CDO Team

Carla Akalarian is an executive career coach for the EMBA students and alumni providing customized and personalized coaching for career development. She specializes in the discovery process, identification of values, and development of an ideal career vision and  authentic value proposition.  Carla is part of the Executive Career Development Team that provides executive career services to our executive populations to guide them in making successful career transitions.

Contact Carla for:

• • Executive Career Coaching
  • Outside Influences and Values Clarification
  • Dealing with the inner critic and saboteurs
  • Managing challenging work relationships

Top Strengths: Empathy | Developer | Maximizer | Relator | Arranger

Laura Maloney Angoff (she/her) supports career education for the Specialty Masters programs.  She is a career advisor for the Master of Finance students, providing individualized advice on each aspect of the career development process.  She manages the design and delivery of career education programs and workshops for the MFin program. Additionally, Laura supports career education for the Master of Business Analytics students, providing expertise across Specialty Masters programs. Part of a dedicated team of CDO professionals, Laura is here to support students across recruiting, advising, and career resource needs. Laura is also the CDO Club Liaison to the Investment Banking, Sloan Blockchain, and Public Innovation clubs.

Prior to joining MIT Sloan, Laura worked at Goldman Sachs as a private wealth advisor in the Investment Management Division. She has over a decade of financial industry experience across banking, sales and trading, private equity, and investment management, and at various companies from small boutique firms to bulge-bracket banks. Laura holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Trinity College in Hartford, CT and an M.B.A. from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

In late 2020, Laura and her husband welcomed a baby girl to their family who quickly became Laura’s pride and joy. She and her family live in the North End of Boston, which is known for its Italian restaurants and pizza. If you’re looking for a neighborhood recommendation, Laura is happy to provide one!

• Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Learning, Achiever, Futuristic, Strategic and Relator. Energized by learning, Laura is a strategic thinker who enjoys helping students create actionable paths forward to unlock their employment potential.
• First Job: Laura’s first job was as a busgirl (pouring coffee and clearing plates) at breakfast café in Mashpee, MA. This restaurant still serves Laura’s favorite pancakes!
• Fun Fact: Laura has 22 first cousins.
• Next Trip: Passionate about traveling to new places, Laura has visited over 30 countries. She is eager to plan her first trip as a family of 3 and open to suggestions!

Krys Ardayfio (she/her) is a Career Coach with a background in economic development with expertise in workforce development across many different sectors including but not limited to healthcare, manufacturing, academia, and non-profits. Most recently she was a Workforce Development Consultant and Diversity Lead at Ivy Tech. Krys served as the first Director of Multicultural Affairs at the Nation’s largest medical school, worked at the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and helped launch an incubator for entrepreneurs in Roxbury (way back when incubators were a cool new idea lol).

Krys earned her MBA from University of Indianapolis and is now pursuing a Ph.D. with a dissertation on the impact of trauma on academic, workplace, and athletic performance. She’s passionate about growing and living in her purpose; and she’s equally passionate about helping others do the same in their personal, academic, and professional pursuits.

Krys enjoys small-scale innovation, saying “yes”, nurturing equity and understanding, finding any opportunity to do things differently, and trying anything new from race car driving to learning to roll sushi with her children and friends. Krys, a military brat, attended eight grade schools, lived overseas as a child and as an adult, and has never met a stranger. Please, reach out and don’t be a stranger!

Latest adventures/hobbies: Costa Rica travel, “horse whispering”, & training a medical service animal
Next Adventure: Master Gardener Program
Fun Fact: First language was Indonesian
First Job: Singer in Gladys Knight’s children’s choir at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas (but can’t even actually sing!)
Top Strengths: Connectedness | Ideation | Communication | Activator | Empathy

Julie Bae is a recent addition to the Employer Relations & Recruiting team at MIT Sloan, and brings with her over 20 years of diversified financial services experience. A licensed CPA® and CFP®, Julie graduated with an MBA in Finance from the NYU Stern School of Business and a Bachelor of Accountancy from Bentley University. She started her long career on Wall Street with Morgan Stanley in New York City, then transitioned her way to the flagship Merrill Lynch office where she advised clients and corporations on retirement planning & investment strategy for over 15 years. Over the last two years she also launched two startups, a kids/baby e-commerce company designed for new moms and a holistic handmade skin products company focused on Korean beauty elements. Julie grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts and recently relocated back to New England to be closer to family.

Contact Julie for:

• Company relationships in: Financial Services, Education, Non-Profit, Government & Defense, and Manufacturing

Top Strengths: Positivity | Achiever | Learner | Intellection | Individualization

Shauna is an Alumni Engagement Strategist and Executive Career Coach. She provides tailored coaching that empowers alumni and mid-level career professionals to reach their highest potential.

Shauna’s passion is enabling others to make authentic career connections that transform their lives. She does this by leading the Sloan Industry Advisors Program and facilitating student-alumni mentoring relationships. She is part of the Executive Career Development Team that provides executive career services to our executive and alumni populations and helps them to make intentional choices in their evolving careers.

Contact Shauna for:

• Executive Career Coaching
• Alumni Networking
• Values and Vision Setting
• Career narrative development
• Social Media branding to enable industry or functional switching

Career Communities:
CDO Liaison for the Entertainment, Media and Sports Club and the Hispanic Business Club

Programs:
EMBA/Alumni

Top Strengths: Developer | Empathy | Input | Relator | Command

Steven N. Branch (He/Him/His)

Steve is an Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion within the CDO.

