Careers outside of psychology
Matthew Lambert
Vice President for University Advancement at William & Mary
Graduation Year: 1999
Email: MTLambert@wm.edu
Interests: Discussing career goals. I'd be happy to help however I can with students interested in going into advancement work (fundraising, alumni engagement, and marketing & communications) or working in higher education broadly.
Jiaorui Jiang
Arup, marketing intern / / Starting a program in Human Factors and Information Design at Bentley University in the fall
Graduation Year: 2016
Email: jjiang01@email.wm.edu
Interests: Networking opportunities, discussing career goals.
Makoto Fujisaki
The owner/CEO of Kodikas Coffee and Resterra Consulting
Graduation Year: 2010
Email: makotof@kodikascoffee.com
Interests: Discussing career goals. After I graduated from W&M, I decided to pursue my career as a mental health counselor. I did go to 2 grad schools and got 2 master's in both mental health counseling (Boston and Philly). After I worked as a counselor in school setting and community mental agencies (both small and big), I decided to switch my career and started my own businesses in the DC area. / / If any of the current students would like get some insights, tips, thoughts on pursuing "mental health counseling" career, especially at master's level, I'm more than happy to share my experiences.
Trudy Campbell Nix
Commercial Banking Executive / Senior Vice President / Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Graduation Year: 1975
Email: trudy.c.nix@baml.com
Interests: Discussing career goals. I am glad to reach out to students.
Jay Watts
Athletic Director at Girls Preparatory School in Chattanooga, TN
Graduation Year: 1990
Email: jwatts213@yahoo.com
Interests: Networking, career assistance, research opportunities.
Jessa Guinn
Human Resources Specialist with James City County
Graduation Year: 2008
Email: jessarosee@gmail.com
Interests: Discuss career goals and networking. A psychology background has been extremely helpful throughout my career. I have experience in recruiting and employee relations and live/work in the area so I am available to meet in person.
Jeremy Kim
JD Candidate at the University of Richmond School of Law.
Graduation Year: 2016
Email: Jskim02@email.wm.edu
Interests: Discussing career goals. Currently employed as a summer intern at the Warrenton Public Defender's Office
Albert Azzarone
Capital Projects Parks Planning Manager for the Division of Recreation and Parks, Henrico County, Virginia.
Graduation Year: 1972
Email: azz@henrico.us
Interests: Discussing career goals in fields outside of psychology. I am a landscape architect. I am currently the Capital Projects Parks Planning Manager for the Division of Recreation and Parks. I have practiced as a landscape architecture professional for over 35 years. I took one class in the psychology program, Industrial Psychology, and an elective in the Business Department for non-business major where I saw a film in class about a planned community in Finland called Tapiola. Dr. Peter Dirks helped me put these two classes together that led to a getting a masters degree in landscape architecture from the University of Virginia (1977).....Thank you so much Dr. Dirks for a profession that continues to be meaningful and fulfilling. Psychology...I'm not really able to give any insights, but if an architectural profession interests you I would be glad to talk / to you about a possible direction change......you can do it too with your W&M education and your psychology degree. Regardless of your direction I wish you success. Even after all these years, my W&M degree is an accomplishments that continues to be one of the most in my life.
Melanie Vargas
Financial Analyst - Capital One
Graduation Year: 2016
Email: melanie.rose.vargas@gmail.com
Interests: Networking opportunities and discussing career goals.
Yuri Matsumoto
Economic Development Specialist with the City of Williamsburg
Graduation Year: 2014
Email: yhmats@gmail.com
Interests: Networking opportunities, discussing career goals.
Alexa Hinrichs
Residential Lodge Advisor at CooperRiis Healing Community
Rebecca Williamson (Butz)
Principal Cosultant at Hemispheres Leadership Consulting (self-employed)
Graduation Year: 1998
Email: Reb_williamson@yahoo.com
Interests: Discuss career goals. Leadership Development Consultant; Principal Cosultant at Hemispheres Leadership Consulting (self-employed)
Nancy Everson
Assistant Dean of Students, College of William & Mary
Graduation Year: 1998
Email: naever@wm.edu
Interests: Discussing career goals. I am available to meet with students in person since I am on campus. Email to ask for a good day/time to meet and identify as a referral from the W&M Psychology Alumni Network.
Kerry DiGiacomo
Director of Audience Research, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Graduation Year: 1997
Email: kdigiacomo@philamuseum.org
Interests: Discussing career goals. The need for skilled social scientists in the arts and culture sector is growing every year. Museums and, more generally, the leisure and informal learning sectors, may seem surprising or unexpected environments for psychology majors interested in research and evaluation, but I hope that advisors and career counselors are aware and share it with students. If not for a chance opportunity to take Museum Studies in the Ed School and coming across a booklet of internship positions at the Smithsonian in the career office, I would never have imagined a career using social science research to better reach and serve communities through the work of museums. Museums are also still learning that they need social scientists, so even without subject matter expertise (art, history, natural science), please encourage internships and volunteer experiences in museums.
Alex Foster
Research Analyst - CEB, now Gartner
Graduation Year: 2016
Email: alexbfoster825@gmail.com
Interests: Discussing career goals, incorporating psychology into other fields of study.
Wayne King Johnson Jr.
President / Coldwell Banker Avenues
Graduation Year: 1968
Email: wkjohnson@coldwellbanker.com
Interests: I'll help in discussing career goals.
Rebecca Lynch
Student Employment Coordinator at George Washington University
Graduation Year: 2016
Email: rebeccanolanlynch@gmail.com
Interests: Sharing first job experiences, how to market and apply your psych degree in an outside field. On a day-to-day basis, I am responsible for meeting with students who have recently obtained student jobs at the university, and guiding them through completing pre-employment processes such as the I-9, tax forms, and work permits. I am also a course administrator for an internship-based course for international students. I work in a fast-paced environment, meeting demands of both students and coworkers, and fitting in additional responsibilities on top of being on call for students the whole day. Some things my psych degree helps with are understanding students’ perspectives, figuring out how to most effectively communicate with them, and helping to create efficient office processes that benefit both students and employees.
Katie Mitchell
Senior Analyst at Accenture Federal Services
Graduation Year: 2016 (MA)
Email: kmitchell92@gmail.com
Interests: Discussing career goals and ways to market and apply skills from a psychology education to careers in other fields. The skills I learned from studying psychology (data collection, project management, statistical analysis, data visualization and presentation, etc.) have proved highly valuable in my current career in data analytics for a large technology consulting firm. I believe that psychology students are uniquely qualified for this rapidly growing field, and I would love to share my experiences and help more psychology graduates get involved.
Shannon Hahn
Analytics Consultant at Accenture Federal Services
Graduation Year: 2018 (MA)
Email: sehahn@email.wm.edu
Interests: I am interested in discussing with students the best practices for leveraging a strong research background to obtain employment in a career outside of academia. It has been my experience that skills such as predictive modeling, hypothesis testing, data visualization, and statistical programming are incredibly marketable in the consulting/tech world right now, making psychology students uniquely qualified for many important positions in this exciting field! As someone who spent the better part of a decade exclusively studying psychology, I was not at all confident in my knowledge of the private sector when I first applied. However, I was not only hired immediately as an analytics consultant at a large technology consulting firm, but since, my skill set has generated a lot of excitement within the company for raising the bar of business analytics. All said, I had a ton of help and encouragement along the way with bridging the scary gap between academia and the private sector and I would love to help interested students navigate this as well!
