“Ask an Expert” Career Events

Gerald Corporal, ’10, Director of Alumni Career Engagement, University of California Los Angeles – Gerald (he/him) is a higher education and student affairs practitioner, primarily working in career readiness and management. Gerald currently serves as Director of Alumni Career Engagement at the University of California, Los Angeles Alumni Association, bridging students and alumni with professional development opportunities. Gerald previously held roles at the University of Southern California (USC) in academic and career advising, and also received his Master of Education from the USC Rossier School of Education. Gerald is a proud Husky alumnus, a Lifetime Member of the UWAA and continued season ticket holder for the UW Football team.

David Mendez, ’20, Transformation Coach, Technology Access Foundation – David (he/him) is an educator who is passionate about the social determinants of education and closing the opportunity gap that exists in our schools. He attended the Relay Graduate School of Education where he co-created a group called MOCA (Men of Color Affinity group), a space where male educators of color could come together to share common challenges and find solutions. While continuing his education at the University of Washington, David worked as a Graduate Staff Assistant in the UW Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement program (GO-MAP). David received his Master of Arts in Teaching from the Relay Graduate School of Education and Master of Education from the UW College of Education.

Kayla Newcomer, ’21, MSW, Graduate Staff Assistant, UW Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program – Kayla (she/her) is a mixed-race Filipina cisgender woman. She is a recent graduate of the University of Washington School of Social Work where she concentrated in Administration and Policy Practice. She completed her B.A. at the University of California, Los Angeles with a major in Psychology and a minor in English. She is the 2021 recipient of the UW Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP)’s Scholar of the Year and is an Americorps CSSC alumna. Kayla is passionate about educational equity and justice in K-12 and higher education institutions and a champion of culturally inclusive pedagogy.

Victoria Olive, ’15, Graduate Admissions Counselor, Seattle University – Victoria (she/her) currently serves as a graduate admissions counselor at Seattle University. She is the liaison between prospective students, the graduate admissions team, and faculty and staff for multiple programs. Victoria supports international and domestic prospective graduate students to understand the nuanced policies, procedures and complexities of the application process. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Seattle University and Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from University of Washington Tacoma.

MODERATOR: Kate Mead, ’11, ’14 – Kate (she/her) is a patent attorney practicing in the Seattle area. She earned her BS in bioengineering with a minor in philosophy, and earned her Juris Doctorate at the University of Washington. As a patent attorney, Kate helps inventors and organizations patent medical devices, life science technologies, cloud computing technologies, telecommunications advances and other types of technologies. Kate serves a member of the UW GOLD Council where she facilitates the Professional Development subcommittee.

Ruth Kaneko, ’08 has been with BECU since 2009. Throughout her time with BECU, she has held the positions of Member Consultant and Financial Educator. Her role at BECU has included serving the membership on a daily basis by providing financial consultation and support, and bringing financial education to Washington communities. With a background in education, Ruth is fueled by the need to help others achieve their goals. Ruth earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Washington with a major in Interdisciplinary Studies and a minor in Education. Bringing financial education to life is the cornerstone of her work at BECU.

Ebonee Anderson (she/her) is the University of Washington’s DEI Recruiting Consultant. She believes effective diversity recruiting relies on minimizing barriers in hiring and ensuring an inclusive and equitable selection process. At the UW, she helps design, develop and implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) focused recruiting and sourcing strategies and programs. She develops candidate screening tools, builds partnerships and uses her background in full-cycle recruiting as a lens for increasing diversity and inclusion to not only attract and hire diverse talent but also to retain, develop, engage and advance employees.

William Wiggins (he/him) is a human resources leader with a passion for providing practical, results-oriented “workforce focused” support to organizations, employees and their internal management teams. He brings a broad range of experience, including Employee Benefits, Compliance, Talent Acquisition and Talent Management. His experience includes leading strategic Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, as well. “I have a demonstrated history of promoting leadership development and leading targeted initiatives towards creating a sustainably multiculturally engaging productive working experience for the organizations I serve.”

MODERATOR: Simone Willynck ’13, ’19 (she/her) is a double degree Dawg hailing a B.A. in Communication from the University of Washington in 2013 and a Masters in Education from UW Bothell in 2019. She currently serves as the Manager in the Office for Faculty Advancement at the University of Washington and Regional Director for the Greater Washington State Higher Education Recruitment Consortium. In this role, she focuses on equitable recruitment and retention practices for faculty/staff by collaborating and partnering across the UW tri-campus and greater Northwest region to inform and promote tools and resources that support diverse hiring efforts. Simone serves a member of the UW GOLD Council where she facilitates the Professional Development subcommittee.