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.

Please use this link to sign up for an appointment (you must be signed in on the platform to view):
https://cdo.mit.edu/resources/sign-up-for-executive-career-coaching-with-carla-akalarian/

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) the Senior Associate Director for MFin Career Development. In her role, Laura manages the MFin Career Advising team, providing individualized advice on each aspect of the career development process. She leads the design and delivery of career education programs and workshops for the MFin program. 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 club.

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 BS in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Trinity College in Hartford, CT and an MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Laura lives with her husband and three young children outside of Boston.

Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Learner, Achiever, Futuristic, Strategic and Relator.

Georgette Arato (she/her) is a career advisor for MBA students providing individualized guidance and coaching on identifying, leveraging, communicating, and building their strengths to achieve personal, academic, and career success.

Before joining MIT Sloan, Georgette worked at Simmons University, managing the Simmons Leadership Conference—the longest-running women’s leadership forum in the United States—by engaging sponsors, speakers, MBAs, and alums in developing resonant programming for diverse audiences. Georgette also co-led the conference’s expansion to Europe for the first time and helped establish the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership. Previously, Georgette served as Associate Director of Career Services at the Simmons School of Management, advising graduate students and alums of the MBA, Healthcare MBA, and Communications Management programs while leading a broad spectrum of career development programming.

Georgette holds a BA in English from Iowa State University and an MA in Literature from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Georgette is a working mom who enjoys spending time with family, reading, collecting sea glass, and long-distance running. She is currently training to run the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend Dopey Challenge for the fourth time (4 days, 48.6 miles) with family and friends.

Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Georgette has always been interested in how language shapes experiences and identity. She is fluent in Spanish and English and has studied Italian, Portuguese, and American Sign Language.

Top 5 Clifton Strengths: Learner, Achiever, Connectedness, Input, and Relator

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”, trained a medical service animal, completed Master Gardener program, completed Trauma-Informed Care certification, completed Clifton Strengths Coach certification
Next Adventure: finishing my dissertation! attending more polo matches
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

Silvia is an executive coach and part of the Executive Career Development Team that provides executive career services to our executive and alumni populations. Her journey in career development expands through 20+ years partnering with MBA students and alumni, both in the US and overseas, towards successful career transitions and career development growth through coaching, programming, and resources. Silvia comes to Sloan after working at Harvard Business School, IE, and the Kellogg School of Management. In addition to career coaching, her experience includes building and maintaining relationships with MBA recruiters and leveraging technology and resources to better understand the market and guide career growth.

Silvia is originally from Spain and has a keen interest in multicultural and DEI matters. She believes deeply in the power of preparation towards the next career goal and is passionate about knowledge sharing and how access to knowledge can help build equity and empower the students and alumni she supports.

Top 5 Clifton Strengths: Arranger, Restorative, Responsibility, Developer, Context.

Clubs: Blockchain and Africa Business Club

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 Branch (he/him) is the Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion – CDO reporting into Susan Brennan, Asst. Dean of CDO and Bryan Thomas, Asst. Dean of DEI. Steven’s early career years were spent developing as a Public Accountant before transitioning into Talent Acquisition. These opportunities helped to spark Steven’s interest in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leadership. Steven attended Bryant University as a Division-1 Football student athlete for his undergraduate and graduate studies.

Steven identifies as a Black American male, first-generation college graduate from Montclair, NJ. Some of Steven’s core values are representation and inclusion, ensuring there’s a pathway to success for those who follow.

Contact Steven for initiatives surrounding Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, Career Development, Early Diversity Recruiting, Career Conferences, Career & DEI Programming, and Writing the Code.

