ST. JOSEPH HILL ACADEMY Career Conversations: Alumnae Panel Series
WINTER / SPRING 2022 January 5, 2022 Math, Accounting, Actuarial Science, Risk Management and Data Analytics January 10, 2022 Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy February 1, 2022 Fashion: E-Commerce, Design, Merchandising and Product Development
February 28, 2022 Veterinary Medicine, Vet Tech and Animal Care March 14, 2022 Art, Film and Television March 28, 2022 Writing, Journalism and Social Media
7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Hill's Career Conversations: Alumnae Panel Series takes place on Zoom and is open to current students only.
MATH, ACCOUNTING, ACTUARIAL SCIENCE, RISK MANAGEMENT AND DATA ANALYTICS SESSION 1
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
SAMANTHA ALLOCCA, ‘10 Senior Manager, BDO USA, LLP Samantha Allocca is based in BDO USA's NYC office and is responsible for managing and executing Third Party Attestation engagements across the East Coast. Samantha has more than 7 years of experience in accounting and auditing, and her areas of focus include System and Organization Controls Reporting examinations (including SOC 1, ISAE 3402, SOC 2), and internal control audits, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance reviews, and risk and internal audit assessments. Samantha provides services to clients in various industries, with a strong focus on financial services and fintech clients. Prior to joining BDO, Samantha began her career at Grant Thornton, LLP. Samantha earned her Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Undergraduate Wharton School of Business. She graduated magna cum laude in 2014 with concentrations in management and accounting. In her spare time, Samantha coaches a competitive cheerleading team at her elementary school, St. Charles, and enjoys spending time with her family.
DEBORAH A. GENOVESE, CPA, '87 Certified Public Accountant / Tax Specialist Deborah (Imparato) Genovese attended Pace University and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Public Accounting. Upon graduating she chose to continue her career at KPMG Peat Marwick LLP, which at the time was known as one of the "Big Six" accounting firms. While there, she concentrated her work in the nonprofit sector of the
MATH, ACCOUNTING, ACTUARIAL SCIENCE, RISK MANAGEMENT AND DATA ANALYTICS SESSION 1
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
organization, working on firms such as Lenox Hill Hospital, the Sisters of Charity of New York and Daytop Village. She also rotated as a tax specialist in their tax department. After obtaining her CPA, Deborah founded her own firm and has continued to work as a tax specialist for the last 22 years. In addition to her work experience, Deborah also currently serves as the Treasurer on the Board of Directors of Michael's Cause, is a member of the Holy Child Church Finance Committee and served on the Board of Directors of Saint Joseph Hill Academy. She is a member of the AICPA, the National Society of Tax Professionals and also registered with the Internal Revenue Service. In her free time Deborah enjoys playing pickle ball, volunteering and spending time with her husband and three children.
GRACE KAISER, CFE, CPA, ‘15 Senior Accountant, Ernst & Young LLP Grace Kaiser is a senior accountant at Ernst & Young LLP. In this role, she serves on a team of external auditors who verify the accuracy of the financials of various hospitals in the tri-state area. She attended Cornell University where she studied business and accounting, receiving both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in her 4 year stay thanks to the AP credits earned while at Hill. She passed the CPA exam shortly after graduation followed by the more specialized CFE exam. She currently works semi-remotely from her home in Staten Island. During her time at Hill, she was heavily involved in Mock Trial, Forensics, Drama Club and Hill Singers — all of which helped her start a career as a woman in business.
MATH, ACCOUNTING, ACTUARIAL SCIENCE, RISK MANAGEMENT AND DATA ANALYTICS Wednesday, January 5, 2022
SESSION 1
COLLEEN MCDONOUGH, ‘13 Lead Associate Actuary, Willis Towers Watson At Willis Towers Watson, Colleen is responsible for pricing and managing corporations' employer sponsored retirement and health care benefits. She attended Siena College and received a Bachelor of Science in Actuarial Science. While a student at Siena, she was a summer intern at Willis Towers Watson and returned full-time after graduation. She is currently pursing her associateship of the society of actuaries in her company sponsored exam program. At Hill and Siena College, she was a member of the swim team and captain her senior year on both teams! Now she enjoys reading, cooking, and is training for her 2nd marathon in the Spring.
