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
• CDO Liaison for the Astropreneurship and Space Industry Club

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 Liaison to the following clubs: Investment Banking, Sloan Blockchain, and Public Innovation.

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.

Outside of work, you’ll find Laura spending time with her family and friends. Laura and her husband welcomed a baby girl to their family in late 2020 and enjoy discovering new parks that the city has to offer.

• 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: Laura and her family are looking forward to visiting the beaches in Cape Cod, MA and Narraganset, RI this summer.

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!

Current adventures/hobbies: “horse whispering” & training a medical service animal for hearing
Next Adventure: Costa Rica & 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 Employer Relations & Recruiting within the Career Development Office of MIT-Sloan.

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!

Bryn (she/her) is an executive coach and career management expert that works primarily with MIT Sloan’s alumni population.

Bryn’s professional purpose is to help people evolve and create more meaningful lives and careers.  She believes everyone should have an opportunity to pursue a career path that leverages their natural strengths and gives them a sense of purpose. She teaches clients to be intentional about their career management strategy and guides them to be true to who they are – empowering them to own their professional path, cultivate their professional brand, and move forward with confidence.

Bryn holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an Ed.M in Higher Education from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She completed her Certified Professional Co-Active Coach training through the Co-Active Training Institute and is a member of the International Coaching Federation, where she holds a PCC credential.

Originally from Oahu, Hawaii (and a proud “hapa,” as she is 1/2 Native Hawaiian, 1/2 Portugese), Bryn’s favorite place to be is hanging out on Kailua Beach with her family.  She is excited to head home this summer and hang out with her extended ohana (family)

Bryn and her husband are the proud parents of two lively sons (ages 10 and 13) and a sweet mini  bernedoodle, Hanalei.

Top 5 Clifton Strengths: Relator | Positivity | Strategic | Communication | Responsibility

Favorite Quote of 2021 (great for those in career transition): “You can’t control the wind or the waves, but you can learn how to be a really good surfer.” – Shirzad Chamine, Positive Intelligence

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

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!

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 the creation and promotion of world-class career programs, events and content. Heather joined the CDO in 2001 and leverages her deep knowledge of MIT Sloan and its programs to create resources for and 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 and Community Manager for Entertainment, Media, and Sports.

Contact Heather for:

• CDO branding and marketing
• Employment Report design and publication

About Heather: Heather grew up as a military kid. During her tour, she lived on the Gulf of Mexico, both coasts, and a few states in between. She has visited or lived in 48 of the continental states, has driven cross-country twice (once for a job interview!); and her journeys included Denver (highest elev.) and Death Valley (lowest elev.). She climbed Vedauwoo in Wyoming, and still regrets not wearing her sunscreen. Heather has lived as a full-time RVer, and flexed her creative problem solving skills in winterizing for sub-zero temperatures. She has a passion for synthesizing, organizing, and simplicity; and loves the challenge of turning any complicated process into a one-page guide.

Languages: Chinese and French.

Hobbies:  Freshwater aquariums. Her current passion is nano tanks.

CliftonStrengths
Top 5: Empathy | Individualization | Achiever | Harmony | Learner
While these strengths capture Heather’s orientation to her work, she’s also quite serious about getting things done, so she’s sharing her next 5.
Next 5: Maximizer | Discipline | Consistency | Relator | Activator

Emily James (she/her) 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. Emily is part of a dedicated team of CDO professionals here to support students across recruiting, advising, and career resource needs.

Prior to joining MIT Sloan, Emily worked at Bain Capital, where she focused on recruiting, professional development, and training for the Private Equity team. Before that, she worked in recruiting at McKinsey & Company, where she supported the recruiting efforts at MIT Sloan, MIT, and Harvard Business School. Emily holds a B.A. in Psychology from Connecticut College and an M.S. in Human Resource Management from Emmanuel College.

Emily has three young children who keep her and her husband active and entertained. Her weekends are filled with family hikes and bike rides, gatherings with family and friends, sports, baking, reading, and Peloton workouts. A member of an interfaith family in childhood and a mixed race family in adulthood, Emily is passionate about issues related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Emily is the CDO liaison to the VCPE Club, the Systems Thinking Club, and the Asian American Alliance.

