Award RecipientsCongratulations to the 2022 Winners!Tribute Award
Shannon Conklin brings 15 years of experience in career services, driven by her passion for strategic design, access, technology, and assessment. She currently is the Director of Career and Leadership Development for The College of New Jersey’s Office of Career and Leadership Development. Prior to TCNJ, Shannon held roles at Temple University Career Center and University of Pennsylvania Career Services. Her involvement with EACE began over 10 years ago. Her roles have included chair for the Mentoring Sub-Committee from 2020-2022, Director of Technology from 2014-2016, and chair for the Technology Committee from 2013-2014. She earned her bachelor’s from UMass-Amherst and her master’s from University of Pennsylvania. Outstanding Member Award
Philip Wilkerson III is an Industry Advisor at GMU University Career Services. This role serves both student and employer stakeholders, meaning Philip both collaborates with employers to make them aware of the talented students at Mason through invitations to visit the campus for fairs, workshops, and unique events and meets with students to market their creative skills through personal branding (resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, etc.). He is a husband to Maggie Wilkerson, LSCW (JMU Class of 2007, Social Work), and father to Bennett and Miles (ages 7 and 4). He is also the host of a podcast called Positive Philter, which takes everyday subjects and finds the positive lessons we can learn from them. He recently was recognized as a Northern Virginia Forty Under Forty Honoree by the Leadership Center for Excellence and Leadership Fairfax. Past honors include being named "Employee of the Month" for GMU in September 2019, the "Forty under 40" list for GMU Black Alumni as well as being a recipient of the "Pillar Award," which is for a GMU staff member who supports Black students. He is also the faculty advisor for the Iota Alpha Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., The National Society of Leadership and Success, and the GMU NAACP chapter. Within EACE, he currently serves on the Technology and Communication Committee and manages the #EACE Twitter Chats. He also co-hosts an EACE Web show entitled "EACE Conversations with Bob and Phil," Bob Bullard previously served as a co-chair of the Conference Experience Committee for the 2021 EACE Virtual Conference. The EACE Board of Directors elected him as the Director of Technology & Information Management. Rising Star Award
Narali Taglialavore is the Assistant Director of Career Communities for STEM & Sustainability at Suffolk University in Boston, MA. She currently serves as the Social Media Sub-Committee Chair for EACE, where she leads the organization's content creation efforts for marketing and promoting the organization's mission, vision, and goals, while collaborating with other EACE committees to develop innovative approaches to our social media efforts. Before Narali became Chair in 2021, she served as a member of the Social Media Sub-Committee in 2020 and first joined EACE in 2019. Being a part of EACE has allowed Narali to grow and develop both personally and professionally and have the opportunity to meet so many people in the industry. Narali is passionate about helping students succeed through and beyond their college experience. She received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Master’s degree in Educational Leadership: College Student Affairs from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. Narali’s special interests include social media and marketing, working with first-generation students, underrepresented communities, and students who have experienced foster-care. As a bilingual professional fluent in Spanish, Narali is also passionate about students for whom English is not their native language. In her personal time, Narali enjoys traveling, the beach, hiking, and dog walking! Innovation in Diversity & Inclusion Award
Program Title: Anti-Racism Learning Program for Career Services Staff Career services is social justice work. To be effective, we must recognize the role that students’ social identities play in their hopes, fears, options, and professional journey. Our work must include becoming more attuned to societal factors impacting students from systemically oppressed racial identities, reflecting on our complicity and using our position of influence to dismantle barriers so that more graduates can reach their full potential and experience greater social and economic mobility. We have created a set of clear expectations and scaffolded curriculum for staff to engage in over a three-year period, at minimum. Participation is expected of every member of our 25-person team, regardless of role, and is tied to annual goals reviewed during appraisal meetings with their supervisor. The core components of the Anti-Racism Learning Program (ARLP) include required and optional, synchronous and asynchronous activities. Required activities include: completion of Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI); annual participation in two trainings and group debrief to discuss implications of the topic on the work of career services; and attendance at one campus DEI event of the staff-member’s choosing. Optional activities include article/book discussions, movie screenings, and online discussion of issues about race and intersecting topics. Innovation in Diversity & Inclusion Award
Lisa Famularo & Tara Malone Program Title: Identity & Career Development Research Study UConn’s Center for Career Development has had a long-standing commitment to delivering comprehensive, innovative, and inclusive programs and services for all students. Recognizing that our diverse students continue to face new and on-going challenges, we set out to learn more about our students’ experiences through a DEI lens, and to evaluate how well our existing services are meeting their needs. We conducted a university-wide research study to examine how diverse students experience career development at UConn and to utilize the information collected to make data-driven decisions about future programs and services. While the primary focus of the research was to identify unique career experiences facing affinity groups and the ways in which we could provide tailored support, we also explored how the intersectionality of multiple identities further affects our students’ career planning and development. The study consisted of a survey and four focus groups and received over 1,500 responses in 35 days’ time. It was successful in providing critical information and deepening our understanding of the unique needs of diverse student populations and how our center could provide support. Innovation in Technology Award
Program Title: Career Development Toolkit on Canvas Cornell Career Services (CCS) sought to expand our digital resources to build students’ career confidence by delivering engaging content even without their having to “know what to ask.” In 2020, CCS launched the “Career Development Toolkit,” dynamic Cornell-specific career curriculum located in the same platform the University uses for academic courses (Canvas). The 225+ pages in 25 self-paced modules are structured around understanding yourself, exploring options, and taking action. We include custom-made interactive and reflective components and incorporate evidence-based techniques and theory (e.g., Holland in the Exploration module). By putting career resources in Canvas, we minimize barriers to access and normalize the concept of “career education.” Users can see all content, even if not necessarily aligned with their academic field. Foundational modules include Career Readiness, Career Exploration, Networking, Resumes, Cover Letters, Job/Internship Searching, Career Fairs, and Interviewing. Content experts contributed to Portfolios, Pre-Law, International, Finance, Consulting, and Data Science modules. We created pages in response to questions such as “How do I find inclusive employers?”, “How do I interact with recruiters?”, and “What happens in a background check?” The online modules provide structure and are a powerful supplement to advising conversations and workshops, reaching over 8,800 students/alumni and counting. Innovation in Program AwardNancy Bilmes Program Title: Leveraging Career Everywhere as a Revolution to Deliver Career Education To provide increased equity and access to career planning for all students, Nancy Bilmes spearheaded the Career Center’s strategic vision for how career education is delivered to students at UConn. Nancy advocated for the shift from the siloed career planning approach toward embracing career readiness conversations occurring throughout the University community. Nancy led a small committee in 2018-2019 to conduct faculty and staff focus groups and interviews, gaining trust and buy-in in preparation of the Career Everywhere launch in Fall 2019. Under Nancy’s leadership, the program has grown substantially, and outcomes and deliverables are tangible, and results are clearly visible. Career Everywhere (CE) was developed to create a university-wide career readiness culture that prepares students for post-graduation success. The intention and design were to fundamentally inform and guide the career relevant conversations that were already happening in every aspect of a student’s life. Nancy developed a multi-pronged strategic plan to capitalize on the time that students spend in both curricular and co-curricular spaces. The Career Champion program, designed to enable Career Everywhere, was the central vision created with the intention of providing formalized training and communications around data, trends, programs, and services to a broad cross section of stakeholders. Past Year Award Recipients:
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Shannon Conklin
Philip Wilkerson III
Narali Taglialavore, M.Ed.
George Mason University 
Jessamyn Perlus, Ph.D and Team
