BELOSIC, ALEXANDRA
LYU, JEAN
Newsletters Signup
The Job Forum | All Rights Reserved – 2023 | Website Design by CalApps
Chairman, The Job Forum
Emeritus Leader
Emeritus
Emeritus
Job Forum 1-On-1 Advisors
BEACH, JANET
Management and Marketing Consultant, Strategist, Market researcher, US Marketing Services
Janet Beach is a Marketing consultant, strategist, market researcher with US Marketing Services. Janet is Chairman (Executive Director) of the Job Forum and has volunteered with The Job Forum since 1981. Janet runs her marketing strategy-consulting firm, US Marketing Services focused on improving clients marketing and brand strategies. US Marketing Services consults in high technology, telecommunications, healthcare/biotech business, and consumer products. Janet Beach and her team at US Marketing Services develop marketing strategy, conduct market research, develop marketing implementation programs, and position and develop new products. Clients include Wells Fargo, Symantec, Intuit, Schwab, Ariba, UCSF Medical Center, and a wide range of start-up and new product companies.
Areas of Specialty: Providing management insights, actionable strategy that drives customer adoption and sales via market research and consulting for high-tech, biomedical, healthcare, financial services, consumer packaged goods, and entrepreneurial firms.
AHERN GILLHAM, LAURA
Director, Talent Strategy at ServiceNow
Previously, Laura helped to drive the growth and expansion of LinkedIn’s REACH Engineering Apprenticeship Program as Senior Program and Project Manager. Laura Ahern has extensive professional experience in management consulting, business development and in building and scaling diverse global alliance programs in the financial services and technology industries. Laura has in-depth Chief of Staff experience driving strategy, operations and solving complex organizational challenges.
Areas of Specialty: Communications, Partnerships, Strategy, Program / Project Management, Chief of Staff
ALLEN, MARK
Independent Computer Consultant
Mark spent 40 years in the IT industry. In his last job, he was VP of engineering. However, he always wanted to start his own business and he finally took the plunge in mid-2018, starting his own print marketing business. When COVID hit he pivoted back to his technical skills and became an independent computer consultant. When not working, Mark can be found on one of the many wonderful golf courses in the bay area. He also plays ice hockey once a week in San Mateo. For many years he coached youth hockey and baseball in Buffalo NY, his hometown. He has 2 grown children who have graduated from college and have started their careers in IT. He recently has taken on the role of Ambassador for the San Mateo Chamber of Commerce where he has connected with and helped many other entrepreneurs.
Areas of Specialty: Enterprise software development, database administration, management of technical staff, integration of complex systems, automation of repetitive tasks
ANSARY, HAROON
Talent Acquisition Manager at Energy Recovery, Inc.
Haroon brings over 17 professional years of experience working with fortune 500 companies in client/talent management, and a clear majority of experiences in full life cycle recruiting, designing, implementing, refining and measuring the processes of organization and individual development.
He has supervised change management, succession planning (both company and individual), performance evaluation and performance calibration, training, coaching/mentoring individuals and teams that aligns with the organization’s goals across various industries. Haroon has worked and partnered with MSP/VMS management, program management, channel management, project & strategic consulting, organizational & business development, mediation and various Human Resources disciplines.
Prior to COVID-19, Haroon joined Korn Ferry as a Managing Consultant. Due to the unprecedented challenges Korn Ferry faced with the pandemic, he and half the company were laid off. Haroon also partnered with various notable companies in the Bay Area such as Robert Half, Tesla, Randstad, The State of California EDD and a Boutique Staffing firm that specialized solely in HR placement.
Haroon earned his Bachelor of Arts in Graphic Design from San Jose State University. He also obtained his California Real Estate License in 2016 and is an active member of NCHRA (Northern California Human Resources Association)
Areas of Specialty: Service management, pre-placement, audit, sales, process implementation, and analytical experience in various operational and business capacities. Working and partnering with MSP/VMS management, program management, channel management, recruiting, project & strategic consulting, organizational & business development, mediation and Human Resources disciplines.
AVINA, JODI
Director of recruiting services CFOs2 go, CFO and Financial Management executive Recruiting and Placement
Jodi is the Director of Recruiting Services for the 2Go Companies and co-leads the Health Services & Life Science practice group. She has been with CFOs2GO for more than 15 years providing executive search and placement services for a variety of clients, utilizing her knowledge of international cultures and fluency in several languages. While her career has taken a bit of a circuitous route – from working with Ernst and Young and then pursuing healthcare and medical device sales, and ending up in financial recruiting — when you add it all together it is clear why she is able to evaluate candidates and connect people with positions. Her clients have included many well-known start-ups up the ladder to Fortune 100 companies. Today her clients represent middle market high growth companies. In her free time, she is a proud member of the Salvation Army of Alameda County Advisory Board and the East Bay Leadership Council.
Areas of Specialty: Recruitment of finance and accounting executives in various industries including life sciences, healthcare, manufacturing, high tech and non-profit.
BAMBRICK, AMANDA
Employment Services Manager with RAMS Hire-Ability
Amanda manages and supports staff working with the Adult/Older Adult Employment Services Program at Hire-Ability, which is open to all San Francisco residents with a mental health diagnosis. She also manages/supports staff of NextGen, an employment services program for disengaged youth ages 18-24, also at Hire-Ability. Both programs help job seekers prepare for, obtain and maintain employment. As a former Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor/Coordinator, Amanda has spent much time in direct client services assisting San Francisco residents in maximizing their vocational potential. As a hiring manager, her perspective on the hiring process is relevant.
Areas of Specialty: Employment prep, job development, application processes, networking, psychology and community resources.
BELOSIC, ALEXANDRA
Senior Career Coach & Facilitator, Lee Hect Harrison
Alexandra Belosic is a psychology professional with 5 years’ experience coaching professional clients and business leaders as well as utilizing personality assessments to illuminate strengths and areas for development. She has supported business leaders during times of transition to new opportunities, assisting define and achieve career and life goals. Some of her coaching focus areas include personal awareness, executive presence, communication, and development of individual development plans. With a warm and direct approach, Alexandra asks thought provoking questions that elicit creative thinking and illuminate unseen potential to help the client achieve his or her goals.
Areas of Specialty: Professional employment coaching, work capabilities assessment methods, career transitions, interviewing skills, career planning and goal setting
BERGMAN, LAURA
President, Z Space Theater, a leading laboratory for developing new voices, new works, and new opportunities in American theater.
Bergman has served the non-profit sector for 25 years. She started her career in California politics before earning a Masters degree in Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. After graduation, she spent four years overseas, creating the first-ever Parliamentary internships in Eastern Europe, then starting an arts foundation in Prague. Back in the U.S., Laura worked at the Exploratorium Museum before becoming the executive director of Z Space Theater, where she is currently Board President. She also works part-time teaching various nonprofit management topics, most recently at Candid.
Areas of Specialty: Fundraising, strategic planning, grant-writing, nonprofit management and communications, board development, event planning.
BRINCKERHOFF, COLEMAN
Career Coach and Recruiting Industry Veteran
Coleman has over 25 years in the Recruiting industry in both Executive Search and in-house recruiting roles. He has reviewed tens of thousands of resumes and conducted thousands of interviews. Coleman was also one of the earliest adopters of LinkedIn and has been using the tool at an advanced level for over 20 years. Coleman has spent the last ten years in the software sector and has focused on multiple job functions as a recruiter for Adobe, Microsoft, Smartsheet, Bullhorn and others. He works with hiring managers to deeply understand the needs of the role both from a hard and soft skills perspective. He then interviews for both skill sets. Why is this important, he deeply understands the interviewing process and what the hiring manager is specifically looking for.
Coleman is a subscriber to both performance as well as behavioral interviewing techniques. Based on the client’s need he can prepare you for whatever interview situation presents itself.
Areas of Specialty: Corporate recruiting, job search strategy and management, coaching, career development, and LinkedIn.
BROOKS, ROGER
Marketing Research Consultant & Strategist
Roger Brooks consults via his consultancy practice, Research and Marketing Strategies. He has over 25 years diverse marketing research experience, ranging from consulting to senior management positions with leading digital and social media, technology, marketing research, and startup organizations. Clients have included Google, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo, Visa, HP, Ingram Micro, Pfizer, digital advertising agencies, and early stage and startup companies. Roger graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with BA & MBA degrees. He has hired new college graduates to seasoned professionals and has been a Job Forum volunteer for over 25 years.
Areas of Specialty: Building effective marketing research teams, with research expertise in digital, social, and cross media, path-to-purchase, new product launches, market segmentation, and customer satisfaction.
BROTHERS, LINDSAY
Senior Product Manager at Indeed
Lindsay Brothers is a Senior Product Manager at Indeed, where she works on helping job seekers communicate with employers. She previously worked in startups in marketing and product management. More information and her blog is available on her website: lindsay-brothers.com
Areas of Specialty: Technology for hiring and recruitment, social media for networking and job search, product management
BROWN, DANIELLE
Operations & Client Services, LiveWell Capital – Northwestern Mutual
Previously, Danielle was a Business Recruiter at Clockwise, a vc funded new technology approach to calendars and part of the recruiting team at Zillow Group in their SF Office. She worked mainly with tech focused roles and enjoyed being able to create an unforgettable candidate experience and be a part of an amazing organizational culture. Previously, Danielle was Director of Selection at Northwestern Mutual, where she helped bring in financial advisors and wealth management advisors to her firm. In addition, she is a member of the advisory board for Alex’s Lemonade Stand in CA. Danielle is a North Bay native and attended California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo.
Areas of Specialty: Networking, LinkedIn optimization, sales, philanthropy
BROWNELL, ELISE
Founder, Zephyrbiotech LLC
Dr. Brownell has diversified experience in the biopharmaceutical arena where she has played key roles in discovery, development, opportunity assessment, and Executive Leadership to drive innovation. She has deep experience in discovery research and development through her history at Bayer Healthcare and venture-backed startups, with a focus on rare/orphan diseases, and the bench-to-clinic transition. She earned her BS in Biology from Allegheny College and MS, MPhil and PhD in Biology from Yale University.
Areas of Specialty: Drug development, due diligence, executive leadership, project, program and portfolio management
BROWNING, JEFF
Attorney at McGuireWoods, LLP
Jeff is a partner with the international law firm, McGuireWoods, working in the debt finance area. Jeff has practiced law for seventeen years, specializing in commercial finance. Prior to practicing law, Jeff worked for a national commercial bank for ten years, specializing in finance and strategic consulting. His areas of expertise include secured and unsecured commercial lending and he regularly works on transactions in the agriculture, healthcare, real estate, higher education and nonprofit sectors. Jeff has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Colorado, a master’s degree in business administration from San Diego State University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.
Areas of Specialty: Finance, law, project management.
BUGDAYLI, ISMAIL
Account Manager/Sales Executive at Eurofins E&E Laboratories, a testing and certification company.
Ismail manages and develops sales in product safety compliance services across diverse electrical and electronic industries, such as innovative medical, consumer, and industrial technologies at Eurofins E&E Laboratories.
