Career Day at the Academy of Saint Elizabeth | 4/1/22

CAREER DAY PRESENTERS

ELLE ROSE FRASER, ‘12 PRODUCER, EVENTAGE (EVENTAGE EVENT PRODUCTION LLC) / RUGBY NEW YORK LARGE SCALE EVENT PRODUCTION / PROFESSIONAL SPORTS Elle Rose Fraser is a New Jersey based events producer (hello @eventage) who previously worked for the New Jersey Devils and New York Jets (her record is much better than theirs!). She graduated from Rutgers University in 2016 with a degree in Communication and Digital Communication, Information, and Media. After working for numerous sports teams, Elle Rose traded in her skates and helmet in 2020 to work with Eventage for clients such as The Womens Sports Foundation, Chase and United Airlines, and on events such as The New York City Marathon, Super Bowl, and more! She is also the Director of Brand Experience and Game Operation for Major League Rugby's Rugby New York, and is a member of the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Evaluation Committee. When Elle Rose is not directing a sporting event, she enjoys theatre, Disney, and taking spin class. (This is a quick bio, if possible I would love to edit and resubmit but wanted to make sure you had something to start with!)

CLARE CARDO MCKEGNEY, P '23 DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE:PEDIATRICS /ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF NURSING , THE PEDIATRIC CENTER / COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF NURSING PROFESSIONS Dr. McKegney is a practicing pediatric nurse practitioner in New Providence, NJ as well as a full time Assistant Professor at Columbia University School of Nursing. She graduated with her bachelors of science in nursing from Sacred Heart University (1997) and started her nursing career at NYU medical center. She focused on pediatric nursing working full time and attended NYU to pursue her masters in advanced practice nursing with a secondary post masters in certificate in children with special needs (2001). She has worked in pediatric hematology/oncology, neurology and general pediatrics. In 2008, she was apart of the second graduating class from Columbia University earning. her Doctorate in Nursing Practice. She has maintained a professional career while raising three children and stays involved in her community through volunteer opportunities in the Church most recently the christ child society of Summit, NJ.

GRACE KELLY, ‘13 VETERINARIAN, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY BECOMING A VET Grace Kelly is in her final year of vet school at Colorado State University, and will graduate as a doctor of veterinary medicine this coming May. After graduating from high school in 2013, she took a gap year to travel to Tanzania, South Africa, and Costa Rica to volunteer and gain hands-on veterinarian experience. She then received her undergraduate degree in animal science from Virginia Tech. Four years later, she is now graduating in May and is heading to Scottsdale, AZ for a small animal rotating internship, and will then proceed to a three-year residency to pursue a specialty in ophthalmology.

ANTOINETTE PLEWA MA SP.ED., ‘72 EDUCATIONAL CONSULTANT, FORMER PUBLIC/PRIVATE SCHOOLS OF NEW JERSEY, ADJUNCT PROFESSOR MY LIFE’S JOURNEY FROM TEACHING TO ADMINISTRATION IN EDUCATION For starters , Ms. Plewa's is proud to be a St. Elizabeth’s graduate from the class of 72!

Ms. Plewa holds degrees in: Elementary Education, Special Education, Music, M. A. in Special Education NJ certifications include: Teacher of the handicapped, Nursery, Supervisor, Principal and Administration Her life long educational journey began with a public school substituting position immediately after college .

She is one of the first of three special needs preschool teachers in the state of NJ , where she spent ten years .

This was followed by teaching in a special education resource room (K/4) for two years. After two years in a full day kindergarten class she was promoted to Supervisor of Education Perth Amboy Public Schools for five years.

For the next ten years she was an Elementary School Principal for North Plainfield Public Schools. She with her staff created a strong home school connection entitled “ Learning Equally and Peacefully” entitled (LEAP) that received the Governor’s Award in 2004. After her exit from the public sector she worked for two years at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, NJ as a Student Teacher Supervisor. In 2004 she began a 19 year teaching career at Ocean County College as an Adjunct Instructor. Also in 2004 she was hired to design a state of the art Learning Academy/Daycare Center and summer camp in Ocean County for the private sector. There she served as Director of Curriculum for eight years. Presently, Ms. Plewa is an Educational Consultant supporting adaptive strategies for educational success. She has created snd conducted numerous workshops for staff development in all aspects of education. Her educational philosophy has been and is,“ if your shoes don’t match stand in a field of wild flowers.“

LAURA KENNY, ‘10 CITY/ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNER, CITY OF NORWALK, CT TBD Laura Kenny '10 is a City Planner for Norwalk, CT, a coastal town on the Long Island Sound with a population just shy of 100,000 people. In Norwalk, she works to increase affordable housing, preserve historic resources, and protect the City from climate change induced flooding. Prior to working in Norwalk, Laura worked for the NYC Dept. of City Planning for 4 years in a similar role. Laura was able to enter the City Planning field after receiving a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Geoscience and Environmental Studies from Hobart and William Smith Colleges. For one season between undergraduate and graduate school, Laura also worked as the Assistant lacrosse coach as AOSE! When she's not working, Laura enjoys spending time at the beach, playing platform tennis, and traveling with friends.

