From Here to Career
Coffee & Chat with HFA Alumni
From Here to Career: Coffee & Chat with HFA Alumni
Friday, Sept. 20
1:30-3 p.m.
South College Commons
About the Event
What might your career look like after graduating from the College of Humanities and Fine Arts (HFA)?
Join us Friday, Sept. 20, from 1:30-3 p.m. in South College Commons for a homecoming networking event, “From Here to Career,” that connects students with established alumni who can provide a road map for what comes next!
Distinguished HFA alumni will be there to discuss finding meaningful work after graduation.
As you prepare to navigate the professional world, tap into the expertise of alumni who are established in their careers, learn from their experience and advice, and build networks.
Featured Alumni
Laura Bailey
In 2003, Laura Bailey received a BA in Theater and English with minors in Psychology and Political Science. After receiving a Master’s degree in film, she went on to work in production in a variety of roles. She is currently a Script Supervisor with credits in film and television.
Coleman Barnes
Coleman Barnes graduated from UMass in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Architecture. He also minored in Art History and Building & Construction Technology. Following his time in Amherst he started his career in Boston working for a global Design/Build company. His design work would help shape spaces across the country and even in Mexico and Belgium. After a few years in the construction/design industry, Coleman returned to school to receive a Master of Architecture degree from Southern Illinois University in 2023. Prior to starting graduate school, Coleman shifted gears and started at a small four-person architecture firm. Today the firm has grown to ten and is doing around one hundred projects a year. While mainly focusing on 20-40 unit multi-family projects, Coleman is in charge of the commercial division of the firm. He is experienced in office design, bars/restaurants, salons, gyms, and more. Coleman also currently serves as a member of the UMass Amherst Alumni Association: GOLD Council. He helps with networking and alumni events throughout the year to keep the UMass family connected!
Emily Brewster
Emily Brewster graduated from UMass Amherst in 1999 with a degree in linguistics and philosophy. She’s a Senior Editor and lexicographer at Merriam-Webster, where she covers all kinds of vocabulary, from prepositions to politics to slang. In addition to defining, she writes regularly about grammar, usage, and language change at Merriam-Webster.com, and speaks to audiences about lexicography and language in person and as a regular guest on New England Public Media. She's also a mother of two and co-owner of The Rendezvous, a pub and entertainment venue in Turners Falls, Mass.
Robin Cabral
Robin Cabral graduated from UMass Amherst in the spring of 2024 with two BAs in Portuguese and Comparative Literature. He is now a Ph.D. student/researcher at UMass Dartmouth in Luso-Afro-Brazilian Studies and Theory where he is researching Brazilian Representation in Video Games through Story-Telling and Translation.
At UMass Amherst, he double minored in Information Technology and Catalan and participated in the 23rd Catalan Language Stay in Girona, Spain, and Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra. He was in the Commonwealth Honors College where he wrote his thesis From Damsel in Distress to Leading Lady under the direction of Professor Corine Tachtiris where he examined femininity in the world of Super Mario Bros. He also worked for CMASS as a Student Supervisor at the Josephine White Eagle Cultural Center and as an Office Assistant at Wilder Hall. During his time at UMass, he also translated for the Massachusetts Daily Collegian.
Chayanne Chataigne
Chayanne Chataigne is a member of the class of 2021 and graduated with a dual bachelor's in Psychology and Afro-American Studies. Since leaving UMass, she has worked through Seven Hills Foundation You Inc., UMass Chan Medical School, and now works at the Nativity School of Worcester. She is currently employed as the Director of College Placement & Post-Secondary Transition. Chayanne is also a licensed esthetician in the state of Massachusetts and has aspirations to earn her MSW in Macro social work.
Eddie Clifford
Edward Clifford graduated from UMass Amherst in 2019 with his BA in English. He is currently an associate editor of the Massachusetts Review and is a first-year student in the MFA program here at UMass.
