Fall Professional Development Mixer

English and related majors are invited to take part in a special Fall Professional Development Mixer. The Mixer is hosted by Jenny Adams, Department Chair and will take place in the scenic Hadley Room, 10th floor, UMass Amherst Campus Center on October 27, 2026 from 5:00pm - 6:30pm.

At this event students will be able to join alumni with careers in literary arts, law & finance, education, journalism and biotech, to learn more about their time at UMass, their path to employment, and their current jobs. This is an excellent opportunity to network, polish your job-search skills, and learn how to frame your English degree for a job after graduation.

Admission guaranteed for students in English 389: The Major and Beyond as long as you register for the event.

Alumni guests as of September 29, 2026 include the following:

Edward Clifford is Managing Editor of The Massachusetts Review. He is in his final year of the MFA for Poets & Writers at UMass Amherst and his writing can be found in Paperbark, Press Pause Press, Many Nice Donkeys, and elsewhere.  

Liza Hamel is a teacher at Oxford High School, primarily teaching 9th and 10th grade English. She is currently completing a Masters of Education in School Leadership and Administration, which she will finish in the fall.

Nicole A. Hostettler is a senior wealth strategist at CIBC Private Wealth. She works with clients to implement comprehensive wealth transfer strategies. Nicole earned a Masters LL.M. in taxation from Boston University School of Law, and a Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School.

Daniel Leonard is the Executive Director of Global Patient Advocacy at uniQure, a pioneering biotechnology company developing gene therapies for rare diseases. Dan has spent 26 years working in the biotech industry. He is also a published short story writer, filmmaker, and avid triathlete.

Matthew McNulty is an award-winning journalist and writer based in Rhode Island. McNulty is a reporter at Providence Business News, where he covers Rhode Island business, economic development, finance and public policy. He has worked with the New York Post, New York Daily News, PEOPLE Magazine, Daily Mail and Fox Business covering crime, business, politics, culture and communities across the United States.

Stephanie Silenti is a language lover, meaning seeker, ancestral healer, and aspiring cailleach. She has had a 25-year career in technical writing and professional communications in tech or tech-adjacent roles, serving both for-profit and non-profit organizations, including those supporting education, cancer, grief and loss, and civil rights. She is also a writer of nonfiction, speculative nonfiction, and poetry.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Jacobson, Director of Community Engagement, [email protected].