JORDAN PEARSALL, ‘15 Yield Strategy and Monetization Analyst, NBC Sports Group Jordan is a Yield Strategy and Monetization Analyst for the NBC Sports Group in Manhattan. After graduating Hill in 2015, she attended SUNY Cortland, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Economics. Jordan began working with the NBC Sports Group in 2019 and has been there for over two years. Her role includes analyzing and planning the commercial inventory for sports shows such as Sunday Night Football, Notre Dame Football, and Premier League. Jordan also works on tent pole events such as the Olympics, Super Bowl, and World Cup.
SPEECH THERAPY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND PHYSICAL THERAPY Monday, January 10, 2022
SESSION 2
JENNIFER EGLE GENTILE, DPT, ‘92 Physical Therapist with multiple advanced certifications Dr. Jennifer Gentile earned her Bachelor of Science in Comprehensive Science at Villanova University and her Doctorate in physical therapy from New York University. She is certified by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties as a Sports Clinical Specialist and also holds advanced certifications in prenatal, postpartum, and pelvic health physical therapy through the Academy of Pelvic Health of the American Physical Therapy Association. Jennifer is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in the School of Physical Therapy at Kean University, Union, NJ where she teaches musculoskeletal content including pregnancy and pelvic health related concerns. In addition to teaching, Jennifer works as a physical therapist in the Atlantic Health System in New Jersey. Dr. Gentile has been practicing physical therapy for 20 years and her clinical interests include orthopedic and pelvic floor issues in the female athlete.
RACHEL HABER, OTR/L, ‘13 Occupational Therapist Rachel Haber is a licensed and registered occupational therapist who holds a Master’s in occupational therapy from the University of Scranton as well as a Bachelor of Science with a concentration in Human Development. She has worked with individuals in various settings such as neurological rehabilitation for spinal cord and brain injury, outpatient hand therapy, adult vestibular therapy, school-based pediatrics, and
SPEECH THERAPY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND PHYSICAL THERAPY Monday, January 10, 2022
SESSION 2
private practice pediatrics- providing her experience that has offered her a specialized skill set for treating across the lifespan. She is passionate about thinking outside the box to improve the functionality of her treatments to foster occupational engagement and independence of her clients. She has also taken courses to further increase her ability to treat sensory and behavioral dysfunction.
JANINE KIPP, MA, CCC-SLP, '04 Speech Language Pathologist During her time at St. Joseph Hill, Janine volunteered at the Seton Foundation for Learning and observed speech pathologists work with students to improve their speech and language skills. Her passion to help these children led her to a career path in speech pathology. She completed her undergraduate and Master’s program with honors in speechlanguage pathology from Kean University in 2011. She is the supervisor of speech services for the Eden II school programs for students 7-21 years old with autism in Staten Island, NY since 2008. Janine has supervised countless speech interns and also manages the process of new hires at Eden II to ensure they are prepared for a successful experience. Janine has presented on topics at speech conferences and webinars related to the positive effects of naturalistic teaching, promoting spontaneous communication and using technology to increase communication. These topics include using iPad applications to enhance language and social skills to adolescents with autism.
SPEECH THERAPY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND PHYSICAL THERAPY SESSION 2
Monday, January 10, 2022
During her time at Eden, she attended an autism conference in Paris, France that placed an emphasis on applied behavior analysis as well as speech conventions in Chicago, Florida, Boston and Colorado. In addition, Janine works privately as a speech provider for the Department of Education and services individuals with a variety of speech and language disorders while working in their home and community. She is a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association. Janine is highly recognized for her kindness and compassion to individuals with speech and language disorders so they can better connect with others and lead more fulfilling lives.