Mai Cortes
A Cambridge, MA native and resident of New York for over 25 years, Mai Cortes is excited to continue working as a member of the Alumni Board of Directors and now on the Executive Committee as Vice President – Volunteer Development, she is looking to develop and grow our volunteer leadership talent with new and seasoned alumni relationships. Being a woman of color with a career in IT at a University, it gives her a perspective for students who may not see other's that look like them in this role and she is a firm believer and advocate for strengthening career development to the student body. Mai believes students at all ages can always use guidance and support for career paths new and old. Mai is proud to have had such formative years at UMass, over 25 years ago, and is looking forward to mentoring students in the future, with any knowledge she can bring to the table.
Jacob Dyer Spiegel
Jacob Dyer Spiegel holds a PhD in English from UMass Amherst, an MA in Sociolinguistics from Universidad de la Habana in Cuba, and a BA in Comparative Literature from UMass Amherst. He has taught writing, literature, and cultural studies courses in the U.S., Brazil, Cuba, and The Bahamas and was both a Gilman and Fulbright Scholar to Brazil where he designed and led an experiential learning school for college students. While teaching Junior Year Writing courses across the UMass Amherst curriculum, Jacob writes about Kamau Brathwaite’s philosophy of Nation Language as a decolonial, multilingual teaching approach.
Owen Embury
Owen Embury graduated from UMass Amherst with a BA in the History of Art and Architecture. He currently works as a Collections Management Assistant at the Mead Art Museum at Amherst College. His position includes database management, coordinating loans with outside institutions, and general maintenance of artworks at the museum. During his time at UMass, he interned at the UMCA, worked as a part of the Pompeii Artistic Landscape Project, and served as News Editor at WMUA.
Julie Goff
Julie Goff (she/her/s) is the Deputy Director of Strategy and Operations at a Springfield-based nonprofit, Teach Western Mass (TWM). TWM's mission is to strengthen the local education workforce by developing powerful teachers reflective of their students’ life experiences and identities. We operate an alternative certification pathway for local educators in Springfield and Holyoke schools. Julie has been at TWM since 2016 and has had the pleasure of working in several roles as the organization has grown over the years.
As DD of Strategy and Operations, Julie manages the implementation of TWM’s strategic plan across the organization and also leads the Operations Department, inclusive of Finance, Human Resources, Operations, Administration, Fundraising, and Communications. A former high school English teacher, Julie brings classroom teaching experience and youth development/mentoring experience to her role at TWM. Prior to joining the TWM team, Julie served as the Sports Director for Project Coach, a youth-development and sport-coaching program in Springfield’s North End which is coordinated by the Education Initiative at Smith College. Julie is a proud double UMass alumna with a B.A. in English Lit and Classics and an M.Ed; Julie also played Ultimate Frisbee (Ladyzoo now Zoola!) all four years at UMass. Julie lives in Springfield and enjoys cooking, reading books, and adventuring with her family.
Sabrina Hamilton
After a career in international theatre, work in NYC, and periods an adjunct and sabbatical replacement, Sabrina Hamilton graduated from U/Mass with an MFA in Directing and Lighting Design, which she promptly put to good use teaching at institutions like Williams College and as the Interim Director of the MFA Program at Towson University in Baltimore. She the Artistic Director of KoFest. For over 30 years, Ko produced the Ko Festival of Performance in Amherst, Massachusetts, with a final season in the summer of 2022. Her current focus is on lifting up and amplifying ensemble and solo artists, via residencies (administrative/organizational/artistic), co-productions, mentoring, and artistic collaborations, and services. Lighting credits include work in NYC, regional theatres in the U.S. and 15 other countries. She has a sub-specialty in puppetry lighting that began years ago during her 6 years as Route Lighting Designer for New York’s Village Halloween Parade. Sabrina’s directing work, primarily original pieces, has been seen in New York, Berlin and throughout New England. She has just returned from teaching a 2-week installation art/performance workshop in Romania for students from 12 different countries.