Prior to that, Ismail had a diverse background encompassing entrepreneurship, customer relations, marketing, and strategic communication. He founded Chikoo Baby, an e-commerce start-up. He worked as a Customer Relationship Manager and Marketing Specialist while pursuing his graduate studies on the East Coast. Before moving to the US, he worked at a strategic communication & PR firm in Istanbul, developing and implementing comprehensive PR, marketing, and social impact strategies for clients within the healthcare, biotechnology, MedTech, and food & beverage sectors.
Areas of Specialty: Strategy development, process improvement, project management, strategic decision-making, social impact
BURGOYNE, FRANK
Interview Success Coach, Owner: www.yourinterviewsuccess.com
Frank is currently the owner of www.yourinterviewsuccess.com where he serves his clients as an Interview Success Coach. Previously he worked for “UC Berkeley Haas Business School” to help grads prepare for their interviews. He completed an advanced curriculum at “The Coaches Training Institute” and he leverages 14 years of Bay Area Talent Acquisition expertise including UCSF, Fortune 500 companies such as Gap, and Bank of America, and innovative tech start-ups including Edusoft and Bluelight. He brings his “real world” knowledge to all career matters with his clients. In addition, Frank worked for 6 years as a General Manager for two retailers: Gap, and Ann Taylor where he managed high sales volume stores. He has volunteered his coaching expertise at the Veterans Administration, the SF LGBT Center, and also at Grace Cathedral’s job search group Graceworks, and is currently Board President of Unity San Francisco. He is excited to help San Francisco job seekers who attend the Job Forum.
Areas of Specialty: 14 years Bay Area Senior Recruiter experience in Fortune 500 and tech start-ups, mock interview coaching, salary negotiation, executive interview preparation, FAANG interview preparation, and job search strategies.
BUSTAMANTE, TERRY
Sales Director at DaXtra Technologies
Terry Bustamante has been with DaXtra Technologies for five years, heading up Sales, Partnerships and Marketing as Sales Director for the Americas and Canada. He has been shaped through his prior work at Aerotek, Yahoo!, Monster Worldwide and a couple of Recruitment Technology Startups. Now, he works partnering with start-ups to enterprise partners in the fields of hospital & healthcare, staffing & recruiting, computer software and OEM partners.
Terry’s interest lies in recruitment software technology and providing a consultative sales approach to help his customers succeed as he has professional experience in consulting with medium, enterprise and top Fortune 500 customers. He also has experience in, and enjoys, managing and mentoring employees to drive internal results and deliver stellar customer satisfaction.
Terry is a San Francisco native living in the East Bay with his wife, two kids and a Labradoodle. He is a dedicated Coach, Board Member of the California Staffing Professionals, Board Member of the Downtown Berkeley Chapter of Toastmasters and in his spare time he enjoys snowboarding and golfing. He works out of DaXtra’s West Coast, Berkeley division, heading up the U.S. Sales team.
Areas of Specialty: Staffing & Recruiting, Corporate Recruiting, Recruitment & Cloud Technology sales (SaaS), Social Branding & Marketing, Managing/Mentoring, Prospecting, Marketing, Territory Development, Presentations, Contract Negotiations, Client Retention, Building Teams and New Markets
CHAIR, ANTINEA
VP of Technical Operations at Cellares
Previously, Antinea was the VP of Manufacturing, Science, and Technology at Synthego. Synthego is a genome engineering company that enables the acceleration of life science research and development in the pursuit of improved human health. The company leverages machine learning, automation, and gene editing to build platforms for science at scale. With its foundations in engineering disciplines, the company’s platform technologies vertically integrate proprietary hardware, software, bioinformatics, chemistries, and molecular biology to advance basic research, target validation, and clinical trials.
Antinea was formerly the Process Unit Facilitator at Novartis, in San Carlos. There she was responsible for production unit operations, ranging from daily production needs to health authority audits, budgeting, and capacity planning. Prior to her work at Novartis, Antinea led operations at a small biotech start-up, and oversaw lab operations in oligo and gene synthesis. Antinea specializes in pharmaceutical and lab operations, as well as employee development and organizational culture.
Areas of Specialty: Operations, Tech Transfer, Scale-up, Microbiology, Biotechnology, Pharma
CHOI, TINA
Consultant at Propeller Consulting, Management Consulting company
Tina is a consultant at Propeller Consulting (a medium sized management consultancy) and formerly at Xelay Acumen. Tina has expertise as a Technical Program Manager for Cloud Security and Network Security and as a Business System Analyst/Product Manager. She serves clients on projects across a variety of functions including Project Management, Data Analytics, Information, Strategic Planning, and Corporate Development Training.
Areas of Specialty: Project management, process improvement, and change management
CLARK, LISA
Chief People Officer, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Lisa Clark leads People Operations for the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and sees the crux of her role as “creating the conditions for contribution” while helping staff to thrive. She is a big believer in leadership development and its ability to uplift the effectiveness of the entire organization. Prior to joining the Packard Foundation, Lisa worked for 25+ years at Hewlett-Packard and Agilent Technologies. All three organizations share a founder and the same commitment to innovation, continuous improvement and inclusion — values that are deeply woven into Lisa’s DNA.
Areas of Specialty: Leading, mentoring & developing individuals & teams, strategy, vision & execution, change management, staff recruitment, professional development, organizational design and development.
COSTEN, MARIA
Cross Platform Account Executive at ABC 7 Walt Disney Television
Maria is a highly motivated sales professional with experience in integrated cross-platform marketing and advertising programs. She has a proven track record with new business development with both advertisers and advertising agencies.
Areas of Specialty: Digital strategy, social media marketing
DA COSTA, JACKIE
Founder, Redefine Your Path Coaching LLC
Jackie is a certified career coach and Strong Interest Inventory ® practitioner. She spent 10 years in the corporate insurance and risk management space before pivoting into non-profit fundraising. She is passionate about helping individuals find careers they love which is why she moved towards career coaching. Jackie specializes in working with individuals who are looking to change careers or figure out a career path but they don’t know where to start. She works with clients from career identification to securing their new role and beyond. Jackie has a business management degree from Santa Clara University and is a certified career coach through the World Coach Institute.
Areas of Specialty: Career coaching, career pivots, Strong Interest Inventory ®
DAS, SANDIP
Senior Principal SoC Architect at CARIAD
CARIAD is a company owned by Volkswagen group, which provides software and hardware integrated solutions for ADAS and infotainment for car brands owned by Volkswagen group eg. Volkswagen, Audi, Bentely, Porsche, Lamborghini, Skoda, Ducati. Cariad’s mission is to transform automotive mobility. Cariad is building the leading tech stack for the automotive industry to make automotive mobility safer, more sustainable, and more comfortable in a new way.
Previously, Sandip worked as SoC Architect at Aeva Inc which builds Lidar perception technology for a broad range of applications like autonomous driving to consumer electronics, consumer health, industrial robotics, and security. Sandip is focussed on SoC Architecture and among other things, has worked on 5G Baseband chip for handsets at Intel, AI training and inference chips at Luminous Computing. Sandip has a 22+ years of Silicon Valley experience working with leading companies like Sun Microsystems, Oracle, Broadcom, Intel and Luminous Computing.
Areas of Specialty: Computer Architecture, Deep Neural Networks, Automotive, Wireless and Networking, Coherency, Memory sub-system, Security, SOC, FPGA
DELLISANTI, SUE
SVP, Global Recruiting FutureFore at Salesforce.com
Suzana DelliSanti is SVP of Global Futureforce Recruiting at Salesforce, where she oversees a global university recruitment team responsible for expanding our hiring to 18% of Salesforce’s total external hires. With a keen understanding of her high-tech, ultra-connected Gen Z demographic, Suzana has built a team dedicated to attracting, cultivating and retaining this next-generation talent, leveraging non-traditional marketing efforts, creating custom programs and delivering a first class candidate experience in a way that differentiates Salesforce across the industry.
During her tenure at Salesforce, Suzana has collaborated with groups across the business from COO and Marketing to Finance and Strategy, to help them grow and hire for their next evolution. She’s led the development of Salesforce’s first-ever PhD program, partnering with Chief Scientist Richard Socher to build out a robust hiring strategy to recruit research scientists and engineers in the field of machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer vision and more.
Suzana has over 18 years of experience leading high-growth recruitment teams for some of the most innovative financial and technology companies, including LinkedIn, McKesson & Barclays Global Investors. She thrives on building world class teams to do great work and evolve talent acquisition for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Areas of Specialty: G&A and customer and sales growth, recruitment, use of LinkedIn for job search and recruitment, effective job search techniques, expertise in how employers look at candidates
DEWING, MADISON
Technical Recruiter and Onboarding Coach, TEKSystems
Madison is currently a Technical Recruiter and Onboarding Coach at TEKsystems, where she recruits software engineers and helps them find their dream job. She also helps with the training and development of new recruiters during their first three months with the company, to ensure that new recruiters get ramped up quickly to become successful within the company.
Areas of Specialty: Communications, coaching, recruiting, time management, inclusion
DITTMAN, SUSAN
M.A. Vice President, Executive Recruiter, Truist Bank
Susan recently joined Truist Bank as a supporting the Wealth Management division. Truist is the 6th largest bank in the USA and Susan is responsible for recruiting highly successful Wealth Advisors and expanding Truist’s West Coast footprint. Susan has over 15 years of talent acquisition and career coaching experience within the Financial Services, banking and wealth management industries. She is a Senior Regional Recruiter with U.S. Bank and recruits Wealth Management Advisors in Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland. She has a Master of Arts in Organization Development from Marymount University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco. Susan lived in Japan for two years and worked for a Japanese company after graduation. She also speaks Japanese.
Areas of Specialty: Recruitment, job search, banking and financial services
DOW, VALERIE
Manager, Strategic Partnerships, Custom Programs at UC Berkeley Extension
Valerie Dow works on marketing the wide range of courses and programs designed for Bay Area professionals who are looking to change or advance in their careers. She has a B.A. from Stanford University and an MBA from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
Areas of Specialty: Marketing strategy and branding, integrated marketing campaigns, e-commerce and web analytics, event development and management, continuing education and professional development programs.
DOWLING, JIM
Assistant Director, Technology Training Programs of JVS
Jim was previously Training and Logistics Manager of the San Francisco Department of Elections and the owner of Change With Purpose Coaching. Jim helps people get beyond their stuck places and assists them in developing new tools and resources for achieving personal and professional success.
Areas of Specialty: Group facilitation, workshop delivery, career development, employment development, training and development, team coaching, leadership development, personal development, mentoring, conflict resolution and mediation, and communication skill building
DRECHSEL, DUNCAN
Executive Coach & Leadership Consultant at Growth Axis & The Drechsel Group
Duncan coaches executive leaders to realize their full potential, and help organizations cultivate highly engaged employees and teams. Duncan provides consulting services for companies focused on smarter decision making as organizations work to drive positive disruptive change. He helps individuals and teams to understand their strengths, to recognize behaviors that hold them back, and to develop new leadership skills. When at Walmart.com, he was responsible for social media that drove engagement and conversion leveraging the Walmart community, where he also launched online media and classifieds businesses. Earlier roles include launching BabyCenter.com and an interactive TV offering at PacTel (now AT&T). His 15 years experience in digital consumer businesses also includes strategy roles at PacTel focused on broadband networks and devices, and multi-channel retail at Walmart.com. Duncan’s advisory roles have included a number of advertising and ecommerce businesses. He holds a BA from University of California Irvine, and an MBA from Cornell.
