Category: Events

Career Summit Featured Speaker: Kris Davidson

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Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 at the Hicks Student Center for Life after K. Kris Davidson, the owner of Kris Davidson Photography, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Kris Davidson

Business Owner at Kris Davidson Photography

Photographer Kris Davidson
Kris Davidson, the owner of Kris Davidson Photography, will be one of the featured speakers April 6 and 7 at Kalamazoo College’s Career Summit.

Kris Davidson is originally from Sweden, having spent the first half of her childhood in the Scandinavian Arctic and the second half in Texas. As an immigrant, she gained a love for different cultures that fuels her ongoing work as a photographer. In her personal work, she investigates the nuanced question of what it means to become and be an American, with an eye to the role of reconstructive memory as it gives shape to individual identity in a larger American cultural landscape.

Before becoming a photographer full time, Kris worked as a marketing/branding professional for eight years in the San Francisco Bay Area on the corporate and agency sides, a great career incarnation that continually informs her work as a visual storyteller. Her specialties include travel/lifestyle, documentary and portraiture. She has collaborated with various editorial and commercial clients including National Geographic Traveler, Lonely Planet Traveller (UK), Kimpton Hotels, Ford, the Institute for Shipboard Education and many others. Kris is also a faculty member at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, teaching in the BFA and MFA programs.

Kris has a bachelor’s degree in communication arts from Loyola University in New Orleans and a Master’s Degree of Fine Arts from Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara, California.

She is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

  • Roadblocks and Potholes: Surmounting Inevitable Challenges, 8:30 a.m. April 7
  • Start-Up 101: From Dream to Successful Venture, 10 a.m. April 7
  • Building a Company: How Founders Launch and Grow Companies, 10:45 a.m. April 7
  • Serendipity: Making the Most of Unexpected Opportunities, 11:30 a.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

Career Summit Featured Speaker: Janete Perez

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Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. Janete Perez, the co-founder of Present, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Janete Perez

Co-Founder at Present

Janete Perez
Janete Perez is passionate about creating spaces for women to connect, support each other and have impactful, meaningful conversations. Hear from her at Career Summit 2018.

As a co-founder of Present, Janete Perez focuses on bringing Present to the masses and, overall, on the strategy for the company. She leads a team of rock star engineers and marketing mavens. Janete is passionate about creating spaces for women to connect, support each other and have impactful, meaningful conversations.

Before founding Present, Janete spent her career working at some of the world’s top technology companies. Most recently, she worked as a product manager for Messenger’s growth team at Facebook. Before Facebook, she was a senior product manager at Zynga, where she led teams across various verticals including analytics, machine learning and mobile. Janete also spent five years at Microsoft helping to advance projects within the Visual Studio team for Microsoft Expression.

Janete incorporates experiences in her career and applies the same dedication and motivation to her community involvement, volunteering and mentoring. She continues to help promote women’s right and advocates for diversity and inclusion in tech to drive innovation for our growing diverse communities. Janete is an active mentor for Sequoia’s Ascent program, which promotes inclusion of more women in the tech field. Janete also currently serves as co-lead for the Women’s March San Francisco Chapter, which is part of a national movement to unify and empower everyone who stands for human rights. She leads the technology and community programming committees and played a large part in organizing the second Women’s March “Hear Our Vote” this past January. During her free time, you’ll find Janete hiking, doing yoga and enjoying the outdoors. The most inspirational woman in her life? Her hard-working, single mother, who immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico when Janete was 3 years old.

Janete is a first-generation college student and earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Brown University. She is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

  • Thriving as a Woman in the Workplace, 10 a.m. April 7
  • Social Entrepreneurship: Finding Solutions to Community Problems, 10:45 a.m. April 7
  • Serendipity: Making the Most of Unexpected Opportunities, 11:30 a.m. April 7
  • Charting Your Course: How to Make the Most of the Career Summit, 1:30 p.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

Kalamazoo Philharmonia Concert Slated for Saturday

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The Kalamazoo Philharmonia, an orchestra of Kalamazoo College and the community, will have a concert at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Dalton Theater of the Light Fine Arts Building.

Andrew Koehler directs the Kalamazoo Philharmonia
Kalamazoo College Associate Professor of Music Andrew Koehler directs the Kalamazoo Philharmonia.

The concert, titled “Americas,” will feature composer Sean Neukom and soloist Jessica Hung, who met as students at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Tickets are $5 for the general public, $2 for students, and free for Kalamazoo College students.