Club Liaison: Healthcare Club, Product Management Club

Steve’s foundational years were spent developing skills in Big 4 Public Accounting before transitioning into an Accounting & Finance Recruiter and Business Development professional. Those experiences granted him with invaluable experience auditing, advising, and partnering on business strategy with (domestic and foreign) organizations of diverse industries. Steve was raised in Montclair, NJ and attended Bryant University as a Division-1 Football student athlete for his undergraduate and graduate studies. His previous organizations include: KPMG, PwC, Hollister Staffing, and Atrium Staffing.

Contact Steve for:

• Company relationships in: Bio/Pharma/Healthcare, East Coast Technology, Energy, Entertainment/Sports/Media, Real Estate, and Telecom

As Steve was the first in his family to graduate from Graduate School and begin working professionally, he quickly became a first-generation professional white collar employee. Steve was raised as a Black American, and thus his experiences and outlook have been shaped in a unique fashion. One of his core values circle around representation, and ensuring there’s a pathway to success for those who follow him.

• Top Strengths: Achiever | Command | Positivity | Restorative | Relator
• Top Music: J. Cole, 80-90’s R&B, Gospel, Alternative
• 2021 Destinations: Jamaica, Dominican Republic, more to come…

Susan is the Inaugural Assistant Dean of the Career Development Office (CDO) at MIT Sloan and a strategic catalyst for the CDO’s reimagination and culture transformation. In this role she leads what she believes today is the most talented and capable team of career professionals in the nation who guide the careers of students and alumni across MIT Sloan’s diverse portfolio of graduate business programs. Susan and her team take to heart MIT Sloan’s mission to develop innovative principled leaders who improve the world and are inspired every day to find new ways to support students to make an impact. A passionate advocate for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, Susan brings her action-oriented commitment to Sloan’s school-wide DEI Committees for both Students and Staff Matters.

Susan’s approach as a higher education leader has been to reframe the Career Services narrative by focusing on students as heroes in their career journey. Using a human-centered design approach, she encourages her teams to start with empathy, compassion, and love to design transformative career experiences for students. She is a bold advocate for embracing diverse perspectives, advancing equity and access to opportunity, and ensuring that that meaningful career development experiences are not left to chance. As a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, she embraces these talents as an innovative change agent who thrives in a culture that celebrates human potential and embraces the freedom to take risks and fail fast.  She has leaned on these talents during the pandemic and brings vulnerability, courage and authenticity to her leadership approach at a time when we need each other more than ever to thrive at work and in life.

A recognized thought leader on career preparedness topics, Susan was a regular contributor to Bloomberg Radio and quoted frequently in media including U.S. News and World Report, Wall Street Journal, Chronicle of Higher Education, and New York Times. She recently served on the Board of Directors of NACE and chaired the career committee for the New England Board of Higher Education Commission on Employability. Previously, Susan was AVP of Career Services at Bentley University, and led a team that ranked the #1 Career Services and Internships in the country by the Princeton Review and was awarded the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Excellence Award.

Prior to entering higher education, Susan was a management consultant focused on human capital strategy. She holds a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an Ed.M. from Harvard University, and an MBA from Babson College.

Pronouns: she/hers

CDO Club Liaison:  Retail & Consumer Goods, Israel Business, Effective Altruism

Top Strengths: Strategic | Relator | Woo | Ideation | Activator | Self-Assurance | Significance | Intellection | Input | Command

All About Food: Susan is the “Sous/Sue” Chef to her husband and adult sons who are all fabulous cooks, especially BBQ. They love the energy of great bars and restaurants, especially in Portland, Maine, NC, and DC. Their happiest place to gather (besides their back porch) is NOLA and they will be back!

Laurie Cameron (she/her) works as a contractor at MIT Sloan helping MFin students prepare for interviews. She has been working in risk and investment management for 35 years. Laurie managed institutional foreign exchange relationships in New York and then centralized and managed currency and interest rate exposure for two American companies: Union Carbide and Silicon Graphics when she lived in Geneva, Switzerland from 1988-1995.

From 1996-2005, Laurie worked at JP Morgan’s private bank as a global currency strategist, managing the firm’s global foreign exchange platform. After managing numerous client positions and portfolios there, she moved to a hedge fund in Greenwich, CT and has been working in the industry since that time. She is currently a Portfolio Manager at Odin Capital Management, LLC.

Laurie also works as a mentor and helps women of all ages and backgrounds manage their educational, professional and financial capital.

Laurie is married and lives in Greenwich, CT. She has three children; one in law school, one in college and one in her senior year of high school. Her family is her pride and joy. In addition to spending time with her family and working, Laurie loves to read, hike and travel.

Danielle Canas (she/her) joined MIT Sloan in 2009, as the Recruiting Coordinator on the Employer Relations & Recruiting Team.  After managing many industry sectors for several years, she has transitioned to overseeing  Operations for the Employer Relations & Recruiting team, including communications to students and employers, events and special projects.

Prior to MIT Sloan, Danielle was at the Kogod School of Business at American University working in Undergraduate Programs and Academic Affairs.  Danielle started her career at Fidelity Investments in HR Operations and the Defined Contributions Group.  Since 2011, Danielle has been an active member of MBA CSEA, which is a global alliance of graduate business career management professionals and employers.  As part of MBA CSEA, she has served on the Board of Directors, co-chaired the 2017 Global Conference and led several other committees within the organization. She graduated from Saint Anselm College with a BA in Sociology.

Danielle and her husband just welcomed their first son in 2020, although their boxer, Kala, has been calling them Mom and Dad for 12 years now.  As part of a mixed race family, Danielle is trying to improve her Spanish-speaking skills, to keep up with her son and her husband.  Danielle loves to cook and read and also enjoys more TV shows than her DVR can hold.  As a family, they enjoy taking walks, traveling and gathering with family and friends.  They are hoping to take some local trips this year and introducing their son to all New England has to offer.

