Edward Cruz (he/him/his)
Assistant Dean & Executive Director
Edward “Eddy” Cruz is the Assistant Dean & Executive Director of NTC Career Services. He leads the NTC Career Services team, in collaboration with campus partners, to offer tailored career services that meet the needs of all Tulane students. Additionally, he believes representation matters, and his team represents this. Eddy empowers them to utilize their unique experiences and strives to create an environment where they feel safe sharing their whole selves at work. Eddy earned his M.A. in Student Affairs in Higher Education from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a B.A. in Speech Communication from Kutztown University. He began his career at the University of Georgia and spent nearly 12 years at the University of Miami before arriving at Tulane.
Best Career Advice: Find an organization that values your skills and experiences and allows you to show up as your whole self at work.
Favorite NOLA Restaurants: Cochon Butcher (Warehouse District), Atchafalaya (Garden District), and the Kabob House (Metairie)
Kathryn Santanilla (she/her/hers)
Assistant Director, NTC Career Services
As a Tulane University’s NTC Career Services Team member, Kathryn works with undergraduate students, providing 1:1 career coaching. In addition, she gives workshops on career topics to campus organizations and as a guest lecturer in college classes. Since COVID, she has been working on a new initiative to host career chats for undergraduate students. NTC Career Chats are bi-monthly virtual 1-hour career-focused conversations and training incorporating industry panelists. Kathryn received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Louisiana State University and is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Louisiana.
Career Coach: All Tulane Students are welcome to book appointments
Best Career Advice: Career paths are not linear. Be open to possibilities. Meet new people, join new organizations, and try something new. This will help clarify your interests and increase your network.
Favorite NOLA Restaurants: Marjie’s Grill and High Hat
Laura Doré Wiley (she/her/hers)
Employer Engagement Manager
Kayla Sturm (she/her/hers)
Career Educator
As a Career Educator on the NTC Career Services Team, Kayla primarily teaches CRDV, NTC’s undergraduate career education courses. In addition, Kayla co-facilitates the Career Champions program, a program implemented to engage Tulane faculty and staff in how to navigate career conversations with students. Kayla also serves as a co-lead for the Communications team, where she helps develop marketing and social media content and strategies for the department. She also provides 1:1 coaching for students enrolled in CRDV and assists with outreach presentations across campus. Kayla obtained both her Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Houston-Victoria and has worked in career services for 6 years.
Career Educator: Kayla primarily does 1:1 coaching with CRDV students, but if you aren’t a CRDV student and want to meet with her, just send her an email to check her availability!
Best career advice: The world is your oyster. Be open to new opportunities that help you grow and step out of your comfort zone, even if it seems scary.
Favorite holiday: Halloween
Sarah Van Oss (she/her/hers)
Career Educator
Sarah is a member of Tulane University’s NTC Career Services Team. She works with undergraduates in the school of liberal arts and science and engineering to provide 1:1 career coaching. Additionally, Sarah teaches CRDV 1090 “Majors, Internships, and Jobs”. This class is designed to help students identify their personal values and interests and align them with an academic and career path that works best for them. In addition to her work in NTC Career Services, Sarah is also a Ph. D. student studying anthropology at Tulane.
Career Educator: Sarah primarily does 1:1 coaching with CRDV students, but if you aren’t a CRDV student and want to meet with her, just send her an email to check her availability!
Best Career Advice: Be consistent in your work but also in your life, rest, community, and things that make you happy. Small steps lead to big things!
Favorite NOLA Restaurants: Val’s, Zee’s pizza, all of the pop-ups/food trucks!
Sammy Stevens (she/her/hers)
Career Coach
Sammy Stevens has spent her entire professional career counseling students during periods of transition. She joins NTC’s Career Services team after more than a decade in college admission, where she helped students find best-fit opportunities in education. She is excited to translate this experience into helping Tulanians find best-fit opportunities after graduation, helping them align strengths, interests, values, and goals. She received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee, and she is currently pursuing a Master of Liberal Arts degree at Tulane. Sammy is a proud first-generation college student, and one of her professional passions is ensuring that students from all backgrounds are embraced fully and served equitably. When she isn’t eating her way through the city, you can find Sammy analyzing any number of personality assessments! She is an INFP (heavy on the feeling), an Enneagram 9, a somewhat stereotypical Virgo, a “Blue,” and her CliftonStrengths are Empathy, Ideation, Individualization, Strategic, and Intellection.
Career Coach: All Tulane students can book a 1:1 appointment with Sammy. She also works with Career Launch, a co-curricular 4-week networking sprint designed to help Tulane students increase social capital and build their own systems of internal advocates.