The Kalamazoo Philharmonia is directed by Kalamazoo College Associate Professor of Music Andrew Koehler. Hear a podcast interview about the concert featuring Neukom, Hung and Koehler at WMUK’s website.

The Kalamazoo Philharmonia brings together students, faculty, and amateur and professional musicians. The group won the 2014 American Prize Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award for Orchestral Programming and has produced several CDs. It also has appeared on “CBS Sunday Morning,” and collaborated with the Bach Festival Chorus, as well as many renowned soloists. Listen to some of its recorded concerts at our website.

For more information, call the Music Department at 269-337-7070 or email Susan.Lawrence@kzoo.edu.

Career Summit Featured Speaker: Hilmon Sorey

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Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. Hilmon Sorey, the managing director of ClozeLoop, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Hilmon Sorey

Managing Director at ClozeLoop

Hilmon Sorey is the managing director of ClozeLoop, a management consulting firm in San Francisco. He is an award-winning sales management consultant and trainer to Salesforce, Box, SurveyMonkey, Nutanix and other fast-growth Silicon Valley firms and start-ups.

Hilmon Sorey
Hilmon Sorey is the managing director of ClozeLoop, a management consulting firm in San Francisco, and one of the featured speakers scheduled for Career Summit 2018.

He continues to advise chief executive officers regarding methodology, organization and scalability. Hilmon holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Roosevelt University.

Hilmon is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

  • Dinner and Opening Plenary, 6 p.m. April 6
  • Mentoring Matters: What You Gain from Trusted Advisers, 10 a.m. April 7
  • Tips for Bringing Your Identity to Work, 10:45 a.m. April 7
  • Serendipity: Making the Most of Unexpected Opportunities, 11:30 a.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

Career Summit Featured Speaker: Esperanza Cantú ’11

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Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. Esperanza Cantú ’11, a project leader in the Data Planning and Evaluation Division at the Detroit Health Department, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Esperanza Cantú ’11

Esperanza Cantú
Esperanza Cantú has held various working and volunteer positions in fundraising, mentorship and coalition-building for health equity since moving to Michigan.

Project Leader, Data Planning and Evaluation Division at Detroit Health Department

Originally from Monte Alto, Tex., Esperanza Cantú has held various working and volunteer positions in fundraising, mentorship and coalition-building for health equity since moving to Michigan. In 2016, Esperanza transitioned to the Detroit Health Department, where she currently serves as a project leader in the Data, Planning and Evaluation Division. In her current role, she is coordinating a communitywide strategic planning process for health; efforts will result in a community health assessment and five-year community health improvement plan for the city of Detroit.

In 2016, Esperanza also accepted an appointment from Gov. Rick Snyder to serve on the statewide Hispanic/Latino Commission of Michigan. She serves as chair of the Finance Committee, and will build capacity to reduce inequities in state resources and services to the Hispanic and Latino community.

In her spare time, Esperanza enjoys spending time with her husband Micah Smith ’10, traveling to the Rio Grande Valley to visit family and running. Esperanza earned her bachelor’s degree in biology from Kalamazoo College, where she participated in the student groups Latinx Student Organization and el Movimento Estudiantíl Chicano y Chicana de Aztlan (M.E.Ch.A). She received her Master of Public Health Degree from the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health.

Esperanza is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

  • Roadblocks and Potholes, 8:30 a.m. April 7
  • Thriving as a Woman in the Workplace, 10 a.m. April 7
  • Tips for Bringing Your Identity to Work, 10:45 a.m. April 7
  • Crafting a Whole Life: How Work Fits with Family, Community, Self-Care and Fun, 11:30 a.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

Career Summit Featured Speaker: Ed Hortelano ’83

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Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. Ed Hortelano ’83, a global vice president of research and development at Loparex, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Ed Hortelano ’83

Ed Hortelano
Since September 2015, Ed Hortelano has served as the global vice president for research and development at Loparex LLC.

Global Vice President, Research and Development at Loparex

Ed Hortelano began his career at Covestro (then Mobay) in New Martinsville, W.V., where he held positions of increasing responsibility in the U.S., Germany and China. Although he spent most of his Covestro career in research and technical roles, he also worked in production, sales and business development.

In October 2010, Ed joined the Global Non-Wovens Division of Bostik Inc. in Wauwatosa, Wis. He managed the global technical activities for the division and led the research activities for the hot melt, pressure-sensitive adhesive technology platform.

