Yale Day of Service: Career Panel
Panelist bios:
Arlana Agiliga A Talent Acquisition Manager at Better.com, Arlana Agiliga has been with the company since February 2017. When she first joined, the org was about 125 people and today numbers 2000+. Being on the front lines of recruiting for a high growth startup has given her the opportunity to learn in depth not only about the field of recruiting, but also about the strategy and operations of scaling a business. Prior to joining Better, she worked briefly as a Legal Assistant in the Financial Restructuring Group at law firm Milbank Tweed. In her spare time, Arlana enjoys listening to podcasts, watching the Bon Appétit YouTube channel, and indulging in the best donuts New York city has to offer. Arlana was a resident of Saybrook, and graduated from Yale in 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy.
Paige Curtis Paige Curtis is a Management Consulting Analyst with Vantage Partners, where her work spans the firm's Outsourcing and R&D Alliances practices. Her recent projects have included working with two global biopharmas to optimize a contract manufacturing relationship amidst significant capacity constraints and regulatory changes in Latin America, and supporting a large life sciences organization's post-merger integration and transformation. Prior to joining Vantage Partners, Paige was an Associate at Bigelow Tea where she led special projects for the Vice President of Corporate Responsibility. She also spent two years in the Rotational Leadership Program at Optoro, Inc, a supply chain technology startup based in Washington D.C. where she worked in four departments supporting the company's mission to extend the life cycle of returned and excess goods in the reverse supply chain, including supporting change management initiatives in data stewardship and talent management. Paige earned her Master's in Environmental Management and her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Sciences, both from Yale University.
Melinda C. Finberg Melinda C. Finberg is an associate professor of theatre practice in critical studies at the University of Southern California School of Dramatic Arts. She is a nationally known dramaturg and scholar of theatre history. Her volume Eighteenth-Century Women Dramatists (Oxford University Press, 2001) is now in its third printing and is taught in colleges and universities across the U.S., Canada and Europe. This anthology opened college classrooms to historical women playwrights by giving teachers and students access to authoritative, annotated editions of plays that had previously been available only in rare books libraries. In addition, she has been instrumental in bringing the plays of these women to professional and university stages, receiving the 2006 Elliot Hayes Award for Achievement in Dramaturgy from the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA) for her work on the 2005 Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s critically acclaimed revival of Hannah Cowley’s The Belle’s Stratagem. She has taught at Swarthmore College, Princeton University, Rider University, and been a guest lecturer at University of Puget Sound, Yale and Princeton Universities.
Charles Gates Charles Gates is a Managing Director at eDelta Consulting, Inc. and has over 40 years’ experience in investment and commercial banking, derivatives, foreign exchange, capital markets, hedge funds, and credit, market and operational risk management consulting. He acts as an expert witness in these fields. As a consultant and trainer, he has served clients such as JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Alliance Bernstein, Wells Fargo, Barclays, Citadel, Prudential, Suisse Re, Banco Itau, Bank of China, CICC, Nordea, Bank Leumi, First Gulf Bank, SEC, FFIEC, SIFMA, FINRA, FCA and NYSSA. He has been a career coach at Columbia Business School since the inception of its coaching program. He has an active coaching practice for both MBA students, alumni, and others seeking to accelerate their career or transition from one career path to another.Mr. Gates began his career as a multinational credit officer for Citibank, after which he became a founder of Citi’s derivatives business. He completed many “first time” derivatives transactions for Citi, including its first interest rate swap in the United States, its first interest rate swap option, and helped the World Bank develop its swap program. Subsequently, he was global head and founder of First Chicago’s currency swap business, SG Warburg’s international private placement and gold advisory, and Rabobank’s credit derivatives business, completing over $12 billion in credit derivative transactions. Mr. Gates served as Co-Head of the Credit Risk Management practice of Deloitte & Touche, was a Senior Vice President and Head of Learning & Development at Financial Risk Management, (a global fund of hedge funds), and a Managing Director at Grammer and Co., an international credit consultancy.Mr. Gates is a member of GARP, FIASI, CMCAS, RMA and ATD. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School in Finance, and a BA from Yale in Sociology.
Stephanie Heyer Stephanie Heyer is the Founder and Managing Partner of SG Hudson Associates. Prior to starting SG Hudson, Stephanie spent 7 years as Director of Recruiting at Long Ridge Partners building out their Marketing, Investor Relations and Quantitative Recruiting Team. Stephanie’s responsibilities included sourcing and recruiting individuals for Quantitative Research and Investment positions, Fund Raising, Investor Relations, Investor Services and Client Service related roles. She has completed numerous searches for both Hedge Funds, Asset Managers and Banks across a broad array of investment strategies including Long/Short Equity, Quantitative, Distressed, Structured Credit and Global Macro. Prior to joining Long Ridge Partners, Stephanie had a successful career in Residential Real Estate Sales in Northern New Jersey and was a recognized as a regional leader in completing high end transactions. Stephanie has a BA in Business from Ramapo College.
Heather Kim Heather Kim Degenhardt S. is an accomplished hospitality veteran with extensive management experience. Throughout her 25-years in industry, she's worked at McDonald’s, Ocean Reef Club, Marriott Corporation, Ritz Carlton, and Hyatt Hotels within operations. Heather has been a human resources professional for the last fifteen years, and is currently the Assistant Director of Human Resources for the Yale Club of New York City. She is driven to use her position, networks, and career experience to give back towards the betterment of others. She aims to help clear the path for the next generation of leadership within her industry. Under the non-profit, The Palaver Project, she will be publishing her first book. It will feature her 25-year career bio entitled, The H Guide. The book will be turned into a lecture series for college students to get real about the real world and be presented to underserved populations to help find their way forward. Heather is a member of SHRM, ATD, The National Diversity Council, and The New York Diversity Council. She is a proud Toastmaster for the past 11 years and this is her twelfth year volunteering with a Yale Day of Service event.