Nerd Apply Appoints Erwin Hesse, Ed.D. as Director of Impact, Deepening Its Push to Redefine The College Admissions Process

NEW YORK, May 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Nerd Apply, a privacy-first platform for outcome-driven college counseling, today announced the appointment of Erwin Hesse, Ed.D. as its inaugural Director of Impact. In this role, Hesse will serve as the internal champion and the external voice of Nerd Apply's mission, expanding partnerships with school districts, higher education institutions, and policymakers; advancing legislative efforts; and positioning Nerd Apply as the definitive authority on how its admissions data can change outcomes at scale.

Hesse brings more than 15 years of experience working across every layer of the higher education admissions system, as a practitioner, an institutional leader, a policy architect, and a published voice in the field. Most recently, he served as the inaugural director of NACAC's Center for Innovation in College Admission, where he led efforts to redesign the structures and assumptions underlying the application process itself. He also co-created and helped pass Maryland Senate Bill 324, establishing Direct Admission in the state, one of the first laws of its kind in the country.

Hesse also co-founded Admissions Gambit, an educational coaching service that pairs paid college counseling with free coaching for first-generation, low-income students – an expression of his conviction that information asymmetry, not student ability, is what determines most admissions outcomes. In 2023, he was selected by President Obama as one of the inaugural 100 Obama USA Leaders, completing a six-month values-based leadership program and meeting with President Obama in Chicago that November. At Nerd Apply, he will bring that same conviction to bear through research partnerships, legislative advocacy, and national conference representation as the company builds toward becoming the definitive data authority in college admissions.

"I have seen what the college admissions process looks like on both sides of the desk, having worked for a decade inside admissions, and the last five years as an independent educational consultant," said Erwin Hesse, Director of Impact at Nerd Apply. "Students are burdened in deciding whether to send their scores to colleges that are test-optional, shaping an essay topic and describing multiple extracurriculars in under two sentences; all while not seeing previously successful or unsuccessful applications to those same colleges. Nerd Apply changes that by surfacing real application outcomes as shared insights, giving counselors and the communities they serve a clearer picture of what success actually looks like."

His appointment reflects Nerd Apply's commitment to pairing its technology infrastructure with the institutional credibility and on-the-ground expertise required to improve student admissions outcomes at scale. As the platform expands its national footprint, now trusted by more than 1000+ counselors and powered by over a quarter million real applications, Hesse will help translate that data into measurable impact for the communities that stand to benefit most.

"Erwin has spent his career working to improve the education system, and we are extremely proud that our mission is the one he's chosen to spend the next chapter of his career on," said Braden and Cooper Weissman, Co-Founders of Nerd Apply. "He has seen this industry from every vantage point – inside institutions, inside policy, inside the counseling room, and he believes what we're building can actually make an impact. That kind of belief from a professional who has earned the right to be skeptical, means everything to us."

Prior to his work at NACAC, Hesse held senior leadership roles at Amazon, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Maryland. He holds a doctorate in education from Johns Hopkins University, a master's degree in public administration from the University of Baltimore, and a bachelor's degree in criminology from the University of Maryland. He serves on the National Advisory Council for Johns Hopkins School of Education and received a 2022 NewSchools Venture Fund grant for his work in admission consulting.

ABOUT NERD APPLY

Nerd Apply helps students find their best-match schools by giving counselors a privacy-first data platform. Trusted by 1000+ counselors and powered by over 250,000 real applications, Nerd Apply makes it easy to organize student information, understand admissions patterns, and share insights without exposing identities. Instead of chasing the same 80 ultra-selective colleges, counselors use Nerd Apply to widen options, set clear expectations, and reduce anxiety for families.

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SOURCE Nerd Apply