DANIELLE ANTES SETOLA, ‘06 TALENT ACQUISITION / RECRUITING , EMERALD TALENT ACQUISITION Danielle Antes has over a decade of experience in Talent Acquisition. Armed with a background in applied Psychology and a desire to reinvigorate the selection process, Danielle has focused her career on creating and executing authentic, objective, and meaningful recruiting experiences for both candidates and employers. Danielle is currently the Director of Talent Acquisition at Emerald, a producer of business-to-business content and events.

Her past roles have included recruiting and Human Resources management positions across consulting, media, and staffing.

Danielle graduated from the Academy of St. Elizabeth in 2006. She holds a BA in Psychology and Business from Lehigh University, as well as a MS in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Kansas State University. She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband, two kids, and rescue dog.

MARY J. KLEBAN, PT, DPT, GCS, ‘02 PHYSICAL THERAPIST, FELLOWSHIP SENIOR LIVING PHYSICAL THERAPY: THE BEST CAREER IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD! Dr. Mary Kleban has been a physical therapist since 2008, when she graduated with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania. Mary has worked in many settings during her 14 year career, and is a Board Certified Geriatric Clinical Specialist in Physical Therapy. Mary currently works for Fellowship Senior Living and is primarily performing home care, visiting patients in their homes providing physical therapy services to help them regain their independence. Mary is an adjunct professor in the doctoral physical therapy programs at at Columbia University in New York City, and Kean University in Union, NJ. Mary has also begun the process of obtaining her PhD in leadership, with the ultimate goal of teaching at the university level full time.

Mary graduated from St. E's in 2002, where she was a better fan than player on the tennis team, but met some of her best friends with whom she still keeps in touch with today.

KATHERINE ROSALINA RODRIGUEZ, ‘10 REPORTER, NJ ADVANCE MEDIA ONLINE JOURNALISM 101: MEDIA IN A DIGITAL AGE Katherine Rodriguez is a Trending News Reporter at NJ Advance Media, where she writes about breaking/trending news. She graduated from The George Washington University in 2014 with a bachelor's degree in Journalism and Political Science. She also graduated from the Academy in 2010.

KELLY HERING, ‘10 CTO & CO-FOUNDER (ALSO MECHANICAL ENGINEER) , CHARM INDUSTRIAL CAREERS FOR SOLVING CLIMATE CHANGE Kelly Hering, a 2010 SEA alumna, is the CTO and co-founder at Charm Industrial, a company who's mission is to return the atmosphere to 280ppm, aka pre-industrial era levels. They have developed pathways for both permanent carbon removal as well as the decarbonization of heavy industry, such as steel production. She leads the R&D and engineering team developing their pyrolysis and gasification systems which are the foundation of the pathways. Prior to Charm, she led the early upper stage design at Astra and the mechanical design of the Dove satellites at Planet, all San Francisco-based companies. She studied mechanical engineering at Brown University where she graduated in 2014.

EMMA CORAZZA, ‘17 ELECTRICAL ENGINEER, JAROS, BAUM & BOLLES ENGINEERING Emma Corazza, from Bernardsville, NJ, graduated from the Academy in 2017 and went to Villanova University to study engineering. She graduated from Villanova in May of 2021 with a BS in Electrical Engineering and a Minor in Mathematics. Emma now works at Jaros, Baum & Bolles, an engineering firm based in New York City, where she has the opportunity to work on many different projects and buildings in the NYC area.

CAROLINE ARRE OLIVEIRA, ‘02 ATTORNEY - CRIMINAL PROSECUTOR, STATE OF NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY - CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS, PROSECUTIONS, TR IALS Caroline Arre Oliveira graduated from the Academy of St. Elizabeth in 2002. Following that, she received a B.A. from Boston College in 2006, and a J.D. from Suffolk University Law School in 2011. She is currently employed as a Deputy Attorney General in the Office of Public Integrity & Accountability, where she investigates and prosecutes criminal abuses of the public trust.

LOUIS MATIRKO, P '16 LAW ENFORCEMENT- POLICE INVESTIGATOR NYNJ PORT AUTHORITY/RETIRED FINANCIAL CRIMES INVESTIGATOR NJ DIVISION OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE , PORT AUTHORITY OF NY&NJ OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS-CAREERS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT Louis Matirko is a law enforcement officer with the Port Authority of NY&NJ Office of Inspector General and a retired Investigator with the NJ Division of Criminal Justice- Financial Crimes Section, with over 40 years experience in financial crime investigations. Investigator Matirko is a graduate of Union County College and Albright College, obtaining his B.S. Degree in Business Administration/Accounting Minor. Investigator Matirko is a Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Inspector General Investigator and he has been a guest speaker at St. Ez's Forensic Science and Criminal Justice classes. His daughter Kelsey graduated from St. Ez's in 2016 and is a Cyber Security Analyst with Summit Medical Group of New Providence, NJ.