ANNE MARIE MCDONOUGH, BSN, MPH, FACHE, ‘80 Sr. Director Rehab Medicine, Staten Island University Hospital Anne Marie started her career at the opposite end of the healthcare spectrum for Rehabilitation as a Critical Care Nurse. After completing a Master’s Degree in Public Health /Healthcare Administration from Columbia University, Anne Marie led the Rehabilitation Medicine Department at Staten Island University Hospital; a Level 1 Trauma & Academic Medical Center in the Northwell Health System. The Northwell Rehab service line includes beds at Glen Cove in Long Island and & Phelps Hospital in Westchester. Anne Marie has also served as a Board Member for American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association for the past 6 years and chairs the Denials Committee. Anne Marie resides with her husband of over 30
SPEECH THERAPY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND PHYSICAL THERAPY Monday, January 10, 2022
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years, 3 daughters and grandchildren on Staten Island in New York City. Her interests and hobbies include swimming, tennis and pickle ball. Anne Marie coached the Hill swim team for 25 years and took the team from the bottom of the league to NYC championship titles for 3 years 2016-2019. She retired from SJHA Swim in 2020 with the birth of her grandson.
VICTORIA VALDES, MS, CCC-SLP, TSSLD, '14 Speech-Language Pathologist Victoria is currently working as a licensed speech-language pathologist with The Sensory Studio, a private, family-based medical practice located on Staten Island. She manages a caseload of 30 children of varying ages (10 months to 12 years old), diagnoses, and disorders. She attended Marywood University in Scranton, PA and was enrolled in their 5-year Communication Sciences and Disorders program. She received her Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2017 and her Master’s in Speech-Language Pathology in 2019. During her graduate school clinical experience, Victoria worked in both a public school setting and in an adult rehabilitation center. She has experience working with a variety of diagnoses including but not limited to learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Down’s Syndrome, speech disorders/deficits, language disorders/deficits, sensory processing disorder, and self-regulation and behavior deficits/disorders. Victoria has her
SPEECH THERAPY, OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY AND PHYSICAL THERAPY SESSION 2
Monday, January 10, 2022
Teacher of Students with Speech and Language Disabilities certification and currently holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech Language Hearing Association. She is also first level trained in PROMPT (PROMPTS for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets) and is a firstlevel trained orofacial myologist.
FASHION: E-COMMERCE, DESIGN, MERCHANDISING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Tuesday, February 1, 2022
SESSION 3
ALEXA AMATO, '07 Senior Site Merchandising Manager, Moda Operandi Alexa, a Hilltopper since preschool, graduated from Boston University in 2011 with a degree in Psychology. Alexa interned for a streetwear website Karmaloop in Boston during her senior year at BU, which became a full-time Assistant Buyer position after she graduated. Alexa moved back to New York in 2012 and joined the Buying Leadership Program at Macys.com where she then held a variety of buying positions for nearly four years. Following Macys.com, Alexa joined Moda Operandi, a luxury ecommerce website, as a Site Merchandiser where she is currently the Senior Site Merchandising Manager. She leads a team of three and manages the upload of all new products to the site as well as the visual merchandising of the site. Alexa lived in Brooklyn for about eight years before moving back to Staten Island recently with her husband, seven month old baby boy Hudson, and her Yorkie, Truffle.
AMANDA ROSE BENJAMIN, ‘13 Product Life Cycle Retail Specialist with a focus in Visual Merchandising for Nike Amanda Rose Benjamin is currently a Product Life Cycle Retail Specialist with a focus in Visual Merchandising for Nike at their SOHO Flagship store. After graduating Hill in 2013, Amanda attended Hunter College as a Muse Honors Scholar and completed her Bachelor's Degree in Theater in 2016. She was able to graduate in three years thanks to all the AP and College credits she earned at Hill. While in college, she began working
FASHION: E-COMMERCE, DESIGN, MERCHANDISING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SESSION 3
Tuesday, February 1, 2022 for Nike in 2014 as a sales associate at their Flatiron location which led her to develop a passion for the fashion and retail industry. She earned her Master's Degree in Fashion Merchandising and Retail Management from LIM College in 2018, during which she interned with Halston Private Brands working under the Director of Retail Buying and the Visual Merchandising Manager while she continued working for Nike. Throughout her almost eight years with Nike, she has held multiple positions, such as Visual Merchandiser and Stylist at Nike SOHO, Product Life Cycle Specialist and Operations Specialist at Nike Staten Island. In her current role, Amanda's focus is to lead her team to create product presentations that enhance the consumer journey and tell impactful stories revolving around the brand while driving the retail business. During her time at Hill, Amanda was a member of the Cross Country and Track Team, Hill Singers, Drama Club, and Mock Trial. She is thankful for her experiences at Hill as they helped her develop the skills to handle any obstacle thrown her way and fueled her passions of athletics and art which led her to her career path.