• Top 5 CliftonStrengths: Communication, Empathy, Achiever, Woo and Includer. Emily is a natural conversationalist who is motivated by reaching goals (both those of her students and her own) and keenly aware of others’ needs and emotions.
• Next Trip: Emily and her family will be visiting some of their favorite New England spots this summer: Portland, ME; Stowe, VT; and Cape Cod, MA
• Musical Interests: Favorite artists include Whitney Houston, Toots & the Maytals, and John Legend

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. Grace is part of a dedicated team of CDO professionals here to support students across recruiting, advising, and career resource needs.

Beginning in the Chemistry Education Office, Grace has worked at MIT since Sept 2016 and the CDO/MIT Sloan in 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 1 and 3) 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
• Next Trip: Grace hopes to enjoy some time at the beach with her family on both the East and West coasts this summer as well as explore more of the Mid-Atlantic on road trips.
• Musical Interests: Grace’s most played music on Spotify is an eclectic mix of Twenty One Pilots’s new album ‘Scaled and Icy’, Misterwives, and “Silly Kids Dance Party”

Alyssa McMahon (she/her) supports the CDO team as a Marketing Coordinator. She manages the content on Your CDO, as well as the CDO social media channels.

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.

Colin Moor (he/him/his) is a career advisor for the Master of Finance students, providing individual advice on every aspect of the career development process. He contributes to the design and delivery of career education programs, workshops, and webinars for the MFin students. Colin is part of a talented and dedicated team of CDO career advisors that support students across their recruiting, advising, and career resource needs.

Prior to joining MIT Sloan, Colin had 20+ years of experience as a career consultant in career transition, career management, and executive coaching. He has worked in industries including financial services, high tech, healthcare, biotech, media, retail, academia, and other non-profit sectors. Most recently, he was a Partner at Essex Partners, a boutique career management firm that focused on career success for executives. Prior to Essex, Colin was a Senior Vice President with Keystone Associates advising a broad range of professionals in successful job searches, career changes, or entrepreneurial ventures. His earlier career experience included working in Public Television on the NOVA Science documentary series and spending 5-years at a corporate innovation center for the Times Mirror Corporation. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from The Newhouse School at Syracuse University and is certified as a Master Career Transition Consultant by Career Partners International (CPI).

Colin is a lifelong New England resident and loves to spend time at the beach, in the mountains, and at lakesides with his friends and family.  He is the father of 3 young professionals who have pursued careers in law, journalism and business development.  He is an avid film buff, especially “indies”, enjoys biking and kayaking, and loves to plan trips on his European bucket list and escape to his favorite Caribbean islands to escape Boston’s winter weather.

Next Trip: Barcelona, to explore his wife’s family origins

Musical Interests: Dylan, Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Crosby, Stills, Nash Tanglewood symphonies

First Job:  Crewing on a sports fisherman boat on the Cape

Daily Passion: Following politics and current events with a special interest in the environment, diversity, equity and inclusion, voting rights, and international news

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.

Tashika Morton is an experienced career advisor and HR professional whose previous work spans recruiting to organizational development. She has a passion for helping students develop career strategies and lifelong career skills, especially developing their personal brand. Her corporate experience includes Otis, Travelers, and Citi; and her higher education experience includes the University of Connecticut School of Business, where she was a graduate career advisor. Tashika earned her MBA from Bentley University.

• Top 5 Clifton Strengths: Positivity, Developer, Relator, Achiever, and Responsibility. Tashika has contagious enthusiasm and is upbeat and excited about her work. She is also a natural at recognizing and cultivating the potential in others, and motivated by working hard with others to achieve a goal.
• Next Trip: Tashika recently traveled to Los Cabos to celebrate her birthday and enjoyed time off with family and friends.
• Musical Interests: All genres as long as it feels good!

Anjna Motwani (she/her) is a career advisor for the Master of Finance students, providing individualized advice and coaching on many aspects of the career development process.  Anjna is part of a dedicated team of CDO professionals here to support students across recruiting, advising, and career resource needs.

