Meet Your Career Advisor / Book an Appointment
Our career advisors and Alumni in Residence (AiR) are established professionals with years of experience either in higher education career advising or in the industries in which they specialize. They listen to your career aspirations and provide guidance and support in helping you to make the best decisions regarding the professional path that you choose to pursue.
To make an appointment, use the “Schedule and Appointment” link within the advisor’s profile. Please visit the Alumni in Residence section to book an appointment with an alumnus(na) who is specializing in your area of study.
Career Advisors
John Hottinger
Director of Career Advising
Advisor – M.S. in Finance, M.S. in Finance (Online), M.S. in Quantitative Finance, M.B.A.
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John advises M.S. and M.B.A students who have a focus on the finance industry. He has 32 years of experience in finance, primarily as a capital markets derivatives broker. Additionally, he has 8 years of experience in career counseling in a high education setting. John is a Fordham graduate with a B.S. in Economics.
Julia Nietsch-Kouris
Associate Director of Career Advising
Advisor – M.S. in Media Management, M.S. in Strategic Marketing and Communications (Online), M.B.A.
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Julia Nietsch-Kouris advises M.S. and M.B.A. students who are pursuing careers in Media, Communications, and Marketing. An adjunct professor at Gabelli as well, she brings nearly 15 years of experience working in public relations, most of which she spent working in the media and entertainment industry. Prior to joining Fordham she was Vice President of Communications at NBCUniversal for their Lifestyle division, which included oversight of the Corporate Communications function for Bravo, E!, Oxygen and Universal Kids. A Fordham alumna, Julia holds an M.B.A. in Marketing and Management, and she received her B.A. in Strategic and Organizational Communication from Temple University.
Linda Chang Reals
Associate Director of Career Advising
Advisor – M.S. in Business Analytics, M.S. in Information Technology, M.S. in Management, M.S. in Management (Online), M.B.A.
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Linda Chang Reals advises international M.B.A. and M.S. students across all concentrations. She brings to the Gabelli School, 15+ years of career counseling experience. She started her career in investment banking and private banking. She holds a B.A. in Economics from Barnard College, Columbia University.
Laura S. Bassin
Career Advisor
Advisor – M.S. in Accounting, M.S. in Business Analytics, M.S. in Information Technology, M.S. in Taxation, M.B.A.
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Laura S. Bassin advises graduate students on the important steps in the job search. For more than two decades, she has helped students in their career journey to secure internships and full-time career roles at top companies. Experience in student career development, management of campus recruiting, and expertise with international student populations include roles at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and FIT. A career changer and alumna of Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education, Laura holds an M.S. in Education specializing in counseling, and a B.A. in Drama from Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont.
Ancy Joseph
Career Advisor
Advisor – M.S. in Management, M.S. in Management (Online), M.S. in Marketing Intelligence, M.B.A.
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Ancy Joseph is an adjunct professor at Fordham teaching Sales and Marketing courses for both graduate and undergraduate students. Prior to joining Fordham, she worked in corporate roles for 25 years spanning Go-to-Market Sales, Finance, Marketing, Risk, Pricing, Loyalty, and Procurement at global companies as well as start-ups. She holds a M.S. in Business Management and earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.
Casey Cohen
Career Advisor
Advisor – M.S. in Accounting, M.S. in Finance, M.S. in Finance (Online) M.S. in Quantitative Finance, M.S. in Taxation, M.B.A.
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Casey Cohen will be advising MS & MBA students who are pursuing careers in Accounting, Finance and Business. Casey brings over 10 years of experience working in public accounting, consulting, forensic, internal audit, and finance. Prior to joining, she was a director at KPMG in the Advisory practice. Casey has a BS in Accounting from Bucknell University and an MBA in Business from Baruch University. She currently holds the following certifications: CPA, CIA and CFE.
Erika Ascher
Career Advisor
Advisor – M.S. in Finance, M.S. in Finance (Online), M.S. in Quantitative Finance, M.B.A.
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Erika Ascher is a former finance professional who worked in investment banking and corporate strategy at Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Chase. Her experience spans capital markets, capital raising, M&A, and business development. Erika serves as an advisor to MS and MBA students who seek to pursue careers in the finance sector. Erika holds a BA from Colgate University and an MA in Education from Columbia University.
