Career Coaches
A professional career coach helps people make decisions and plans related to life and career directions. The coaches below were vetted by the UCLA Alumni Career Engagement team. Their prices vary, but discounts are also offered on their services to UCLA alumni. Check out their upcoming free workshops designed for our Bruin community.
Paula Amezola, M.P.H. '02
Paula Amezola is creator and founder of First Gen Legacy (FGL) an equity education service committed to providing first-generation students with the tools for successful careers and generational wealth. Having navigated the challenges of […]
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Alicia Anagnostou '96
Alicia Anagnostou is a sociologist, creative nonfiction writer, serves as vice president of Client Loyalty and Retention for a Fortune 500 company and is the founder of First Edition Coaching, a values-based leadership organization. With more than 20 years of experience […]
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Jessie Arora ’02
Jessie Arora is a nonprofit leader, startup founder and angel investor who is passionate about empowering people to live in alignment with their values. She spent 15-plus years focused on the intersection of education and technology with experiences at Google, Citizen Schools […]
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Marge Ang
Marge Ang is an entrepreneurial, innovative marketer with a passion for technology and all things marketing. She is also a career management and leadership development coach, focused on helping career professionals build confidence, develop leadership skills, and sustain rewarding careers. […]
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Austin Bauer ’09
Austin Bauer, Professional Certified Coach (PCC), is an executive coach and founder of Simple Progress, a consultancy that helps organizations do better work by developing cultures of organizational listening, collaborative learning and internal innovation. Bauer has worked with[…]
Emily Baxt ’92
Emily Baxt is an experienced, compassionate career counselor and coach who enjoys helping people figure out how their strengths can benefit the world. Many of her clients are early- to mid-career professionals, parents returning to work, or successful professionals looking for
Bill Benson ’87
Bill Benson, LMFT, LPCC, is a licensed psychotherapist, conflict resolution counselor and career clarity/negotiation coach. Benson pioneered The Mental Gym, a Los Angeles-based private practice specializing in cognitive behavioral therapy and […]
Susan Chang '99
Susan Chang is a seasoned career counselor and talent management professional who has a passion for helping individuals, teams and organizations leverage their strengths to do more of what they naturally do best. As an adjunct faculty and career […]
Duncan Chapple ’02
Duncan Chapple coaches alumni developing successful careers in Western Europe. He has 20 years of experience coaching graduates developing international careers, principally in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom. He is a career strategist […]
Chris St. Clair ’83
Chris St. Clair’s passion is guiding her clients to find their strength and their voice! She can help you navigate and recover from a job loss or career transition, as well as other transitional life experiences, faster and more effectively than you thought possible.
Kimberly Cook, M.P.H. ’15
Kimberly Cook, former UCLA Health Administrator and Hiring Manager uses over a decade of health care experience and insider knowledge to her client’s advantage. She is passionate about seeing aspiring health care […]
Kellie Corbisiero
Kellie Corbisiero is a career counselor and coach offering over 10 years of experience in career development and human resources. She works with individuals at every stage of their life in facilitating career identification, […]
Diane Dreher, M.A. ’70, Ph.D. ’73
Diane Dreher is a positive psychology coach and founder of Diane Dreher Coaching & Consulting, LLC, a consultancy that helps individuals and organizations flourish. Her coaching clients have begun new careers […]
AJ Eckstein
AJ interviews recruiters for a living. As the host and creator of “The Final Round Podcast”, Eckstein speaks with recruiters at top companies to help you advance past the final round interview. When he […]
Edward Gorbis, M.S. ’13
Edward Gorbis is a career and business coach and author of the book “Unbreakable Mindset.” Gorbis works with immigrants and first-generation professionals and entrepreneurs on how to rapidly accelerate their careers and businesses without sacrificing their lives […]
Siria Gutierrez ’05
Siria L. Gutierrez, CPCC & Esq., (she/her) is an intuitive leadership and fulfillment coach helping leaders liberate themselves from their perceived limitations so they can start living their fulfilling lives. She is a speaker, mental health advocate, mental fitness […]
Erin Haywood
Erin Haywood’s career as an educator and consultant has been grounded in critically thinking about some of the toughest societal issues like diversity and inclusion, accessible education, and workforce development. She is committed and passionate about continuing to learn, […]
