Staff

Charlotte Smith joined the College Access Center as executive director in August 2005.

A native of Atlanta, Charlotte was a boarding school student and graduated from Baylor School in 1996. Charlotte received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Macalester College in St. Paul, MN in 2000. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Public Administration at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Charlotte was afforded a wonderful opportunity when she joined the College Access Center, a growing nonprofit agency. She is delighted to have the chance to bring together her life experience as a low income student of color who was mentored and guided into meaningful educational experiences with her work previous work experience at Stetson University and Darlington School in admissions and development.  

Charlotte is a member of the National College Access Network and the Southern Association of College Admission Counseling. She is a graduate of the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Chattanooga Class of 2007. She was named 2007 Young Professional of the Year by the Young Professional Association of Chattanooga (YPAC). She spends her free time volunteering for Baylor School, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association – and looks forward to getting more involved as a new member of the Downtown Kiwanis Club of Chattanooga.

Stacy joined the College Access Center staff in January 2003, as Director of Outreach Programs and was later promoted to Program Director.  A Chattanooga native, she received a Bachelors degree in communications from DePauw University in Indiana, where she was a Bonner Scholar. After briefly returning to Chattanooga to work as the Career Development Director at Girls Incorporated, Stacy left to pursue a Masters degree in International Service from the University of Roehampton in London, England. As part of her graduate program, she taught mathematics and English in Kingston, Jamaica.

A charismatic leader who has a deep passion for serving in the community, Stacy is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling, the National Association for College Admission Counseling, and the National College Access Network.

Stracee Robinson joined the staff of the College Access Center as Associate Director in April 2008.

A native of Chattanooga, Stracee graduated from Tyner High School 1992, and she received a B.S. in Communications from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN in 1997. She completed a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling Magna Cum Laude from the University of Kentucky in 2007.

Before joining the College Access Center, Stracee was a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor for the State of Tennessee. Her responsibilities included counseling people with disabilities and assisting clients with career training and placement. During her time as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, she successfully helped high school students and adults find employment or pursue either vocational or postsecondary education. Stracee derived great satisfaction from seeing her clients succeed and overcome the challenges they faced.

Stracee has a deep desire to see people reach their personal goals, and she believes her job as Associate Director at the College Access Center will provide her the opportunity to help students to become educated and active members of the community. 

Stracee is active in her church mentoring the youth, directing church plays and singing with the Praise Team. She is also a parent volunteer at Chattanooga School for Liberal Arts and Lakeside Academy.

The founder of the College Access Center, Susan currently serves as Lumina project director.  After receiving a B.A. from Stetson University and a M.Ed. in counseling from West Georgia College (now State University of West Georgia), Susan worked as Assistant Director of Admission and Director of Orientation at the University of Georgia. She moved to Chattanooga in 1981 and has since been a counselor in both public and private high schools.  Most recently, Susan worked on a Public Education Foundation grant to increase college counseling for underrepresented students, helping lead a school-wide effort that resulted in a 20% increase in college matriculation for students from Howard High School.  Her experience at Howard became the impetus for researching national college access programs and starting a community based non-profit in Chattanooga.

A past president of the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling and past vice president of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, Susan has presented at regional and national conferences for various counseling organizations.  She is a member of the American School Counselor Association, the Southeastern Association for Educational Opportunity Programs, and the National College Access Network.  Locally, she serves on the board of the Passport Scholars Foundation and is a trustee for the Bright School.

A fierce advocate for students, Susan was named Peterson's National Counselor of the Year in 1992, and she received the NACAC Margaret Addis Award for Service in 2006, Human Relations Award in 1999, and the SACAC William Starling Award for Mentoring in 2007.  However, her most treasured honor is the "Most Dedicated" trophy awarded to her by the Howard Class of 2001. That, and being the proud parent of a film school graduate of the Florida State University.