MOLLY BIRMAN, ‘11 MEDIA RELATIONS MANAGER, BASF CORPORATION CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA RELATIONS Molly Birman is the Media Relations Manager for BASF Corporation in North America. She leads media relations and social media for the region. Since joining BASF in 2015, Molly has held several positions within the Corporate Communications team. She served as the Site & Community Relations Manager. Prior to that, she served as the Social Media Specialist for BASF’s corporate channels.

After starting as an intern during the summer of 2014, Molly has climbed the corporate latter and has worked in Corporate Communications for almost 7 years.

Molly holds a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Syracuse University with minors in marketing and psychology.

EMMA KELLY, ‘11 ATTORNEY, KELLEY DRYE & WARREN LAW AS A CAREER Emma is a litigation attorney at the law firm of Kelley Drye and Warren LLP in New York, NY. Her practice focuses on litigation, specifically government investigations and white collar defense. Emma studied neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania, and received her JD from Notre Dame Law School. Prior to law school, she worked for a tech start-up in NYC, and during law school worked for the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Special Victim’s Unit of the St. Joseph County District Attorney’s Office in South Bend, IN.

ASHLEIGH PLEWA, ‘02 ENTREPRENEUR, SELF EMPLOYED LIFE AND DEDICATION OF AN ENTREPRENEUR/BUISNESS OWNER Ashleigh Plewa is a successful Entrepreneur who currently runs a multi-faceted business and consulting firm in Los Angeles, Manhattan, and Miami. Her business currently consists of Rental Portfolios, Elite Concierge Services, luxury car-yacht-jet rentals, Asset & Liability Management, and Business Infrastructure Consulting. Her ability to successfully run a company of this magnitude comes from a lifetime of experience and a solid education.

Ashleigh’s resume highlights prior to the founding of her current company include: Real Estate Broker, Set Designer/Assistant Director in Film, Interior Designer, and Small Business Consultant/Angel Investor.

Ashleigh has always had an abundant desire to live life to its fullest, which has led to such a diverse business background, her ability to see growth throughout various industries kept her upward mobility flourishing. She has an innate understanding of what an “Entrepreneur” is. There is no such thing as the career of an “Entrepreneur”, to be an Entrepreneur is a choice that supersedes all other things in life; this is a choice more liken to a marriage, with no option for divorce, then a career that has set hours and paid vacations. “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.” Sun Tzu.

ALICIA FERNANDEZ, ‘20 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER, NK ARCHITECTS ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Alicia Fernandez is a recent graduate of New Jersey Institute of Technology with a Bachelors of Architecture. She has experience in healthcare & higher education design and is constantly exploring new ways to better the built environment. She has been an Architectural Technician at NK Architects for the past 2 years.

BOBBI MANIACI, ‘19 ARCHITECTURAL DESIGNER, NK ARCHITECTS ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN Bobbi Maniaci is a recent graduate from New Jersey Institute of Technology with a Bachelors of Architecture and minor in Sustainability. She has experience in large scale residential architecture but currently focuses on healthcare and higher educational design. She has been an Architectural Technician at NK Architects for the past 2 years.

JULIA SALERNO, ‘15 ADULT MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST, HIGH FOCUS CENTERS/SPILOVE PSYCHOTHERAP Y MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIST CAREER Julia Salerno is an Adult Mental Health Therapist at High Focus Centers, a Partial Hospitalization and Intensive Outpatient Program located in Parsippany, NJ. Julia is also a part-time Clinical Mental Health specialist and Marketing Assistant for Spilove Psychotherapy, a private practice located in Philadelphia, PA. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA in 2019 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Health Services with minors in Psychology and Health Care Ethics. After receiving her Bachelor's degree, Julia went to Villanova University to study Clinical Mental Health and graduated Summa Cum Laude in May 2021 with a Master’s of Science in Clinical Mental Health Counseling. Julia is currently in the process of obtaining her state licensure for both New Jersey and Pennsylvania to become a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC).

Currently, Julia specializes in different therapeutic approaches to aid patients with recovery from eating disorders, body image recovery, anxiety, depression and mood disorders. As a therapist, Julia believes that we all get stuck sometimes and we all need help navigating how to get ‘unstuck.’ Through a supportive, compassionate, and curious environment, Julia hopes to allow clients to tell her their story, assist them with having their story hurt a little less and celebrating victories along the way.

KELSEY MATIRKO, ‘16 IT SECURITY ANALYST, SUMMIT HEALTH CYBER SECURITY Kelsey graduated from the Academy of St.Elizabeths in 2016. She then went on get her B.S in Computer Security and Information Assurance from Norwich University (Class of 2020) located in Northfield, VT. While at college she had numerous internships which allowed her to work closely with Norwich’s Chief Information Security Officer and the State of Vermont Security Operations Center. Other internships include SOC Analyst for the Port Authority and NSA Digital Forensics Camp Leader. Kelsey now works at Summit Health as an IT Security Analyst where she focuses on implementing Awareness Training, maintaining PCI-DSS Compliance, and reviewing medical device vendor assessments.