Alumni in Residence
Planning Your Future With the Pros
In addition to the advising deans, the Gabelli School of Business offers the expertise of Alumni in Residence. This talented group of individuals has years of professional expertise to draw upon in coaching you regarding your academic choices and how they can support your career goals and aspirations. They serve as mentors and invaluable resources who can supplement and enhance the discussions you have with your advising dean.
To make use of this incredible resource, reach out to the Alumna/Alumnus in Residence that most closely aligns with you program of study via email, or schedule an appointment directly using the links within the advisor’s profile.
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Robert P. Gach, is currently an adjunct professor and chair of the Gabelli School of Business Advisory Board. He also serves on the President’s Council of Fordham University. Previously, Gach spent 37 years at Accenture, a global consulting and technology firm. During his tenure at Accenture, his client work included service to capital markets clients (investment banks, wealth managers, exchanges, and custodians). Gach led engagements on strategy development, cost and efficiency improvement, market development, digital transformation, technology planning, operations strategy, and enterprise change.
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Educator, content creator, adjunct faculty member, storyteller, digital innovator, and university board lead, Lori has been making a difference for organizations and learners for over two decades. A well-known speaker on digital and educational issues, she’s a proven executive highly proficient in training, teaching, career development, leadership, content creation, curriculum development, social media, TV and more.
Currently the founder of LPG edu, an education and training consultancy, she was Global Education Manager for Netflix. There she formulated and ran live educational courses in more than 20 countries on 6 continents utilizing her adroit worldwide strategy to scale external training. These included workshops for TV writing, production management, post production, visual effects, and production finance.
Lori conceived and produced the first-ever Netflix virtual course on creating entertainment content and developed several other immersive digital curricula. She envisioned and created the elegantly-built, award-winning Netflix Discovery Hub. At Netflix, she helped improve the quality, creativity, and efficiency of titles globally.
An adjunct at New York University and Fordham’s Gabelli Business School, she also launched and runs an advisory board for Temple’s Fox Business School and has spoken at major universities across the United States. Currently, she is VP of Social Strategy at New York Women in Communications.
A former nonfiction TV producer for Lifetime, Food Network, and The Travel Channel, Lori was nominated for an Ace Award. She grew BBC America Digital revenue and web traffic over 100% and won Best Cable Website of the Year. At A+E Networks, Lori reinvented the History Channel’s website and Biography.com, leading them both to consistent record-breaking traffic and awards. Her effective strategy balanced editorial concerns with financial goals leading to revenue of a million dollars.
As founder of LPG Enterprises, a results-driven consultancy, Lori helped brands such as BRIC TV, Advertising Week, Intel, Indeed, and the Canadian Consulate, with content creation, training, digital marketing, and new business development. When Content Director at Maxus, she won a Pearl Award, content marketing’s highest honor.
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Stacey has over 35 years of marketing leadership experience running Women’s Health and Beauty/Personal Care businesses at CPG companies like Church & Dwight and Combe. Stacey has a proven track record and extensive experience leading marketing teams and growing brands (i.e., First Response, Nair, Batiste, Vagisil, Just for Men, etc.) and leading M&A opportunities from due diligence to integration. Stacey has transitioned from the corporate world and is the founder and president of her strategic marketing consultancy, Next Chapter, LLC. She also helps brands and CEOs across various marketing and M&A-related needs. In addition to that, Stacey has been guest lecturing at Colleges and Universities and sharing her experience with students and future marketing leaders. She especially enjoys speaking and advising at Fordham, as she is a Fordham Alumni who received her MBA here in ’94.
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Angie Cercone is an accomplished Human Resource Director with several talent leadership roles at EY, encompassing talent management, talent development, talent acquisition, and early careers recruiting. She is known for bringing a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and innovation to her roles. She is recognized for her leadership coaching, strategic vision, and ability to drive impactful talent strategies that align with organizational goals. She has been instrumental in building and supporting the Consulting business throughout her tenure at EY.