Best Career Advice: Your first job out of college doesn’t have to be your forever job. So don’t worry so much about having the perfect long-term plan. Instead, focus on taking the next best step. And then decide that again. And again. And again.
Favorite New Orleans Restaurants: Saba, Lilly’s Café, Barracuda, Alma Café
Gabriel Rodriguez (he/him/his)
Career Coach
Gabriel Rodriguez is a 2017 Tulane alumnus and Posse Scholar dedicated to supporting Tulane’s undergraduates in their career development. Gabriel has a passion for working with Tulane’s underrepresented student populations and is always seeking new ways to make Tulane a more equitable institution. Gabriel completed a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in 2018 and is eager to advise students considering nationally competitive grant and fellowship opportunities. He is also currently a Master of Public Health student at Tulane’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. As part of NTC Career Services, he manages the Career Peer Advisors, a team of undergraduate student mentors who host drop-in hours to advise on a variety of career topics. In tandem with fellow NTC Career Coach Karina Varela, Gabriel manages the NTC Career Internship Fund to support student access to internship opportunities over the summer.
Career Coach: All Tulane students are welcome to book appointments.
Best Career Advice: The things you learn outside of the classroom are often just as valuable as what you learn inside of it. Keeping both your academic and professional experiences in mind will allow you to take advantage of unexpected opportunities while working towards your long-term goals.
Favorite NOLA Restaurants: El Taco Loco (on S. Carrolton!) and LUVI
Caitlin Ducat (she/her/hers)
Career Coach
As a career coach with NTC Career Services, Caitlin works with undergraduates in liberal arts and science and engineering as they realize their academic, professional, and personal potential. In addition to 1:1 coaching, Caitlin also works with faculty and staff through the Career Champions program and assists in coordinating the Career Chats virtual panel series. Caitlin is also a Tulane alum, holding an M.S. and B.S. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and a B.A. in Political Science. In graduate school, she studied monarch butterflies along the Gulf Coast. Caitlin also works as a scientific manuscript editor and outside of work, she is an avid nature nerd, puzzle doer, and Jeopardy enthusiast.
Career Advice: The world is truly your oyster. Stay open and stay ready. Embrace uncertainty, and remember that the career journey is not linear!
Favorite plant shops in NOLA: Crazy Plant Bae, Harold’s, Urban Roots
Favorite restaurants in NOLA: Boswell’s Jamaican Restaurant, Blue Oak BBQ, LUVI restaurant
Karina Varela (she/her/hers)
Career Coach
Karina is one of our career coaches and is committed to helping Tulane undergraduates navigate their career development. Originally from McAllen, Texas, Karina is obsessed with finding the perfect taco spot(s), eating raspas with chamoy and gummy bears on top, and hanging out with her husband and mini schnauzer, Torta. Karina received a B.A. in Liberal Studies with a focus in English Literature and Religious and Theological Studies from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas. Prior to joining the NTC Career Services team, Karina worked as a English Pre-AP High School Teacher at PSJA Collegiate School of Health Professions in south Texas. Karina serves on the NTC Internship Fund Committee and oversees the NTC Career Services communications team. She especially wants to help students create a career path for themselves where their goals, values, and identities are acknowledged and celebrated.
Best Career Advice: You don’t have to have it all figured out to have career conversations with career coaches or professionals in your field. We have conversations within our networks and support systems to gather information. With the information we collect we utilize it to make the most informed career decision(s) and figure out our next step.
Favorite NOLA Restaurant(s): Picnic Provisions & Whiskey, Sukho Thai, and Bahn Mi Boys
Abby Woods (she/her/hers)
Career Coach
Abby is a Career Coach at Tulane who is has spent her career dedicated to helping students of diverse backgrounds reach their full potential. She has worked in university career centers at both LSU and Loyola University New Orleans and holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology as well as a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration.
She comes to Tulane with a wealth of knowledge about career development and has spent much of her own career working as a teacher and mental health professional in New Orleans. Abby is an avid student advocate who cares deeply about her student’s personal and career success.
When she is not out enjoying New Orleans food and culture, Abby can be found teaching yoga, gardening, or snuggling with her pets.
Career Coach: All Tulane students can book a 1:1 appointment with Abby. She also works with Career Launch, a co-curricular 4-week networking program designed to teach students how to network and build relationships with professionals.
Best Career Advice: Use this time in college to learn about yourself. Experience as much as you can while you’re here, but more importantly: don’t forget t to reflect on the experiences you’re having and use that information to guide your career choices.
