Meet Our Team

Diane Ciarletta has several decades of experience working at Northeastern University. After early career forays into special education, television production, human resources, and school counseling, she found that career coaching aligned best with her desire to do mission-driven work. She completed a BA in English and Psychology at Wheaton College and an M.Ed in Counseling and a Certificate in School Counseling at Northeastern. In fact, her entire family, including her husband and three kids, are all Northeastern Huskies! Her top strengths are empathy, positivity, and arranger.  Her life design includes volunteering in her community, reading, interior decorating, and spending time with family.

Alyssa Devlin found her way to Northeastern after working in the healthcare sector for 5 years, where she found her passion for supporting students in their higher education journeys and career pursuits, especially first-gen students. Alyssa holds a B.S. in Public Health Sciences from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, with a focus in mental health. Her top strengths are relator, achiever, futuristic, and learner. Her life design includes practicing and teaching yoga in her community, crocheting, baking, going to concerts, and spending time in nature with her rescue dog, Luna. 

Kate Famulari took a circuitous route to arrive in career services. After practicing law for 10 years, she began exploring other possibilities. She did an informational interview with the Career Services office at NU, was accepted as an intern, and essentially never left! Kate has a B.A. in English from UMass Boston, a JD from Suffolk University Law School, a graduate certificate in Healing with the Express Arts from Salve Regina University, and various other trainings related to career design. Her top strengths are context, intellection, and input, typical strengths for an introvert. Kate’s life design includes collecting colorful glass bottles and making greeting cards for family and friends.

Kiara Ramirez-Lopez (she/her), is a first-generation Puerto Rican and Dominican woman, born and raised in the city of Boston. She recently earned my Master’s of Science in Management, MSM and Bachelor’s degree in Spanish with a minor in Management, both from Clark University. She is someone who navigated the complexities of higher education as a first-generation student, she is deeply passionate about supporting the intersection between career and identity. She is thrilled to be part of NU PLACE, where she looks forward to empowering students through their career journeys and fostering a space that promotes growth and belonging.

Diana Ghattas-Antony is a proud Northeastern alumna and a former Career Design intern. Her career path includes teaching, school counseling, and government. Diana found that career coaching aligned best with her desire to empower learners of all backgrounds through the process of lifelong learning, and she enjoys delivering innovative interdisciplinary programs. Diana completed a B.A. in Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston and a M.Ed. in Higher Education at Northeastern University. Her top strengths are achiever, developer, empathy, and responsibility. Her life design includes volunteering in her community, event planning, arts and crafts, biking, reading, cooking, baking, interior decorating, and spending time with her husband, three children, and large extended family.

Anne Grieves has been at Northeastern University for nine years, with prior experience at the International Education Institute and Wheaton College. While at Elderhostel (now Road Scholar) as an in-house trainer, she became a certified Myers-Briggs Type Indicator facilitator, which was her springboard into career coaching. She earned her B.A. in Sociology from Skidmore College and an M.A. in Higher Education Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. Anne’s passion for helping individuals to uncover possible career paths led her to become a certified Gallup CliftonStrengths coach and implement a strengths-based coaching model. Her top strengths are Positivity, Woo, and Ideation. Her two teenage daughters, husband, and dog form the joyful center of her life design.

Mary Sullivan brings years of career development experience in higher education at various Boston area institutions. Prior, she lived and worked in the Dominican Republic, motivating her to travel to Central and South America. She then pursued an M.A. Degree in Intercultural Relations from Lesley University, as well as an M.S. Degree in College Student Development and Counseling from Northeastern University. She earned her B.S. Degree in Economics from Suffolk University.  Her interest in career design stems from her desire to assist individuals with challenging career decisions. Her top strengths are adaptability, connectedness, and maximizer, and her life design includes spending time with family and friends and travel.

Steven David is a Flight Attendant turned Learning Innovator. After working four years as a Flight Attendant, Steven David hung up his wings and returned to working in higher education. Inspired by the non-traditional students he served, in 2013, he returned to the University of Arizona after an eight-year absence and finished his bachelor’s degree. After finishing this degree and being motivated to help adults learn, Steven David earned his Master of Science degree in Instructional Design and Technology from The University of Tampa. During this program, he focused on program evaluation, learner motivation, and human performance. Recently, he completed his Doctor of Education at Columbia University’s Teachers College in Adult Learning and Leadership, where his research interests included adult development and learning within traumatic spaces, collective intelligence, and coaching. His top strengths include Futuristic, Relator, Ideation, and Analytical.

