Staff List

Preferred Pronouns: she/her/hers

Robyn joined the Office of Career Strategy in the fall of 2012 and is eager to meet with students who are at any point of their career exploration process. Robyn oversees the Common Good & Creative Careers team. She also manages a number of public service initiatives for the office including the Yale Alumni Community Service Fellowship and Yawkey Fellowship. She is the Office of Career Strategy liaison for student athletes. Robyn currently services on two professional association committees – the EACE Connections Committee, which manages the Professional Exchange and Road Trips to the Real World and the NACE Committee First Destinations Task Force. Before joining the Office of Career Strategy, Robyn spent seven years at Yale Law School’s Career Development Office as the Associate Director of Administration, where she worked on a number of public interest programs and was responsible for all postgraduate employment reporting.  When she is not working, Robyn is typically either enjoying pizza nights and dance parties or attending/coaching an athletic event with her husband, two children and dog, Hogan.

Preferred pronouns: she/her

Lisa started her Yale career in 2004 and joined the Office of Career Strategy in 2006 where she supported Health Professions Advising and STEM Connect for several years. In 2021 she moved to her current role supporting office-wide initiatives in the Office of Career Strategy.  In her free time, Lisa enjoys traveling with her family, playing with her two dogs, Cosmo and Louie, and listening to podcasts.

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Denise focuses on employer development and engagement predominately within business, law and industry, while also advising students as they pursue their career goals. During her time at Yale, she has been actively involved with EACE having served on two committees, and more recently served on a committee for NACE. Prior to joining Yale, she advised MBA candidates while at the Lubin Graduate Center of Pace University. Denise began her career working in the financial sector and has held positions at two major financial institutions. She graduated from Stony Brook University and has a Master’s in Education from Fordham University. She enjoys cycling, hiking and paddle boarding.

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Julia joined the Office of Career Strategy in August 2001. She coordinates the on-campus recruiting program, where she works with over 85 employers who conduct interviews with over 1,800 students each year. With positive energy and enthusiasm, Julia facilitates industry events where 200 employers meet with nearly 1,900 students and assists employers, students and alumns in navigating Yale Career Link. Oustside of work Julia enjoys baking, kayaking, hiking and being with family and friends

Preferred pronouns: she/her

Laurie advises and counsels undergraduates and alumni in Yale College and students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences interested in pursuing further education and careers in the healthcare and STEM fields. Prior to joining Yale, Laurie held various managerial roles for AT&T. During her tenure with AT&T, she managed a staff of over twenty employees and led process improvement efforts which enhanced the effectiveness, accuracy and delivery of billing information to customers. Laurie earned a B.A. from Albertus Magnus College. She embarked on her new career with the Office of Career Strategy after obtaining her M.S. in Human Services from Albertus Magnus College. Laurie’s latest opportunity has been teaching counseling techniques to students pursuing their undergraduate degrees in human services from her alma mater. As an active member of the National and Northeast Associations for Advisors in the Health Professions, Laurie attends annual conferences and meets with pre-health colleagues and representatives from health profession and medical schools. She is a member of the National and Eastern Associations of Colleges and Employers and the Connecticut Career Counseling and Development Association.

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Jeanine joined the Office of Career Strategy in the fall of 2011 after serving as a Director in the Career Development Office at Yale Law School, and a Senior Associate Director in the Career Development Office at the Yale School of Management. Prior to joining Yale, Jeanine worked in career services at both Fordham University School of Law and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in Manhattan. She is an active member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers and was a founding member of the Alumni Section of the Association of Legal Career Professionals. Prior to transitioning to career services, Jeanine was an attorney and practiced real estate and environmental law in New York and Connecticut. She also served as pro bono legal counsel for South Brooklyn Legal Services. She has a B.S. from Cornell University and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Jeanine is an avid Greek Mythology fan and enjoys spending her free time with her husband, son and two dogs – Artemis and Atlas.

Stephanie joined the Office of Career Strategy in January 2022 as the Senior Administrative Assistant for the STEM Connect and Health Professions Advising team. Prior to joining Yale, Stephanie worked at a community college in Pennsylvania for 5 years supporting career services. She earned her master’s degree in higher education administration from New England College (2020) and she has a Bachelor’s degree in media and communication from Delaware Valley University (2016). Stephanie’s undergraduate experience in Career Services helped shape her decision to enter higher education post-graduation and she is excited to support programs that help students as they take the next step in their careers. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys camping, kayaking, gardening, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Lori joined the Office of Career Strategy in the spring of 2001 working with the domestic internship program. She now works with the Common Good & Creative Careers team and also supports graduate students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Additionally, Lori oversees the weekly Yale College newsletter content compilation and distribution. She graduated with a B.S. in Marketing from Salve Regina University in Newport, RI. In her spare time she enjoys sports and hanging out with friends and family.