Areas of Specialty: Marketing and advertising management, effective supervision, high performance leadership, change leadership and organizational development
DRIESSLER, JESSICA BLAIR
Associate Director, Talent Acquisition at UCSF and UCSF Health
She is responsible for leading a team of forty two talent scouts that assist UCSF and UCSF Health in achieving its mission to leading revolutions in health worldwide by recruiting top talent. Most recently, Jessica developed and launched LEAN Standard Work for Executive Recruitment endorsed by the Chancellor as part of his Anti-Racism Initiative. She works closely with several community programs focused on employment equity and inclusion. Jessica serves as a Board Member at San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development Information and Communications Technology Committee, Bay Area Council Gender, Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and Healthcare Anchor Network focusing on tackling the underlying economic and racial disparities in public health. Jessica has an MBA from Golden Gate University, graduate of the Yale Executive Leadership program, a LEAN Certified Practitioner, and certified Workforce Planning from the Lean Human Capital Institute.
Areas of Specialty: Recruitment, changing careers, technology, using LinkedIn for job search, management, effective supervision, and organizational development.
ELUMBA, CANDACE
Project Manager at JP Morgan Chase in San Francisco
Candace Elumba was previously VP of JP Morgan Chase and a branch manager, she serves as the Treasurer of the Job Forum and is an experienced talent and development manager with a demonstrated history of working in the financial industry.
Areas of Specialty: Skilled in Sales, Portfolio Growth, Training and Development, Leadership, and Financial Risk.
ENFERADI, DARIN
Head of Talent at Kiddom, an e-learning company
Darin is currently the head of talent at Kiddom, an e-learning company focussed on creating transformative tools to make learning personal, expand access to quality content, and foster community collaboration. Prior to Kiddom, Darin was the VP of Talent at Apollo.io, an Enterprise software company in San Francisco. He has years of impressive and progressive recruitment experience working in the bay area. His recruiting experience spans a wide range of business sectors and company sizes and he’s helped scale several of Silicon Valley’s top tech companies (Google, Linkedin, Splunk, Mixpanel). He is currently focused on building teams at venture capital backed startups.
Areas of Specialty: Strategic Recruitment,Tech Companies, Talent Leadership
ENGLAND, LAUREN
Director of Customer Success at Pathlight
Lauren England works for Pathlight, a platform for measuring key performance metrics for customer success, inside sales and sales development. Prior to Pathlight, Lauren worked for Scoop, a car pool platform company and she formerly worked at Twitter as an Account Executive, managing Fortune 100 online retailers’ online media strategy. Prior to Scoop, Lauren worked at Twitter as an Account Executive managing Fortune 100 online retailers online media strategy.
Areas of Specialty: Sales, relationship building, marketing, online media, transportation, product management
EXCELL, MICHELLE
Creative Technology Strategist at The Antipodean, an immersive technology consultancy and production collective.
Michelle Excell started The Antipodean in 2016 and consults on immersive technology strategy including AR, VR, Voice, AI, IOT and digital/experiential CX with direct clients, and through ad agencies. Prior to launching The Antipodean, she ran interactive production and strategy for ad agencies and digital agencies in NZ, Australia and NYC for 15 years.
Michelle is a regular contributor to The Beancast Marketing Podcast, panels on immersive tech and runs workshops at conferences including TED Women and Spikes Asia.
Areas of Specialty: Business analysis/requirements, change management, process development, team management, training and education, technology translation, and mentoring.
FANSELOW, JEFF
Principal Consultant at FanSolo Learning, LLC
Jeff Fanselow is a passionate and experienced learning professional who specializes in the development and delivery of engaging training programs that focus on the human side of managing people and creating inclusive workplaces. As the Principal Consultant of FanSolo Learning, LLC, he strives to create safe spaces where people can connect, learn, share ideas, and have fun. Prior to launching FanSolo Learning, he was the Vice President of Learning & Development at CBS Corporation where he created and delivered programs that developed the management teams of such well-known brands as Showtime Networks and Simon & Schuster Publishing, as well as the CBS Television Network.
Areas of Specialty: Learning and training, onboarding, talent inclusion, organizational development
FASSLER, CINDY
Executive Search Professional at Career Coaching and Executive Search with Cindy
Cindy Fassler, Vice President, Chief Talent Officer & Founder at Career Coaching and Executive Search with Cindy, brings over 30 years of expertise to the table where she specializes in Executive Search. Cindy is in the unique position to share her years of expertise in recruiting and coaching with her business partners and clients. Her areas of expertise are Accounting, Banking, Finance, Human Resources, and Executive Administration. Cindy’s expertise has led her to write Get Hired!, a comprehensive guide for job seekers, and Great Managers Lead, a book that mentors business leaders.
Finding top talent and coaching people to reach their goals is Cindy’s passion.
She has been in business for over two decades, and have helped tens of
thousands of job seekers approach their job search and careers from new
perspectives to deliver breakthrough results and land their dream jobs.
She is driven by a desire to empower people to be the best that they can be. She leads by example, and her passion for career coaching and recruiting is
infectious.
Areas of Specialty: Accounting, banking, finance, HR, executive administration
FENG, MAYA
Private Practitioner Psychotherapist | Program Manager for DEI & Disability Employment
Maya is an accomplished program manager with over 10 years of people services experience with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, disability employment and accommodation, mental health wellbeing and career development. She leads the Employment Services team striving to meet contract objectives through our strong working partnerships and the belief that everything we do matters to somebody. When she is not program-managing and employee-developing, she enjoys working with people on their journeys of growth as a psychotherapist in my private practice.
Areas of Specialty: Community Relationship Building, Client and Employee Engagement, and Vocational Rehabilitation.
FERINO, RANDY
VP/Employee Relations & Employment Manager at Exchange Bank
Randy served in the US Navy for 5 years and moved to Northern California in 1999. He graduated from Sonoma State University in 2001 and earned his MBA from there in 2006. Randy is a Senior HR Business Partner for Exchange Bank, located in Santa Rosa, CA. He has been there since 2013 and specializes in employment related activities such as, Recruiting, Employee Relations and Employee Development. Randy has worked in the HR field for over 20 years. Randy serves on the Sonoma State University Alumni Board and the Santa Rosa City School Career Technical Education Advisory Board. In his spare time, you can find him playing softball, or playing with his two children, Harrison and Olive.
Areas of Specialty: Talent acquisition, employee relations, employee development, performance coaching, performance management, mentoring, career coaching.
FIELD, BRIAN
IT Professional VP Technology, at Field–Tech Consulting and Masons of California
Currently Brian is an Independent Consultant for Field-Tech Consulting. He works with small and mid-sized business organizations to help them make the best use of their technology investments, define technology related business strategy, build roadmaps and manage projects to completion. He has helped companies transition core functions from on premise to the cloud and have streamlined internal processes so as to enable automation. He has completed staffing and resource assessments that led to improved team performance and utilization, and I’ve helped organizations to incorporate a metrics driven, customer service approach to managing their IT departments.
Areas of Specialty: Strategic planning, cloud computing, project management, consulting, team building
GALLAGHER, PATRICIA
Chief Philanthropy Officer, Buckelew
Pat is Chief Philanthropy Officer at Buckelew of Marin, where her development work contributes to the organizational mission of supporting homeless families, aging adults, immigrants and youth through social services and opportunities for healthy growth and development.
Pat was formerly Chief Philanthropy Officer at Catholic Charities (SD, Marin, San Mateo) and Director of Development and Outreach at St Anthony Foundation, where she was responsible for development, donor communications, and community outreach for St Anthony’s. Her work supported the 67 year old San Francisco organization, well known for serving 2,400 meals in their dining room, providing a medical clinic, addiction recovery programs, job training, and technology access for those in need here in San Francisco. Prior to St Anthony’s, Pat was formerly the Director of Strategic Gifts for San Francisco General Hospital Foundation, and prior to that was Director of Advancement for Schools of the Sacred Heart.
Pat holds a Master in Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco, a B.A. from Santa Clara University, majoring in English and holds a Certified Fundraising Certificate (CFRE). Her volunteer work includes in addition to the Job Forum, Father Alfred Center mock interviewer, USF Alumni Board and City Youth Now Development Advisor.
Areas of Specialty: constituent outreach and communications, strategic and organizational planning, mentorship of emerging leaders, project management.
GERSTEN, DEBBIE
Executive Director, Multinational Corporations at J.P. Morgan
Debbie is a Commercial Banker with 20+ years of experience at J.P. Morgan and other large, global financial services organizations. In her current role, she is focused specifically on Multinational Corporations in the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s committed to building cross cultural relationships, and is dedicated to providing her clients with financial expertise and unparalleled firm wide capabilities.
Areas of Specialty: Banking, cross cultural relationships
GREEN, BRENT
Principal @IntelliVen-SF, Adjunct Instructor UC-Davis Extension, Executive Coach
Brent Green, Ph.D. is an organization psychologist who has worked in a variety of organizations. Brent is currently Principal at IntelliVen, a leadership development and system change group, and adjunct professor at UC DAVIS. His career focus is executive, team, and organizational change. He is a veteran career coach with the Job Forum, a speaker, and author of a wide variety of publications in professional journals. He is a former Sr. Manager of Training & Organization Development at Medtronic, Director of Organization Effectiveness at McKesson, and former Director of Assessment and Learning at The American Management Association in New York City.
Areas of Specialty: Executive Assessment & Development, Coaching, Organization Development, Talent Alignment with strategic objectives, career transition.
GUERRERO, ÁNGEL-MAX
Pipeline Programs Manager at University of California, San Francisco
Ángel-Max Guerrero, MA, was appointed the University of California, San Francisco’s first Pipeline Programs Manager in November 2020. He serves as a campus expert on strengthening engagement with internal and external stakeholders to increase impact for UCSF’s pipeline, outreach, and internship programs through the Office of Diversity & Outreach and the Center for Science, Education & Outreach. His work also supports the UCSF Anchor Institute Mission framework, specifically in increasing the effectiveness of the education pipeline for under-resourced populations. His work in support of the Anchor Institution Mission also centers on connecting education pathway programs with entry-level employment opportunities in the institution and connecting these opportunities to career pathways over time.
Areas of Specialty: Pipeline racial equity, work-based learning strategies and programming, college access and equity
HAGGERTY, LAURA
Business Leader IT Communications & Change Management at Visa
Laura Haggerty has worked with several high tech and consulting organizations including the Technology teams at Visa, Alcatel Lucent and Ernst & Young and worked in operations, product management, marketing and information technology organizations.
A creative technology leader with expertise in change management, program management, product portfolio planning, project management, and process improvement, Laura also brings international business experience that includes directing multidisciplinary, multinational teams working in development, planning for products, and systems transformation programs. Laura has a bachelor’s degree from the NY State University at New Paltz and a Masters degree from UC Berkeley.