Rebecca Kennedy
Rebecca (Becca) Kennedy has over 20 years of experience recruiting leaders in higher education and nonprofit organizations. She specializes in administrative and operational leadership positions, including research administration, technology transfer and commercialization, compliance and privacy, finance, human resources, and equity and inclusion. She particularly enjoys recruiting individuals into newly created positions. Prior to joining Isaacson, Miller in 2015, Becca was a Principal with Brill Neumann Associates. Her early experience as a teacher, counselor, and in administrative support strengthens her understanding of the field of higher education. Becca has attended and presented at the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and is a regular attendee of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Higher Education Compliance Conference.
Erik P. Kimball
Hon. Erik P. Kimball serves as Chief U.S. Bankruptcy Judge in the Southern District of Florida. He was appointed in 2008 and reappointed in 2022. Judge Kimball received his J.D. from Boston College Law School in 1990 and his B.A. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1987. Judge Kimball began his legal practice at Hale and Dorr (now WilmerHale) in the firm’s Boston office. He twice left legal practice to work in the mutual fund industry as an investment professional. At the time of his judicial appointment in 2008, Judge Kimball was a shareholder at Akerman in the firm’s Orlando office. In legal practice, he specialized in representation of institutional investors and indenture trustees in connection with defaults of publicly traded debt securities.
Peter Lamothe
Peter Lamothe is the Senior Associate VP for Health Sciences Development at UConn Foundation. In his role, Peter leads the fundraising and donor engagement teams for the schools of Dental Medicine, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy and Social Work, as well as UConn Health. Lamothe led the development team at The Jackson Laboratory from 2014-19 and Yale Cancer Center from 2007-2014. Prior to his career in fundraising, he worked at Monticello after graduation, as well as the Gardner Museum, and the New Haven Museum. UMass and the history department taught him the data analysis, storytelling, and critical thinking skills that have contributed to his career growth and success.
Robert LaRussa
Robert S. LaRussa is a Washington D.C.-based international trade and national-security attorney who worked for two decades at the global law firm Shearman & Sterling and now runs his own law and consulting business. Prior to practicing at Shearman, Mr. LaRussa spent eight years in the Clinton Administration as an international trade official, including as Commerce Undersecretary for International Trade, one of the country’s highest-ranking international trade positions. He held two earlier positions in the Clinton Administration, as Assistant Secretary of Commerce in charge of administering US trade laws, and as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the US Government’s global export promotion network. Prior to that, he was an international trade counsel in the US House of Representatives; he is an attorney and former journalist and a UMASS graduate of the History Department. Over the course of his career, he has negotiated numerous international trade agreements for the United States and for private parties. He worked on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as a Commerce Department official, the Uruguay Round of international trade talks as a congressional attorney and negotiated trade and antidumping agreements with Russia, Ukraine, Mexico, China, and Brazil, among others. Mr. LaRussa teaches seminars on international trade and national security at UMASS, is a member of the HFA Dean's Advisory Council, and regularly counsels students on how to pursue policy positions in government and the private sector.
Bill Noland
Bill Noland grew up in Amherst as his father was a Professor of English at UMass from 1965–2004. Bill received a BA in Psychology from UMass Amherst in 1986 and an MBA from Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management in 1992. He has worked in Human Resources for several nonprofit organizations in Boston and spent 17 years in the financial services industry where he became a subject matter expert in the Advent line of software products and their implementation and application in financial advisory firms. Bill retired in 2021 but has turned his attention to music, playing in a variety of local bands, and to writing an award-winning series of historically inspired supernatural thrillers, Uncommon Bonds.
Madeleine Noland
Madeleine Noland is the President of the Advanced Television Systems Committee Inc. A 20-year industry veteran who is widely respected for her consensus-building leadership style, she chaired the technology group that oversees the ATSC 3.0 next-generation broadcast standard before being named ATSC President in May 2019. Previously, she chaired various ATSC 3.0-related specialist groups, ad hoc groups and implementation teams since 2012.
Noland began her career in the television industry in 2004 with Backchannelmedia Inc., an interactive television technology developer. It was during her work there that she first became involved in ATSC projects. In 2012, she moved on to product and project management roles at Telvue Corp. before joining LG Electronics CTO’s office in 2013. Noland represented LG in a variety of industry organizations for over six years.