Stephanie joined the Office of Career Strategy in 1999. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Consumer Affairs in Management/Business Administration from Howard University. After graduating she worked as a fire and lawn equipment safety specialist with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in Bethesda, MD. Stephanie has a passion for health & wellness/nutrition and will be pursuing a second bachelor’s degree in Dietary Science at the University of New Haven in the fall. Stephanie lives in New Haven and when not at Yale she can be found gardening or working on a DIY project at home. She likes to travel, loves children and in her spare time she sings with her church choir and works with the Youth Ministry.

As the director of employer relations, David Halek is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with leading organizations that seek to grow their workforce with the talented graduates of Yale College, Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and Yale’s accomplished post-doctoral associates. Throughout his extensive career in both the private sector, and higher education, David has held leadership roles in strategic marketing, corporate relations, business development, institutional advancement, and operations management. Prior to joining Yale, David was director of institutional advancement services for Western Connecticut State University. Prior to that he was director of omni-channel marketing at boutique consulting firm, Peppers and Rogers Group, and was vice president of affinity marketing at Prudential Relocation Management. David earned a B.A. from the University of Rochester, and M.Ed. and Ed.S. degrees in higher education administration from the University of Florida. David also holds a professional certification in digital media marketing from New York University.

Elayne has worked in Higher Education, specifically in Career Services for over 20 years and has been at Yale since 2003. Elayne is a general career advisor with a specialty in career exploration. Elayne works with undecided students, graduating seniors and is also a pre-law advisor. In addition, Elayne works with alumni throughout all stages of their career development process. Elayne is MBTI, Strong, SDS and Clifton StrengthsFinder certified.  Elayne holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics from Manhattanville College; a Masters of Arts Degree in Psychology and a Master’s of Education Degree in Counseling Psychology from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. She has held leadership positions on the executive boards of the Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers, the Metropolitan New York College Placement Officers Association, the New York State Career Counseling Association, the Colleges of Worcester Consortium, the Northeast Association of Pre-Law Advisors and the executive board of the Connecticut Career Counseling and Development Association.

Preferred pronouns: she/her/hers

Kristin McJunkins oversees advising and counseling for undergraduates and alumni in Yale College and students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences interested in pursuing further education in the health and medical fields, and is also a general advisor for STEM fields. A longtime higher education professional, Kristin began her career handling event planning and facilities management at Widener University, where she obtained a B.S. in Business Administration and M.Ed. in Education. Transitioning to advising services at the University of Pennsylvania, she coordinated the peer/faculty advising program for 1,600 first year undergraduates as well as managed special services for first-year students and sophomores, in the College of Arts & Sciences. In 2004, Kristin joined Johns Hopkins University as a Pre-Health and Pre-Law Advisor, and since 2006 has worked at Yale University, serving as Director since 2009. Kristin is an active member of the National and Northeast Associations for Advisors in the Health Professions, NACADA (The Global Community for Academic Advising), and the National and Eastern Associations of Colleges and Employers.

Kelly McSergi, new to Yale in 2021, is the Assistant Director of Employer Relations. Kelly focuses on employer development and engagement with an emphasis on employers in government, non-profit, education, and the arts. Until recently Kelly served as employer relations manager in the career development center at the University of New Haven. Kelly earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance at Marymount Manhattan College. She then earned a Master’s in Education in Higher Education Leadership at Florida Atlantic University. Kelly has held various positions in alumni engagement, operations, and events at Marymount and Florida Atlantic University. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring new cities, being outside, and having a good cup of coffee.

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Meredith joined the Office of Career Strategy in the summer of 2013 where she advises students and alumni as they begin the process of articulating who they are, what they care about, their key skills, and how they want to make an impact in their communities. She has significant experience shaping post-graduate career paths and outcomes for a wide range of students, including those from first-generation and otherwise underrepresented backgrounds, helping them center their lived experiences within a broader understanding of institutional culture, relative privilege, and the world of work. Meredith completed her doctoral degree at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where her research focused on how high school students from a range of racial and socioeconomic backgrounds become aware of social inequality and motivated to work towards social change. She is also part of the international Leading Change Network, which is a wide-ranging group of educators, researchers, and practitioners engaged in strengthening community organizing efforts throughout the world. Meredith lives in New Haven with her husband; together they are learning a lot from their two young children, whose worlds keep getting more interesting by the day.

Since 2015, Hyun Ja has served as the Director of Graduate and Postdoctoral Career Services in the Office of Career Strategy. In this position, she oversees advising and programming to support graduate students and postdocs considering careers beyond the academy. Prior to this role, Hyun Ja performed strategic business analysis for Yale’s Vice President of Business Operations and Yale Conferences & Events, and served as  the founding administrator for the Becker-Friedman Institute for Economics at the University of Chicago. Before moving into higher education administration, she was an economic consultant specializing in antitrust matters for Charles River Associates.  She received a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University and her undergraduate degree from Princeton University.

