Biography
Aaron Shipp has gone through many career iterations: as a stage actor in New York City, as an operations consultant in the financial services industry, and as a leadership and communications executive coach for Fortune 100 companies. He recently launched an admissions consulting firm called The Ivy Edge, where he strives to be a trusted advisor to students and families across the globe who are applying to top-tier American colleges and boarding schools.
Shipp also founded Y-Apply, a nonprofit dedicated to helping high-achieving students and their families from diverse backgrounds navigate the application and financial aid process at highly selective universities. “Coming from a small town in North Carolina,” he says, “I discovered that attending Yale significantly changed the trajectory of my life and opened up opportunities I could never have imagined when I was young.” His passion for Y-Apply stems from a desire to make this kind of path possible for more and more students.
Shipp’s extensive volunteer service for Yale includes being a YAA At-Large Delegate (2007–2010 and 2018–2021), vice president of the Yale Alumni Association of New York City (2008–2009), founding member of the Yale Black Alumni Association, and a site coordinator for the Yale Day of Service. He has been a panelist or guest speaker at numerous workshops and conferences organized by Yale alumni groups, including the Afro-American Cultural Center, the Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance, 1stGen Yale, and Careers, Life and Yale. This is his first year on the YAA Board of Governors.