Contact Danielle for:

• Recruiting Operations
• Recruiting Events
• Employer Advisory Council inquiries
• Employer & Student Recruiting Communications

CDO Liaison to the Hispanic Business Club, the Brazilian Club and the Mindfulness & Leadership Club

Top 5 Strengths: Empathy, Harmony, Positivity, Consistency, Adaptability

Mark Cohen (He/Him) has had a distinguished career as a Human Resources Leader, Management Consultant and Career Coach. His business experience includes working with international corporations in tech, medical devices, and biopharma as well as family-owned, small businesses. He is a certified mediator and is the co-author of a book, The 24-Hour Turnaround, about successful management practices in small to mid-sized businesses during turbulent times. He is adept at anticipating needs and adapting accordingly. Mark holds a BA in English and Drama from State University of New York at Fredonia and an MBA from Suffolk University.

For fun he is an avid runner and has run 5 marathons. He likes to cook and is known among friends and family for over-the-top brunches that can last for hours. He has travelled extensively in Western Europe, working for companies headquartered in Paris, Amsterdam and several cities in Germany. His go-to music for interview prep, running and getting centered is an eclectic mix of Queen, 60’s rock, Broadway show tunes and is currently fond of New Jersey’s Ambar Lucid.

He has devoted his career to helping people (including himself) find a path in life that suits and pleases them. As his favorite poet Mary Oliver says, “In the beginning I was so young and such a stranger to myself I hardly existed. I had to go out into the world and see it and hear it and react to it, before I knew at all who I was, what I was, what I wanted to be.”

Mariah Cronin (she/her) is the new MBA Resume Manager with Sloan CDO. In her role, she oversees the MBA resume review and database release process and leads a team of resume reviewers that provide resume support, guidance, and strategy to MBA students pursuing highway, dirt road and jungle opportunities.

Mariah’s career started in human resources which included working as a recruiter hiring for finance, corporate, and technical roles. Her love of working with students and job seekers led her to expand into MBA career advising over the past five years. Mariah’s background in human resources and recruiting enables her to bring a unique perspective to advise and support students on their job search journeys.

Mariah grew up in South Florida and moved to MA to attend College of the Holy Cross. She fell in love with New England and after graduating with a B.A. in Political Science, she grew her professional and family life in the Boston area. She’s a Mom of 2 college students and 1 recent college graduate who still keep life very busy! Mariah enjoys family gatherings and dinners out with lots of laughs together. On weekends, she loves beach walks with her pooch Skittles – even in winter! Other favorites are photography, movies, hiking, Patriots football and the Boston skyline at sunset. Visiting family in NYC, Cape Cod and Florida are huge joys.

Favorite music: Broadway musicals and country music.

Clifton Strengths: Harmony, Relator, Consistency, Maximizer, Responsibility

Lisa Cummings (she/hers) spent 13 years on the admissions committee an MIT Sloan and currently works with Sloan MBA and MFin students, providing  career counseling and assistance with resumes, cover letters and mock interviews.

She spent the early part of her career in New York City as an institutional equity analyst at Prudential Securities, then moved to US Trust where she started her tenure as a buy side equity analyst and venture capital investor. She became the Vice President and Treasurer of the UST Private Equity Investors Fund, Inc.  Lisa then moved to Tenneco where she was the Director of Investor Relations.

Lisa is the mom of 3 very active adult-ish children and now that she no longer has to drive them to athletic practices and events she spends her free time honing her own tennis and skiing skills. She loves to travel with her family and has lived in the Middle East and Spain and is highly proficient in Spanish.

She earned a BA from Wellesley College and MBA from the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University.

Fun fact- her first job was working at a small amusement park.  To this day she still loves to ride rollercoasters!

Vijay D’Silva (SM ’92) is the MIT Sloan CDO’s first-ever Executive in Residence, who lends specialized knowledge on industry verticals and functions, as students seek to shape their programs and careers, or pursue entrepreneurship. Vijay brings a broad perspective to trends and opportunities in finance, technology and consulting, aims to add practical experience to the school’s programs and research, and will co-deliver a Seminar in Leadership starting in Spring 2022.

Vijay is a Senior Partner Emeritus at McKinsey & Company, where he rotated through a number of key roles including as leader of McKinsey’s Digital, Banking & Securities, Global Payments, and Risk Management practices. He has also served on McKinsey’s Partner and Senior Partner election committees, Technology Committee and Retirement Trust. With 25+ years of experience counseling CEOs of banks, fintechs, technology, and industrial firms, he has built deep expertise in digital and analytics transformation, talent development, M&A, industry structure, and board service and governance. He has written widely on banking topics, and is on the Editorial Board of McKinsey on Payments, now in its 31st issue.

More broadly, Vijay is on the Board of Trustees of Catholic Charities of New York, where he co-chairs the Agency Relations Committee. In pro-bono work over the last two decades, he initially supported post-9/11 recovery efforts in New York City, and then advised the September 11 Memorial and Museum; helped establish the RED campaign to combat Global AIDS at the peak of the crisis; and recently supported the creation of the NYC CEO Jobs Council to support residents in low-income diverse communities.

He has a graduate degrees in Management from MIT Sloan where he now serves on the Americas Executive Board, and in Computer Science from North Carolina State University. His undergraduate degree is in Electrical Engineering, earned at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, for which he was ranked first in state.

He lives in New York with his wife and children.

Sumayya Essack (she/her) is a Career Advisor for MBA students, with a background in psychology and HR/talent management. Most recently she was the Head of Talent at an award-winning global fintech social enterprise startup. She’s passionate about supporting professionals in career discovery and transitions and empowering others to forge their own unique paths. Sumayya received her MSW and MBA from Boston College.