After graduating from Yale as a film studies major, Derek spent a decade in Los Angeles as a literary manager and script consultant. He now organizes and expands the university’s arts career resources. Derek works with students and alumni to explore creative careers, which can include pursuing recruited or external job searches; reviewing submission and pitch materials; improving networking approaches; and helping Yalies to navigate the arts, entertainment or communications related industries. Currently enrolled in the Fairfield Creative Writing MFA program, when not adventuring with his wife and precious/precocious children, Derek is prone to the occasional burst of fiction, both literary and genre: ivanhope.com/writing.

Jorimel joined the Office of Career Strategy in the fall of 2021. As a member of the Common Good & Creative Careers team (CGCC), he supports undergraduate students who are pursuing careers within education, government, and non-profits. Jorimel loves meeting with students as they reflect on their personal and professional development, prepare and plan towards achieving their career goals, and seek to maintain their wellness throughout the job search process. He also manages programming for the CGCC that include overseeing the Yawkey, Women in Government, and the Yale Alumni Community Service funded internships. Jorimel is a member of several career-related professional associations, and he is especially active within the Connecticut Career Counseling & Development Association. He studied history as an undergraduate at New York University, where he also earned his M.A. in Mental Health Counseling. Jorimel is a licensed professional counselor within the state of Connecticut and a national certified counselor. Among his favorite activities outside of work include going to the gym, listening to opera, and keeping up with his favorite heroes from Marvel and anime.

Preferred Pronouns: She/Her/Hers

Yuanyuan joined the Office of Career Strategy in the fall of 2020. As Manager of Research, Data & Analytics, she leads the analysis of OCS-wide data, and works with the leadership team on strategic planning. Prior to joining Yale, she worked at Rice University where she served as the Organizational Insight Analyst performing advanced and complex statistical work in support of the Office of Institutional Effectiveness. Before Rice, she was a Market Researcher at the International Facility Management Association, where she conducted research to help define market opportunities and product strategies, and to support planning and decision-making of the organization. Yuanyuan received her doctorate in Mass Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She lives in New Haven with her husband and their two children. During her free time, she enjoys Yoga, dance, and hiking with her family.

Holly is a third-year Ph. D. student in Environmental Engineering. Her research focuses on optimizing the efficiency of nanomaterials in sorbing environmental contaminants through crystal-facet engineering. She is also involved on the board of the graduate Society of Women Engineers, where she has helped to facilitate a variety of events on campus. Prior to coming to Yale, Holly was a chemical physics major and varsity swimmer at Bowdoin College. She then spent a year as a middle school math and science teacher in northwest Massachusetts. She now works as an advisor for Yale undergraduates and alumni interested in applying to graduate school. Holly is an avid reader, crossword puzzle enthusiast, and cat-lover (especially her cat, Periwinkle).

Prerak Juthani is currently finishing up a dual MD-MBA degree between the Yale School of Medicine and Yale School of Management. He graduated summa sum laude from UC Berkeley with a double major in Public Health and Molecular and Cell Biology. Prerak is immensely passionate about business and entrepreneurship. In fact, while applying for medical school, he created an organic chemistry board game called REACT!, which he brought to market by crowdfunding over $25,000; the game is currently for sale online, has sold 800+ copies worldwide, and has been featured by multiple news outlets including NPR, ABC7 News, and even the American Chemistry Society (ACS). Outside of medical school, Prerak also has his own YouTube channel (@Prerak Juthani, 29K subscribers, 2.6M+ views) and podcast called Red, White & Brown, which has over 10,000 downloads across 20 episodes (2 seasons) and has recently rceived over $5,000 in seed funding to promote more growth. The former is focused on increasing educational accessibility by providing tips for effective studying techniques. The latter is intended to provide an insight into the novel immigrant experiences of first-generation South Asian immigrants. Over the summer, Prerak interned as one of three MD-MBA fellows at Geisinger – one of the nation’s largest and most innovative healthcare systems.

Long term, Prerak hopes to pursue an Internal Medicine residency and hopes to use the broadness of the specialty to merge his interest in business and medicine. Outside of academics, Prerak enjoys YouTube vlogging, running, listening to audiobooks, and spending time with friends and family.

Jessica Lee is currently a 1Y MBA student at the Yale School of Management. Prior to enrolling at SOM, Lee worked in London as a Special Situations Cash Equities Trader at Barclays. She was responsible for analyzing merger-arbitrage opportunities, monitoring European M&A deal progressions, and managing the Special Situations trading book.

