Meet Our Staff

Janet Ehl is Executive Director of the Pulsifer Career Development Center and leads a talented team of professionals in Undergraduate Career Development, Graduate Career Development and Alumni Career Development and the Recruiting/Employer Relations teams. Janet and the nationally ranked career services team (#1 in Princeton Review 2019 and in top 5 since 2014) work with 4,000 undergraduate students, 1,200 graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni and hundreds of corporate partners  

Janet is an innovative and dedicated career services professional with an extensive background in higher education career services encompassing advising, teaching, and developing strategic relationships with both internal and external stakeholders.  Key areas of proven success include: corporate partnerships; alumni engagement; effective leadership; and organization development. Janet is actively involved with consortiums and industry leaders to ensure knowledge of best practices regarding technology, scalability and the future of work.

Janet joined Bentley University in 2008 having had prior career services experience at Northeastern University and Babson College after making a career change from financial services. Janet has an MBA from Babson College.

Alyssa Hammond is Director of the Pulsifer Undergraduate Career Development Center at Bentley University and leads the Undergraduate Career Development team and it’s efforts for advancing its career education curriculum and credit internship program (CDI courses which won the National Association of Colleges and Employers Career Services Excellence Award), dedicated career coaching and outcomes for all undergraduate students, technology innovation, student collaboration, social innovation, and marketing initiatives.

A graduate of Syracuse University and New England Law Boston and a bar certified attorney, Alyssa has worked as a career coach and higher education administrator for more than 20 years. She has provided career coaching and presented career-related classes, workshops and presentations to thousands of students through her work at Suffolk University, New England Law and Bentley University, and to professional organizations such as the National Association of Law Placement, the Massachusetts Bar Association and the Public Relations Global Network.   She is also a certified StrengthsFinder coach and conducts one on one and team coaching, large scale Strengths development programming for companies such as Verizon, Kronos and Martignetti Enterprises, and has incorporated and implemented Strengths into the CDI 101 and 201 courses for first and second year students at Bentley.

Alyssa has served as Vice President of Student Membership for Publicity Club of New England’s Board of Directors and has been a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers, Career Leadership Collective, the Ad Club, the Publicity Club of New England, and the Network of Executive Women. And last but not least, in her “spare time”, she is an adjunct professor for the Information Design and Corporate Communications Department here at Bentley, teaching IDCC 390 “The Business of Social Media”.

Additionally, Alyssa has been featured in U.S. News & World Report, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston Herald, Boston Business Journal, Boston.com, BostonInno, and Business Insider for her career services and social media work and co-hosted Bentley’s career advice podcast, Counter Offer, which was named a Top 10 Higher Education Podcast by eCity.  Her #AskAlyssa videos are featured on CareerEdge and Bentley Career Services’ Instagram account and she is featured in a Bentley University Master Class video on networking.

Alyssa is known on campus to be an expert in “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” and loves to play it with her CDI 101 and 201 students when discussing the importance of contact theory and networking in their job search. She loves to be challenged anytime, anywhere, so if you see her in the halls, shout out an actor or actress and she’ll surely figure out how they are connected to Kevin B.! Her favorite things about her office are working with Bentley’s “Falcon” awesome students, her team, and their culture wall –  the “Love Mondays” tile is her personal fav because she definitely does and wants her students to, too!

MaryEllen Ryan is a Senior Associate Director in the Pulsifer Undergraduate Career Development and the dedicated Career Coach for Finance and Corporate Finance & Accounting (Finance-Focus) Majors.

Ryan has over 14 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining the Undergraduate Career Development team, she was a Private Client Relationship Advisor with Brown Advisory, an independent investment management firm.  She has extensive experience working with multi-generational families to address a wide variety of wealth management needs.

Ryan has a Bachelor of Arts from Dartmouth College and MBA from Boston College. She enjoys combining her financial services experience with her commitment to education to help students evaluate their skills sets and interests and find a rewarding career path.

Career Coach for the following majors:

• Finance
• Corporate Finance and Accounting (Finance-Focus)

Fun fact: MaryEllen loves to travel and has visited 24 states and 15 countries and look forward to adding to the list.

Favorite part about the office: When students come in to share great news about internship/full-time offers!

Junior & Senior Appointments:

Please schedule an appointment via Handshake (Career Center > Appointments > Schedule a New Appointment > follow remaining prompts).