Areas of Specialty: Technology marketing, product management and program management, change management.
HAYES, DIANE
President, Diane Hayes Sales Training & Consulting
Diane has worked in the traditional and digital industry for over 35 years. She has been teaching sales teams how to sell digital and traditional media together for the benefit of their advertisers. She has extensive experience working with sales leaders and salespeople to believe in themselves and achieve success beyond their own expectations.
Areas of Specialty: Leadership, management and sales coaching, sales, sales management, sales turnarounds, and business development.
HEFFERNAN, BARBARA
Artist at Islais Creek Studio
Barbara is a working artist at Islais Creek Studio in San Francisco. She has 20+ years experience in organizational development, project management, career and performance management. She has worked for international and domestic organizations across the following industries: financial services, health care, technology and pharma. Her strengths: working with teams and individuals to achieve performance results.
Areas of Specialty: Learning and development and career management.
HERZENBERG, JULIA
Associate Director of Clinical Innovation Consultancy at Kaiser
Julia has been working at Kaiser Permanente since 2000 focusing on clinical improvement and quality projects in the outpatient and inpatient setting. In her current role she manages a team of non-clinical and clinical consultants who specialize in designing and implementing new innovative clinical care delivery models.
Areas of Specialty: Performance improvement, project management, mentoring.
HILL, CINDY
Senior Manager, Research Library & Bank Archives at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
Cindy currently manages a team of librarians and archivists at the Federal Reserve’s 12th District Bank. Cindy has been an information professional in many industries including environmental, engineering, consulting, executive recruiting, high technology and now banking.
Cindy Hill has been an information professional in many industries including environmental, engineering consulting, executive recruiting, high technology and now manages the Research Library and Bank Archives at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She is active in the information industry and speaks about the profession, innovation and the impact of technology and its potential to information users.
Her favorite country is Iceland because its rugged terrain was once used by astronauts to train for their Moon landings. Cindy has been to US NASA’s Space Camp twice.
Areas of Specialty: Coaching, managing a department, professional development, secondary research, communications with executives and leaders
HING, CINDY
Director, People Business Partner – Technology, at Volta
Cindy is currently a Director of People Business Partners (HRBPs) at Volta Charging, where she focuses on aligning business goals with all things People and Culture. Her expertise is in technology sectors, working closely with C- level leaders to strategize on talent and business needs for achieving short and long term Company-wide goals. Prior to that, she worked at Ford Motors in the AV (Autonomous Vehicle) sector, supporting a scaling global technology organization.
Areas of Specialty: Talent Acquisition, Employee Engagement, Professional Development Coaching and Leadership Coaching, Organizational Change and Management Strategies, Scaling Organizations (from private to global public companies)
HOGAN, MATTHEW
Founder & Principal Recruiter, Point 37 Executive Search
Matt Hogan is an Executive Search consultant who helps investors and senior executives build execution-focused management teams. Formerly Matt was an Executive Search Consultant at The Leadership Group and an Associate at SPMB, a retained executive search leader in Silicon Valley, and he has been an Account Manager at Signature Consultants, a National IT Staffing firm. Matt started his career off in B2B sales selling annuities and other fixed income products for MassMutual in New York. In 2011 he moved to San Francisco to dive into the world of IT Staffing. Matt joined Randstad Technologies he eventually assumed the role of Managing Director for Randstad’s Bay Area operation. As Managing Director Matt was directly responsible for managing multiple local and global IT solutions, an external headcount of 150+ local IT contractors and the sales efforts of 20 internal account managers and recruiters.
Areas of Specialty: Executive search, IT, business growth, B2B sales
HRICHAK, MARYANN
Immigration Specialist, Arcadis DPS Group, a global engineering, architecture and design company to improve the quality of life.
Maryann manages immigration matters for international personnel, guiding them in maintaining their legal status in the US, and also advising those going overseas for assignments. She has previously worked as an impact coach and cultural mentor with TechWomen, a public private partnership with the US Department of State and the International Institute of Education, collaborated with the Dept. of Homeland Security and the International Organization for Migration and private companies on international public affairs, legal, tech and managerial initiatives. She has previously worked in Croatia and the Philippines and studied in Greece.
Areas of Specialty: Intercultural relations & communications, writing, editing, coaching and project management
Areas of Specialty: Intercultural relations & communications, writing, editing, coaching and project management
HU, JUDY
Business Development Director at HyperFair VR
Judy is currently a sales consultant in business development, sales, web technology, and content management. She was formerly the Director of Business Development for Hyperfair VR, a Social VR solution for enterprises, part of the HTC Vive X portfolio. As a specialist in the Virtual Reality realm, she led the on-boarding of new clients in diverse markets across industries, including green building & marketing, finance, art, travel, architecture, and real estate. With substantial experience in fund-raising, sales, and communications in publishing, media, arts, hospitality, and property development, Judy holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Areas of Specialty: AR/VR, Technology/Digital Sales, SaaS, Startups, content management, web technology, real estate, property management
HUANG, SAKURA
Business Analyst, Equinix
Sakura is currently a Business Analyst specializing in Knowledge Management and Collaboration at Equinix, supporting global operations teams keeping data centers running. She also focuses on supporting first generation identifying individuals with their career transition and growth, particularly those, like her, who come from low income, immigrant, and disadvantaged backgrounds. Previously, she has worked a variety of roles as both a full-time employee and temp/vendor/contractor (TVC) in Adtech, Fintech, and Cybertech. She has been a part of Big Tech, High-Growth and Small Startups, as well as a traditional not-for-profit organization.
Areas of Specialty: Knowledge management, stakeholder management, consumer online banking, basic social media, ads delivery and targeting, technical support, first generation experiences.
HUDIS, PAULA (PENNI)
Chairman of the Board, Women’s Cancer Resource Center
Penni is Chairman of the Board at the Women’s Cancer Resource Center, a 32 year-old non-profit in Berkeley. Prior to this role, she was Interim Executive Director and Board Treasurer. She has also been the Director of Institutional Development and Director of Program and Curriculum Development at ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career, a Berkeley non-profit serving low-income school districts. Her earlier career in education and human resource management also included positions as Visiting Associate Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley (part-time); education researcher and Director of Program Evaluation at MPR Associates, Inc.; Vice President and Human Resources Manager with Bank of America; and EEO and Affirmative Action Operations Manager at the Bechtel Corporation. Penni holds a Ph.D. degree in sociology and demography from the University of Michigan. Penni also serves as the Job Forum’s Director of Fundraising and is a volunteer panelist.
Areas of Specialty: non-profit management, non-profit fundraising, education and equity research, and program evaluation
HYDE, REBECCA
Data Scientist, Meta, Health Division
Rebecca is currently a data scientist at Facebook, where she performs analyses to inform the strategy for the company’s new Health organization. Holding a Masters of Public Health, Rebecca’s interests lie in the intersection of technology and health, and she has explored a variety of roles, ranging from machine learning to epidemiological research, in order to find the right balance. Rebecca also enjoys being involved with Facebook’s efforts around recruiting, interviewing, and onboarding of new data scientists.
Areas of Specialty: Data science, statistics, biostatistics, public health, project management
IAMS, MARIA
Executive Communication Consultant, Lange International
Maria is an executive communication consultant specializing in leadership development and curriculum design. She holds a master coaching certification and is an accredited Enneagram practitioner. From the C-suite to mid-career professionals, Maria helps her clients leverage their strengths to develop into effective leaders. Clients partner with Maria for support on message construction, delivery, and managing through change.
Areas of Speciality: Communications, leadership, coaching, workshops, curriculum design
IMHOFF, JEROME
Career Coach at The Résumé Shop, “INK.” and Randstad RiseSmart
Jerome Imhoff is a professional résumé writer and career coach with more than 15 years of experience in the “employment” industry. After moving to California from the Black Hills of South Dakota, where he worked as a music teacher, Jerome made his foray into the world of employment services as a vocational counselor and job developer for an adult vocational training school in Concord, California. He then spent 5 years working as a recruiter and headhunter for a national staffing agency before starting his own business, The Résumé Shop, “INK.” As a career coach, Jerome helps job seekers and career changers to assess their career goals and acquire a strategic edge to navigate an ever-changing and highly competitive job market.
Jerome is a certified human resources professional (PHR) and a certified ARTbundance Life Coach and Practitioner. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education with majors in English and music as well as a Master of Arts degree in education with an emphasis on language arts. Jerome is the co-host of the podcast UpLevel Your Career with Judson & Jerome and the host of the podcast Manifesting Brilliance: Living Your Authentic Life.
Areas of Specialty: Life coaching, podcasting, resumes, career coaching
JAIN, ANU
Product Manager at Google
Anu Jain is an experienced entrepreneur and technologist with a diverse background in data science, data engineering, artificial intelligence and overall software management. He is currently at Google working on the travel business, bringing the Google Voice Assistant to other surfaces in the ecosystem. Prior to Google, he ran a machine-learning based hedge fund. Just before that, he was the CTO of HitFix.com which was acquired by Uproxx Media. Anu has started multiple technology companies and has developed enterprise strategy as well as consumer features for Internet Explorer at Microsoft. He is constantly a technological adviser to many startups in the SF Bay Area. Anu received his M.S. from The Ohio State University. When Anu is not hacking away at his computer, he can typically be found at the squash courts in San Francisco, or out sailing on the bay.
Areas of Specialty: Strategy, product management, Artificial Intelligence, Machine learning, mobile, web, apps, media, analytics and technology management.
KEHL, JOSHUA
Architectural Designer, Gould Evans
Joshua Kehl has been with Gould Evans for 4 years working on Bay Area projects primarily focused on public schools, public space, and multi-family housing. Coupled with his projects, he contributes to sustainability efforts to decarbonize and remove red list chemicals from our building interiors. He also works on issues of community activism, equity, and justice within the firm and profession at large. Outside of the profession, Joshua volunteers with Post: Ballet, a Bay Area ballet company, and is a member of SPUR, ACLU, and NAACP.
Areas of Specialty: Architectural design, project management, design coordination, graphic communication, written communication, and information design
KNUDSON, KATHY
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Career Counselor
Kathy Knudson is a Career Counselor and Therapist. She is a former adjunct faculty member, teaching graduate division courses at both San Francisco State University and the University of San Francisco. As a corporate recruiter, Kathy helped connect large companies with highly qualified candidates. She also has 22 years of experience with the City and County of San Francisco as a Vocational Assessor, and later as a Counselor in the Employee Assistance Program, providing mental health services to 40,000 S.F. City and County employees and their families. With her unique background in both corporate and governmental work environments, she welcomes clients from government agencies and private industry. As a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Nationally Certified Counselor (NCC), Kathy is a therapist and career counselor, helping people explore career options and address career issues, especially those seeking assistance with toxic workplaces, difficult co-workers, “bad bosses” (as in “Working for You Isn’t Working for Me”) and crisis intervention. Kathy has extensive experience helping clients effectively improve personal and professional relationships, management/response to violence in the workplace and substance abuse issues. Kathy has a BA from San Jose State University and an MS from San Francisco State University. She is an active member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and a long-time Job Forum panelist.
