Meet Our Counselors
Kathy Griswold Fine, Ph.D.
Although Kathy started working with local high school students in 2007, her road to the Triad started by way of NYC, London, and Washinton D.C.
Raised in New York City and London, England, Kathy moved to North Carolina in 2000, after spending six years in the Washington D.C. area. She started her career in the corporate world, but after struggling to understand why her young, bright and happy son went from loving school to struggle and dread, she embarked on a mission to find answers. During her quest to make sense of why some students go from happy kindergarteners to unmotivated adolescents, Kathy became a passionate advocate for students and families and has devoted her career to helping adolescents find academic success. Kathy is married and enjoys her early morning tea with milk and sugar, (a throw-back to her London days), yoga, hiking, and traveling with her husband. When she is not working with other people's students, she spends as much time as possible in the mountains and with her amazing six children and step-children, and beautiful granddaughters.
Education
Ph.D., Educational Studies, Teacher Education and Development, Doctoral Minor, Human Development and Family Sciences
Concentration: Educational Psychology
M.Ed. Special Education: General Curriculum and Learning Disabilities
B.A. Political Science
Publications
Griswold, A. K. (2015). The effects of an SRSD-based writing intervention on the self-efficacy, writing apprehension and writing performance of high school students: A mixed-methods study (Doctoral dissertation). Proquest Dissertation Publishing. doi:3745542
Griswold, A. K. (2016). An Interview with Karen Harris (B. E. Mandell & S. L. DeZutter, Eds.). Self-Regulation: Educating a Diverse Population of Learners, 2-4.
Griswold, A. K. (2018). Applying self-regulated learning to writing instruction in high school classrooms. In M. K. DiBenedetto, (Ed.), Connecting self-regulated learning and performance with instruction across high school content areas. Springer International Publishing.
Certifications
State of North Carolina Professional Educator’s License
Professional Associations
The American Psychological Association (APA)
Higher Education Consultants Association (HECA)
Mary Hamacher
Originally from Michigan, Mary has called North Carolina home for many years. She is a devout Catholic, and has personally benefited from the excellence of Catholic education first as a student and then as a parent. She attended The University of Michigan and Ferris State University and started her career in the healthcare sector as a Health Information Administrator. There she honed her skills of finding new and different ways to achieve success by working with others and using technology. After her daughter began to struggle in elementary school, Mary used those skills as she embarked on what would become a passionate search for answers to questions about learning, teaching, and individual pathways to academic success.
As Anything’s Possible Educational Solutions’ first team member, Mary has served students at a Triad high school since 2008. She brings to the table a wealth of practical experience working with students in a broad array of subjects and helping them improve important metacognitive skills. Through her constant efforts to advance her understanding, she has also gained theoretical knowledge of teaching and learning and continues to grow in her awareness of diverse learning styles and learning differences. Mary is truly committed to her students and is willing to do what it takes to help them succeed in the classroom and beyond.
Karen Black
Karen’s first experience with Anything’s Possible Educational services was as a parent, and two of her three children benefited from the expertise, patience, and compassion demonstrated by the Anything’s Possible team.
Karen joined our team in 2011. As a parent of students who required academic and executive functioning support to succeed in school, she has a deep understanding of the needs, frustrations, and disappointments often felt by students who struggle to navigate high school effectively on their own. In fact, while she enjoys working with all students, she is most fulfilled by her work with the students who struggle most with school, academically and/or socially and emotionally. As numerous families can attest, Karen has been a positive force and strong advocate for every student she meets.
Prior to joining our team, Karen graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and spent years hiring, training, motivating, and supporting employees in retail settings. Later she took time off from her career to dedicate herself to raising her three adopted children and become an active member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary community. Karen’s professional and personal background helped Karen develop the ability to present information to diverse individuals and bolstered her strong and sensitive interpersonal skills. Working with Anything’s Possible was a natural step for Karen who was ready to transition to the role of academic tutor, coach, and mentor.
Karen’s love of Christ and his Church are at the core of her concern for others. She benefitted from Catholic education and her own children attended Catholic schools. Karen brings the Good News to her students to help them better understand how much God loves them through his Church, and that despite their struggles, they are wonderfully and perfectly made by the Lord; He is always by their side.
Mary Wilson
Mary Wilson has lived in the Piedmont Triad for most of her life. She has a Master's degree in Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has been in education for over 30 years. During her extensive teaching career, Mrs. Wilson has worked with students from kindergarten through community college but enjoys working with high school students the most.
Mrs. Wilson brings both professional and personal experience to teaching. Her son, Ian, is autistic, and she understands the struggles in learning that parents and students can face. Ian is currently a Junior at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. Her other son, Joseph, attends medical school at Des Moines University.
When not teaching, Mrs. Wilson enjoys writing fiction, reading, gardening, cooking, and travel. She and her husband, Joey, an amateur photographer, have the goal to visit all the National Parks in the United States and Canada, take photographs, and write travel guides. Mary also spends a great deal of time spoiling her dog, Lady, an Australian shepherd mix, and obeying the commands of her cat, Pepper.