Jim Hjort ’94
Executive and career coach Jim Hjort specializes in helping intelligent, inquisitive professionals navigate vocational change, with the confidence born of innate wisdom coupled with proven science. He offers in-depth values discovery workups[…]
Jessica Hekmat, MBA ’10
Jessica Hekmat is a brand strategist and business consultant, working with entrepreneurs, start-ups and businesses to articulate and manifest their purpose. She partners with individuals and organizations seeking clarity […]
Jane Chongchit Houston ’04
Jane Chongchit Houston is an executive career coach with a passion for developing leaders at all stages of their careers. With more than 15 years of experience as a U.S. diplomat, she has served at […]
Ricky Koo ’09
Ricky Koo is a seasoned corporate executive, bold entrepreneur, and a passionate speaker and writer. He has a background in psychology from UCLA and started his career as a certified public accountant before becoming a finance leader at numerous Fortune 500 companies across banking, financial […]
Armine Kulikyan
Armine Kulikyan is currently an assistant director of career education & development at UCLA’s Career Center. Prior to this role, Kulikyan has worked in academic and career counseling at multiple campuses such as CSU Los Angeles, CSU Northridge, Pasadena City […]
Kevin Medina, M.S.W. ʼ16, M.P.P. ʼ16
Kevin Medina is a Los Angeles-based queer Latino first-generation professional who has worked at the nexus of education and social change since 2010. In addition to offering traditional career development support, he provides culturally responsive, trauma-informed and […]
Markell Morris
Known for empowering her clients from a place of possibility and abundance, Markell R. Morris has spent her award-winning career motivating and guiding people in search of direction and advancement. An expert in the career management process, Morris offers […]
Marcy (Newman) Hess
Marcy Hess, M.Ed. is a higher education professional with over 15 years of experience guiding students, alumni and professionals in their career and professional development. She currently serves as a senior director of a university career center in Los Angeles. In 2008, Marcy Newman […]
Cynthia Orduña
Cynthia Orduña is a career coach and talent development advisor with a background in recruiting, career development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. She has helped over 50 startup companies in L.A., S.F., N.Y., and Chicago recruit and retain […]
Annette Pearson, MBA ’10
As a certified leadership and career coach, Annette Blum Pearson brings her lived experiences, intuition, industry expertise and coaching tools to the work she does with individuals, teams, organizations and communities. She partners with everyone from entrepreneurs to […]
Greg Rickman, MBA ’12
Greg Rickman is an executive coach and corporate speaker. He works with CEOs, EVPs and SVPs, who are preparing for or navigating big changes, who want to significantly up-level their leadership skills, who are creating something so big in their personal or professional lives they know they will need to evolve […]
Kayla Smith
Kayla Smith is a career coach who serves clients from around the world with a variety of services. She has nearly 10 years of experience and specializes in helping her clients through career transitions, navigating networking, preparing professional documents […]
Ellie Tabibian
Ellie Tabibian is a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths coach and career counselor helping professionals unleash their best abilities for meaningful success in all phases of career needs. As a faculty instructor at Pepperdine University, she has coached students […]
Emily Taylor, MBA ’08
Emily brings first-hand experience of the hiring process from the employer’s side and the preparation process from a business school career center perspective. This means she can tell you with certainty what it takes to shine. Over the past 15 years, Taylor […]
Sami Toussi ’11
Sami Toussi, Board Certified Coach (BCC), is a career strategist and owner of Toussi International, a consultancy that helps individuals tap into their purpose to benefit the world. oussi’s business encompasses more than 10 years […]
Lucy Tseng ’12
Lucy Tseng is a Life & Resilience Coach working with folks who are experiencing major changes, particularly athletes of all levels who are transitioning to life after sports. Additionally, she is part of the development team that raised $5.49 billion […]
Alternative Guidance or Practices
John Brown, J.D. ’04
After graduating from the UCLA School of Law and spending years as an attorney and then as an entrepreneur (founder of The Los Angeles Shaving Soap Company), Brown realized he wanted to help people directly. Coaching and hypnotherapy appealed to him because of his ability to help […]
Phyll Perry
Phyll Perry, M.S.W., M.F.A. started New Options Counseling in 1989 specializing in career choices, educational decisions, relationships and relocation. Over the past 30 years […]
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