Most recently, Madeleine was awarded the prestigious 2022 David Sarnoff Medal by the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers (SMPTE) in a ceremony held in Hollywood, California. She has also received TV NewsCheck’s “2019 Futurist” Women in Technology Award and was named one of 2018’s “Powerful Women in Consumer Technology” by Dealerscope magazine. In 2016, while the Chair of TG-3, she received the ATSC’s highest technical honor, the Bernard J. Lechner Outstanding Contributor Award recognizing her leadership related to the development of ATSC 3.0 Next Gen TV.
Credited on three U.S. patents for television technology, Noland is a member of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers, and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers – Broadcast Technology Society. Noland graduated cum laude from the University of Massachusetts. She enjoys travel, and she plays keyboards in a band called “Brave Pursuit.”
Ann O’Rourke
Ann O’Rourke is a commercial law and data privacy attorney currently practicing at a boutique Corporate firm, Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, in Waltham, MA. Prior to this, she was senior counsel at a Boston-based public company where her duties were to provide and oversee all legal services needed for the company’s sales and marketing teams. Much of Ann’s experience has been gained in the student loan finance industry where, as general counsel of a non-profit student loan provider, she counselled the company through a unique conversion to become a for-profit entity that was purchased by Sallie Mae, the largest student loan provider in the country. She then became Sallie Mae’s Deputy General Counsel. Before her in-house roles, Ann practiced for six years in the Finance and Public Finance groups at Mintz Levin, in Boston, MA. Ann received her J.D. from Georgetown University and her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts. Ann lives in Wayland, MA with her husband and two sons.
Jessica Primavera
Jessica Primavera graduated from UMass Amherst in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in linguistics and a minor in psychology. While at UMass, she was an editor at the Massachusetts Daily Collegian newspaper. She used this experience to work as an editor at a technology marketing company after graduating. She then transitioned into the biotech industry, combining her editorial experience and her appreciation for science. She is currently a Marketing Operations Senior Specialist/Editor at Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
Ren Rennick
Ren Rennick (they/them) is an alum ('24) of UMass's History of Art and Architecture graduate program. Following graduation, Ren began working as the Assistant Registrar at MASS MoCA. In this role, Ren works closely with the curatorial and fabrication teams to ensure that art from lenders and pieces fabricated on site are cared for and maintained during their time in the museum. As a graduate student, Ren focused on 19th and 20th-century, vernacular architecture and even researched and wrote about the adaptive reuse of the Sprague Electric Company (now MASS MoCA). Through the support of UMass's History of Art and Architecture department, Ren was able to take classes and internships that helped them figure out their love for collections work and non-traditional museum spaces. They feel lucky to be able to continue supporting the department and students as they begin their professional career in the region.
Isabel Ruiz Cano
Isabel Ruiz Cano currently works as the Assistant Curator at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. She graduated from UMass with a Master's Degree in the History of Art and Architecture in 2023, after receiving a B.A. in Art History with a concentration in Museum Studies from Smith College in 2021. Her research focuses on visual culture and identity formation. As an emerging museum professional, she is passionate about connecting with diverse audiences and the care and research of collections, especially working with ephemeral materials. Isabel credits her time in the Five Colleges with showing her the paths an Art History degree can lead to--from art publishing to exhibit installation--and loves to connect students with local opportunities!
Zach Schlappi
Zach Schläppi is a veteran art director who has lent his talents to acclaimed video game franchises like Age of Empires, Just Cause, Medal of Honor, and Far Cry. Before games, he worked on animated films like Ice Age and Jonah: A Veggietales' Movie as a technical director in lighting and compositing after earning his MFA from the School of Visual Arts. Zach has also consulted on independent and mobile games, including the Apple "Best of App Store" winner Super Senso in 2016 and speaks at various schools and conferences. His multifaceted career has spanned AAA studios like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft Entertainment, and Avalanche Studios as well as experience in advertising and visual effects. Zach is currently the Studio Art Director at Demiurge Studios, headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
Clare Sheedy
Clare Alyson Sheedy graduated UMass Amherst in May 2023. Clare is originally from Pittsfield, Massachusetts but now resides in Washington Heights in New York City. While at UMass, she was named one of the 10 undergraduate recipients of the 21st Century Leaders Award. She earned double majors in Public Health and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She also received the Five College Certificate in Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice. She was renowned on campus for her effectiveness in a plethora of leadership positions connected to social justice and social progress.