Sarah Valerio has worked with elementary-aged students and has specialized in supporting students with disabilities. Her interest in working for Career Design stems from her interest in helping others. Sarah supports the team by managing the Photo Booth program, overseeing events, and working behind the scenes tech and marketing. Her top strengths are woo, communication, and empathy and her life design includes cooking, playing games, thrifting, and bead working.

Ellen Goldman brings her love of different cultures and a longtime fascination with the world of work, helping others design their own career adventures. Her background includes volunteering with refugees, overseas travel, and internships in a women’s center, television production, and constituent affairs.  She’s a Northeastern Husky with an M.Ed in College Student Development and Counseling and a B.S. in Developmental Psychology from Suffolk University. Her top strengths are connectedness, individualization, and empathy. Her life design includes participating in creative Airbnb virtual experiences, watercolor painting, reading fiction based in other cultures, and time spent with family and friends.

After receiving her Master’s degree from Fordham University, Leah completed her practicum position as a Career Advisor at Yeshiva University. Career is such a big part of an individual’s life and a top stressor for students, so it is important to Leah that she is able to create a safe, welcoming space where students can explore, gain clarity, and plan out next steps in their careers. Leah is currently serving as the Pre-Law and Graduate School Advisor, helping students and alumni who are interested in pursuing law or a graduate degree navigate their journey.

Pat Leomi firmly believes that exploring the uncomfortable and making mistakes are a critical part of figuring out who someone wants to be and what they want to do. Just like the students he works with, his past is filled with confusion, indecision, and feeling overwhelmed. These feelings led him to sink a lot of time into many unfulfilled dreams, like multiple masters programs, a law degree, and doctoral studies. But he doesn’t for one moment think that any of this time was wasted, because from each experience he developed a deeper understanding of his professional needs and goals. Pat brings this lived experience of academic exploration and career uncertainty into every career conversation, helping students recognize that mistakes and discomfort aren’t detours but an essential step along the way to who they will become.

As Director of the Talent Engagement Team at Northeastern University, Sumana oversees talent acquisition programs, platforms and strategies for expanding full time and internship pathways across academic programs, disciplines, and colleges for learners. Sumana partners with organizations, both domestic and global, in creating talent pipelines for early career, graduate and doctoral learners through existing programs and initiatives while building new engagement opportunities that bring learners and organizations together. DEI recruiting is an area that Sumana leads as part of her team, and she is passionate about helping to build a diverse and inclusive workforce. Sumana is a Husky and received her B.A. in Business Management from Clark University, MEd from Northeastern in Education/Higher Education Administration and is currently in the Doctoral program for Education at Northeastern.

As Associate Director for the Talent Engagement team, Lara Petersen manages and oversees the Virtual Externship Program, a 4-week experiential course for pre-matriculated graduate students. Before coming to Northeastern, Lara worked for an international exchange student program and spent three years working in Japan. She received her Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from Soka University of America.

As Recruitment Coordinator of Talent Engagement, Kristin Downing manages the logistics of employer programs such as Talent Connect, Employer Coffee Chats, and other employer sessions at Northeastern. 

The Assistant Director of Recruiting and Employer Engagement is a critical member of the Employer Engagement and Career Design team. Reporting directly to the team’s Associate Director of Employer Engagement and Career Design, they assist with coordinating and marketing of employer programs such as Employer Connection Sessions, Coffee Chats, Employer in Residence sessions and other employer events designed to enhance recruiting strategies at Northeastern, create increased experiential learning opportunities for students and applications to internships and jobs. They are the central contact for all employer profiles and job approvals on department’s database (NUworks), onboarding of new employers and coaching them through the initial job posting process, encourage employers to share feedback on on-site recruiting experiences, provide quality customer service to employers on site, assist in problem solving when needed. The Assistant Director will develop and maintain successful relationships with alums, parents, and student organizations on campus and engage in professional development opportunities to stay up to date on emerging trends, issues and innovations in the field.

Apply Here!