Areas of Specialty: Kathy specializes in helping clients address the often-overlooked emotional issues surrounding job search and career change.
KOEHNE, TREVOR
Account Manager, TEKSystems
Account manager for TEK systems specializing in Enterprise applications and Data insight and analytics. Trevor has been with TEKsystems for almost 2 years and started out as a recruiter, recruiting primarily in Devops and systems engineers. Trevor has been a part of the Job forum for less than a year and was introduced from Janet Beach. Trevor has been supporting Uber and Splunk for their external contractors working on projects, marketing, and data purposes.
Areas of Specialty: Analytics, recruiting
KOPATZ, JENNIFER
Senior Engineering Recruiter at Autodesk
Jennifer is a Senior Engineering Recruiter at Autodesk. Previously, she was a Senior Technical Recruiter at Google, and a Segment Lead and People Manager for the America’s Engineering Recruitment Team at Cisco Systems focused on technical positions. Jennifer is a native San Franciscan and attended UC Berkeley for her undergraduate degree. She has 15+ years of experience in recruitment focused on technical recruiting for high tech positions and companies. She worked for 5 years in San Francisco recruitment agencies and 10 years at high-tech companies, including GuardianEdge (acquired by Symantec), Cisco Systems, and Google.
Areas of Specialty: Recruitment experience focused on engineering, technical positions, marketing, sales, and operations.
KUEPPER, BRIAN
Franchise Consultant and President at New Ground Consulting
Brian Kuepper, Franchise Consultant with New Ground Consulting, helps individuals determine if franchise ownership is right for them. Working with both investors and those looking for a change from corporate, he matches your goals, skills and financial qualifications with carefully screened franchise opportunities.Brian will help you get the franchise information you need and find the right franchise opportunity for you. His services are available at no cost to those contemplating business ownership.
Areas of Specialty: Franchising, Business Systems, Sales and Marketing Strategy, Customer Retention and Satisfaction
KULLAR, RANDEEP
Partnership Director at CEA CAPA: Education Abroad
Randeep is a higher education professional and more specifically a Career Counselor and International Educator. She is now Partnership Director at CEA CAPA: Education Abroad. Prior to this, Randeep spent the first part of her career developing global internship programs while supporting students on their professional and study abroad journeys. After this, she transitioned to developing international institutional relationships centered around creating customized experiential learning programs at universities around the world. Randeep received a M.S. in Counseling with a focus in College and Career Counseling from San Francisco State University and a B.A. in History with a minor in Education from the University of California, Davis. During her professional career, Randeep has been committed to improving access to higher education and helping remove barriers faced by underrepresented populations. She has served on committees with Diversity Abroad, NAFSA, and the Global Leadership League.
Areas of Specialty: Career Services, Higher Education, International Education, Partner Relations, Program Development
LAPORTE, ROBERTA (BOBBIE)
Professional Training & Coaching Executive at Bobbie LaPorte & Associates
Roberta (Bobbie) LaPorte, is Founder and Principal of Bobbie LaPorte & Associates, a consulting firm providing career and leadership development services to Fortune 500 organizations and promising start-ups. Before founding her consultancy, Ms. LaPorte served in CEO, COO and CMO roles in several Fortune 50 companies, including IBM, GE and United Healthcare, as well as leading two healthcare technology start-ups. She has an MBA from Harvard, and is currently enrolled in a Master’s Program in Positive Leadership and Strategy at IE Business School in Madrid.
As a thought leader on how to handle challenges of all kinds, and an endurance athlete and multiple-Ironman triathlon finisher, she understands how today’s professionals can benefit from the strategies and disciplines of athletes, including perseverance, mental toughness and resilience. She also is an evangelist for the idea that your job is what makes everything else in your life possible.Bobbie is currently training for her seventh Ironman triathlon. When she is not coaching executives she proudly serves on a number of Bay Area non-profit boards and happily rescues senior Golden Retriever dogs.
Areas of Specialty: Career management, career/life balance, executive leadership team development, women in leadership
LARSON, SIERRA
Senior Associate, Technical Accounting and Financial Reporting at Upstart
Sierra is a Certified Public Accountant and works at Upstart, an online lending marketplace that provides personal loans based on AI. She formerly worked at KPMG as a Senior Associate for five years, first in the Audit practice specializing in transactional work such as IPOs, carve-outs and business acquisitions for companies ranging from high growth venture-capital backed to Fortune 20. Sierra then transitioned to KPMG’s Deal Advisory and Strategy practice, working on buy-side deals focusing on pre-acquisition financial due diligence as well as contracting in a Fortune 20 accounting department focusing on SEC reporting. Outside of work hours, Sierra enjoys reading, hiking and traveling abroad.
Areas of Specialty: Accounting, Auditing, Financial Due Diligence, SEC Reporting
LEONE, BOB
Senior Advisor, Communications and Outreach (retired)
For sixteen years, Bob managed the communications and outreach functions for several iterations of a global health and development program funded by the US Agency for International Development. In that capacity, he was responsible for selection, logistics and participation in 50+ events a year across the country. Bob developed materials and took part in numerous national conferences, career fairs, online career forums and one-on-one informational interviews with a focus on helping junior, mid and senior level global health professionals and career changers achieve their goals. Working closely with recruitment staff, Bob provided job seekers with an employer’s perspective on the job application process, insight into the skills required and what it was like working on public health projects in developing countries. He is passionate about the effective writing and editing of resumes, cover letters and essays that showcase the skills and experience of individuals. Bob has a BA in English Literature from Cal State East Bay and currently volunteers with the San Francisco SPCA, Students Rising Above and San Francisco Heritage.
Areas of Specialty: Writing, editing, interviewing, global and public health, outreach management
LEWIS, ALLISON
Practice Manager, Medtech Services, Quality and RIM, Veeva
Allison leads the MedTech Quality and RIM implementation teams for Veeva, focusing on software implementations around Quality and Regulatory for the Medical Device industry. She has 17+ years experience in Quality, Regulatory, and Compliance, with knowledge of various aspects of Medical Device manufacturing and associated integrated computer systems.
Areas of Specialty: Medical device manufacturing and associated integrated computer systems selection and implementation, business process improvement, computer systems validation, LifeScience technology risk and compliance analysis, and strategic software product development
LIM, NICOLE
Equity Research Analyst at Thornburg Investment Management
Previously, Nicole was part of the Strategy team at Chegg, a market-leading connected student learning platform. She helped develop Chegg’s strategic priorities. Prior to that, she worked in investment banking in NY. Nicole graduated with a BA in Economics from Macalester College.
Areas of Specialty: Corporate strategy, M&A, startups
LIU, MICHELLE
Principal
Michelle is an Inquisitive, results-oriented Business Transformation Leader with 15+ years of Management Consulting, PMO/Program/Project Management, and strategic global large-scale process, organization, and technology improvement projects. Successfully delivered ~30 transformation solutions for Fortune 500 companies. Possess versatile communication skills to engage C-suite, business / IT partners, and global cross functional audiences. Extensive sales and business development experience.
Areas of Specialty: Management and technology consulting, PMO/program/project management, and business/finance transformation M&A, startups
LONDONO, MICHELLE
Principal at Proactive Network Consulting
Michelle Londoño, Principal at ProActive Network Consulting, pulls from her
experience as a Girl Scout troop leader, a community organizer and as a Public Health Nurse. Experienced in the nursing process, as a USF College of Nursing School grad, Michelle digs deeper and gets to the root of the client’s needs with the Design Thinking process. She enjoys growing internal and external relationships, cultivating a positive company culture, and stands behind her team. She will continue to guide ProActive’s customer experience and give tech the personal, feminine touch. In the off hours, you’ll find Michelle volunteering, learning the nuances of Tahitian dance, or hiking with her family.
Areas of Specialty: Design thinking, human resources, public health, project management and UX content writing.
LONGO, NANCY
Producer, Writer, Presenter – Longo Productions
Nancy Longo is currently using her established track record in television and business to develop and host an on-line job show. She also uses her media and marketing expertise to help a wide variety of Bay Area companies find their voices and get them heard. Longo’s broadcasting career began over 20 years ago in Los Angeles, CA. She has worked at stations on both the East and West Coasts including: WHP-TV, Harrisburg, PA, KCBS-TV, Los Angeles, CA, KRON-TV, San Francisco, CA, KABC-TV, KPIX-TV, San Francisco, CA, KNTV-TV, San Jose, CA. Longo has met, interviewed, and established relations with business and community leaders, politicians, top chefs, authors, and more.
Areas of Specialty: Marketing communications, broadcast journalism,
career/presentation coaching
LORDA, RENEE
Asst. Circuit Executive for Public Information, Conference and Education at the Office of Circuit Executive, United States Courts for the Ninth Circuit (Federal Courts)
Renée Lorda is the Asst. Circuit Executive for Public Information, Conference and Education in the Office of the Circuit Executive, which operates similarly to a consulting service group in the United States Federal Courts, Ninth Circuit. She manages public information and community outreach, organizes Conferences and education programs for judges and federal practitioners. The Ninth Circuit is the largest federal circuit court in the United States, including nine western states, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the South Pacific. Renée has extensive experience in marketing professional services and the administration of executive education programs. The areas of expertise she brings to The Job Forum include marketing communications, executive seminar development, program development, and community relations, public affairs and communications administration.
Areas of Specialty: Marketing communications, professional services marketing, special events, education and training, career development
MARK, KATHY
Professional Training & Coaching Executive at SFO
Kathy is an IT Project Director at the SFO Airport and an IT professional with 35 years experience in creating automated solutions in private and public sectors within financial, retail and the transportation industries. She is a certified project management professional. As a Project Director for City and County of San Francisco at the Airport Commission, Kathy is involved in deploying enterprise-wide property management and billing systems, a Project Management Office (PMO) and a suite of business portfolio training programs. Kathy was a Senior IT Manager, directing complex Federal Reserve Enterprise Projects and the National Y2K Program Office, and an expert in producing measurable business value on time and within budget by translating requirements into automated solutions to enhance operations. Kathy is also a Competent Communicator and Leader as Past President and current Vice President of Membership with SFO’s Plane Talk Corporate Toastmaster Club.
Areas of Specialty: Information Technology (IT), project management large scale, enterprise projects, public sector systems, Federal Reserve systems, City and County of San Francisco
MASON, HEATHER
Career Services Specialist, UC Berkeley Extension, University of California
Heather is a career development professional and founding member of UC Berkeley Extension’s Career Services department, where her work is focused on designing, managing, and delivering high quality and high impact professional training programs. Prior to her work for University of California, she worked in international education, adult education, and taught high school.
Areas of Specialty: Program management, internships/early career, event management, training, up-skilling, and re-skilling
McDONAGH, KATIE
Product Marketing Manager, Doordash
Previously, Katie was Product Manager of Commerce at Facebook. She joined The Job Forum in 2021.