• Top CliftonStrengths: Achiever | Command | Positivity | Restorative | Relator
• Top Tunes: J. Cole, Old and New School R&B, Gospel

Club Liaison: Africa Business Club, Black Business Student Association, First Gen/Low Income, Hispanic Business Club,  MIT Sloan Veterans Club, Sloan Pride, SWIM

Susan is the Inaugural Assistant Dean of the Career Development Office (CDO) at MIT Sloan and a strategic catalyst for the CDO’s re-imagination and culture transformation. In this role she leads a talented team of approximately 30 career professionals 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 catalyze and connect the world’s most dynamic talent community.  A passionate advocate for advancing diversity, equity and inclusion, Susan brings her action-oriented commitment to MIT Sloan’s school-wide DEI efforts.

Susan is a recognized higher education thought leader and career coach with 30 years’ experience in career development and team building at the world’s leading organizations. A certified CliftonStrengths, CareerLeader, and Design Your Life coach who also leverages training in Positive Intelligence and Co-Active Coaching, she empowers students and alumni to realize their unique power and potential. Known for her strategic, creative and relational approach, she is a proven leader of organizational culture transformation, balancing left and right brain solutions and turning creative ideas into actionable solutions that engage and energize her team. She guides change with love, transparency and vulnerability.

An active volunteer and lifelong learner, Susan served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Colleges (NACE) and led the organization’s committees focused on Diversity Equity and Inclusion and Principles for Professional Practice. She is an active member of the MBA Career Services and Employers Alliance (MBA CSEA) and the Career Leadership Collective (CLC), a graduate of its Mastermind program for senior leaders. Susan completed an Executive Education Certificate in Management and Leadership from MIT Sloan with focus on MIT’s unique 4-CAPS+ Leadership Framework and is a certified Design Your Life (DYL) coach from Stanford University. She holds an MBA from Babson College, an Ed.M. from Harvard University and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania.

Pronouns: she/hers

CDO Club Liaison:  People & Orgs

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 next year for their son’s wedding!

Carrie Cabezas (she/her)  is a career coach with a background in coaching specialty masters students, and creating and delivering career content through workshops and individual advising.  As a person who enjoys learning and getting the most out of everyday life, she is passionate about helping people navigate new or complex situations.  As a coach, Carrie thrives on making sure her students are prepared and confident to execute a thoughtful job search as a competitive candidate. Carrie is the dedicated MFin Career Advisor for the Bears Cohort.

Prior to joining MIT Sloan, Carrie coached students and managed career training and education for the MS in Mathematical Finance students at Boston University.  Additionally, she has over 12 years of experience in the financial services industry in wealth and asset management. She has worked at Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and most recently Trillium Asset Management, a pioneer firm in the Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) space.

Carrie grew up in Massachusetts and lives locally with her husband and their two young and wild boys.  She graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a BS in Sports Management from the Isenberg School of Management.  At UMass, she was a 4-year member and co-captain of the women’s rowing team and still enjoys attending the Head of the Charles each year.  As someone who has started new careers and varsity athletic endeavors with no experience to speak of (and managed to find success and incredibly meaningful experiences!), she is a firm believer in listening to your inner voice, working hard for what you want in life, and creating a plan to pursue your goals, even if they seem very far away right now.

Interests: Traveling and exploring new places, skiing, the beach, adventures with friends and family, and gardening (new hobby!)

Fun Fact: Loves zooming around town on her e-bike

Top Strengths: Maximizer | Harmony | Arranger | Responsibility | Context

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 Cañas (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 have two sons.  As part of a mixed race family, Danielle is trying to improve her Spanish-speaking skills, to keep up with her sons 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 introduce their sons 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 Arab Business Student Association, the Ops Management Club and the Italy 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.

Gayle Grader is an Executive Coach and Senior Director, Career Development, Executive and Alumni Coaching. She overseas career development for the Sloan Fellows MBAs, EMBAs, and Alumni populations and works on strategic initiatives to advance the impact of the CDO across all populations served. She leads 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, she worked in consulting, investment banking, asset management, and executive search. She is an ICF PCC and a certified Gallup Strengths Coach. Her top 5 CliftonStrengths are: Strategic, Achiever, Learner, Individualization, and Input. Contact Gayle for:

• Executive Career Coaching
• Career Advancement Coaching
• Career Transition Coaching
• Veterans and Global Security Technology 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.