Among her many accomplishments, she’s most proud of being a guest lecturer for Stanford Law School’s course on the Law, Politics, and Policy of Campus Sexual Assault and giving a TEDx Talk about sexual violence. These talks were informed by her extensive activism at UMass. She was a founding member of the student-led Title IX Task Force, and she played a crucial role in the implementation of the campus Survivor’s Bill of Rights. She also was elected Speaker of the UMass Student Government Association and selected as a 2022 UMass Women into Leadership Fellow. She served on numerous advisory boards and volunteers for 3 years at the CWC as a counselor advocate. She also worked as a Peer Health Educator Program Managers, New Student Orientation and Traditions, and Disability Services.
Following her time at UMass, Clare worked as a Massachusetts State Senate Presidential Fellow the summer before she began her Master’s in Public Administration at Columbia University. She is concentrating on Human Rights & Humanitarian Policy and International Security Policy. Excitingly, her specialization is in Gender Public Policy.
After moving to New York City, Clare also worked as a Campaign Fundraising and Events Fellow for Left Rising, before she began her current position. Now, Clare works as a Resource Coordinator for the NYC Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence. While her job primarily involves assisting city employees, she also works at the Brooklyn Family Justice Center and one of the Humanitarian Emergency Response and Relief Centers (HERRC) in Manhattan. Currently Clare is training for the NYC Marathon. She is running as part of a fundraiser for Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS) NY, an organization helping New York City residents who are at-risk of losing their pets due to physical and financial obstacles.
Rongbing Shen
Rongbing Shen, clarinetist and music educator, is currently excelling as the Elementary Music Teacher at the Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School. Her contributions extend beyond the classroom as she serves on the board of the New England Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association (AOSA) and as the International Clarinet Association (ICA) ClarinetFest® Program Book Editor.
A passionate education advocate, Rongbing has invested significant time and energy into organizing educational events, including the prestigious Harvard China Education Symposium and the MicroDistance conference. She is deeply committed to addressing issues of educational access and equity and aspires to make a meaningful impact on the integration of Music and AI.
Peter Sokolowski
Peter Sokolowski joined Merriam-Webster in 1994 as the company's first French-language editor, and has since written definitions for many of the company's dictionaries. He also contributes blog articles, podcasts, and videos for the online dictionary, and his writing has appeared in Slate, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. He is a frequent guest on national radio and television, and was named among TIME’s 140 Best Twitter Feeds of 2013. He leads workshops on dictionaries and the English language for the U.S. State Department, serves as pronouncer for spelling bees worldwide, and is a judge at the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. He is the co-host of Word Matters, a podcast about words by dictionary editors. Peter attended the University of Paris and earned his M.A. in French Literature at the University of Massachusetts. He is also a freelance musician and a music host at New England Public Media.
Annette Vadnais
Annette M. Vadnais, popularly known as the purplehairlibrarian [at] umass [dot] edu (purplehairlibrarian[at]umass[dot]edu) on campus, works as a librarian at the W.E.B DuBois Library on campus. She is passionate about enhancing student success and well-being. She specializes in developing spaces and programs that empower students to thrive both academically and personally. She is very proud to be a first-generation college student from a low-income background. Outside of work, she loves napping and cats!
Ellen Williams
Ellen Williams is a PhD student in Language, Literacy, and Culture at the College of Education at UMass. She earned her MS in Library Science from Simmons University in 2016 and her BA in Art History from UMass Amherst in 2011. She has nine years of experience as a children’s librarian in rural, suburban, and urban public libraries, and has also instructed courses on multicultural children's literature, multicultural education, and young adult literature. Williams' work involves using Critical Multicultural Analysis and the Whole Book Approach to examine and make meaning from picture books. Her current research focuses on applying sociocultural and critical lenses to early literacy practices in informal learning environments.