Angie is deeply passionate about positively influencing others' career journeys. With extensive talent management and development experience, she supports leadership teams and individuals in designing and developing exceptional professional and personal experiences. She particularly enjoys one-on-one coaching, helping individuals set and achieve bold career aspirations.
Throughout her career, Angie has demonstrated a keen ability to lead cross-functional teams, manage complex projects, and deliver results in dynamic environments. Her leadership style is characterized by an ability to build a strong, collaborative approach across all ranks and leadership levels and promote a culture of care, continuous improvement, and professional growth.
Angie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Fordham University, maintains a CPA license, and is certified in EY’s internal executive coaching program. Her career at EY has been marked by a commitment to excellence and a passion for developing innovative solutions that enhance workforce capabilities and drive business success.
Outside of her professional life, Angie is actively involved in her community. She serves on the finance council of her parish, supports and participates in her local library community, and is a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Walk to End Breast Cancer. In her free time, Angie enjoys spending time with her family and friends, playing trivia games, going to book clubs, doing yoga, going on long walks, and visiting historical sites.
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Alex Carlin is a User Experience (UX) researcher at Google, where she has been for the past 4.5 years. In her current role, she focuses on understanding the user needs and behaviors of the GCP Operations suite of tools—working cross-functionally with Engineering and Product Management to drive strategic and tactical design direction for the product. Prior to Google, Carlin worked as market researcher for American Addiction Centers (AAC), where she managed a team of four and created, executed, and analyzed market research projects in order to gain insight into the consumer preferences and behaviors within the addiction treatment space. AAC acquired a digital marketing company, Recovery Brands, for which Carlin worked as a researcher prior to the acquisition. During her tenure at both Recovery Brands and AAC, she leveraged consumer data and market trends to strategize on data-driven content and campaigns. Carlin is an undergraduate and graduate alumna of Fordham University—she graduated from the Rose Hill campus in 2015, where she majored in psychology, and then graduated from the Gabelli School of Business in 2018, where she earned and M.S. in Marketing Intelligence.
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Madeira Ginley serves as the chief operating officer of MIMO Studios, a female-owned and operated media company that specializes in kids and family content spanning live-action, animation and preschool. Prior to MIMO Studios, Ginley oversaw key relationships at Nickelodeon with partners including Saban Capital (Power Rangers), eOne (Peppa Pig) and Spin Master (PAW Patrol) in programming, music marketing and partnership development.
Ginley began her career at Nickelodeon in the programming world, where she went on to apply the fundamentals of programming as a marketing tool, to support specific strategies that took IP from hit tv series to billion-dollar franchises. She earned an M.B.A. in Corporate Finance and Media Management from the Gabelli School of Business and earned an undergraduate education from Emerson College.
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Marc Hanson has been with PepsiCo for 17 years, working across numerous marketing and innovation roles in the North American and Global Beverages Team. He currently serves as the senior director of commercial marketing for the Beverages Portfolio, working across multiple categories and brands, including carbonated soft drinks (Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Starry), energy (Rockstar), sports drinks (Gatorade, Propel), and RTD coffee (Starbucks) and tea (Pure Leaf, Lipton), to drive brand relevance and growth.
Hanson has worked across several consumer marketing and innovation roles in his time at PepsiCo, including leading the energy drink (Rockstar, Mtn Dew Energy) and ready-to-drink tea portfolio (Pure Leaf, Lipton, Brisk, and Tazo), consumer engagement for the iconic Mountain Dew brand on key initiatives like DEWmocracy, a consumer driven innovation platform and the brand’s video gaming experiential programs. He also has driven the innovation pipeline across several categories, led the North America beverage portfolio strategy and talent agenda as the chief of staff to the chief marketing officer, and drove the global beverages transformation agenda to address evolving consumer demand trends that are reshaping the future of beverage consumption.
With 20+ years of marketing experience, Hanson has also held roles with Dannon Yogurt and on the advertising agency side, working on media planning strategy across the financial services (Datek/Ameritrade, Merill Lynch), telecom (Verizon Wireless), and tourism (Bahamas) categories.
