Meet Your Fostering Success Team!

Foster Care Liaison, Committee Chair & Financial Aid Advisor

Susan Karlsen Email Susan at: skarlsen@collin.edu 972-881-5750 Plano Campus - G117

Susan Karlsen completed a program at the Utah College of Massage Therapy and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business with a concentration in Human Resource Management from the University of Phoenix. Susan felt a strong connection to healing as well as higher education, so she worked part time as a massage therapist and full time at the Steiner Education Group in administration, where she was able to open new campuses in Arizona, Colorado and finally in Texas. Susan ultimately decided to resign from her position as Campus Director in February 2013 to become a foster parent. After completing the foster parent licensing and certification process, Susan started working at Collin College in February 2014 in the Financial Aid department, where she is able to help students attain the funding and benefits needed to complete their educational goals. Susan and her husband fostered 16 children over a period of 8 years and ultimately stopped fostering upon the adoption of their son and daughter in April 2021. Susan is on the Empowering Youth Aging out of Foster Care Task Force which is helping to create a mobile application (Empowering Youth) for Texas' foster youth to have all resources in one place. Susan was selected to be the Foster Care Liaison for Collin College in February of 2020 because of her extreme passion for continuing to help this particular group of students, and their supporting community, by sharing knowledge of the available resources, being a guide in their utilization of these resources to achieve their life and educational goals, and to instill fostering success for their future.

Staff Committee Members

Sammi Woodyard - Director of Student Financials

Email: swoodyard@collin.edu 972-985-3716 CHEC- Room 324

Jill Lyons - District College & Career Counselor

Email: jlyons@collin.edu 972-578-5506 Plano Campus, Room G115

John Guillory - Associate Dean Student & Enrollment Services

Email: jguillory@collin.edu 972-377-1521 Frisco Campus, Room F109-I

Tanya Schildknecht - Disability Advisor, NAD IV

Email: tschildknecht@collin.edu 972-516-5056 Plano Campus, Room D140

Patsy Tomlin - Financial Aid Specialist
Email: ptomlin@collin.edu 972-881-5761 Plano Campus, Room G103

Smriti Singh - Workforce Recruiting Specialist 972-553-1178 Technical Campus, Room B-216C

Email: smritisingh@collin.edu