ALYSSA (SARANIERO) MASUCCI, ‘08 Senior Manager of Product Development and Technical Design at Tory Burch Alyssa (Saraniero) Masucci attended LIM College in New York City where she completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fashion Merchandising. During her time at LIM, she spent an entire semester interning at Michael Kors where she landed her first corporate job as an Assistant Production Manager. After her time at Michael Kors, Alyssa switched gears and entered the
FASHION: E-COMMERCE, DESIGN, MERCHANDISING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Tuesday, February 1, 2022
SESSION 3
creative world at Tory Burch where she helped to design and launch Tory Burch's very first sportswear brand, Tory Sport. Alyssa has been working alongside Tory Burch for 8 years now where she has grown into her role as Senior Manager of Product Development and Technical Design. During her time at Tory Burch, Alyssa has built strong cross functional relationships with overseas garment makers and vendors to help create the best possible product for the Tory Burch consumer. She works very closely with Tory to bring these designs to life. Alyssa is very proud to work for Tory Burch and she sees a very strong future for herself there. She lives on Staten Island with her husband, Lee, and son, Elio. She also enjoys cooking and traveling.
DANIELLE PAINO, ‘13 Senior Designer, PepsiCo Design Team Danielle is a Senior Designer currently working on the PepsiCo Design Team. In her role as a designer she gained experience across multiple facets of design including Graphic Design, Packaging Design, Illustration, and Brand Strategy. Danielle has worked across numerous food and beverage brands including TAZO Tea, Pure Leaf, Brisk, and most recently Pepsi Cola. Danielle attended the Fashion Institute of Technology where she earned degrees in Illustration, Graphic Design, and Packaging Design. She graduated from FIT in 2018.
FASHION: E-COMMERCE, DESIGN, MERCHANDISING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT Tuesday, February 1, 2022
SESSION 3
ROSEMARY PAONE, ‘12 operations manager, lululemon Rosemary Paone is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design and Construction (concentration in women’s sportswear). She achieved a double minor in Art History and Italian Language after completing her sophomore and junior year studying abroad at the Politecnico di Milano. Rosemary’s thesis collection was the Critic’s Choice Award Winner at FIT’s Future of Fashion show in 2016. Currently, Rosemary works in New York City for lululemon, managing their in-store alteration departments across the country. In her spare time, Rosemary also does highend tailoring and bridal alterations for private clients and teaches sewing lessons.
CAROLINE VAZZANA, ‘10 Fashion editor, stylist, influencer, and the author and founder of “Making it in Manhattan" Caroline Vazzana is a fashion editor, stylist, influencer, and the author and founder of “Making it in Manhattan.” She began writing “Making it in Manhattan” back in 2015 while working at InStyle magazine, and subsequently launched her brand as one of New York City’s most colorful influencers, sharing her tips and tricks and shedding light on the industry to the future fashion generation.
FASHION: E-COMMERCE, DESIGN, MERCHANDISING AND PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SESSION 3
Tuesday, February 1, 2022 Growing up in New York, Vazzana always had her sights set on the fashion industry in Manhattan. In the summer of 2012, she landed her first internship with Anna Sui and then went on to intern at Marie Claire magazine. In the summer of 2014, Vazzana landed her first “real job” in the industry working at Teen Vogue on the print fashion team. She then decided she wanted to learn more about the digital side of the industry and went on to work at InStyle, where she came up with the idea for “Making It In Manhattan”, the future name of her editorial site and book - an outlet to share her journey, career advice stories, and unique sense of style. Today, aside from running MakingManhattan.com, Vazzana is also involved in a wide range of social media brand collaborations and campaigns where she’s able to lend her unique eye, voice, style, and message to a multitude of brands. In the past she has also styled celebrities for various red-carpet events such as the MTV Video Music Awards, The Tony Awards, and Comicon. Vazzana has also been featured for her unique sense of style on sites such as VOGUE, Elle, Harper's Bazaar and Vanity Fair.