ETS Staff Bios

Read about our counselors' paths to success:

Lonnie Densberger, M.A. Clinical Psychology
Lonnie is the director of the Educational Talent Search program. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Social Psychology from Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio. She earned her Master's in Clinical Psychology from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. Lonnie has been the director of the program since it started in Yavapai County in 1994.

Lonnie works to show her students that there is a way to college. Students who have need are able to obtain their education with financial aid.  Lonnie also helps her students to focus on finding a degree-program that is right for them.  There is a program for everybody, especially at community colleges.  Lonnie says,"I enjoy making a difference in the lives of students and their families."  She wants her students to understand the importance and value of an education.  Lonnie was herself low-income and a first-generation college graduate.

Gene Fougner, B.A. Pre-Professional Art/Psychology
Gene Fougner, known to his students as Mr. Fougner, began working with ETS in 2002 as the program's Technology Coordinator.  He earned an Associate of Arts from Yavapai College in Graphic Design in 2000.  Mr. Fougner became an ETS Counselor in 2007.  Mr. Fougner especially enjoys using the latest in technology to motivate his students to be enthusiastic about learning.

Mr. Fougner earned his Bachelor's degree from Concordia College in 1981.  He has 25 years of experience teaching piano and 22 years of experience as a choir director.  Mr. Fougner says, "As a young adult, I was very idealistic about a future career and believed that anyone with a dream could make a living in life.  But nobody trained us how to realize dreams.  Now I enjoy teaching kids how to attain their dreams in a practical way, through technology with pizzazz."

Evelyn Giunta, M.A. Liberal Studies
Evelyn Giunta, known to her students as "Mrs. G.", has been an ETS Counselor since 1995, a year after the program began in Yavapai County.  She is also the Assistant Director of the program.  Mrs. G. earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.  Her Bachelor's degree is in History with a minor in Biology and a second minor in Education.  Her Masters degree is in Liberal Studies, which allowed her to study several disciplines. 

Mrs. G. was a teacher in the New York public school system for 24 years.  Mrs. G. is a first generation college graduate.  She is also a first generation American.  Her parents both moved to the United States from Czechoslovakia.  Mrs. G. says of the ETS program, "it opens the possibility for education, career and a bright future for students who might not ordinarily consider college."  Mrs. G. makes it her personal goal to match every one of her students with a scholarship for college.

Ricardo Hernandez, M.A. Education
Ricardo Hernandez started working as a Counselor for the ETS program in 2007.  Ricardo earned his Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice from Northern Arizona University in 2000.  In 2003, he earned his Master's degree in Education, also from NAU.  Ricardo worked for the West Yavapai Guidance Clinic for five years, while he was still studying for his Masters at NAU and after he graduated.    

Ricardo is a first generation college graduate.  He is also a naturalized citizen of the United States.  Ricardo was born in Mexico and moved to Prescott when he was seven years old.  Ricardo appreciates the fact that the program allows him to "empower a student for further education."  And that's a way that he likes to make a difference.