principles over quick fixes. Her approach emphasizes clarity and control, optimizing essential business departments to ensure solid foundations for scaling up to seven figures and beyond. She’s busy building software to scale her own business, now in beta at Get Scale....
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Engie Hassan is a celebrated red-carpet fashion stylist turned CEO and Founder of The Revelist, a membership community to help women in midlife feel better about themselves. An alum of Vogue, French Vogue, Teen Vogue and Numero, Engie is a sought-after arbiter of taste and a go-to connector, helping clients broker meaningful alliances with the who’s who of the fashion industry in the U.S., Europe and across the Arab world. Tastemakers such as Anna Wintour have lauded Engie for her vision for clients and the late Karl Lagerfeld singled out her eye for accessories. From The Oscars to the SAG...
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Luba Patlakh, a passionate and dedicated speech language pathologist, is the founder and director of Kidology, Inc., a pediatric practice specializing in speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and ABA services. With over 15 years of experience in the field, Luba's expertise and compassion have shaped her approach to child development. She has built a thriving private practice over the past decade, where her innovative and client-centered approach has empowered families to help their children achieve significant milestones in speech and development. Her deep commitment to fostering...
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Leslie Kenny is the CEO and founder of Oxford Healthspan, an innovative longevity company with a game-changing supplement called Primeadine. An Oxford-based longevity expert and Harvard alum, Leslie founded Oxford Healthspan after reversing her own Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, and infertility and giving birth naturally at 43. Now 60, with a biological age of 21, she’s committed to helping others optimize their health span. Leslie is also co-founder of the Oxford Longevity Project, a nonprofit dedicated to public education on aging smarter with science-backed strategies. 🔑Key Takeaways🔑...
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Bianca D’Alessio, star of HBO Max’s acclaimed series Selling The Hamptons, is recognized as the top real estate broker in both New York City and New York state. Bianca founded one of the top real estate brokerage teams in the United States, where she manages a $10 billion international real estate portfolio. Having rebuilt her career through adversity, Bianca attributes her success to the art of mastering intention. Author of Mastering Intentions: 10 Practices to Amplify Power and Lead with Lasting Impact, she emphasizes the vital synergy between personal branding and business culture,...
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Nicole Rodrigues is the CEO and Founder of NRPR Group, the Beverly Bills public relations and marketing machine serving game changing companies from entertainment to tech around the world. NRPR focuses on building relationships that build long-lasting ties between clients, the media and their audiences. From startups to Fortune 500 companies within consumer tech, FinTech, HealthTech, enterprise, mobile, digital entertainment, lifestyle, sports, and consumer products, NRPR prides itself on a high-touch, results-focused approach to boost their clients’ bottom line. 🔑Key Takeaways🔑 🔥...
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Maria Castellucci Moore is the founder of the boutique winery and real estate business, Castellucci Napa Valley. She’s also a multi-award-winning author of the children’s book series Traveling Mindfulness, including Vivian in Paris and Sophia in Rome, and winner of the Gold Mom's Choice Award. First-generation American and mother to four children, Maria is also a board member of the San Francisco Opera Guild and Napa Valley's Ambassador to Charitable nonprofit organization, Roots of Peace— an organization that demines war torn lands and plants fruit orchards and vineyards worldwide....
info_outlineShellee Howard is the Founder and CEO of College Ready and CR Future Now, a Certified Independent College Strategist, and a best-selling author. A member of HECA and SOFA, she helps students gain admission to their best-fit colleges—often debt-free. As a mother of four, Shellee has firsthand experience with college success. Her son graduated debt-free from Harvard, earned his MD from UCSD, and is now an Orthopedic Surgery Resident at UCLA. Her daughter earned her BSN debt-free and became an RN in 2021. A sought-after speaker and consultant, Shellee has guided hundreds of students worldwide to top universities, ensuring they graduate debt-free and land jobs they love. Shellee also hosts the podcast, Parents: Is Your Teen College Ready?
🔑Key Takeaways🔑
🌱🤔 Start Early, Self-Discovery Comes First: Why college prep should start in middle school, with parents guiding their kids to reflect on their interests, strengths, and values. Learn how to help your kids figure out who they are before choosing what to study with a mix of community service, internships, and real-world conversations with professionals.
💸 🎯 A Strategic (Not Emotional) Path to College: Why it’s not about chasing school prestige or following the crowd. The best path involves empowering students to build standout resumes, match with colleges that value their unique qualities, and—most importantly—graduate without crushing student loans.
🎓💡 Scholarships (and How to Win Them): One of Shellee’s most compelling stats: her seniors earned over $10 million in scholarships last year alone. Her secret? Treat the process like building a business—from early planning, crafting applications, and strategically picking colleges that want to reward your child’s excellence.
👩💼 🛠️ For Young Entrepreneurs and Non-Traditional Paths: Not every student is destined for the Ivy League—or even a traditional four-year college. Learn how to explore all options, including trade schools and entrepreneurial ventures. There is no “one size fits all” path to success.
✨🤖 How AI Is Impacting College Decisions: How to best prepare your teen for an AI world, why teaching nimbleness, flexibility and resilience is key.
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More about Shellee at College Ready Plan