Heather Holland (she/her) manages digital strategy and marketing initiatives for the CDO, and is a member of a dedicated team that 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 resources and strategies for promoting MIT Sloan’s programs, students, and services.

Heather is also a CDO liaison for Net Impact.

Contact Heather for:

• CDO branding and marketing
• Employment Report design and publication

About Heather: Growing up as a military kid, Heather has lived all over the United States, including the Gulf of Mexico, the east coast, the west coast, and several states in between. She has visited or lived in 48 of the continental states and driven cross-country a few times – once for a job interview (got the job!). Among other adventures, Heather lived as a full-time RVer. She enjoys the outdoors and aquatic pets.

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

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

Hartmut Junghahn coaches executive-level MBAs, including Sloan Fellows (and happens to be a proud SF’03 himself). Hartmut was a senior multinational executive with more than 35 years’ experience with high profile commercial and strategic acumen gained through extensive sales, marketing, and executive leadership assignments in global premium-branded consumer products and industrial product companies. Hartmut has experience successfully leading in economies coping with the stress of devaluation, hyperinflation, price controls, and social and political transformation. He has established and managed a start-up JV Partnership and actively participated in many M&A and Divestiture transactions. Hartmut is inspired by a drive to nurture business leaders of today and tomorrow with emphasis on leadership and career development. Hartmut is fluent in English, Spanish, and German, with a working knowledge in Portuguese and French.

Rose Keating (she/her) serves as Director of Career Development, leading the career teams supporting the MBA, MFin, MBAn and MSMS programs. Rose is also the CDO liaison to the Entrepreneurship 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. Rose developed international job search expertise while coaching MBAs at Hult International Business School and led Graduate Career Development at Questrom School of Business before joining the CDO team at MIT Sloan in May 2020.

Coming from a working-class family, Rose is committed to social and economic 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.

Top CliftonStrengths: Individualization, Achiever, Learner, Activator, Restorative

Pronouns: she/hers

Top Strengths: Individualization | Achiever | Learner | Activator | Restorative

Interests: philosophy, Qoya dance, psychology

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 Scotland with her family this spring!
• Walk-Up Music: Redbone’s ‘Come and Get Your Love’

Grace Kimball (she/her) is the Assistant Director for the Career Development Office, providing support to the entire CDO team through financial and office management. 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 three children 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 CT climate is amenable to these gardening adventures.

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

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

Contact Richard for:
* Company relationships in:  Bio/Pharma/Healthcare, Energy, FinTech (East Coast),  Tech (East Coast, EMEA, South America), and Telecom
* CDO Liaison to Healthcare Club, Fintech Club and Caribbean Business Club

“Practice Makes Improvement.” 

Maggie Luo (she/her) is a career advisor specializing in advising Master of Finance students. With expertise in job search strategies, career exploration, and personalized guidance, she provides comprehensive support to MIT Sloan students.

Before joining MIT Sloan, Maggie has over seven years of experience as a lead career coach. Leveraging her background as an international student turned professional, Maggie offers invaluable insights into cross-cultural communications and job search challenges, particularly for students in the finance field.

Maggie holds an M.A. in TESOL from Columbia University and a B.A. in Business English from the University of International Business and Economics. Her educational background, coupled with her passion for positive psychology, greatly influences her approach to career counseling. Maggie believes in utilizing positive thinking and personal strengths to empower individuals, enabling them to navigate their career journeys with confidence and fulfillment.

Strengths: Empathy, Developer, Positivity, Communication, and Includer.

Next Trip: Maggie is excitedly planning her next adventure to explore destinations known for their delicious local cuisines. Being a self-proclaimed food lover, she takes immense pleasure in discovering and savoring culinary experiences.

