The Edge Team

Anna Alexatos-Calo (Director of Operations-New York) was born and raised in Long Island, NY. Anna attended college at New York Institute of Technology where she received her B.S. In Psychology. Anna went on to receive her M.S. In School Counseling also from NYIT. While attending graduate school, Anna worked in higher education at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine. She is excited to be a part of The Edge team and loves working with New York families to help students gain acceptance to their dream universities.
Melodee Claassen (Director of Business Development & Silicon Valley Operations) was a military man’s daughter and was born in Camp Zama, Japan. Melodee attended college at the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) in San Luis Obispo County, California, and the University of LaVerne at Vandenberg Air Force Base, in Santa Barbara County, California. She worked as a legal secretary and paralegal for over 14 years before becoming The Edge’s office manager.  She continues to assist behind the scenes as The Edge continues to expand its excellent and one-of-a-kind program.
Matt Cull (Director of Operations-South Florida) grew up in Southwest Florida where he now lives with his beautiful wife, Deb, and neurotic Miniature Australian Shepherd, Petey.  He spent three years at Clemson University in the Mechanical Engineering program and graduated from Florida Gulf Coast University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Management.  He works extensively with middle and high school students as the head track coach at Seacrest Country Day School in Naples, Florida, and has coached track for over 5 years.  He is passionate about helping students achieve their goals.
Patricia de Mayer (Head of Global Elite Division) brings with her extensive international experience with a discerning international clientele.  As a former executive of one of the leading international luxury hotel groups, Patricia gave her clients the star treatment.  While providing attentive and personalized service to her clients, she created once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

With the same principle, Patricia oversees the company’s business development in key areas of the world.  She works together with families from every continent looking to send their children to high school, university, and graduate school to highly selective institutions in the United States.  All programs are customized to fit the individual needs of the families.

A German national, born in Bolivia, Patricia lived and studied in various parts of the world, including the United States.  Having been through the admission process as a foreign student herself, Patricia understands the value of having the right counseling and training that will ensure success when entering the school of choice.

Patricia has expert knowledge of Russia CIS; Central Eastern Europe (CEE), India and China. She studied Business Administration and Economics at University Witten/Herdecke, Germany; Spanish and Latin American History & Literature at the University of London; and Commercial Translation at the London School of Translators and Interpreters.

Patricia speaks English, Spanish, German and Italian.
Gala Tonconogy (Director of Operations-Latin America) holds an A.B. in Government, Cum Laude, from Harvard University, where she received the Harvard College Scholarship and Radcliffe Agassiz Merit Award for academic achievement.  She also holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Most recently, Gala has been working as a free-lance consultant, helping companies and NGOs in Latin America with their business models and growth strategies.

Prior to Stanford, Gala was COO at Endeavor, a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote economic and social development through the support of entrepreneurship in emerging markets.  Gala played a fundamental role in the growth and development of Endeavor’s Argentine operations.

Before joining Endeavor, Gala co-founded Turas.com, a Latin American art vertical portal based in Bs. As.  Earlier on, she worked as a Financial Analyst at J.P. Morgan & Co.’s Latin American Corporate Finance Group in New York.

Gala lives in Buenos Aires with her husband and two small children.