Areas of Specialty: Marketing, Digital Marketing, Advertising
McKENZIE, KAISHNA
Medical Assistant and Social Media Manager at Mosaddegh Eye Institute and Mosaddegh Aesthetics Institute
Kaishna is a International Medical Doctor currently working as a clinical assistant and content creator in the field of aesthetics and ophthalmology. Driven by empathy, she takes pride in maintaining an efficient clinic that fosters positive patient experiences. Her responsibilities include assisting in procedures, consulting with patients and social media management.
Areas of Specialty: Healthcare, editing, communications, social media and Spanish.
MCLEOD, CAMPBELL
Director of Development & Talent Acquisition Team, Northwestern Mutual, financial services firm
Campbell McLeod is a San Francisco based Financial Advisor, development coach, and recruiting specialist whose mission is to continue driving impact by recruiting and developing diverse advisors in the business, to help them build a personal financial planning practice while making an impact in underrepresented communities. Campbell brings 4 years of experience in leadership, campus recruiting, internship program development, full time recruiting, advisor development, and client facing personal financial planning in the financial services industry. Connect with Campbell on LinkedIn.
Areas of Specialty: Networking, Mentoring/coaching best practices, Business development
MUGNANI MONROE, DEBRA
President at Monroe Personnel Service, LLC & Temptime
President, Monroe Personnel Service LLC and Temptime, temporary and regular office and event support employment agency. Debra founded and manages this 34 year old staffing agency and leads the company’s marketing and business development efforts. She also has a “side hustle” professional jazz and cabaret singing career.
Areas of Specialty: Placement, recruitment, negotiation, editing, writing, communications, social media, and marketing.
MURILLO, ANTHONY
Regional Sales Director – Northern California, at Lumen Technologies.
Anthony leads a team of 10 account directors, 3 solution engineers and support admins. He sells full stack security solutions, as well as network and cloud infrastructure – all wrapped in managed and professional services. Previously, Anthony was VP at Mobilitie and Enterprise Sales Director at Lumen Technologies and at Unitas Global he has responsibility for Global Connectivity and Cloud Infrastructure and Managed Services.
Areas of Specialty: Fiber Infrastructure, IoT, Networking, Data Security, Voice, New Business Development, Recruitment & Talent Development, Strategy Planning & Execution, Incentive and Compensation, Expert Top Sales Performance, Teambuilding & Leadership, Market Expansion & Growth, Incentive and Compensation Expert, Client Acquisition & Retention
NELSON, CHARLIE
VP at SmartRecruiters
Charlie is the VP at SmartRecruiters, a social recruitment software built to make hiring easier for employers. His focus there is on helping global employers build strong recruitment strategies to attract and retain top talent. Charlie has experience in technology and social recruiting that spans several industries and various sized employers.
His career started in recruitment as a business representative for local job search engine, Simply Hired. While at Simply Hired, Charlie worked with Fortune 500 companies and Recruitment Advertisement Agencies on recruitment strategy and processes. In 2011, he moved to social media recruiting when he accepted the role of Director of Sales at Identified, a Facebook recruitment application.
Areas of Specialty: Technology and social platforms for accessing talent and recruitment, national account sales, use of social media including LinkedIn for recruitment and hiring, business development, SaaS
NICOLAS, JONATHAN
Partner and Financial Advisor at Pettinelli Financial Partners
Jonathan Nicolas is a partner at Pettinelli Financial Partners’ and also one of firm’s financial advisors. When asked what he does for a living, Jonathan responds with “I coach my clients to achieve financial freedom.”
Jonathan joined the firm in 2002, and was mentored by the firm’s founder, Dennis Pettinelli, from whom he learned about the financial services industry from the ground up.
Jonathan qualified to the Million Dollar Roundtable’s “Court of the Table,” which placed him in the top .125 percent of all financial professionals in the world. He has consistently been ranked in the top 10 percent among all John Hancock financial representatives across the country. In recognition of his industry accomplishments, Jonathan was the keynote speaker at several national conferences, and he has been interviewed countless times on such topics as multi-generational financial planning and corporate fitness programs. Jonathan is a graduate of the University of California at Davis, where he received Bachelor of Arts degrees in both Political Science and Communication.
Active in the community, he is a founder of the Peninsula Starlight Rotary Club. Jonathan is the immediate past charter president of the Peninsular Starlight Rotary Club. As of December 2020, he was appointed to serve as an assistant governor in the coming Rotary Year. Jonathan was a 14-year member of the San Carlos Rotary Club, where he served as president from 2009 to 2010.
Jonathan has also served as the Vice President of the San Carlos Chapter of the Business Networking International from 2010 to 2011. In July 2013, Jonathan was one of the founders of the Business Advantage Networking Group. This organization boasts 33 active members and is still going strong.
Areas of Specialty: Financial investing, customer service, communications, presentations
NICOLAS, LIANE
Healthcare Consultant
Liane has over 25 years of experience delivering high-quality outcomes and profitability within healthcare operations via direct patient care, strategic program development, operational improvements, and service line integration. She delivers thought leadership to the executive team on complex business initiatives, including operational process improvements, service line integration, patient financial support programs and clinical research. She directs cross-functional teams on operational and strategic planning projects. Liane leads with integrity and accountability, communicates clear expectations to all team members to increase understanding, willingness, and ability to follow.
Areas of Specialty: Operation, project management
PARADISE, LAURA
Career Coach at Paradise Coaching
Laura Paradise is a career coach who guides professionals through career transitions, workforce re-entry and leadership development. Her experience spans nonprofit management, politics and consulting. She has directed national and international environmental quality programs. Laura is known for helping clients get visible, get interviews and get hired! A former fundraiser, Laura specializes in interview and networking skills. Laura holds an MS in Organizational Management and is a certified life coach (trained at the Coaches Training Institute (CTI). Laura is based in Oakland California.
Areas of Specialty: Career coaching, interview/networking skills, management
PERA, MELISSA
Market Manager at Lucid Motors
Previously, Melissa was the Managing Director for Speakeasy, a communications development and consulting firm. She has spent her career in client facing management and sales roles from working at global companies like Turner Broadcasting, MTV, Prada, Giorgio Armani to working in smaller niche employers like the Aspen Ski Company and a modern art gallery. The consistent theme is no matter where or what the role, connecting with the person across from her and building trust is crucial to successful business partnership or friendship.
Areas of Specialties: Interviewing skills, personal presentation, networking, editing, coaching.
PILLE, ROBIN
Sr. Manager, Technical Writing at Splunk, Inc, an enterprise software company
Robin is a Senior Technical Writing Manager at Splunk, where she works together with other writers and editors to produce documentation that helps customers meet their business goals using Splunk software. Robin got her start in tech at MuleSoft, and before that she worked in educational publishing at Pearson, project managing and developing college textbooks for microbiology and anatomy & physiology courses.
Areas of specialty: Writing, editing, documentation, information architecture, process improvement, project management, mentoring.
PLINCK, MATTHEW
Head of Global Talent Operations at Krebar International, a consulting and Executive recruitment firm.
Matthew most recently led talent acquisition and operations for Lob and was formerly at Rocket Lawyer, where he headed global TA and operations, building efficient teams in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and the United Kingdom. He started his career in research and transitioned from there to agency recruitment and consulting. He has worked with several technology companies helping them build their talent acquisition strategy involving employer branding, capacity planning, workflow automation, data integrity & visibility, and training.
Areas of specialty: Operations, people analytics, project management, strategy, training programs, coaching
POLLAK, WILLIAM
Founder & Managing Principal at Itineris Financial Advisors
Bill is the Founder and Managing Principal of Itineris Financial Advisors, which provides personal financial planning and investment management services. He is a Registered Representative with, and Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial, a registered Investment Advisor and Member, FINRA/SIPC. He has been a Job Forum panelist since 2010.
Areas of Specialty: Mid-life career transition, entrepreneurship, counseling, public speaking, personal financial planning and investment management
PRESCHUTTI, MARY
Associate Professional Clinical Counselor at New Perspectives Center for Counseling
Mary Preschutti is currently an Associate Professional Clinical Counselor, specializing in clinical and career counseling. She also has a background in workforce development helping professionals and students with disabilities obtain jobs. Additionally, Mary has substantial experience in the non-profit sector in program coordination and exchange program management. She very much enjoys being part of the Job Forum and helping people find meaningful work. Mary speaks Spanish, and Italian.
Areas of Specialty: Career advising, clinical counseling, workforce development
PUNJABI, GIA
Finance Manager at Pendulum Therapeutics, a medical probiotic company.
Gia excels at telling the story behind the numbers and formerly worked at Flexport, a logistics company using its technology platform to fix the global supply chain problem. Previously, she worked at Levi Strauss, first in the Corporate FP&A team focused on taking the 160-year company public in 2019 and later transitioning to the Investor Relations team responsible for effectively communicating the financial results of the company to the investment community. Prior to settling into her current career in Corporate Finance, Gia tried her hand at Auditing, Consulting and Operations via 1-2yrs each at KPMG, Impossible Foods, The Carlyle Group and The Bank of New Zealand. Outside of work, Gia is an avid reader, hiker and people connector.
Areas of Specialty: Corporate Finance, Investor Relations, IPO Readiness, Networking
RAFF, ROBIN
CEO/Founder, Pulse Healthcare Marketing
Robin Raff is CEO/Founder, Pulse Healthcare Marketing. She is a seasoned marketing consultant with leadership experience at world-class advertising agencies working on premier brands across multiple industries, with over 25 years marketing healthcare products and services. In addition to her marketing consulting, Robin is a career coach working with individuals wishing to develop their personal brand, clarify their mission and values, and develop a path to achieve their career goals. She completed her coaching training with an International Coach Federation-accredited training program and is working toward her ICF Associate Certification. She recently became a licensed health coach so that she can provide an integrated approach to her coaching work and to provide deeper insights in her healthcare marketing strategies. She has completed ChatGPT training is cautiously and strategically applying these skills in her marketing efforts.
Areas of Specialty: Coaching, marketing
RAINEY, WAYNE
Senior Recruitment Manager at Nautilus Biotechnology
Wayne Rainey is the Senior Recruitment Manager at Nautilus Biotechnology which is a a high-throughput, low-cost platform for analyzing and quantifying the human proteome (These are protein sequences produced from human genome) .Wayne has been part of the hiring process for companies big and small for over 30 years. He considers himself a Career GPS with the goal of sharing information with both the company and the candidate. Hiring is a binary process which means that both the company and the person have to connect. Over the last decade plus, Wayne has niched himself in the medical device and biotech industry and has worked on hiring all sorts of roles and all levels. The fun part of the process is he gets to learn about everyone else’s profession without having the student debt that came with getting that knowledge.
Areas of Specialty: Recruiting top candidates, medical devices, biotechnology, innovative companies in healthcare and life sciences.
RATTO, KIM
Senior Director, Corporate Recruiting at Salesforce.com
Kim is an experienced recruiting executive who currently leads the Corporate Recruiting team at Salesforce. Kim has worked in both start-up environments as well as large, global organizations. Her HR and Recruiting experience spans across several industries, including corporate retail, finance, technology, and management consulting. Kim has held a variety of roles within HR and Recruiting and is passionate about developing high-functioning teams and leveraging people’s strengths to help them reach their full potential.
