Our Team

Stacy Padula, founder & president

College counselor, award-winning author, and entrepreneur Stacy Padula of Plymouth, Massachusetts has accrued years of experience working with adolescents as an educational consultant with extensive experience in the fields of college counseling, tutoring, and standardized test preparation, as well as a mentor, life coach, and youth group leader. For eight years, she was the director of a private education company in the metrowest of Massachusetts where she managed a staff of thirty tutors and developed all company curriculum. In 2016, she left the metrowest and founded South Shore College Consulting & Tutoring.

Publications

Stacy Padula is the author of fifteen books and the publisher of over 100 others through her company, Briley & Baxter Publications. In 2019, she wrote her first screenplay, an adaptation of her novel The Aftermath, and worked on a pilot for her Gripped book series, which is currently being adapted for TV by Emmy-Award winning producer Mark Blutman. Stacy will be a producer of the TV show . In 2020, Stacy began co-authoring a children’s book series with NBA Coach Brett Gunning. Geared towards children ages three through eight, On the Right Path has been endorsed by Joel Osteen, Mike D’Antoni, and Kevin McHale as a series that belongs in every school, library, and household.

Awards

  • Featured in Cambridge Who’s Who for Young Professionals (2009)
  • Featured in Marquis Who’s Who in America for excellence in literature and education (2018-Present)
  • Featured in Marquis Who’s Who in the World (2018-Present)
  • Albert Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award (2018)
  • Named “Top Educational Consultant of the Year” by the International Association of Top Professionals (IAOTP) (2019)
  • Named “Empowered Woman of the Year” by IAOTP (2020)
  • Named a “Social Impact Hero” by Authority Magazine for support of animal rescues through her publishing company (2020)
  • Chosen to be on the cover of T.I.P. Magazine (international business publication) (2020)
  • Featured on the Reuters Building in Times Square as Empowered Woman of the Year (2021)
  • Named “Top Inspirational Author of the Year” by IAOTP (2022)
  • Honored at a gala at the Bellagio in Las Vegas in December (2022)
  • Broadcast for her award on the Planet Hollywood Jumbotron overlooking the Las Vegas Strip (2022)
  • Novel Gripped Part 5: Taylor’s Story won the Silver Award for “Best Teen Book” in the Readers’ Choice Awards (2022)
  • Novel Gripped Part 1: The Truth We Never Told won the Gold Award for “Best Teen Book” in the Readers’ Choice Awards (2022)
  • Named “Top Global Impact Author of the Year” by IAOTP for literary work on several continents (2023)
  • Honored at a gala at The Plaza in New York City (2023)
  • Featured on the cover of T.I.P. Magazine for Top Global Impact Author of the Year (2023)
  • Accepted a position as a judge for the Scholastic Arts & Writing Awards (sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies, The New York Times, and Scholastic) (2023)
  • Named one of the Top 50 Fearless Leaders, alongside Mark Rivera from Billy Joel and former Miss Universe Michelle McClean (2023)
  • Named to her region’s “40 Under 40” (2023)
  • Novel When Darkness Tries to Hide won the Gold Award for “Best Teen Book” in the Readers’ Choice Book Awards (2023)
  • Named “Woman of the Year” by The CIO TIMES (2024)
  • Named “Top International Social Impact Hero” by IAOTP (2024)
  • Publishing company inducted into The Plymouth Business Hall of Fame as the top publisher in its region (2024)
  • Novel The Aftermath won the Bronze Award for “Best Teen Book” in the Readers’ Choice Book Awards (2024)
  • Biography published in Top 25 Global Impact Leaders (international business publication) (2025)
  • Awarded “Female Visionary of the Year” by IAOTP (2025)
  • Novel The Forces Within won the Silver Award for “Best Teen Book” in the Readers’ Choice Book Awards (2025)
  • Children’s Book On the Right Path: Book One won the Silver Award for “Best Children’s Book” in the Readers’ Choice Book Awards (2025)
  • Novel Gripped Part 3: The Fallout won the Gold Award for “Best Teen Book” in the Readers’ Choice Book Awards (2025)

Stacy’s Client Testimonials
Learn More About Stacy’s Books

Deb Fredette, admissions essay & test prep tutor

Deb has had many different professions. She worked as a plan administrator for a financial institution for over five years. Since the medical field always fascinated her, she decided to go back to school to become a certified surgical technologist. After many years of working in the operating room, she had to leave because of a family illness. She was offered a job as an adjunct professor at a junior college in 2008 and worked there for three years as a clinical instructor and lab teacher. Deb then earned her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Massachusetts and graduated Magna Cum Laude. While in college, she did an internship at the Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center. While working in pediatric cardiology and nephrology, she was trained to work with children that had disabilities, such as Autism, Asperger’s, Sensory Processing Disorder, and Attention Deficit Disorder.