As a first generation American who is biracial and grew up in an interfaith home, Sumayya cares deeply about multiculturalism and DEI issues. Her first full-time job, in fact, was as a paralegal at an immigration law firm. She loves to travel and has lived in Spain, Greece, and Argentina and has an intermediate level of Spanish fluency.

Sumayya considers herself an artist at heart who loves writing, painting, and design, and she loves to settle in with a book or a podcast.

Top 5 Clifton Strengths: Intellection, Futuristic, Ideation, Empathy, Adaptability

Next trip: Sumayya hopes to go on her honeymoon this year (more than 2 years after getting married), but continued Covid restrictions continue to foil those plans for now…

Club Liaison: Sumayya is a co-liaison to the Tech Club, a co-liaison to the FinTech Club, and the liaison to the Arab Business Student Association.

She/her/hers Gayle Grader is an Executive Career Coach and the Director of Executive Career Development for the Sloan Fellows MBAs, EMBAs, and Alumni populations. She oversees the Executive Career Development Team and is responsible for setting the programming strategy, delivering career education workshops, and providing one-one-one executive coaching. Before joining Sloan in 2018, she spent 13 years as a strategy consultant and business coach working with wide-ranging companies from Fortune 500 to start-ups. She also built a referral-only private coaching practice where she provided career and executive coaching to mid-career and senior executives going through executive transitions. In her early career, before she took a hiatus to start a family, she worked in consulting, investment banking, asset management, and executive search. Gayle’s curiosity about the world of work and career change started in college when she read Studs Terkel’s book Working. This book inspired a general curiosity in career decision making and transitions, which is her area of expertise today. Gayle also has a passion for understanding leadership and how great leaders become the people they are; she can be frequently found reading historical and contemporary biographies building up her perspective on what causes some to become those great leaders who go down in history books. Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Strategic, Achiever, Learner, Individualization, and Input Contact Gayle for:

• Executive Assessment and Development Coaching
• Career Advancement Coaching
• Career Transition Coaching
• Branding Coaching
• Veterans Club

Henry Hannon (he/him) is a Reporting and Data Analyst for the Sloan School of Management’s Career Development Office. Henry is part of the operational team at the CDO, working cross programs to provide data collection and visualization. In addition to managing the underlying metrics for the annual Employment Reports, Henry also provides tools for advisors, manages employer data and insights on student pathways.

Prior to joining the CDO team, Henry spent over a decade in operations within the biotechnology industry. During various times he’s assisted with data governance, ERP/CRM migrations, and even worked on some of the supplier-side vendor integrations still in use by MIT.

Henry currently lives with his partner in Somerville.

• Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Learner, Analytical, Ideation, Individualization and Intellection. Henry’s strengths are focused in the Strategic Thinking theme, constantly absorbing and analyzing information and helping the team make better decisions.
• Musical Interests: A musical omnivore, with an embarrassingly impractical collection of vinyl. True to form, Henry maintains a cataloged database of his hobby.

Mark Hardie is the Director of the Entrepreneur Innovation Center at Framingham State University. He’s a serial entrepreneur and start-up veteran with a passion for innovation and growing fledgling operations. The FSU Innovation Center’s hybrid model is similar to a startup incubator concept Mark developed and pitched to area venture capital investors. The son of two teachers, he has taught and lectured on technology issues at Harvard, MIT, University of Virginia, and University of Hartford. He is a career-long mentor at the MIT Sloan School and currently a professional Career Coach at Harvard Business School, working with start-up teams, founders and would-be entrepreneurs. A Massachusetts native, Mark attended primary and secondary schools in Holyoke MA, is a graduate of Tufts University and the M.I.T. Sloan School of Management. He brings extensive experience launching start-ups, driving corporate strategy and business innovation, all with a focus on Internet business models, mobile device platforms, and cloud-based SaaS business models.

Schedule an appointment with Mark in Career Central.

Heather Holland (she/her) manages operations and marketing initiatives for the CDO, and leads a dedicated team that supports and promotes world-class career programs and content. Heather joined the CDO in 2001 and leverages deep knowledge of MIT Sloan to foster connections between MIT Sloan’s students, alumni, and employers. Heather builds partnerships with offices across MIT Sloan to share marketing resources and strategies for promoting MIT Sloan’s programs, students, and services.

Heather is also a CDO liaison for Net Impact, Food and Ag, and the Canadian Club; and Community Manager for Sustainability.

Contact Heather for:

• CDO branding and marketing
• Employment Report design and publication

About Heather: As a military kid, Heather grew up all over the United States, and has lived along the Gulf of Mexico, the east coast, the west coast, and a few states in between. She has visited or lived in 48 of the continental states and driven cross-country twice – once for a job interview! Among other adventures, Heather lived as a full-time RVer.

At work and play, Heather has a passion for designing, synthesizing, organizing, and simplifying; and loves the challenge of turning any complicated process into a one-page guide.

CliftonStrengths
Top 5: Empathy | Individualization | Achiever | Harmony | Learner
Next 5: Maximizer | Discipline | Consistency | Relator | Activator

Rose Keating serves as Director of Career Education, leading the teams supporting the MBA, MFin, MBAn and MSMS programs. Rose is also the CDO liaison to the Entrepreneurship Club, Taiwanese Club and Education Club.

Rose has been designing career outcomes for graduate business students and private clients since 2012 and has coached clients from 120+ countries to successfully land jobs across all 7 continents (that’s right, including Antarctica!).  She began her career as a Staffing Consultant at Beacon Hill Staffing Group and later transitioned to project management at a technology start-up and global pharmaceutical company. Rose coached MBAs at Hult International Business School and led MBA Career Development at Questrom School of Business before joining the CDO team at MIT Sloan in May 2020.  Rose holds a BS in Business Administration from the School of Management at Boston University and a M.Ed. in Leadership and Policy Studies in 2020 from Boston University.