She has a degree in Speech Pathology & Audiology and completed the Co-Active Coaches Training Program at The Coaches Training Institute.
Areas of Specialty: Talent Acquisition, Behavioral Based Interviewing, Forecasting and Reporting, Job Search Strategies, Career Coaching, Resume Development, Interview Preparation.
REDEKER, JENNICE
Learning and Development Facilitator at Wells Fargo Bank
Jennice Redeker is a Learning and Development Facilitator at Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. Jennice holds a BA Degree from the University of California Santa Barbara & California State University at Stanislaus. Prior to a career in Banking, she spent a great deal of time in Retail Management & Hospitality and Restaurant Industries. Jennice started in Retail Banking 18 years ago as a Lead Teller at a local Credit Union, then progressed to the SF Bay Area, Wells Fargo Bank. She has tenured experience in Credit and Auto Loans, Personal Banker, Service Manager, and Special Teams-Merger with Wachovia Bank. The variety of positions helped her gain the current role of Learning and Development Facilitator in training and onboard new hires and promotions at Wells Fargo Bank; ranging from Teller to District Management & Special Projects roll out and delivery. She also enjoys time gardening & cooking with her husband of 17 years and their 2 dogs in San Jose, CA.
Areas of Specialty: Onboarding, customer service, career development
RUSSO, ANNE-MARIE
Career Coach at App Academy
Anne Marie Russo is a career coach at app academy which trains students in computer coding skills. Anne Marie has held positions at other nonprofits which train and develop people for success, including JVS where she was a career coach for the technology program and the employees relations manager.
Areas of Specialty: Training, career coaching, project management, presentations skills, strategic partnerships.
SACCO, JOSH
People Analytics Director at Facebook
Josh works in People (HR) Analytics for Facebook. Prior to working at Facebook, he held a variety of HR/talent management roles internally and as an external consultant. He has substantial experience in areas such as staffing/hiring, 1:1 coaching in the workplace, executive assessment and hiring, interviewer training, recruiting analytics, and manager training. As a consultant, he worked with clients in a variety of industries including high-tech, retail, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, public sector/police and hospitality. He holds a PhD in industrial/organizational psychology from Michigan State University.
Areas of Specialty: HR strategy, HR analytics, organizational development, testing, HR management
SAHAGUN, CHRISTINA
Experienced HR Professional, Autodesk
Christina is currently a member of the HR Team at Autodesk, a software design company headquartered in San Rafael with over 100 million users worldwide. Christina comes with 10 years of progressive HR generalist experience in various industries throughout the Bay Area. Previous companies include: Comcast, Recology, and Natus Medical. In each of her roles, Christina has gained valuable knowledge of recruitment practices and technologies companies leverage to attract talent. She has extensive experience in sourcing candidates, managing applicant tracking systems, maintaining company LinkedIn pages, and partnering with hiring managers to build their teams. Christina holds a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and an MBA with an emphasis in Sustainable Business from San Francisco State University.
Areas of Specialty: Tech and Medical Device Recruitment
SANDOSHAM, RENITA
People and Business Leader
Renita is the former VP, People Experience at Everlaw, a high-growth, legal tech startup based in Oakland, California. She led People strategy and programs, including talent acquisition, learning and development, total rewards, and employer brand. During her time at Everlaw, she oversaw 5x headcount growth through multiple funding rounds and established a strong DEI foundation embedded across all hiring and talent management practices. Prior to Everlaw, she spent over a decade at LexisNexis in product operations, building global teams and optimizing business processes. She is a former journalist who is passionate about great storytelling and creating connection.
Areas of Specialty: People strategy, employee experience, high-growth environments, global collaboration
SANTANA, AMANDA
Associate Director, Talent Acquisition at VIR Biotechnology, which is an immunology company focused in preventing and treating infectious disease including COVID-19, hepatitis B and hepatitis D, influenza A and HIV.
Amanda is a Talent Acquisition professional with 4+years of broad-based full-cycle Life Science recruiting experience. She currently works for Vir Biotechnology a commercial-stage immunology company focused on combining immunologic insights with cutting-edge technologies to treat and prevent serious infectious diseases. At Vir she partners with all departments across the business from Clinical Operations to R&D and G&A functions. Amanda was the first Talent Acquisition professional at Vir and she helped build the department from the ground up for the first 3 years. Prior to talent acquisition Amanda received her BS in Cell and Molecular Biology from San Diego State University and was working working in academia and industry as a bench scientist. During those 8 years she developed novel RNA based gene therapies and delivery platforms for HIV, cystic fibrosis as well as cell/animal based models and molecular assays to help support new CRISPR/ Cas9 drugs targeted to latent and persistent viral reservoirs.
Areas of Specialty: Talent Acquisition, Mock Interviews, Resume Development, Biotechnology, Virology
SARAPPO, TERRI
Employment Engagement Associate, JVS
Terri Sarappo is a career advisor and employer engagement specialist at JVS. During her tenure at JVS she has worked with clients who are making career transitions into Salesforce and Digital Marketing. She hosted employer panels on a weekly basis for the Digital Marketing program at JVS, helping clients to stay abreast of hiring trends. She also advised clients on a variety of job targets on resume writing, LinkedIn practices and informational interviewing.
Prior to JVS Terri worked as a business trainer and coach at Women’s Initiative for Self Employment and as media consultant. She worked in broadcasting for many years at CBS, Emmis Broadcast and Cablevision’s New York Interconnect.
She served as the president of the New York Chapter of Women in Cable for two years.
Areas of Specialty: Career transitions, resume, marketing and Salesforce jobs.
SCHARINGER, JOANA
Career Counselor at Golden Gate University
Joana is a Career Counselor at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. She provides career guidance to students and alumni and helps them pursue and plan their career paths. She provides support for resume reviews, LinkedIn profiles, interview preparation, job search, and networking strategies. She also helps organize and facilitate career development workshops on campus. Before joining GGU, Joana worked as an agency recruiter helping Fortune 500 and start-up companies to expand their teams. She worked with hiring managers from companies such as Facebook, Salesforce, GAP, Banana Republic, and several start-ups. Joana has a master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Golden Gate University.
Areas of Specialty: Career Development & Planning, Resume Review, Interview Preparation, Career Exploration, Job Search Strategies
SEDER, DIANA
Employer Outreach Manager, UC Santa Barbara
Diana is a higher educational professional who is experienced in academic program administration, college admission, student affairs, alumni relations and career development. She is an effective communicator and bridge-builder who enjoys identifying and creating connections between individuals and corporations.
Her professional experience includes providing leadership and guidance to a nationally recognized undergraduate career center operation, founding and operating an entrepreneurial college counseling business, operating a regional MBA program, and managing a graduate level career development office. Her current role provides her the opportunity to connect with organizations around the state creating beneficial hiring relationships between companies and UCSB.
Areas of Specialty: Include and profile-building, cover letter writing, interview preparation, networking, resource utilization and negotiation.
SHAH, ANERI
Head of Product Marketing at Ethos
Aneri is Head of Product Marketing at Ethos, a fintech startup, where she works on strategy, launch & scaling new products. Prior to Ethos, Aneri spent 5 years at Facebook leading product marketing for both consumer and business products. Previously, Aneri was a Product Marketing Manager at Facebook WhatsApp. As product marketing manager Aneri worked on strategy, launch & scaling new products. Prior to Facebook, Aneri led product marketing for an edtech startup called Clever, and worked in marketing at Microsoft. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration and B.A. in Economics from Berkeley. Originally hailing from Hong Kong, Aneri enjoys travel and has visited 30+ countries. Outside of work, she has her own career coaching practice and enjoys volunteering in the education space, with experience ranging from tutoring at San Quentin prison to mentoring at-risk girls in Oakland.
Areas of Specialty: Marketing, Product Management, Startups, Product Marketing, Entry Level, H1-B visas
SILER, DON
Practice Director at Bridge Light
Don is a strategic change leader with a passion for customer success. Don has served in a variety of leadership capacities at Tipalti, Unity, Splunk, Cisco, Thomson Reuters, Visa, and Xerox, implementing programs focused on business transformation and operational efficiency. Before starting his business career, Don served as a cryptanalyst for the National Security Agency. He is an active speaker at industry events, from local meetups to major conferences.
Areas of Specialty: Project and portfolio management, cross-functional collaboration, PMO operations, strategic planning, data science, organizational change management, workshop facilitation.
SLATER, MEGAN
VP, Business Platforms at Okta, the world’s #1 identity platform
Megan is currently VP of Business Platforms at Okta where she is responsible for the strategy that will determine the direction of the enterprise applications that directly impact internal business operations, along with the delivery and execution of technology solutions on enterprise platforms. Prior to that she was Head of IT Business Operations at Unity Technologies, as well as head of Business Technology at AppDynamics. Megan’s career has also included Salesforce implementation consulting and software product management.
Areas of Specialty: Enterprise Systems implementations, executive communications, building and leading cross-functional teams
STOOPS, JP
Commerce Business Development Lead at Tik-Tok
Previously, JP was Principal Consultant, Pixl Inc., an independent professional consulting firm. JP has over 15 years of experience building consumer-focused products, brands and technologies that delight. JP has a mix of Fortune 500 experience as a former buyer and licensing executive for Discovery Inc, and start-up execution having founded a tech toy company, Pixl Inc in San Francisco. Currently, JP acts as an advisor and consultant to consumer and media technology companies. He has a love for taking concepts from idea to launch and is kept busy with a toddler at home.
Areas of Specialty: Go-to-Market Strategy, Product & Brand Development, Growth Marketing, Merchandising & Licensing, Ecommerce / Multichannel, Sourcing
SUGARMAN, MARK
One on one advisor
Mark Sugarman is retired from a career as a successful Executive Recruiter where he actively sourced and recommended qualified job candidates to companies.
He specialized in recruiting sales, marketing, purchasing, operations, and finance candidates at all levels of small, medium, and large private and public US corporations.
Before starting his executive recruitment firm, Banks & Sugarman, Mark spent over thirty years in management positions with both public and private distribution companies.
Mark received his Bachelor of Science at the Wharton School University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in marketing at Columbia Business School.
Areas of Specialty: Talent acquisition, job search strategies, interview preparation, resume development, and networking strategies.
TOU, YVONNE
Compliance Auditor at Stanford Health Care, leading teaching hospital in innovative and new technology for patient care.
Yvonne is currently a compliance auditor at Stanford Health Care and was formerly at John Muir Medical Center as a coding specialist and a data analyst at Sutter Health Care. She currently works on an auditing team for hospital billing integrity that comply with the most stringent state and federal policies dealing with hospital billing. Prior to that, she worked at John Muir Medical Center as a coding specialist and Sutter Health in the West Bay Region of California as a data analyst for the regional director.