Deb has always loved working with children. While hers were growing up, she volunteered as a room mother at the elementary school and taught Sunday school. Her church did not have a youth group, so she started one for children in grades 7-12. She ran the youth group for seven years, and taught the kids the importance of serving in the community and in the homeless shelters. In 2010, Deb decided to put her love for children and her experience in the medical field together. She traveled as a missionary to Mexico, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and Africa. She spent the summer of 2014 in Uganda visiting hospitals and schools for the deaf, with the goal of helping the doctors get the equipment they needed to perform cochlear implant surgery on the children. The vision also included opening an early intervention school for the deaf. Upon returning to the states, she decided to continue her work with children as a tutor and substitute teacher. Although her degree is in science, she enjoys tutoring a variety of subjects and standardized tests. Her specialties lie in SAT and ACT prep, as well as college admission essays.

Deb enjoys golfing, skiing, and spending time with her family. She also enjoys writing and has written a book that is currently being published. Her second book is already started, and she hopes to finish it within the next six months.

Ben Louchheim, college counselor & recruitment coach

Ben graduated from Dickinson College, located in Carlisle, PA. He attended The Sanford School in Delaware, where he was a 3x all-state lacrosse player and 3x all-league soccer player. He was captain of the soccer and lacrosse teams in his junior and senior years. Ben was passionate about playing college lacrosse and thoroughly enjoyed the recruiting process. He took ownership of his own recruiting process, which led to confidence and set him up for success. Ben finds great pleasure in guiding student-athletes through the recruiting journey so they can receive the attention they deserve and feel confident in their final decision. 

Ben is thoughtful, engaging, and dynamic. He loves spending time with his wife and two daughters, six and three years old. His family loves to spend time outdoors, often going on walks at World’s End, Wompatuck, and Bare Cove. 

In his first year after graduating from Dickinson College with a bachelor’s degree in history, Ben coached lacrosse and taught in Carlisle, PA. Teaching and coaching ignited Ben’s passion for taking part in the development of student-athletes. 

He pursued teaching at Saint James School in Hagerstown, MD and became the Varsity Head Coach for both boys’ soccer and lacrosse. In 2009, Ben earned Washington County lacrosse coach of the year. 

Ben ultimately wanted to earn a master’s degree, so he graduated from Simmons College with a Masters in the Art of Teaching and has been teaching at Hingham High School since 2011. In 2017, Ben went on to earn his second Masters of Principal and Supervisor Licensure from Curry College. 

Ben has coached club and high school sports since he moved to Massachusetts. Ben coached lacrosse at Hingham High School and is coaching at Laxachusetts Boys Club Lacrosse (2012-2016 & 2022-present). Before returning to Laxachusetts, Ben worked at Hawks Lacrosse as a coach and Athletic Guidance Counselor from 2016 to 2020. This experience was where Ben cemented his interest in helping the modern student-athlete and their family through the recruiting journey. Ben finds profound joy in helping several families find the right fit through his personalized approach of empowering student-athletes to take control of their recruitment process. Ben is here to help you wherever you are in the college search as a student-athlete. Ben prides himself on taking an initially overwhelming process and breaking it down for the student-athlete. The process is individualized, approachable, accessible, and manageable for the student and parent. Ben offers a variety of meetings for the modern student-athlete. 

Testimonial:

“I would highly recommend any high school student looking for help in the college search process to meet with Ben. He was instrumental in getting my son Thomas to articulate what his strengths and interests are and what he would need to do to reach his goals. The style that Ben uses makes everyone comfortable, and his professional approach probed beyond the surface to uncover my son’s true motivations both academically and athletically.” -Bill Duggan (parent of student-athlete Tommy Duggan)

Sophia Coggeshall, academic tutor

Sophia is a recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame, where she studied engineering and business. She first began tutoring in high school for Project Reach, applying her love for math with her passion for working with children. She graduated in the top 1% of her high school class as an active member of National Honor Society. She is also a competitive Irish Step dancer who has competed several times at the Regional, National, and World Championships.