From May 2013, until his departure, Ed served as the chief technical officer for Bostik. Since September 2015, Ed has served as the global vice president for research and development at Loparex LLC. As the senior research and development executive for the company, he is working to build a global technical community and to improve the processes and delivery of new products and technologies.

Ed earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Kalamazoo College and a Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry from Wayne State University. He worked with Professor Ernest Eliel as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Ed and his family live in Raleigh, N.C. When he is not working or traveling for work, Ed enjoys spending time with his family as well as running and biking around Raleigh.

Ed is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

  • Roadblocks and Potholes, 8:30 a.m. April 7
  • Mentoring Matters: What You Gain from Trusted Advisers, 10 a.m. April 7
  • Tips for Bringing Your Identity to Work, 10:45 a.m. April 7
  • Crafting a Whole Life: How Work Fits with Family, Community, Self-Care and Fun, 11:30 a.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

Career Summit Featured Speaker: Drew Dumsch ’90

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Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. Drew Dumsch ’90, the founder and president/CEO of The Ecology School, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Drew Dumsch ’90

Founder and President/CEO, The Ecology School

Drew Dumsch
Drew Dumsch ’90 is the founder and president/CEO of The Ecology School, a residential environmental learning center on the southern coast of Maine. He will be one of the featured speakers at Kalamazoo College’s Career Summit 2018.

Drew Dumsch is the founder and president/CEO of The Ecology School, a residential environmental learning center on the southern coast of Maine. Since its founding in 1998, The Ecology School has educated more than 175,000 children and adults and trained more than 350 ecology educators through the science of ecology and the practice of sustainability.

Drew is currently leading a capital campaign to purchase the 105-acre River Bend Farm in Saco, Maine, and over the next two years construct the most sustainable residential environmental learning center in the country. The Ecology School at River Bend Farm will include a full-scale agroecology farm operation, community environmental education programs, field ecology research and buildings constructed and certified under the Living Building Challenge and Living Community Challenge through the International Living Future Institute. River Bend Farm will be a 21st Century Education Center for Resilience, Healthy Communities and Conservation.

Drew has had leadership positions with the Maine Environmental Education Association and the New England Environmental Education Alliance and is also active with the North American Association of Environmental Education and the Residential Environmental Learning Centers national network. Drew earned his bachelor’s degree in English from Kalamazoo College and his master’s degree in English from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Drew is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

  • Roadblocks and Potholes: Surmounting Inevitable Challenges, 8:30 a.m. April 7
  • Start-Up 101: From Dream to Successful Venture, 10 a.m. April 7
  • Social Entrepreneurship: Finding Solutions to Community Problems, 10:45 a.m. April 7
  • Crafting a Whole Life: How Work Fits with Family, Community, Self-Care and Fun, 11:30 a.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

Career Summit Featured Speaker: David Rust

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Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Walk-ins will be accepted if space becomes available.

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. All students are welcome, regardless of their major, and are encouraged to attend. David Rust, a former director of operations strategy at Lyft, continues our series of features highlighting our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

David Rust

David Rust
David Rust launched Lyft’s first markets and helped write the playbook for its national expansion. He will be one of the featured speakers April 6 and 7 at Kalamazoo College’s Career Summit 2018.

Former Director of Operations Strategy, Lyft

David Rust is an experienced operator who has helped scale some of the fastest-growing marketplace businesses, including Lyft. David joined Lyft in February 2013 as the 25th employee and helped drive the company’s growth nationally to an $11 billion-plus valuation.

Early in his four-year tenure at the company, David launched Lyft’s first markets and helped write the playbook for national expansion. David then went on to launch Lyft’s internal strategy team and drove key initiatives including Lyft’s self-driving car pilots and partnership with General Motors.

Prior to Lyft, David led marketing and city expansion for one of the early pioneers in the car-sharing industry, Wheelz.

David graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering and enjoys making time to invest in his side passions, whether they be playing salsa music or backpacking in the California outdoors.

David is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

  • Dinner and Opening Plenary, 6 p.m. April 6
  • Mentoring Matters: What You Gain from Trusted Advisers, 10 a.m. April 7
  • Social Entrepreneurship: Finding Solutions to Community Problems, 10:45 a.m. April 7
  • Crafting a Whole Life: How Work Fits with Family, Community, Self-Care and Fun, 11:30 a.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

Career Summit Featured Speaker: Carolyn DeWitt ’04

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Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. Carolyn DeWitt ’04, the president and executive director of Rock the Vote, is the third in a series of features that will highlight our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Carolyn DeWitt ’04

President, Executive Director at Rock the Vote

Carolyn DeWitt
Carolyn DeWitt ’04, a passionate and lifelong champion of the democratic process in the U.S. and abroad, has a diverse background in government, politics, international development, education and in the financial sector.