Areas of Specialty: Data analysis, auditing, ICD-10-CM/PCS coding, CPT coding, editing, research
TOY, TOM
Managing Director of Startup Capital Ventures
Tom Toy is a Managing Director of Startup Capital Ventures and Startup Capital Ventures x SBI Fund, LP (www.startupcv.com), both Menlo Park-based venture capital firms focused on early stage information technology companies. Tom is also a Venture Partner/Advisor for ICCP SBI Venture Partners (www.iccpventurepartners.com).
Tom has invested in early stage IT, cleantech and healthcare companies as a VC for more than thirty years. He has served on the boards of directors of a number of public and private companies. Tom’s current and past companies include SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR), UTStarcom (NASDAQ: UTSI), White Electronic Designs (NASDAQ: WEDC, then acquired by Microsemi), LifeCell (NASDAQ: LIFC, then acquired by Kinetic Concepts), Physiometrix (NASDAQ: PHYX; then acquired by Hospira), SyStemix (NASDAQ: STMX, then acquired by Novartis), CafePress (NASDAQ: PRSS), U-Systems (acquired by GE Healthcare), FastSoft (acquired by Akamai), HealthCrowd (acquired by mPulse Mobile) and Hanwha Q CELLS (NASDAQ: HQCL). Tom is currently on the boards of directors of several private companies.
Tom graduated from Northwestern University with B.A. and MBA degrees.
Areas of Specialty: Venture Capital investment, high potential companies, high technology, Asia business ventures
WALD ZUCKER, MELISSA
Human Resources at Oniracom
Oniracom is a marketing service agency specializing in brand strategy, content production, and web development. Melissa partners with company leaders to address organizational needs, including change management, organizational design, learning, and development and employee relations. Previously, Melissa was the Human Resources Executive at Cisco. Melissa was a senior HR professional Sr. HR Partner at Cisco where she provides consultative support/leadership for Senior Services Executives – on strategic talent management, change initiatives, and people/organizational effectiveness issues. Melisa has a background as a manager at Microsoft where she worked within the Human Resources industry for more than a decade, partnering with companies such as: T-Mobile, Oracle and Quantum. Previously she has been an HR Consultant with multiple start-up companies throughout the SF Bay Area. She has a BA in Psychology from Whittier College and an MA in Psychology from University of SF, with Emphasis on Life and Career Transitions.
Areas of Specialty: HR strategy and operational excellence, six Sigma Green Belt, Performance Manager, Career Coaching, Executive leadership
WALSH, JUDSON
Career Path Strategies, Founder and Principal
Judson Walsh brings to the table over a decade of career consulting experience. From 2006 to 2014 Judson was the director of business development at the San Francisco Business Times. It was during this time that his local knowledge for the Bay Area marketplace grew which subsequently led him to assisting business professionals in the areas of career development and job-search assistance.
From 2014 – 2017 Judson was a consultant for a global HR consulting firm and worked exclusively with executive professionals in career transition. He also facilitated workshops designed to assist job-search candidates identify job opportunities in the Bay Area. In 2014 Judson founded Career Path Strategies, a career coaching firm that specializes in job-search readiness.
Judson is also a public speaker who specializes in local job search and career-readiness. He has a long history of speaking at Bay Area colleges/universities including Stanford, UC Berkeley/Haas School of Business, University of San Francisco and Golden Gate University.
Beyond the Bay Area …Judson shares his career coaching experience by volunteering at San Francisco-based Job Forum and also speaking at various job-seeking groups around the country. Judson lives in Vail, Colorado and enjoys golf, tennis, biking, traveling and being in the mountains.
Areas of Specialty: Career coaching, career development, job search advice
WONG, GORDON
Principal Electrical Engineer at BART
Gordon is a Traction Power Engineer at BART working on infrastructure upgrades and modernization projects for BART. His main areas of expertise include electrical design review, plan checks and consultations with general contractors on large scale public works projects. Prior to BART Gordon received his start in the public sector while at the City and County of San Francisco, where he successfully coordinated capitol projects with a variety of city departments and external stakeholders. Gordon has a BS in Electrical Engineering from San Jose State University and started his career in the semiconductor industry working in product marketing and applications engineering. He also has PMP (Project Management Professional) and CCM (Certified Construction Manager) certifications.
Areas of Specialty: Field engineering, Government construction planning and specification, Electrical lab testing equipment, Health and Safety Compliance, Contract Negotiations, Product Marketing
YAKHMI, KANUPRIYA
Program Manager, HP | Product Manager, Advancing Women in Tech
Kanupriya is currently working as a Program Manager at HP where she works with senior executives on the HP Business Boost product line that gives businesses the tools they need to help remote employees succeed, all at an affordable monthly cost. She is also working with Advancing Women in Tech (AWIT) formerly called Advancing Women in Product (AWIP), as a Product Manager where she leads the newsletter of AWIT SF Chapter.
Areas of Specialty: Mentoring, leading end-to-end product lines, written and verbal communications, and building relationships with senior executives.
YEE, FIONA
Global Program Manager at Google.
Previously, Fiona was a Project Manager at Facebook on the Health & Social Impact team, where she helped teams develop and measure the success of machine learning models. Prior to that, she was at a healthcare technology company where she led a team of engineers to develop a mobile application aimed to decrease operational inefficiencies for healthcare workers. Outside of work, Fiona enjoys spending time on one of the numerous Bay Area hiking trails, reading, and cooking.
Areas of Specialty: project management, product development, operations, resume writing, networking
YEH, NANCY
Realtor at Compass
Nancy Yeh is a Realtor at Compass. Prior to Compass she was at Redfin. She spent 8 years consulting with business owners of all sizes to help streamline their HR and Employee Benefits needs. She was able to help business owners navigate through the complexities of human resource management and employee benefits while fostering business partnerships in order to strengthen her service value to her clients. Now, she is able to transfer her skills to helping future and current homebuyers by understanding their goals, simplifying and removing obstacles, and advocating or negotiating details during the closing process. Nancy also enjoys traveling and yoga with her friends and family.
Areas of Specialty: Human resources, Real Estate
YU, MICHELLE
Founder at Michelle Yu Coaching and Consulting
Michelle is a former HR executive turned Career and Leadership coach. After working in the Tech industry for a decade at companies like SoftBank, Google and LivingSocial, she left the corporate world to pursue self employment and entrepreneurship. Now she coaches and helps professionals move past work related overwhelm, burnout and stagnation, so they can reach their fullest potential. She is also a Career consultant for Lee Hetch Harrison. Michelle graduated from UC Irvine and has an MBA from Duke University.
Areas of Specialty: Coaching, career transitions, leadership development, resume review, interview and negotiation preparation
YU, SANDY
Founder, Customer Savvy Consulting, a post-sale strategy firm that focuses on customer retention and growth to drive business profitability.
Sandy is the founder of Customer Savvy Consulting and formerly held leadership positions in customer experience and strategy with Oracle, Cisco, PricewaterhouseCoopers and several growth companies. Sometimes known as the customer attrition doctor, Sandy helps her customers prevent and stop the pain of losing customers by assessing the symptoms of customer attrition, investigate the root causes and provide data-backed recommendations to keep and grow the customer base.
Areas of Specialty: Monetizing and retaining customers; cross-selling products and expanding accounts; developing effective customer segmentation, journeys and engagements to help cultivate customers for life.
ZHANG, ALICE
Sales Lead, Business Development
Alice was formerly at Makeblock, where she grew with the company as it expanded from 5 to 500 employees. She led a sales team in Makeblock cooperating with agents in the USA, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, the Middle East, Hong Kong, and Taiwan to bring robot kits to school and help the next generation learn to code and STEM. During her tenure at Makeblock, she worked with software, hardware, and design teams to bring the Neuron Explorer Kit to Apple.com and hundreds of Apple retail stores, its compatibility with Swift Playgrounds software helped promote coding education widely. She worked with Japanese educational organizations to use Makeblock robot kits for K12 school’s teacher’s programming/STEM training. She helped build the company’s maker community. Connected with hobbyists, makers’ communities, organizations, K12 schools, and universities. Led corporate business development and new partnerships for hobbyists’, education and retail markets.
Areas of Specialty: Business development & strategy, customer relationships, startups.
ZHOU, JO
Senior Business Recruiter, Niantic Inc.
Jo is currently a part of the recruiting team working mainly with Marketing, Communications, Business Development and Finance roles at Niantic in their SF Office. Previously, Jo was Director of Selection at Northwestern Mutual, where she managed a team of recruiters to help bring in financial advisors and wealth management advisors to help create financial security for families and communities. Jo graduated from University of San Francisco and originally from China.
Areas of Specialty: Networking, LinkedIn optimization.
AUERBACH, JOANNE
Emeritus Member – Executive Recruiter & Consultant, JGAuerbach & Associates
JoAnne Auerbach provides executive search and related consulting services for technology, healthcare/pharma/biotech, legal/financial services, and public sector employers and positions. She specializes in recruitment of corporate and product marketing, product management, sales, business development, professional services, attorneys, and human resources staff at executive, management or senior individual contributor levels. Founded in 1995, JG Auerbach & Associates also provides consulting on recruitment, organizational, and people issues. Prior experience includes Human Resources/Staffing leadership roles with Octel Communications; Renne Sloan Holtzman Sakai LLP; PacTel Spectrum Services; and the City & County of San Francisco. She has a BA degree from UC Berkeley.
Areas of Specialty: Sales and marketing recruitment, technology careers, government sector employment, jobs at start-ups.
FRANGQUIST, DEBORAH GAVRIN
Emeritus Member – Principal at Chosen Futures, Career Consulting and Executive Coaching
Deborah Frangquist is a San Francisco career consultant who coaches professionals in transition, helping them create oases of clarity so they can tune in to what matters to them. Her approach combines deep knowledge of the world of work with NLP-based change work, systemic constellations, and Reiki and other energy modalities. She has advised people through several cycles of technological and economic change and is known for her savvy in fostering success and fulfillment in any economy.
Areas of Specialty: Career change, spiritual & emotional transition, sustainable careers, effective job search techniques and career development strategies for professionals and executives.
WILSON, JAN
Emeritus Member – HR & CRM Software Consultant at Vital Assets LLC
Jan is a Strategic Human Resources Business & ACT! and CRM Consultant at Vital Assets LLC. An HR consultant with 30+ years’ experience, Jan Wilson has extensive knowledge of all aspects of Human Resources strategy and management. Jan holds the SPHR-CA (Sr. Professional in domestic HR, and a CA specialty) and GPHR (Global Professional in HR) and has served in leadership positions in the HR field. She has significant experience in counseling and training of employees and executives and is an adjunct professor of graduate HR at Golden Gate University. Jan is also the Founder and President of Vital Assets, an entrepreneurial CRM software sales and consulting business.
Areas of Specialty: Human resources, HI tech & Biotech, Biz performances management
YOUNG, ARTHUR
Emeritus Member – Strategic Marketing Consultant
Arthur is a communications professional with in depth experience in media and journalism and for many years has taught marketing courses as a UC Berkeley Instructor. In the past, he was an executive at media companies including ABC and NBC. He also has been PR Director at Panasonic and PacBell. He is interested in sustainability and teaches on the subjects of marketing and sustainability.
Areas of Specialty: Public relations, communication, marketing, renewable energy, project management