Rose grew up on Cape Cod in a working-class family with three siblings.  She is committed to social justice and is passionate about supporting first-generation and low-income students navigate graduate school career decisions. Rose believes we must critically examine the systems and policies we rely on to educate our students, and ensure we facilitate opportunities that enable all students to build meaningful careers regardless of background, status or place in society.

Pronouns: she/hers

Top Strengths: Individualization | Achiever | Learner | Input | Relator

Interests: philosophy, Qoya dance, psychology

Fun fact: first job was shucking corn at a farm stand at age 12, followed by many years of waitressing and babysitting

Anna Kerchner (she/her) is part of the operations team, providing support across the entire CDO. She plans career education events, manages the student advising and drop-in process, assists in scheduling resume and cover letter reviews, and provides career resources support. Anna designs and distributes weekly newsletters for the EMBA and SFMBA programs and creates relevant surveys to gather feedback from students.

• Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Discipline | Empathy | Individualization | Consistency | Relator
• First Job: Counselor at a camp where she spent eight wonderful summers as a kid. Anna loved the opportunity to give her campers the same amazing experience as she had.
• Next Trip: Anna is planning to travel to the midwest this summer to visit her family and snuggle her newest niece and nephew.
• Walk-Up Music: Redbone’s ‘Come and Get Your Love’

Grace Kimball (she/her) is the Coordinator for the Career Development Office, providing support to the entire CDO team through office management. She manages the Assistant Dean’s calendar and travel, as well as any purchases or financial transactions made on behalf of the office and supports the MBA Core Fellows. Grace is also a CliftonStrengths certified coach; please contact her to set up a Strengths coaching appointment.

Beginning in the Chemistry Education Office, Grace has worked at MIT since Sept 2016 and the CDO/MIT Sloan since Oct 2018. Prior to joining MIT, Grace was a middle school French & Spanish teacher in Montgomery County Public Schools, Maryland. Grace holds a B.A in both French and in Spanish, a B.S. in Secondary Education, and an M.A. in Curriculum & Instruction, all from the University of Connecticut (Go Huskies!)

Grace has two children (ages 2 and 4) who keep her and her husband super busy but always laughing with their seemingly endless supply of energy and quirky personalities. Grace loves to cook and has recently planted a garden in her backyard to grow various fruits, vegetables and culinary herbs – hoping that the Central PA climate is amenable to these gardening adventures.

• Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Discipline | Communication | Activator | Achiever | Focus

Sue worked in the CDO for over 20 years and has an extensive background in career coaching. She has been involved with the MFin Program from its inception and has advised students interested in all areas of finance. With a passion for helping students reach their career goals, Sue is looking forward to supporting MFins in their career efforts this spring.

Pronouns: he / him

Richard is originally from Haiti and grew up in Canada. He is fluent in English, French and Haitian Creole. He has degrees in Computer Science and Radiologic Technology.  He has been working in Higher Education for the past 8 years where he assumed different roles (Global Rotation, Faculty Recruiting, Registrar, Residence Life, Operations Manager). He is passionate about helping students during their journey through Higher Education. He is always excited to learn about different cultures.

Musical Preferences: Konpa (from Haiti), Soca (from Trinidad & Tobago), Zouk (from Martinique and Guadeloupe), Salsa and Reggaeton (from Latin America)

Fun Fact: Richard has 2 brothers and 31 first cousins and he is the oldest of them all. 

Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Achiever | Adaptability | Empathy | Positivity | Individualization

CDO Liaison to MIT Caribbean Business Club

Contact Richard for:

• Recruiting Operations
• Recruiting Events
• Employer Advisory Council inquiries
• Employer & Student Recruiting Communications

“Practice Makes Improvement.” 

Sonia Liang (she/her) partners with MFin students to advance their career development. She specializes in career exploration, decision-making, communicating across cultures, and navigating the intersectionality of identities in professional settings.

Prior to joining MIT Sloan, Sonia supported diverse students through individual career coaching and internal and external advocacy at Brandeis University for nearly 6 years. As an international student liaison, Sonia spearheaded a series of initiatives that led to the Hiatt Career Center receiving the “Service to International Students” award from the National Career Development Association (NCDA) in 2019. At Brandeis International Business School, Sonia advised the Business Analytics master’s students while serving as the LGBTQ+ student club advisor.

Sonia received her M.Ed. in Higher Education Administration from Kent State University, Ohio, and her B.A. in English from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. In her early career, Sonia gained valuable experience in business development, sales, and marketing as a junior manager and study-abroad consultant.

Top Strengths: Individualization, Ideation, Strategic, Input, and Maximizer

Interests: strategy board games, comedy, recipe designing, rock climbing, arts and crafts…anything creative and intellectually stimulating!

Identity Communities: International Students, LGBTQ+, Neurodiversity

Samantha McGurgan (she/her) is a career advisor for MBA students, with an extensive background in career development. She utilizes multicultural, post-modern career counseling techniques to empower students to take action toward their next, right move.

As a first-generation college graduate, spouse of a military veteran, and working mom, Samantha has empathetically designed career programming for each throughout her career. She is currently involved with MIT Sloan DEI efforts, focusing on creating a more open + inclusive work culture. She also serves as a faculty member at a local college teaching professional development, and has a private career coaching practice where she uses design thinking to get her clients unstuck.

Prior to joining the MIT Sloan CDO, she worked at Sloan Technology Services where she focused on technical training and instructional design for the MIT Sloan community. Before that, she served as a career counselor in a number of higher education institutions, working with diverse student populations. Samantha holds a B.S. in Human Ecology from The Ohio State University and an M.A. in Education with a specialization in Counseling and Guidance from California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo.

• Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Futuristic, Includer, Activator, Positivity, Input. Samantha believes we are smarter together, is biased toward action, and is energized by the possibilities of the future.
• How this all started: Samantha was not accepted for her dream internship in grad school and was devastated. However, this created space in her life for another (unexpected) opportunity: Teaching personal + career development in a California Community College in Santa Maria, California, an experience that dramatically impacted the trajectory of her career.
• For fun: Samantha’s weekends are full of adventures with her two small children and husband of almost 10 years, their pup Baron the Havanese, Peloton workouts, and exploring New England. Portland, Maine and York Harbor Beach are favorite spots.

Alyssa McMahon (she/her) is the Marketing Coordinator for the Career Development Office. She manages the content on Your CDO, designs and publishes the posts on the CDO’s social media channels, and creates all videos distributed by the CDO.

Contact Alyssa for:

• Inquiries about Your CDO website content, including blog posts, events, and resources
• Promotion on CDO social media channels
• Student & Alumni participation in the Career Stories project

Top Strengths: Achiever | Futuristic | Discipline | Arranger | Significance

Interests: Traveling (favorite past trips: Mexico, Greece, Latvia, San Diego, Miami), cooking, sushi, art + design, music.

James Morrison is an award-winning, experienced Global Program Manager/Strategist with 20+ years of diverse leadership and team building experience across numerous industries. James has lived and worked internationally for an extensive period and has managed outreach and recruitment programs, and career development programs in both business and higher education settings. His industry experience includes recruitment, education, government, retail and hospitality with 10+ years executive coaching for career transitions. Originally from Ireland, James received both his Bachelor and Master’s Degrees from the National University of Ireland, Galway. He has served as Vice Consul of Ireland to New England for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs. James has two dogs, Cooper and Tucker. Cooper is a 7 year old English Springer Spaniel and is the CFO (Chief Fetch Officer).  Tucker is a 17 month old Labrador and is our “Barketing” Intern

Top Strengths: Relator | Strategic | Futuristic | Achiever | Ideation

Next Trip:  Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam

Personal Interests:  I drank the CrossFit coolaid.

Mark Newhall recently joined the CDO as the Director of Employer Relations and Recruiting. Mark has previously served as an industry advisor to executive-level MIT Sloan students. Mark brings 25+ years of recruiting experience, including 18+ years of executive search work for technology companies ranging from startups to public companies. Mark is also an advisor, mentor, and angel investor in tech companies in the US and Canada.

Top Strengths: Individualization | Woo | Belief | Arranger | Connectedness

Kristen Niarchos (she/her) provides instructional design for MIT Sloan’s career education programming, along with individualized coaching on the career development process.

Prior to joining MIT Sloan, Kristen worked in career services at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School as an MBA career advisor and operations lead. Before moving into career development, Kristen worked in a variety of roles in higher education and non-profit organizations with positions in corporate relations, event management and human resources. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from Wake Forest University and a M.Ed. in Instructional Design from the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She is trained in CliftonStrengths.

Kristen’s Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Input | Intellection | Relator | Discipline | Consistency

Haben Nirayo supports the student experience at the CDO office, including helping students connect with the right resources at the CDO. He assists with daily operations, walk-in and email questions, and provides project support to the team.

Haben graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a degree in Kinesiology and a minor in Psychology. He worked in the Office of Career Planning in the School of Public Health and Health Sciences where he assisted students with resume writing and interview preparation.

Top 5 Clifton Strengths: Restorative, Individualized, Empathy, Strategic, Learner

Interests: Sports, Cooking, Investing, Traveling, Video Editing, Music

Stefanie Pluschkell has over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. She is the Founder and CEO of InScope Coaching & Consulting LLC, providing executive leadership and career coaching as well as consulting services to corporations, academic institutions, non-profit scientific organizations, and individuals. She currently serves as Senior Fellow of the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biotherapeutics (NIIMBL), a public-private partnership whose mission is to accelerate biopharmaceutical innovation, support the development of standards that enable more efficient and rapid manufacturing capabilities, and educate and train a world-leading biopharmaceutical manufacturing workforce. NIIMBL is part of Manufacturing USA®, a diverse network of federally sponsored manufacturing innovation institutes. In her most recent biopharmaceutical industry role, Stefanie was the Executive Director and Head of Business Strategy and Operations for Biotherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences at Pfizer Inc. In this role, she led the execution of strategic and annual business plans via matrix leadership across pharmaceutical sciences, worldwide research & development, commercial business units and manufacturing. She supported a highly diverse product portfolio, including vaccines, monoclonal antibodies, other therapeutic proteins, and advanced therapies such as gene therapy. Stefanie’s team managed all laboratory and GMP facilities across the biotherapeutics pharmaceutical sciences network globally and provided the digital transformation strategy. Stefanie’s educational background includes a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an executive MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management. In addition, she holds a MS degree in Biotechnology from the Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany. Stefanie’s path from Germany to the United States began as a Fulbright scholar in 1992, and she continues to be enthusiastic about supporting cultural exchange and international education.

Nicola Pugliese specializes in developing and optimally communicating a career narrative and personal brand, through written collateral (resumes, LinkedIn profiles, cover letters), interviewing and networking. She also leverages her experience in global marketing and brand management to support MBA students pursuing careers in marketing, product management, business development, general management and sales across a spectrum of industries.

Previously, Nicola was a consultant specializing in training marketing capabilities at global consumer products companies including JnJ and Unilever. She facilitated and taught workshops and seminars in new product launch best practices and innovation process design to marketing and brand management teams. Nicola also has a breadth of experience working for Gillette, Oral-B and P&G, with operating expertise in global new product and brand strategy development, brand management, strategic business planning and corporate communications. Before business school, Nicola was an M&A corporate banker with National Westminster Bank USA specializing in media and telecommunications financing. She holds an MBA from The Wharton School and a BA in Political Science and German from Lehigh University

A dual American and German citizen, Nicola grew up in London and Frankfurt and speaks fluent German. She now lives in the Boston area with her husband, two college age children and a Tibetan Terrier dog named Hamley. Nicola is an avid skier, hiker and outdoor enthusiast and is looking to return to these activities with gusto post COVID.