Melissa Sawyer is Senior Associate Director / Operations Manager and dedicated Career Coach for the Accountancy, Corporate Finance and Accounting (Accounting Focus), Information Systems Audit and Control, Mathematics, and Actuarial Sciences majors in the Pulsifer Undergraduate Career Development Center. Sawyer has more than 20 years of experience working in higher education in various functions encompassing career services, admission, financial aid, fellowship programs, and registrar’s office. She has developed strong relationships with staff and faculty throughout Bentley’s campus while collaborating on various programs for her majors. Sawyer has established solid partnerships with employers who actively recruit the students in her area of focus. Additionally, she oversees the relationship between the Pulsifer Career Development Center and Handshake and Big Interview. Sawyer looks forward to meeting with students to help them evaluate their interests regarding major and career path and in developing the skills necessary to acquire the positions they desire.

Prior to working at Bentley, Sawyer worked in career services with law students at Western New England School of Law and held various positions at Cornell University prior to and during graduate school. She has a Bachelor of Arts from John Carroll University and a MEd from Kent State University.

Dedicated Career Coach for the following majors:

• Accountancy
• Corporate Finance and Accounting (Accounting Focus)
• Information Systems Audit and Control
• Mathematics
• Actuarial Sciences

Fun fact:  Melissa has traveled to 18 countries in the past 18 years (and more prior to that)!  Traveling with her husband and son is one of her passions and their most recent adventure was to go to the Galapagos Islands.  Melissa looks forward to many more stamps in her passport in the future!

Favorite part about the office: Working with the amazing students – Melissa truly enjoys watching them grow, develop and achieve their goals.  Seeing the smiles on students faces when they receive their internship/full time offer is the best!

Junior & Senior Appointments:

Please schedule an appointment via Handshake (Career Center > Appointments > Schedule a New Appointment > follow remaining prompts).

Kristine Vidic is a Senior Associate Director in the Pulisfer Undergraduate Career Development Center.  She has more than 27 years of experience as a trusted career coach who has built close relationships with many students and alumni helping them launch successful careers.

She is responsible for the career coaching and education for first year students and sophomores at Bentley.  She works in collaboration with the entire Undergraduate Career Development team to build strategies that support the office’s integrated and holistic approach, and takes a leadership role in advising the Bentley University Career Colleague Program, in addition to being a key instructor for several career development courses. Vidic is a certified strengths coach through Gallup as well as a certified coach for MBTI and the Strong Interest Inventory.

Prior to working at Bentley, Vidic worked with undergraduate students and alumni at Quinnipiac University in Connecticut. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education from Bowling Green State University and a Bachelor of Science from Southern New Hampshire University.

Fun Fact:  Her passion is to travel and see the world – Kristine has been to 9 countries.

Her favorite part about the office?  Working with the career colleague program!

Sophomore Drop In Hours (during Academic Year):

Monday-Friday: 1:00 p.m.-2:30 p.m. Link to drop-ins HERE.

Brian Moccio is an Associate Director in the Pulsifer Undergraduate Career Development Center and the dedicated Career Coach for Economics-Finance and Business Economics Majors.

Prior to working at Bentley, Moccio spent over a decade at two Fortune 100 companies, most recently as a senior manager in Financial Planning & Analysis for Liberty Mutual.  He started his career with United Technologies Corporation (now Raytheon Technologies) as an associate in their Financial Leadership Program.  Moccio has spent time in a variety of diverse roles across both companies including time in Finance, Mergers & Acquisitions, Accounting, Product Management and more.     

Moccio graduated from Bryant University with a Bachelor of Science in Finance and received his MBA from Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business. 

Dedicated Career Coach for the following majors:

• Economics-Finance 
• Business Economics
• Quantitative Economics
• Students interested in Consulting

Fun fact: Brian has played soccer on 3 continents (North America, Europe and Australia).

Favorite part about the office: The relationships that he is able to build with students through coaching, teaching and encouraging them!  

Junior & Senior Appointments:

Please schedule an appointment via Handshake (Career Center > Appointments > Schedule a New Appointment > follow remaining prompts).

Paul Stanish is a Senior Assistant Director in the Pulsifer Undergraduate Career Development Center at Bentley University and the dedicated Career Coach for Management, Marketing, Information Design and Corporate Communications, Professional Sales, Creative Industry, Media and Culture, LSM in Media Arts and Society majors.  In addition to working with those constituents, he teaches all levels of students in the award winning CDI 101, 201 and 301 courses and manages the CareerEdge Career Colleague team.   Paul spends time cultivating relationships with corporate partners and has visited over a dozen companies such as LL Bean, NESN, MullenLowe, L’Oreal, Horizon Media and more in the past year.  As a certified Gallup strength coach, Paul has coached multiple staff and students on how to best utilize their strengths in the personal and professional lives.  He currently serves on the department strengths task force.  Paul has over 17 years of prior experience at Bentley working in Student Affairs and the Center for Alumni, Parents and Friends.  Since 2006 Paul has worked as an event planner, merchandise manager and consultant for various sports memorabilia companies in New England.  Prior to Bentley, Paul worked for CVS corp. in their management and operation training programs.  Paul graduated from Bentley with a Bachelor of Science in Management.