A passionate and lifelong champion of the democratic process in the U.S. and abroad, Carolyn DeWitt ’04 has a diverse background in government, politics, international development, education and in the financial sector.

It was during her time in South Africa, meeting with parties critical to the collapse of the apartheid system and the subsequent building of a democratic state, that Carolyn witnessed the power of youth movements. Convinced of the absolute necessity of a health democracy for marginalized groups, she continued on to work in Kenya, participating on the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission during an election year. Carolyn also served as senior international advisor to a youth political movement and potential presidential candidate in Madagascar.

Back home in the U.S., on the national political stage, Carolyn coordinated satellite media booking operations at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, training teams of volunteers and staffs and coordinating surrogate media appearances alongside DNC and Obama for America staff. On the local government level, Carolyn has worked as chief of staff at the Office of Chicago Alderman Daniel Solis, and as deputy campaign manager and finance director for the 25th Ward Regular Democratic Organization.

Shortly after relocating to Washington, D.C., Carolyn took up the position of director of special projects for a thriving start-up that sought to leverage technology to provide clinical services to persons with special education and development needs in less-developed countries. She has also provided services for therapists working in DC public schools. For the 2014 election cycle, Carolyn served as chief of staff at Pivot, a political communications firm.

Carolyn studied international and African studies, political science, psychology and women’s studies and earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and international and area studies from Kalamazoo College. She sits on the board of Coworker.org.

Carolyn is scheduled to speak during the following sessions of Career Summit 2018:

  • Dinner and Opening Plenary, 6 p.m. April 6
  • Thriving as a Woman in the Workplace, 10 a.m. April 7
  • Social Entrepreneurship: Finding Solutions to Community Problems, 10:45 a.m. April 7
  • Crafting a Whole Life: How Work Fits with Family, Community, Self-Care and Fun, 11:30 a.m. April 7

Other Scheduled Speakers

Career Summit Featured Speaker: Bill Duane ’94

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Registration for Career Summit 2018 is now closed. Students who are interested in attending but have not registered are welcome to stop by the registration table in the Hicks Student Center atrium before the session they would like to attend. Walk-ins will be accepted as space permits, especially on Saturday. See the Career Summit schedule online by clicking on ‘Agenda.’

A distinguished group of alumni will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Career Summit 2018. The event is two days of practical preparation April 6 and 7 for Life after K. Bill Duane ’94 is the first in a series of features that will highlight our speakers for the event. To learn more, visit our Career Summit 2018 news story.

Bill Duane ’94

Retired Superintendent of Well-Being at Google

Bill Duane
At Google, Bill Duane and his team created worldwide programs to move the needle on well-being at the individual, team and organizational level.

Bill Duane works at the intersection of individual resilience and organizational effectiveness, particularly in innovative and/or chaotic environments. As an engineering executive for Google earlier in his career, Bill was responsible for worldwide production engineering for Gmail, G Suite and WebSearch Infrastructure, leading a team of 130 people across five countries.

Though an amazing, interesting and rewarding ride, it also contained more burnout than was OK, which sparked a curiosity about how burnout worked. As he investigated burnout, Bill discovered a deep interest in the biological, psychological and interpersonal mechanisms of happiness, effectiveness and well-being which led him to create the role of Google’s Superintendent of Well-Being. At Google, he and his team created worldwide programs to move the needle on well-being at the individual, team and organizational level, partnering with various teams in the Google ecosystem to make it part of the culture.

After 12 years at Google and 25 years in corporate environments, he is taking his expertise to a more diverse set of individuals and organizations. Bill earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and anthropology from Kalamazoo College.

Bill is scheduled to speak in these Career Summit sessions:

  • Dinner and Opening Plenary, 6 p.m. April 6
  • Mentoring Matters: What You Gain from Trusted Advisers, 10 a.m. April 7
  • Tips for Bringing Your Identity to Work, 10:45 a.m. April 7
  • Serendipity: Making the Most of Unexpected Opportunities, 11:30 a.m. April 7.

Other Scheduled Speakers