About Us
Joanne M. Carris, PhD has almost 30 years of experience helping families address educational challenges and transitions confidently and compassionately. Prior to founding Map the Path, Joanne was the Founder and Director of Premier Tutors, which offered tutoring, homeschooling services, and college application consulting to children throughout the East Coast and California. In New York City, Premier Tutors partnered closely with Trinity School, becoming Trinity's go-to referral for students' tutoring needs and collaborating with teachers, administrators, school psychologists, and private practitioners to determine and implement the right support for each child.
After 15 years leading Premier Tutors, Joanne co-founded Map the Path to provide support that addresses the needs of parents as well as children. Joanne’s specialized guidance, eye for the big picture and her strengths-based approach help families as they face difficult decisions, questions, and transitions. When necessary, Joanne draws on her extensive network of practitioners, from neuropsychologists to naturopaths, to refer families to for additional support.
Joanne supports families through the school admissions process from Pre-K through college, working with both the applicant and the parents and addressing the anxieties, concerns, and goals of the whole family. She roots the application process in self-discovery, helping each student arrive with confidence and enthusiasm at a school where they will thrive.
Joanne was formerly an in-school learning specialist and director of professional development programs for teachers in NYC public schools. She received her PhD in Education from the City University of New York (CUNY) Graduate Center, her MA in Bilingual Special Education from the Bank Street College of Education, and her MA in Philosophy of Education from the CUNY Graduate Center. Her book The Ghosts of No Child Left Behind received a Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award. Joanne received her BA from the University of Michigan and attended The Town School and Trinity School in New York.
Joanne is passionate about helping students thrive in their educational pursuits and guiding parents in the educational process.
Kiran H. Rikhye, MA has spent over two decades helping families approach education with greater ease and less stress. She supports students and parents through moments that often feel overwhelming or uncharted, including the college application process, school transitions, the shift into or out of homeschooling, and the emergence of learning challenges related to social or emotional changes at home or in the classroom.
As a college consultant, Kiran sees what makes each student tick—their passions, motivations, and the environments where they’ll truly thrive—and helps them arrive at the right school for them. She not only simplifies and demystifies the college process for the whole family but helps students emerge feeling more confident, enthusiastic, and clear about who they are and who they want to become.
Kiran spent many years as a tutor, providing support in academic subject matter, executive function skills, and SAT and AP test preparation. While helping students meet their immediate goals, she collaborated with teachers, school administrators, parents, and therapists to help each child develop the tools they needed to thrive both in and out of school.
She has taught English to homeschooled students of all ages and creates interdisciplinary homeschool curricula and Individualized Home Instruction Plans (IHIPs) across subjects. She guides families through the academic and administrative aspects of homeschooling, whether it's being pursued for professional, medical, or personal reasons. In her own K-12 years, Kiran attended The Dalton School in Manhattan. She received her BA from Swarthmore College and her MA in English & Comparative Literature from Columbia University.