Dedicated Career Coach for the following majors:

• Marketing
• Management
• Professional Sales
• Information Design and Corporate Communications
• Creative Industries
• Media and Culture
• LSM in Media, Arts and Society

Junior & Senior Drop In Hours (Fall  2020):

Due to the current COVID 19 situation coaches are no longer hosting drop in hours this semester.  However, coaches did expand appointment times and students may use Handshake to access the calendar and availability of each coach, including myself.  You can also email me at PStanish@Bentley.edu if you have appointment questions.

Jen joined Bentley in April 2016 to build and maintain our relationships with corporate partners as the Assistant Director of Employer Relations.  She worked with our corporate partners to connect with our students through events such as job shadows, site visits, information tables, employer drop in hours, and case competitions. She transitioned into her role as Assistant Director in the Pulisfer Undergraduate Career Development Center in January 2018 and is the dedicated Career Coach for Computer Information Systems, Data Analytics, Liberal Studies (except Media, Arts, & Society),  Management majors in HR & Global Management concentrations, and Bachelor of Arts students

Prior to Bentley, Jen worked at MIT Sloan in the MBA employer relations space, collaborating with hiring firms to maximize their visibility on campus. Jen graduated from Suffolk University in 2011 with a degree in International Affairs and is currently enrolled in the Bentley University Part time MBA program studying Business Analytics.

One quick fun fact: Jen has a strong interest in sustainable business and social impact- interning at local non profits as an undergrad and being a member of Net Impact’s Boston chapter. Her interest in sustainable business stemmed from her college job working for Ben& Jerry’s- a corporate brand that turned their thoughtful practices into success. Her favorite flavor of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream? Cherry Garcia.

Jen’s favorite part about working within Pulsifer Career Development Center is her colleagues. Her top 5 strengths exhibit a lot of relationship building characteristics so it’s no wonder she enjoys working with such a collaborative (& fun!) team.

Dedicated Career Coach for the following students:

• Computer Information Systems
• Data Analytics
• Liberal Studies Majors (except Media, Arts, & Society)
• Management majors in Human Resources & Global Management concentrations
• Bachelor of Arts Candidates

In lieu of drop-ins, I have opened up more one on one advising appointments for fall 2020. Please sign up for an appointment via Handshake or by emailing me at jgraham@bentley.edu.

Jen Thibodeau is Associate Director of Employer Relations and Recruiting in the Pulsifer Career Development Center and has more than 20 years of experience in campus recruiting for higher education. She manages the on- and off-campus recruiting programs for all internship and full-time employers. Thibodeau oversees the entire operation of the Employer Relations & Recruiting Office and manages Bentley University’s two annual career fairs which host 130+ employers and 1200+ students at each fair. She manages the recruiting piece of the BentleyLink recruiting system and is responsible for the data reporting for all recruiting related rankings surveys.

Thibodeau has developed strong relationships with employers and is able to share key facts and trends regarding campus recruiting to augment their networking and recruiting efforts. Her work with diverse companies across many industries, and extensive knowledge of the BentleyLink system, allow her to deliver excellent knowledge and service to all employers. Thibodeau and her team strive to maintain Bentley’s well known reputation for maintaining a “top notch” recruiting program and providing exceptional customer service to all employers.

Fun fact:  Jen loves the beach.

Favorite part of the office: How supportive this entire team is of each other!

Anna-Karina Trilleras brings more than 6 years of employer engagement and career coaching experience to her current role as the Assistant Director of Employer Relations & Recruiting at Bentley University. A former Talent Agent in the Boston area, Anna managed a roster of over 100 actors, helping each to secure work in the Advertising, Film, and Television spaces, all while offering invaluable 1:1 career development guidance.

Ultimately Anna’s passion for mission-driven initiatives lead her to transition into Higher Education. Since joining the Pulsifer Career Development Center in March of 2018, Anna has excelled in executing high-level projects, including acting as a functional lead for Bentley’s long-awaited Handshake CRM system implementation and teaching a 6-week Career Development Intensive course to graduate-level students. When Anna was Assistant Director of Graduate Career Development, she specifically advised the Master of Science (MS) in Business Analytics, MS in Marketing Analytics, and MS in Digital Innovation students. Among conducting 600+ individual coaching sessions focused on job search strategy for her students, Anna created and hosted Graduate Career Development’s first-ever Analytics Panel, engaging employers from Staples, Agero, Tufts Health, and Wayfair.

Anna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Minor in Film from Boston College.

Fun Fact: I am a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach!

Favorite part about the office: Learning new things from my Bentley colleagues and our students every single day – there is never a dull moment!