Posts Tagged ‘graduate school’

Mary Starks, MA, LMHC

My name is Mary Starks and I am responsible for the psychology and science behind Guys And Girls Next Door. This is a dream job… who can say on their resume that they were a matchmaker?

I love Psychology… which also means that I love it so much that I have an undergraduate and master’s degree in Psychology. I deferred admission to my doctoral program to start Guys And Girls Next Door. I felt that this project would give me an opportunity to be part of a start up company that has the potential to develop a unique social matchmaking concept that can be duplicated around the world.

WOW! Did I just say around the world? Well, we have high aspirations. What can I say?   

When not working my full time job at Sound Mental Health, I am responsible for the: 1) social matchmaking process behind the Group Dates; 2) the curriculum and content for GND University (GND U); 3) and the GND Bi-weekly Meet Ups.

GND U, Meet Ups, Social Matchmaking… what does this all mean? Well, let me explain it to you in a Q&A format:

What is social matchmaking?
We first help our members look at themselves objectively using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI). We then proceed to match them on Traditional Dates or Group Dates based on their resume, interests, personality type, and membership profiles. Social Matchmaking is the process of providing coaching and feedback for constructive self-development and relational improvement.

What is the social matchmaking process behind the Group Dates?
There is no magic formula that will produce your perfect partner in minutes, but we have found through research that people have, what are known, natural partners who are often similar on core beliefs and values and different on personality traits. But this isn’t all we look at to select who will be present on the Group Dates. In our selection process we take in a wealth of collateral information, but as a starting point we capture from all our members their resume, membership profile, personality type (using MBTI) and interests.

What classes do we expect to host at GND U?
To be completely honest, it depends. It depends on which subject matter experts we partner and collaborate with and where the interest lies.  We will work closely with local learning and development consultants who have an interest in helping our members step outside their comfort zone and expand their knowledge base.

We want to help our members gain self awareness and understand the impact they have on others so they can happily explore a long-term relationship. In short, help our members become the best version of themselves. As such, we will partner with local authors, psychologists, professors, and well known image consultants who can enlighten our members in their area of interest.

What happens in the GND Meet-Ups?
It depends on the membership level they select.  We offer two membership levels:
          1)  Individual and Group Membership
          2)  Group Membership

If members select the Individual and Group Membership, they will meet one on one with me twice a month for a highly individualized and collaborative session. Our first two sessions will identify measureable objectives that will help them achieve their goals.

This is a powerful aspect of the GND experience; I am passionate about results and witnessing the transformation that can be key in leading to their future mate.

If a member selects the Group Membership, we will host GND Group Meet Ups weekly where our members can drop in to discuss feedback in a group setting.  Feedback that our members have received directly or indirectly. The Group Meet Ups are confidential to the people that are attending the meet up.  Group Meets Up will be fun and we believe this is a good way to make new friends and develop a support system.  At Guys And Girls Next Door, we encourage openness, honesty, and transparency and believe that there is value in sharing experience and knowledge with others.

We have been working around the clock to start a social matchmaking company that makes sense. Our objective for our member is quite simple: Meet People. Not Their Profiles.

If you have a single friend, family member, or business associate who wants to be in a long term relationship and is ready to step outside their comfort zone, please have them sign up to our waiting list at www.GuysAndGirlsNextDoor.com

If you have any questions or feedback for me or our new socialmatchmaking company, please feel free to e-mail me at Mary [at] GND-Seattle.com

Mary