Anna Portnoy, the owner and lead education consultant at Lotus Learning, graduated magna cum laude with highest honors from Harvard College in 2000. She began her career in writing and editing, first as the Publishing Director of the Let’s Go travel guides, then as an editor for a college essay editing service, and finally, as a co-editor of Global Values 101, a book of interviews in which renowned authors and activists share their ideas on how to live as engaged citizens of the world. After two short years, Anna left the publishing world, but helping others improve their writing, working on college essays, and grappling with important issues continue to be important to her both personally and professionally.