Aliya March (she/her) is part of the administrative team at the CDO.

In May 2023, she obtained her Master of Liberal Arts degree at Harvard Extension School while also receiving a certificate in Organizational Behavior. She is also working towards a certificate in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Leadership. Aliya is passionate about positive workplace environments, DEI, and talent acquisition. With her degree she hopes to become a DEI consultant one day!

• Top 5 Clifton Strengths: Positivity | Empathy | Relator | Activator | Maximizer
• Free Time Activities: Re-watch The Office, cook, shop, travel, and spend time with loved ones
• Travel: Has studied abroad to Spain, London, France, and Scotland
• Music: Pop, Hip Hop, Rap, R&B, and Country

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 is the Director of Employer Relations & Recruiting. He previously served as an industry advisor to executive-level MIT Sloan students. Mark brings 29 years of recruiting experience, including 19 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.

Contact Mark for Employer Relations, Recruiting Strategy, and Partnerships.

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

Kristen Niarchos (she/her) provides instructional design for MIT Sloan’s career education programming.

Kristen has worked with MIT Sloan’s Career Development Office in a variety of roles providing career advising, career education strategy and project management. 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

Lindsey Nicholson (she/her) is an MBA Career Advisor, providing individualized advice on career development to MBA students. She is energized by helping people identify and achieve their career goals and/or navigate a career pivot.

Prior to joining MIT Sloan, Lindsey worked at Alumni Ventures, a venture capital firm, where she directed their Venture Fellow Program and other career development programs in the venture capital space. Before that, she spent a decade at Harvard University, working with both clients and graduate students participating in international exchange programs, including the Fulbright Foreign Student Program. A former participant in international exchange programs herself, and having lived in South America, Europe, and Asia, Lindsey is passionate about intercultural exchange and awareness, and navigating and building relationships across cultures.

Lindsey holds a B.A. in Psychology and Anthropology from Tufts University, and a Ed.M. in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Outside of work, Lindsey is a mom of two high-energy boys (5 and 8) who keep her and her husband busy! She loves music – she is a singer and currently performs with and serves on the board of a local choir. She is inspired by how the arts can bring people together, and when she has time, loves to attend theatrical and musical performances of all kinds! In addition to spending time with her family, she loves baking (particularly cakes!), solving crossword puzzles, watching movies, going on nature walks, and birdwatching.

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 Associate 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 also has a M.S. in International Affairs from The New School with a concentration in security. She is currently taking German language courses at the Goethe-Institut Boston.

• 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.
• Travel: Rachel’s favorite places to visit are Galway, Ireland and Berlin, Germany.
• Pet: Rachel’s has terrier named Isabella.

Contact Rachel for recruiting services within the following sectors:

• Aerospace/Aviation
• Automative/Transportation
• Education/Nonprofit
• Entertainment/Media/Sports
• Government/Defense
• Hospitality/Tourism
• Manufacturing
• Retail/Consumer Goods

CDO Liaison to the MIT Sloan Retail & Consumer Goods Club, the MIT Sloan Entertainment, Media and Sports (EMS) Club, the MIT Sloan Space Industry Club, and the MIT Sloan Global Security Technology Club.

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.

Kerri Tierney (she/her) 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.

Fun Facts:  Kerri is a first-gen graduate and the mother of two children (ages 11 and 8) and her 2 year 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 adventure with her husband.

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, and West Coast (CA/OR/WA) Fintech. 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, and  West Coast (CA/OR/WA) Fintech.
• CDO Liaison to Clubs: Management Consulting and Sales & Business

Lew Weinstein counsels people in the MBA, Sloan Fellows, and Executive MBA programs, providing career advice and assisting with resumes and cover letters and with mock behavioral interviews. 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 coaching and enjoying her two daughters (10 and 8) playing 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 trips to Ohio 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).​