Anjna brings her several years of experience in investment banking and management consulting having worked at Credit Suisse and McKinsey in New York.  She has also lived and worked in Hong Kong and Singapore.  She holds a S.B. from MIT and an M.B.A. from the Stern School of Business at NYU.

Anjna started a family foundation focusing on education in South East Asia, did pro-bono admissions consulting and completed the American Express Re-Entry Program.  Through her family foundation, she and her family have set up a junior high school in Siem Reap, Cambodia that serves over 600 students.  She currently sits on the Board of Directors of Pratham, an NGO focusing on educating slum children in India.  An active MIT alum, she has interviewed high school students applying to MIT for six years.  Anjna is also a professional and development career coach specializing in individuals who want to return to the work force after a career break.

A first-generation woman of color, Anjna grew up in Queens, New York and went to public school before matriculating at MIT. Issues of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging are near and dear to her heart.

Anjna’s top 5 CliftonStrengths are: Achiever, Learner, Belief, Positivity and Individualization. She is motivated by reaching goals and seeing success in her students and for herself and her family.  brings an infectious energy and enthusiasm to whatever she does.

Anjna has three children (ages 18, 15, and 10) who keep her and her husband active and engaged! She loves to exercise, which includes running, Pilates and yoga, to the most recent pop music or Bollywood dance mixes.  She loves to meet and make new friends, cook pizzas on the grill and organize events and dinners. As a family, they love to travel, go on bike rides, watch movies and enjoy beach vacations.  Favorite foods include dumplings (Din Tai Fong especially), homemade pizza and chicken tikka masala with naan. Their weekends are filled with gatherings with family and friends, playing board games, watching movies, cooking and trying new restaurants.  In addition, they love to travel within Asia, especially to Hong Kong, India and Singapore where they still have a lot of family and friends.  She hopes to travel to Asia as soon as the quarantine restrictions are lifted and it is safe to visit her in-laws in Hong Kong and her cousins in India.

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 provides instructional design for MIT Sloan’s career education programming, along with personalized career advising, small group sessions, and classroom teaching, including Career Core.

Contact Kristen for:

• MBA Career Advising
• CDO Career Education programs
• CDO Liaison for Product Management Club

Prior to joining MIT Sloan, Kristen worked in a similar capacity at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. 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.

Kristen 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

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 Recruiting Coordinator 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 Japan and Berlin, Germany.
• Pet: Rachel’s pup is a black terrier-mix named Isabella who is as wild (and loud) as she is cute.

Contact Rachel for:

• Recruiting Events
• Recruiting Logistics
• Companies, Contacts & Job Postings in Career Central

CDO Liaison to the Japan Club, Sloan Debate Club and the Entertainment, Media and Sports (EMS) 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.

Specialties: Career and Leadership Coaching, Case Coaching, Industry & Functional Expertise in Financial Services, Consulting, and Marketing.

Levels Coached:
– C-Suite
– Middle / Senior Mgt
– MBA Students: Focus on Consulting and Marketing

Industry / Functional Experience:
– Financial Services: Consumer and Commercial
– Consulting
– Marketing

Select Professional/Corporate Experience Includes:
– Career Advisor: Darden school of business (Consulting and Marketing focus)
– Independent Strategy Consultant: Financial Services and Marketing Focus
– SVP, Portfolio Risk, Marketing and Analytics: JPMorgan Chase
– Managing Vice President: Capital One Financial Corp
– Managing Consultant: US Airways

Certifications and Training:
– Leadership Coaching: Georgetown University
– Myers Briggs certified instructor

To set up an appointment, email Mike with your availability. Please include 2-3 blocks that are convenient for you.

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, US Consumer Products, Retail, Transportation, Automotive, and Aerospace. Susan works closely with companies to develop their recruiting strategy and to create connections for our student populations.  She also collaborates with the 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, US Consumer Products, Retail, Transportation, Automotive, Aerospace.
• CDO Liaison to Clubs: Astropreneurship & Space Industry, Management Consulting, and Automotive & Mobility.

Lew Weinstein counsels people in the MBA, MFin, 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