Iona’s Jess Snover Recognized for Leadership in College Admissions Association
Iona’s Director of Undergraduate Admissions named president-elect of the New Jersey Association for College Admissions Counseling.
Jess Snover, Iona University’s director of undergraduate admissions and strategic enrollment initiatives, was elected president-elect of the New Jersey Association for College Admissions Counseling.
Jess Snover has always believed that admissions work doesn't stop at any one campus. Long before she joined Iona, she was building relationships across New Jersey's college access community, showing up year after year to support the counselors and students who make up the state's admissions landscape. That belief in showing up has now carried her into one of the field's most visible leadership roles.
This spring, Snover was elected to serve within the presidential cycle of the New Jersey Association for College Admissions Counseling (NJACAC), a regional affiliate of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling that brings together admissions professionals, school counselors, independent education consultants and community partners in support of college-bound students.
It's the next chapter in an involvement she started years before ever arriving at Iona, one that now puts the University's name at the center of a national conversation on admissions and college access. Snover joined Iona's Admissions team in December 2025 as Director of Undergraduate Admissions and Strategic Enrollment Initiatives.
Snover's involvement with NJACAC dates to 2018, when she began working within her home state of New Jersey to support families applying to colleges that she represented. Years of committee service, conference presenting and executive board work built toward her election as president-elect, a three-year commitment that puts her alongside a presidential trio leading the organization at the national level.
As president-elect, Snover will plan NJACAC's annual conference, held each year in Atlantic City, N.J., before stepping into the presidency for the 2027-28 year. Reflecting on the honor, she pointed to the relationships built within the organization as the most meaningful part of the journey.
"Some of the greatest moments of my professional career have been spent serving within NJACAC and working with my colleagues in the organization," Snover said. "It is truly a special group of people I am blessed to work with in NJACAC."
Snover also credited Iona for giving her the support to pursue leadership beyond the walls of the admissions office, even in her first year on campus.
“I joined the Iona community last year with the goal of continuing to develop my professional skills and work with some of the best enrollment leaders in the business,” Snover said.
“It’s a privilege to have leadership around you that supports your pursuit of this kind of experience outside of a typical office dynamic,” Snover said. "I'm so grateful to not only represent NJACAC in this way but continue to showcase the good work Iona University is doing every day on a national level.”
Since arriving at Iona, Snover said the experience has reinforced why she chose to bring her admissions career to Iona University in the first place.
"It's been a blessing to join Iona this past year as the Director of undergraduate admissions and a privilege to be elected by my peers to this role within the NJACAC community," Snover said. "Being elected to serve in this way and represent my colleagues affiliated with the organization has been one of the greatest honors of my career thus far."
ABOUT IONA
Founded in 1940, Iona University is a master's-granting private, Catholic, coeducational institution of learning in the tradition of the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers. Iona's 45-acre New Rochelle campus and 28-acre Bronxville campus are just 20 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. With a total enrollment of over 4,000 students and an alumni base of 55,000 around the world, Iona is a diverse community of learners and scholars dedicated to academic excellence and the values of justice, peace and service. Iona is highly accredited, offering undergraduate degrees in liberal arts, science and business administration, as well as Master of Arts, Master of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees and numerous advanced certificate programs. Iona students enjoy small class sizes, engaged professors and a wide array of academic programs across the School of Arts & Science; LaPenta School of Business; NewYork-Presbyterian Iona School of Nursing & Health Sciences; and Hynes Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. Iona also continues to be recognized in prestigious national rankings. Most recently for 2026, Iona has been named one of the nation’s best colleges by The Princeton Review, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes and others. Additionally, U.S. News & World Report recognized Iona as one of top for social mobility in the country, while Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) ranked an Iona degree in the top 6 percent nationally for long-term return on investment. Iona’s LaPenta School of Business, meanwhile, is also accredited by AACSB International, a recognition awarded to just 6 percent of business schools worldwide. In addition, The Princeton Review once again named Iona to its “Best Business Schools for 2025,” recognizing both its on-campus and online MBA programs. Connecting to its Irish heritage, Iona also opened a new campus in County Mayo, Ireland, located on the historic 400-acre Westport House Estate. A school on the rise, Iona officially changed its status from College to University on July 1, 2022, reflecting the growth of its academic programs and the prestige of an Iona education.