Rick (he/his) is a personalized career transition consultant. His experience in recruiting and managing financial professionals gives him a clear understanding of the best practices to utilize for a job seeker to be readily recognized by recruiters and managers as standout candidates. Rick’s career counseling approach is to focus on aligning a client’s core competencies to the job opportunity and/or the opportunity-set-of-jobs: identify people with whom to network and thereby helping professionals “reinvent themselves” after long successful careers. Additionally, Rick develops with the client a strategy to launch and drive the search for the next role. Most recently, Rick is a Senior Consultant at Lee Hecht Harrison, a market leader in career transition and outplacement services.

Prior to becoming a career consultant, Rick spent his career managing equities for institutional clients. He is a retired Partner of Lord Abbett, a private investment management firm. Rick has a thorough understanding and detailed comprehension of how companies function from the point of view of pattern recognition and foresight into product innovation. Rick spent the past decade of his 35-year career as a Director of Equity Research and as an Equity Portfolio Manager. Also, he is an experienced industry analyst in fast-changing markets including technology, healthcare, and risk management. This experience allows him to approach and counsel clients on achieving their most productive paths to success from a broad variety of perspectives. Rick has placed scores of clients from a Junior role to the executive level manager. Rick has an engineering degree from Stanford University and a Masters degree in Management from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Rick lives in New York City.  He is married and has two adult children and a dog.  He and his wife love to travel and hope to hike on additional segments of the Appalachian Trail throughout the East Coast.

Rick is passionate about mentoring first-generation college students.  He is treasurer of Central Queens Academy in New York City as well as an adjunct career advisor at the City College of New York.  During his free time, he is a volunteer with AARP Tax-Aide and is a financial literacy counselor.

INDUSTRY AND FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE:
• Banking and Financial Services
• Technology and Information Services
• Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotechnology
• Risk Management and Cybersecurity
• Asset Management

AREAS OF EXPERTISE:
• Personalized career transition consulting
• Personal Branding

Rachel Seavey (she/her/hers) serves as the Assistant Director for the Employer Relations & Recruiting team.

Prior to joining the Career Development Office, Rachel was a Programme Officer at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research (UNU-CPR) in New York, where she was part of the Finance Against Slavery & Trafficking Initiative and managed the Survivor Inclusion Initiative. Rachel has also worked at the MIT Senseable City Lab, which explores the intersection of technology and cities through sponsored, interdisciplinary research. She has prior experience in the field of Student Affairs with offices of First Year Experience, International Education, and Service-Learning. In 2014, Rachel oversaw 151 first-year students studying abroad in Melbourne, Australia as an Assistant Site Director for Northeastern University’s N.U. in Program. She holds an M.Ed. in Student Affairs from Salem State University and a B.A. in Classics from UMass Amherst. Rachel is currently pursuing a second graduate degree in International Affairs from The New School.

• Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Activator, Communication, Context, Futuristic, and Woo. Rachel is energized by engaging directly with people and enjoys turning thoughts/ideas into action. She is inspired by the infinite possibilities and potential ahead.
• Next Trip: Rachel’s favorite place is Galway, Ireland. In fact, she tries to visit Ireland at least once every year. However, her next dream trip is Berlin, Germany.
• Pet: Rachel’s pup is a black terrier-mix named Isabella who is as wild as she is cute.

Contact Rachel for:

• Education/Nonprofit
• Entertainment/Media/Sports
• Government/Defense
• Hospitality
• Manufacturing
• Retail/Consumer Goods

CDO Liaison to the Retail & Consumer Goods and the Entertainment, Media and Sports (EMS) Clubs.

Mike leverages standard coaching methodologies and practices specific to each individual in conjunction with his real-world practical knowledge and experience to drive meaningful actions, real behavioral shifts, and step changes in performance. He has over 25 years of professional experience spanning start-ups to Fortune 100 Companies in a number of industries including Aviation, Financial Services and Medical Servicing and functional areas including Operations, Credit and Marketing. For the last 10 years, Mike has operated his own consulting company, focused on Leadership Coaching, Career Advising and Strategy consulting. Prior to starting his own business Mike held a number of P&L Mgt. roles in Chase and Capital One as well as serving as the CEO of The Coleman Institute, a Medical Servicing company. Before joining Capital One Mike was an internal consultant for US Airways and British Airways.

Mike has three children (ages 22, 18, and 18). Living on Lake Anna in central Virginia his life evolves around the lake and water activities. A keen wakeboarder and novice surfer you will find him on the water most days, rain or shine! His other love is his dog Percy, a 45lb long haired beagle mix that’s always by his side.

• Next Trip: Hopefully home to the UK, travel restrictions permitting!
• Musical Interests: Raised in the 80’s a die-hard rock fan, but will listen to almost anything
• Other Hobbies: Wood turning, golf and binge-watching crime thrillers!

To set up an appointment:
MBAs & SFMBAs: Book an appointment via Career Central.

Sabine Tessono (she/her/hers) is the receptionist of the CDO office and helps with day to day operations while providing support to the team. Sabine graduated with a BA in English Literature and Political Science at Boston University, while working on DEI and curricular reform in BU’s English department, and plans to work further in higher education and publishing.

Growing up in the greater Boston area, with Haitian immigrant parents, Sabine has developed a passion for diverse inclusion and support for individuals in both the academic and professional world and is committed to providing representation for students and within the materials they read to provide them with the best opportunities possible.

