Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Dr. Anna Gonzalez announced three new directors for the Center for Career Engagement. Casey Jenkerson will serve as the director of employer engagement; Nan Barnes will serve as the director of academic partnerships; and Christine Keller will serve as director of career communities & career development.
“We are thrilled to work with Casey, Nan and Christine in their leadership positions with the Center for Career Engagement,” said Gonzalez. “The three offices — employer engagement, academic partnerships, and career communities and development — are foundational to the new initiatives we announced earlier this summer as we strive to build a best-in-class career experience for our students.”
Barnes will oversee a new team, academic partnerships and engagement, focused on developing strong partnerships with academic departments and faculty to better align student classroom experiences with their career aspirations.
Barnes started at WashU in 2017 as a career consultant. Prior to being named the director of academic partnerships and engagement, she was the associate director for career coaching and education.
Employer engagement will cultivate new relationships, strengthen existing partnerships with employers, and collaborate with talent acquisition leaders to build specific recruitment strategies. Jenkerson, who will spearhead these efforts, most recently served as the associate director for employer relations. She joined WashU in 2017, and prior to her arrival spent time in the corporate sector in human resources and recruitment.
In her role as director of career communities & career development, Keller will coordinate career communities and career coaching. Career communities are industry-aligned learning communities that provide students with opportunities to explore interests, gain industry knowledge and build key connections with coaches, professionals and mentors, including faculty, staff, employers and alumni. Additionally, all first-year students will be paired with a career coach who will help them explore resources, services and careers. Career coach pairing is underway for the 2023-2024 academic year. Keller has spent her entire career in career services. She came to WashU in 2019 as an MBA career coach before advancing to the associate director for MBA career coaching.
Barnes, Jenkerson and Keller join Danny Pape, director of career services, and Tyler Gahrs, manager of strategy and impact, to round out the leadership team for associate vice chancellor for career development and education, Norma Guerra Gaier, who begins at WashU on September 20.