Favorite New Orleans Restaurants: Small Mart, Green Room, and Galaxie
Carla Coury
Executive Director, Career Management Center
Carla Coury, MA, SPHR, CMCS
Executive Director, Career Management Center
A. B. Freeman School of Business
As the Executive Director of the Career Management Center, Carla Coury leads a team of career and employer engagement professionals to develop students and connect them with career opportunities. Carla formerly led the career team in Tulane’s Newcomb-Tulane College and served as the executive director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program in the Gulf South Region. Along with more than 20 years of experience in higher education, career management, and corporate relations, Carla earned the Senior Professional in Human Resource designation to complement her masters’ degree in speech and organizational communication and bachelor’s degree in workforce education and development from Southern Illinois University.
Specialties and Interests
Career management, employer engagementSarah Covert (she/her)
Director of Operations & Career Development
Sarah Covert is the Director of Operations & Career Development for the Career Management Center at the Freeman School. Sarah holds both a B.S. in psychology and a B.A. in women’s studies from Tulane University, as well as a Certificate of Entrepreneurship from Delgado Community College. Prior to joining the Career Management Center, she was the policy and media coordinator for Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana. She is also the founder and owner of Sarah’s Pet Care Revolution.
Tori Lane
Associate Director of Career Education
In her role at the Career Management Center, Tori Lane develops career curriculum and oversees course facilitators. She previously supported management and legal studies students in achieving their career goals. She holds an MBA from Florida Institute of Technology and a B.A. in human resource management from the University of Alabama. She is a certified professional in human resources (PHR) and has a demonstrated history of working in talent, performance and career management. Skilled in succession planning, talent review, interviewing, recruiting, sales, and management; she is able to provide corporate experience as an additional resource to her students.
Chloe Simoneaux
Associate Director, Employer Engagement
As the Associate Director of Employer Engagement, Chloe helps employers and alums find meaningful ways to engage with and recruit from the Freeman School’s career-ready student population. Before joining the Career Management Center team, Chloe focused on engaging Tulane’s workforce as the university’s HR Communications Manager. She also brings over a decade of project management and relationship management experience from her past roles as senior project manager and lead strategist supporting clients’ corporate change initiatives.
Marco Tejeda-Kemp
Assistant Director- Career Management Center
Marco Tejeda-Kemp is a graduate of Florida International University (FIU) with a B.A. in International Relations. He earned a Consultative Sales designation. Prior to joining the Freeman School, he worked in the insurance and finance industry for 9 years in recruitment, sales management, corporate training, business planning and consulting. He is bilingual in English and Spanish.
Leslie Long
Assistant Director, Career Management
An experienced career consultant with expertise in career development, college recruiting, and employee training, Leslie Long joined the Career Management Center in 2019. She has over 10 years of experience in Sales, Marketing, and Management roles within the Health & Wellness, Hospitality, and Higher Education industries. Previously, she held roles at Delgado Community College, Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology, and ITT Technical Institute. She has a B.S. in Information Systems and Decision Sciences from LSU.
Carly Villa
Career Consultant
In her role at the Career Management Center, Carly Villa supports all undergraduate students but with a focus on those interested in careers in financial services. Prior to joining the Freeman School, Carly worked in campus recruiting at two investment banks and received a BS in Industrial and Labor Relations and minors in Law and Inequality Studies from Cornell University.
Eddie Lopez
Career Consultant
In his role at the Career Management Center, Eddie consults undergraduate students in planning and achieving their career goals. He has a demonstrated history working in a variety of industries, including real estate development and construction, metal processing and export, media holdings, and career consulting. He is skilled in project and operations management, contract negotiations and dispute resolution, accounting and financial reporting, enterprise control, talent review, and mentorship. He received his Bachelor of Science in Finance with a Minor in Real Estate at Florida International University and pursued his Juris Doctor at the University of Florida.
Loren Brodie
Recruiting Experience Manager
Loren Brodie is the Recruiting Experience Manager for the Career Management Center in the Freeman School of Business. Prior to joining Tulane, she worked for a New Orleans nonprofit in food access and community engagement. Loren earned a bachelor’s degree in International Business Management from the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK.
Bill Hudlow (he, him, his)
Career Consultant
As a career consultant in the Freeman School, Bill Hudlow works with graduate students and undergraduate students who are undecided about their majors. Bill has more than 20 years experience in hospitality management and 10 years in insurance and financial services. He earned his MBA from the Freeman School of Business at Tulane and his BA from Transylvania University. Bill previously served as an Adjunct Professor for the Business TIDES program.