Top 5 Clifton Strengths: Individualization | Learner | Achiever | Intellection | Input

Interests: Traveling (especially to London) , painting, writing, reading, baking

Musical Interests: Harry Styles, Frank Ocean, and 5 hour rain noises on Spotify   ​

Kerri Tierney is responsible for overseeing the MIT Sloan career management systems and tools used by students, employers and the CDO team. She is continually exploring new resources to support the career development of MIT Sloan portfolio of degree programs.  Partnering with the CDO Data Analyst, Kerri leads the collection, aggregation and publication of MIT Sloan employment data.  Prior to her career development career, Kerri managed recruiting teams in the staffing space and served as an early career development specialist for an investment firm.

Contact Kerri to:

• Discuss the usage of current tools or recommend other tools for evaluation.
• Inquire about the published employment data or its collection process.
• Share career content with the Diversity & Inclusion Affinity Community

Fun Facts:  Kerri is a first-gen graduate and the mother of two children (ages 9 and 6) and her 8 month old “furbaby”, a mini Australian Shepherd.  When not working on all things career development operations, Kerri can be found coaching soccer or planning the next family trip with her husband (Cape Cod, Colorado and Aruba are on the books for 2021-2022).

Top Strengths: Communication | Woo | Harmony | Responsibility | Positivity

Susan Todd (She, Her) is the relationship manager for Sloan’s recruiting partners across the following industries: US Consulting, West Coast (CA/OR/WA) Tech, Transportation, Automotive, and Aerospace. Susan works closely with our Sloan recruiting partners to develop their recruiting strategy and to create connections for our student populations.  She collaborates with the Office of External Relations (OER) to help our Sloan Alumni enhance their company brand on campus and share their job opportunities.  She also engages with student clubs and advises students on recruiting policies and procedures. Susan holds an M.Ed in Higher Education Administration from Northeastern University.

Top Five Clifton Strengths:  Relator, Harmony, Maximizer, Discipline, Consistency

Outside of work, Susan can be found practicing gentle Yoga or watching movies.   She loves to eat at new restaurants and travel to new places.  Since Summer is Susan’s favorite season, she can be found relaxing at the beach on most weekends.

Contact Susan for:

• Company relationships in: US Consulting, West Coast (CA/OR/WA) Tech, Transportation, Automotive, Aerospace.
• CDO Liaison to Clubs: Management Consulting

Lew Weinstein counsels people in the MBA, Sloan Fellows, and Executive MBA programs, providing career advice and assisting with resumes and cover letters. The balance of his time is spent as a partner in a Boston-based executive search firm which maintains a broad practice but focuses on working with private equity firms and their portfolio companies to expand or upgrade management, and with venture capital firms and entrepreneurs to build teams for early-stage businesses. Lew was raised in the New York area and attended M.I.T. and Harvard Business School. He then spent three years in corporate strategy consulting with Bain & Company in Boston before moving to Los Angeles, where his activities included 18 months at the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee; two years at a large, international search firm; and four years at a medium-sized, general-practice search firm. He has been back in New England since 1992.

Sign up for an appointment with Lew in Career Central.

Tracy Wishon is a career advisor for the Master of Business Analytics (MBAn) students, providing individualized advice on each aspect of the career development process.  She delivers career education programs, workshops and small group sessions for the MBAn program. Tracy is part of a dedicated team of CDO professionals here to support students across recruiting, advising, and career resource needs.

Tracy has 10 year of Recruiting and HR experience within professional services and tech industries. Her love of helping others find their passion led her to transition from HR and Recruiting to Career Advising. Prior to joining MIT Sloan in 2018, she spent 4 years at Bentley University’s McCallum Graduate School of Business as a Career Advisor for Master of Science in Business Analytics program. Tracy holds a B.A. in Business Administration and a minor in Sociology from Transylvania University in Lexington, KY and is also a CliftonStrengths Coach.

Tracy made the big transition to move from her Midwest roots in Ohio to Boston to follow her first love (soccer) and work for the Boston Breakers Women’s Professional Soccer Team. As a former college soccer player, she now can be seen on the sidelines enjoying her two daughters (8 and 6) play soccer. She also enjoys spending time with friends, biking, hiking, the beach (during any season) and the many breakfast spots in Somerville with her husband and daughters. Tracy also loves to travel to visit her large extended family all over the Midwest, Hawaii and England.

• Top 5 CliftonStrenghts: Woo, Positivity, Communication, Includer and Belief.
• Next Trip: Enjoying the New England summer and the many beaches including a vacation to Florida and to England to see family.
• Musical Interests: Favorite artists include Jack Johnson, The Beatles, Bob Marley, U2, and the Lumineers

Wendi is a business development and strategic partnerships leader for Yo Labs, an exciting startup finding new ways for technology and design to lighten society’s load and improve well-being. Previously, she was the Business Development Partner for Gradient Ventures (Google’s AI Fund), where she advised Gradient’s portfolio companies on their business challenges and helped them forge partnerships with Fortune500 companies. Wendi has also led business development/product partnerships for Google Pixel, Wearables, and Accessories and a few verticals of Google Home and Chromecast within Google’s Devices & Services (formerly Google Hardware) team. She ran business development for three tech startups and contributed to entrepreneurship development policies and analysis in the public sector. Wendi attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received Bachelor of Science degrees in mathematics and management science and minors in Economics and Applied International Studies. She later received her MBA and Master of Public Policy degrees from Harvard.

Wendi is passionate about lifelong learning, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, entrepreneurship development, mentorship, understanding history and current events through locals’ perspectives, socioeconomic mobility, traveling/adventuring, and food (including gadgets for food).​