Programme Committee
Virtual Summit 2022

Suzanne Helbig is the Associate Vice Provost at the University of California, Irvine’s Division of Career Pathways. In her role, she leads the central career services operation that provides services for UC Irvine’s highly diverse undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education students as well as its recent alumni. Prior to working at UC Irvine, Suzanne held leadership, strategic communications, and career advising roles at the University of California, Berkeley’s Career Center.

Suzanne served on the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Board of Directors and her NACE involvement includes co-chairing committees; presenting at NACE Executive Leadership Symposiums; delivering numerous annual conference presentations; and authoring articles and a book chapter. She will serve on the faculty of NACE’s Management Leadership Institute in summer 2022.

Suzanne served on the Board of Directors of MPACE (Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers) and was awarded its Outstanding Service Award in 2017. Suzanne was the Programme Chair for Global Career Services Summits in 2021 (online), and 2018 (Newcastle, UK). Suzanne has been invited to speak at conferences in England, Ireland, Japan, and China. She has been interviewed by the New York Times, Inside Higher Ed, Fox News, ABC News, the San Francisco Chronicle, Time Magazine, New American Media, and the Orange County Register.  Suzanne holds a Master of Arts in Higher Education from the University of Arizona. 

Mark possesses over 20 years of experience in career services including his current role as Executive Director of Northwestern Career Advancement (NCA). Prior to Northwestern, Mark has worked at Johns Hopkins University, The University of Rochester, The University of Virginia School of Architecture, and The University of Kansas. He received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Kansas. Like many undergraduates, he changed his major as an undergraduate from Aeronautical Engineering to Psychology at Purdue University. He has previously presented at both national and regional conferences on a variety of topics including recruiting consortia, use of social media in the job search, and teaching networking and other non-traditional job search strategies to undergraduates.

Currently, Mark supervises a staff of over 20 professionals who implement a broad range of career services to undergraduate and graduate students. Through school-based counseling and advising, NCA focuses on providing personalized career services across students’ four years at Northwestern. Additionally, NCA proactively develops robust partnerships with employers, parents, and alumni to educate and recruit Northwestern students.

Judith has over 20 years-experience in careers services and is currently Head of Careers and Enterprise at Queen Mary University of London with responsibility for enhancing employability in a university committed to maintaining its status as the top university for social mobility. She is a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a recipient of an Advance HE Collaborative Award for Teaching Excellence (CATE) in 2020. Prior

to this, as Head at University of Hertfordshire (UH), in addition to the CATE, the team won numerous awards for their assessment centre simulations for 3,000 second year students. Judith was also proud to be a member of the UH student-staff Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic Success Working Group awarded a CATE for work on reducing the awarding gap and has continued to focus on EDI issues, speaking at a range of external events.

Judith has been active in the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services in a range of voluntary roles, including as a professionally accredited trainer, delivering nationally and internationally, including a programme in Cape Town and Lagos in 2019. In 2022, Judith’s 4.5-year term as the first University Board Director for the Institute of Student Employers came to an end but she remains committed to volunteering with them in a different capacity. She is currently a Trustee for University of Greenwich Student Union.

Kulvinder has over 25 years of employability experience working across a range of higher education institutions, with 10 of those years at deputy & director level. These institutions have included City, Brunel, Kings, UCL, SOAS, Anglia Ruskin and most recently London South Bank University.

Kulvinders knowledge and subject matter are extremely wide resulting from the institutions he has worked across, informing his approach as a leader, manager and practitioner. He has been privileged to manage and develop a wide range of employability initiatives, take part in enterprise, start-ups and ESF/ERDF funded schemes; plus support AGCAS, employers, sector organisations, professional bodies, all giving him an insight into stakeholder needs and the ever-changing labour market.

Emily Carpenter is the Associate Vice Provost for Experiential Impact at Nazareth College. In this role, she oversees the Center for Life’s Work (career, internship, and community engagement offices), the Center for International Education, and the Office of Research, Scholarship & Innovation. Prior to launching the Center for Life’s Work, Emily led Nazareth’s college-wide internship program and was an assistant professor in the School of Management. She has served in a variety of career development, experiential learning, and teaching roles within higher education institutions since 2000. She is a fellow in NSEE’s Experiential Education Academy (EEA), and holds a Board Certified Coach (BCC) credential. Emily is currently pursuing an EdD through Northeastern University and focusing her research interests on supporting rural student career development.

Imants Jaunarajs serves as the Assistant Vice President at Ohio University. With more than 17 years of experience in university career centers, Jaunarajs is a creator of innovative and outcome-driven career development best practices. Jaunarajs earned a Bachelor of Arts from Earlham College and Master of Arts from Western Michigan University. He is the creator of the brain-based career development (BBCD) concept, and, along with colleagues, regularly trains and consults staff across the country on effectively infusing the neuroscience into career and leadership development practice. He is the co-author of Brain-Based Career Development and Goal Pursuit for Students, Staff, and Organizations, published by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Imants currently oversees the Campus Involvement Center and Sorority & Fraternity Life, along with serving as the CFO for the division of student affairs.

Liz Lierman is Assistant Vice Chancellor of Career and Professional Development at the University of
Denver. She is dedicated to providing career development at scale, supporting students in building experience, and fostering connections between students and professionals who can further enhance career exploration and preparation. She previously served in career development leadership roles at Mount Holyoke College, Bard College at Simon’s Rock, and Oberlin College. Lierman has contributed to research on the relationship between internship participation and career outcomes, her advice has appeared in publications including Career Convergence, Forbes, Recruiter, and The Wall Street Journal, she has presented at regional and national conferences, and she has co-chaired and served on
committees for the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Lierman holds master’s
degrees in social work and nonprofit management from Case Western Reserve University, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Williams College.

Michelle Schenk is the Director of Employer Engagement from University of Texas San Antonio. Schenk has 8 years of active-duty service in the U.S Air Force and over 13 years of higher education experience specifically in career management. Schenk earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration at Trinity University, her master’s degree in public administration at the University of Washington, and her master’s degree in advertising at The University of Texas in Austin. Prior to UTSA, Schenk most recently held the position of Director, Employer and Alumni Engagement, Career Management & Corporate Relations at Texas McCombs, UT Austin. Prior to that role she was the Director, MBA Employer and Alumni Engagement at Texas McCombs.

Mario Vela is a double alumnus of The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), one of the largest Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) in the United States and one of 20 tier one HSIs (Carnegie R1). During his time at UTSA, Mario earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology & Philosophy and his Master of Science in Sociology. After earning his bachelor’s degree, Mario started his professional career in social services at the non-profit Family Service Association in San Antonio. Before joining the UTSA University Career Center (UCC), Mario held the role of Director of Partnerships at the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement (HACE) in Chicago, a leading organization dedicated to the employment, development, and advancement of current and aspiring Latino professionals. After HACE, Mario served as the Director of Employer Relations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago. In this role, Mario created, monitored, and evaluated the sustainable development and maintenance of over one thousand recruiting relationships. In 2019, Mario returned to his alma mater to serve as the Executive Director of the University Career Center after nearly a decade in Chicago. As of 2021, Mario is the Assistant Vice-Provost of Career Engaged Learning to advance UTSA’s Classroom to Careers initiatives.