Hanson was born in New York and holds an M.B.A. from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and a Bachelor’s in Management from Binghamton University. He lives in Westchester, NY with his wife, Meredith, and their two children. In his spare time, he likes to play and watch tennis.
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Hana Kalaie is from Venezuela with a mix of Middle Eastern heritage in her background. She has a bachelor’s degree in applied economics and moved to New York City in 2019 to pursue a Master’s in Marketing Intelligence from the Gabelli School of Business . She has worked in different fields including CPG, retail, banking, and tech. After earning her master’s degree in 2020, she received a full-time job off at Grubhub as a senior associate in loyalty programs. She spent two years learning about CRM, 360 marketing campaigns, collaborating with multiple teams including data, engineering, branding, and finance. After her time at Grubhub, she accepted an offer at Amazon Business as a product marketing manager, driving customers to the site and owning on-site marketing strategy. She has been able to dive deep into the data, creative assets, and project management, understanding the opportunities to drive customers with the right message at the right time. In her spare time in addition to being a 5 AM Club member, she plays flag football and spends time at the gym and with her dogs.
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Ned Kleinschmidt is an executive director at RPA, specializing in financial and advisory turnaround services. For over 25 years, he has focused on advising lender groups and debtors in various distressed situations and bankruptcy matters. His consulting experience includes strategic planning, business plan analysis, complex negotiations, financings, mergers and acquisitions, interim management and fiduciary roles, cost reduction strategies, and forensic services.
Kleinschmidt has extensive experience as an acting CEO and advisor to lenders in a large number of commodities related and hard asset industries, including almost all value chain segments of oil and gas, power generation, mining and minerals, ethanol, and biofuels. He has served as a member of the board of directors, chairman of the board, and CEO of over a dozen companies, encompassing industries such as telecom, energy, automotive, and manufacturing. He also has held CFO and controllership positions in the manufacturing, real estate, and senior and assisted living industries.
Prior to founding RPA Advisors in 2011, Kleinschmidt was a member of Capstone Advisory Group, and a senior managing director with FTI Consulting. He also was an audit manager with Ernst & Young, LLP and worked for Policano & Manzo.
Kleinschmidt holds a B.A. in Public Accounting from Fordham University, and an M.B.A. in Finance from Pace University. He has been qualified as a Certified Public Accountant, and Certified Insolvency and Restructuring Advisor. He also is a member of the Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Advisors (“AIRA”), the Turnaround Management Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants. He is recognized as an expert on restructuring and energy issues and has presented, written, and been called upon to provide expert testimony in these areas.
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Chenyi Li is currently a senior data scientist at Spotify, where she sits on a strategy team focusing on research and analytics topics around market intelligence, consumer behavior, and performance diagnostics. Prior to Spotify, she held various roles within the beauty industry, most recently as the fragrance growth intelligence senior manager at the Estee Lauder Company. Li’s professional areas of expertise include data science/analytics, consumer insights, and business strategy. She initially earned her bachelor’s degree in food science, but decided to make a career shift and moved to New York City in 2017 to earn a Master’s in Marketing Intelligence from the Gabelli School of Business. She is passionate about music, perfume, and exploring nature.
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Alison R. Smith has two decades of experience working with entrepreneurs, families, foundations and investors. She is a managing director at Bernstein Private Wealth Management, which advises high net worth clients on planning for—and living with—the complexities that come with wealth. Before joining Bernstein, Smith was a partner and head of strategic growth at Rethink Capital Partners, a venture capital and real estate investment platform. Before joining Rethink, she was a managing director of Cornerstone Capital Group, a registered investment advisor that serves clients who want their investments to contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive world without sacrificing financial performance. Prior to joining Cornerstone, for over a decade, Smith worked at TIGER 21, an investment think-tank for high-net-worth individuals. She often is asked to speak at conferences and guest lecture at universities on topics including: aligning your portfolio with your values, impact investing, strategic growth, authentic financial marketing, and how do you measure success. Smith is a graduate of Fordham University’s Graduate School of Business (now the Gabelli School of Business) with an M.B.A. in finance and marketing. She earned a B.A. at Ithaca College. Smith served on the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society Advisory Board and regularly gives time as a mentor of a teen mother through the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program.