About Us

Michelle Ponce
Director

Michelle Ponce is the Director of Career and Professional Development at Claremont Graduate University. She has led her career as a visionary leader with an eclectic style of engaging career professionals through individualized career self discovery and self journey. Her goal is to envision and implement innovative strategies to enlighten life-long learners. She is energetic and creative with a unique ability to influence and integrate collaboration between internal and external stakeholders.

She has dedicated her career to coaching and guiding students and alumni towards exploring and engaging in their career journeys. Her roles have included Assistant Dean and Director positions within Southern California. In addition, Michelle is a career expert recognized nationally and regionally via professional committees and various executive roles. She authored a chapter in the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) book, “Cases in Career Services: A Working Guide for Practitioners, Engaging Adult Learners Toward Their Career Journey” as well as articles and references to support the career services industry.

She is driven by her life philosophy “It’s not what you do in life, but who you are to others”.

Michelle holds a Master of Arts in Counseling from Chapman University, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from California State University, Fullerton, and an Associate of Arts from Marymount College.

Ro Lee
Associate Director

Ro Lee is an Associate Director of Career and Professional Development at Claremont Graduate University, offering career development and professional partnership opportunities. His prior experience includes policy development in nonprofits working with underrepresented populations, heading pro bono programs for large firms in New York and spearheading employment efforts for international education companies as a Program Manager of Southern California. “I believe that Career Development is an extremely valuable resource for those seeking a return on their educational investment and should be a mandatory skillset all students should learn to advance their personal growth.” In addition to his career in academia, he has practiced law in the areas of litigation and immigration. He has taught and served students at UC Riverside, Rio Hondo College, Korea University, and is an adjunct professor at the Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law.

Ro earned a JD from St. John’s University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the State University of New York, Stony Brook.

Debra Nasipak
Associate Director

Debra Nasipak is an Associate Director of Career and Professional Development at Claremont Graduate University, offering career and professional development opportunities. With over thirteen years of experience in higher education, Nasipak has specialized in guiding both international and domestic graduate students through admissions and program management processes. Prior to her tenure in academia, Nasipak leveraged her expertise in financial and administrative roles across both for-profit and nonprofit sectors, honing her skills in business budgeting, financial reporting, and strategic planning.

Committed to a student-centered approach to career strategy, Nasipak serves as a passionate advocate for students, fostering a welcoming environment for students, alumni, and colleagues alike. Through initiatives in team engagement, mentor development, staff relations, cultural competency, and diversity, she cultivates an inclusive atmosphere that empowers individuals to thrive professionally.

Nasipak earned her Master of Arts in Management and Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Azusa Pacific University. When she’s not guiding students in their career journeys, she enjoys savoring good food and wine in the company of friends.

Ciara Hernandez
Digital Marketing & Communications Specialist

Ciara Hernandez is a doctoral student, pursuing a PhD in social psychology. She currently manages Dr. Michael Hogg’s Social Identity Laboratory. Ciara serves in honorary roles as a member and former Chair of the Social Socials Committee and as the Social Psychology Representative of the Psi Chi International Honors Society. Ciara’s personal research interests include the social psychological underpinnings of geopolitical current events, international conflict resolution, and diplomacy. She recently interned at President Carter’s Carter Center in the Conflict Resolution Program, in this role she researched the Israel-Palestine conflict. In her free time Ciara loves to read Shakespeare and watch the sitcom Frasier. She is a recent graduate from the University of California, Irvine, where her academic focus was cognitive neuroscience.

Katja Crusius
Data and Analytics Specialist

Katja Crusius is an international student from Germany, currently pursuing her PhD in Information Systems and Technology at Claremont Graduate University with a focus in IT Innovation and Design. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science from Georg-August University Göttingen along with a Master of Science in Information Systems from Long Beach State. She has served as Vice President for Association for Information Systems and for Beta Alpha Psi, an international honor society. She is excited to give back to the community and advocate for her fellow students and make a meaningful impact in the Information Systems industry while playing an active part in shaping the future through the opportunities of cutting-edge technology.

In her free time she likes traveling and exploring new places, hiking, playing tennis and skiing. She is an alumna of Zeta Tau Alpha which promotes Breast Cancer Education and Awareness, where she volunteers and helps to organize events.

Fabiana Memmolo
Peer Career Consultant 

Fabiana Memmolo is an international student from Italy, currently pursuing her Ph.D. student in Positive Organizational Psychology at Claremont Graduate University. Fabiana is an executive coach passionate about integrating positive psychology research and coaching skills. She aims to help her clients to thrive personally and professionally. Passion, vision, and commitment have been the driving forces behind her 15+ years of expertise in leadership consulting and academic research across Europe and the USA. She has worked with small enterprises, fast-paced international companies, and not-for-profit sectors. She works with various clients, including managers, directors, and high-potential individuals with diverse social and cultural backgrounds. Her ultimate objective is to empower her clients to achieve personal and professional fulfillment, enabling them to reach their full potential and emerge as visionary leaders.

Her approach focuses on

• identifying the client’s unique career needs and aspirations,
• defining clear, achievable career objectives,
• developing essential skills such as networking, communication, and personal branding.

Through her guidance, individuals have experienced personal and professional transformation, resulting in job satisfaction and career progress.

William Liu
Peer Career Consultant 

William is pursuing his PhD in Organizational Behavior at CGU. His research interests are how applicant reactions and fair recruiting process impact employee engagement and performance. He brings 20+ years of experiences as a senior human resources practitioner with US firms including GE, IBM and Russell Investment, and  also heads an executive search firm in Japan since 2015, facilitating multinational company recruitment of bilingual senior managers and professionals.

William truly believes in lifetime learning and challenges. His approach incorporated a combination of mentoring and coaching, leveraging his expertise of both sides of recruiting and staffing. and is a certified coach (ACC) by International Coach Federation (ICF). William has received an MBA from Booth School of Business at University of Chicago, and is trilingual (Mandarin, Japanese and English).