Erin Revere, MBA (she/her/hers)
Career Consultant
Erin Revere serves Freeman graduate students by equipping them with career management skills to connect them to their passion, purpose, and core values. Erin has more than 20 years of multi-disciplined experience in the staffing, recruiting, oil and gas, and industrial sectors. Accomplished in job search coaching, career management, training, sales, and marketing with extensive domestic and international expertise, she has a BBA in Finance from Texas A&M University and an MBA from University of Stirling in Scotland.
Specialties and Interests
Providing MBA students with life-long career skillsNicole King
Career Consultant
As a Career Consultant at the Freeman School, Nicole assists undergraduate students in building their career paths. Nicole has a background in real estate development in Southern California and Louisiana with seventeen years of experience in sales, marketing, project management, and brand development of condominium high-rises, mid-rises, and loft projects. Nicole holds a B.A., Double Major in Spanish and Psychology from the University of Alabama and a M.A in Psychology from Regis University in Denver, Colorado. She is the owner of a small luxury handbag and accessory company that sustainably repurposes alligator hides from her family’s property in Southwest Louisiana.
Donn Barclay
Career Consultant
Donn Barclay is a career consultant for graduate students. He joined the Freeman School in 2006 after a 25-year career at JVC Company of America. He holds a B.S. in marketing and an MBA from St. John’s University.
Susan Pauli
Data Control Specialist
Susan Pauli manages career-related data, reporting and technology platforms for the department. She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a public relations emphasis and an English minor from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. She has been with the CMC since July 2010 and the Freeman School since October 1996.
John Nonnamaker, PhD
Career Advisor
John works with graduate public health students and alumni with a particular focus on masters and doctoral students. John received his bachelors and masters degrees from Michigan State University and his PhD from Fordham University. As someone who has completed the doctoral journey, John has a particular interest in assisting doctoral students in navigating their career development and the many career paths that are open to them. John serves on several school wide committees, including the Outreach to Special Student Populations Committee.
Career Advisor for:
- DRPH
- PHD (All concentrations)
- MPH (Community Health Sciences, Disaster Management, Occupational and Environmental Health)
- MSPH (Industrial Hygiene, Environmental Health Sciences)
- Alumni (2+ Years Post Degree)
Abby Lukens
Director of Career Services
Abby works with graduate public health students to offer career advising, instructional workshops, and employer information sessions. She facilitates the SPHTM Alumni Mentoring Program and the annual Graduate Outcome data collection and analysis. She is open to having difficult conversations with students around the unique transition from school to work and identity as it relates to career decisions. She is a graduate of Rhodes College and the University of New Orleans. She is a current doctoral student, with research interests in the relationship between gender roles and career planning in the transition out of college.
Career Advisor for:
- MPH (Epidemiology, International Health and Sustainable Development, Health Systems Management, Health Policy)
- MHA
- MSPH (Biostatistics)
- MS (Epidemiology, Clinical Investigation, Biostatistics, Tropical Medicine)
- MPHTM
Best Career Advice: Negotiate salary upon receiving a job offer but before accepting a position. In the U.S., there are staggering disparities in pay for women, and even deeper disparities for Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, Hispanic, and Multiracial workers Pay disparities additionally exist for LGBTQ+ workers. Do your salary research and know your worth when it comes time to negotiate. While this can seem scary, negotiating for a small amount now will have long-term effects on your income across the span of your life.
The Simple Truth About the Gender Pay Gap
The Wage Gap Among LGBTQ+ Workers in the United States
Favorite NOLA Restaurant: Blue Oak BBQ
Specialties and Interests
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical MedicineDarrington Anderson
Career Advisor
Darrington works with both undergraduate and graduate public health students to offer career advising, instructional workshops, and employer information sessions. He is a graduate of Nicholls State University and the University of New Orleans. A higher education setting is something Darrington enjoys, from working with like-minded individuals, encouraging and supporting students, to being involved in work centered around diversity, inclusion, equity, and student life and activities.
Career Advisor for: Undergraduate Students (All BSPH), Masters Students (residential Social, Behavioral, and Population Sciences)
Best Career Advice: Become more familiar with yourself and your inner voice, search for what it is that you as an individual would like to do as a career for the next possible 20 to 30 years. Focus on your natural abilities and interests and see which careers may line up with them. Working is something most of the world must do, but having a career where you are enjoying what you do is a way to have a more fulfilling and enjoyable work life. It can be eye opening to see the options that are available based on our abilities, passion, and interests.
Favorite NOLA Restaurant: Do not currently have one, but the city of New Orleans has many hidden jewels that you can discover on any given adventure.
Sarah McAllister
Senior Associate Director, Alumni Career and Professional Development
Nina Riffaud
Assistant Director, Alumni Career and Professional Development
Nicole Bush
Senior Director, Alumni Career & Professional Development