Lee graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she majored in Business Administration and minored in Asian Studies. She has studied in multiple countries, including South Africa, the UK, and India, and has also participated in exchange programs at the National University of Singapore and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She serves as a member of UNC’s Young Alumni Leadership Council.

Lee was born and raised in North Carolina, and enjoys running, yoga, traveling, and reading. A fun fact about her is that she is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do.

Madeline Pages (she/her/hers) is a second-year MFA candidate in the Dramaturgy & Dramatic Criticism Department of the Yale School of Drama. She is a freelance dramaturg and producer, with a background in arts/non-profit administration and publishing. She has previously held artistic and/or literary positions at theater companies such as Shakespeare Theatre Company (DC), La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (NYC), Signature Theatre Company (NYC), and Theatre For A New Audience (BK). She received a BA in English Literature from Barnard College. At Yale, Madeline is a member of the School of Drama Student Government, ActOUT, and the university-wide Performance Studies Working Group.

Ankita is currently a 1Y MBA student at the Yale School of Management. This past summer, she was a product marketing intern on the Creative Cloud for Education team at Adobe. Prior to Yale, Ankita worked with EdelGive Foundation, a philanthropic foundation that funds non-profits in rural India. At EdelGive, Ankita was staffed on the Monitoring and Evaluation team, focusing on impact measurement, capacity building, and scale-up strategy development for high potential non-profits. She later worked as the Chief of Staff, driving key strategic initiatives, fundraising and marketing strategies, and thought leadership on behalf of the CEO.

Ankita graduated from Brandeis University with a double major in Psychology and Education. She was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and is passionate about dance, food, travelling, and chasing sunsets.

Olivia Wei is an MBA student at the Yale School of Management, class of 2022. Before starting her MBA, Olivia was a Management Consulting Manager at Accenture, primarily working on complex delivery of front office transformation programs for clients in the telecom and tech industries. Having made a career thus far of being a generalist, Olivia has worked on projects spanning strategy through to implementation in varied roles covering program management, business architecture, strategy & planning, requirements planning, process design, change management, devops, and product management.

Olivia graduated from Wellesley College with a BA in International Relations: Economics, where she was a four-year student athlete and captain of the varsity fencing team. She loves spontaneous travel (pre-pandemic) and cooking & baking (especially post-pandemic).

Zenan Wang is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology. His research focuses on the role of dietary fats in driving atherosclerosis. He joined the OCS team in March 2021 where he has been working with the management of the Yale GSAS Professional Experience (GPE) Fellowship. In addition to his role at OCS, Zenan is a Blavatnik Associate at the Yale Office of Cooperative Research, assisting with the marketing and commercialization of technologies developed by Yale researchers. Prior to coming to Yale, Zenan earned his Bachelor degree from Nanjing University in China. Zenan is an avid dog lover and an enthusiastic horse rider.

Chelsea is a graduate student in Yale’s Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program. She received her B.S. in Neural Science from New York University, where she worked with Dr. Stefan Feske to examine the role of microglia in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Her interest in neuroimmunology and sex differences led her to join the late Dr. Ronald Duman’s lab to study the immune response in a mouse chronic unpredictable stress model and later, synaptic changes associated with the antidepressant action of allopregnanolone. She is currently working with Dr. Ifat Levy to study the computations of rewards and punishments in learning and decision-making.

Haofan is a first-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Immunobiology at Yale University. She is broadly interested in the mechanisms of autoimmunity and allergy. Prior to coming to Yale, she earned her bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Kenyon College. She also served as a diversity advisor as well as a stem mentor. She volunteered for the ATHENAS science program for middle school girls to heighten their experiences near and around science. Besides her roles as a McDougal Career Fellow and a graduate student, Haofan enjoys reading, gardening, and exploring new foods.

Alec is a PhD student in musicology. A native of St. Louis, he earned a BA in Music and French from Grinnell College in 2019. His research, in dialogue mainly with media theory and continental philosophy, addresses the relationship of music to language and communication. He is especially interested in these issues as they pertain to music in digital culture and social media.

Nicholas Surdel is an experimental psychologist working in the Department of Psychology. He completed his undergraduate work at the University of Florida in 2018, his master’s degree at the College of William & Mary in 2021, and joined Yale’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 2021. Although he has eclectic research interests, he largely focuses on how we form and update intuitive impressions about a robot’s capabilities. When he isn’t in the lab, you can find him delegating in Yale’s Graduate and Professional Student Senate, rowing as a captain in Yale Grad Crew, playing with his cat, or socializing around New Haven.

Abhishek is a second-year doctoral student in the Finance Department. His research interests are in entrepreneurial finance, market microstructure, and DeFi. Prior to joining Yale, he was a Research Associate at Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan School of Management. Abhishek is from Nepal and loves making jhol momos (dumplings). In his free time he likes birding, hiking, and playing ping pong.