Career Center Advisory Board

Guidelines

The UMassD Employer Advisory Board is a mutually beneficial partnership between the University’s Career Center and key employers in the community. The employer partners gain access to and insights into the UMass Dartmouth student body while providing the Career Center with expertise, experience, and candid feedback. The Board will meet at least twice each year and Board member terms are two years. Members are asked to serve at least one full term to help build community and consistency on campus.

Expectations of Board Members

Attend each Employer Advisory Board meeting or send a proxy.
Post any available jobs and internships that your organization has on our Handshake job board.
Participate in at least one recruiting event per year (career fair or another event).
Be open to conducting presentations to promote your organization and share industry insights with students.
Be open to hosting a site visit, which may include students and faculty.
Provide information and trends about recruitment including recruitment timelines and processes.

What you can expect from the Career Center

Enhancement of your organization’s brand and image with UMass Dartmouth students, faculty, and staff.
Collaboration on recruitment events, such as career fair participation, classroom visits, and on-campus interviews.
Access to key talent for internships and employment opportunities.
Use of recruiting spaces on campus.
Outreach to faculty on behalf of your organization to offer additional campus connections.

Meet our team

Alexa Trainor

Southcoast Health, Educational Partnerships Manager & HR Business Partner

College of the Holy Cross
BA, Sociology & Anthropology
Clemson University
MEd, Counselor Education

Alexa began her career in higher education and student affairs, working in progressive roles at several institutions for nearly 20 years. Over the course of her career in higher education, she lived in five states and worked at six different institutions in various functional areas including Residence Life & Housing, Student Activities, Leadership Development and Orientation, Transition and Retention. In May of 2021, Alexa took a leap of faith and made the career change into Human Resources, working first as an HR Advisor for a local hospital and learning an incredible amount about human resources and the complex world of healthcare during a global pandemic. At the end of 2022 she was given the fantastic opportunity to take on a newly created position at Southcoast Health as the University Relations & Educational Partnerships Manager. This role gave her the opportunity to draw on her newly acquired HR skills and knowledge, while also reconnecting with the world of education and drawing on expertise from her first career. Now in her second year with Southcoast Health, Alexa’s position has transitioned to Educational Partnerships Manager & HR Business Partner. In this hybrid role she continues to collaborate with Southcoast staff and work with secondary and higher education institutions to build talent pipelines and promote the myriad roles and opportunities available within healthcare and at Southcoast Health specifically. She also serves as the HR Business Partner supporting the leaders and staff of several units across the Southcoast Health system including the Tri-Site Emergency Departments, Radiology, Respiratory & Non-Invasive Cardiac Care and Brand & Strategy.

Advice for students: Self-awareness and authenticity are incredibly important qualities for students going into any career field. So much is gained by engaging in meaningful ways in and outside of the classroom during a student’s college experience. But it’s not enough just to get involved, to have lots of student leadership positions and accolades listed on a resume. Students must be able to understand and articulate what they have learned and gained from their involvement, and what unique skills and experiences they can bring to an organization. Sharing specific and succinct examples of how a student has learned and used those skills, and how they will utilize them in the role for which they have applied, will absolutely set a student apart during the interview process.

Andrew Bagley

Fastenal Company, Recruiter/Connector

Keuka College
BASc, Applied Sciences | Business Management, Management & Operations Marketing

Andrew Bagley is a tenured Fastenal employee that has had a robust career with an exciting career path and many roles such as Outside Sales, General Manager, and Lean Solutions. Since January 2022, he has held the role of Regional Recruiter where he helps leadership in the New England Region establish, build, and maintain recruiting sources like UMass Dartmouth. His business acumen was earned through education, training and on the job experience. He is driven by a service approach to leadership and strides to help others build successful business units with an endless supply of talent.

Advice for students: That is simply ONE word: “partnership”. At Fastenal, we believe whole heartily that partnerships are the reason for our success as a business. Being able to work hand in hand with the other employers and the staff at UMass Dartmouth gives us a competitive advantage in scouting and recruiting new talent. We are challenged to learn new trends and exposed to new opportunities to engage with students that enable us to interact with potential future employees to develop our future leaders. Great partnerships are a mutually beneficial opportunity that creates an environment for success for all parties.

Brian LeComte

President/COO, Gold Medal Bakery

Providence College
BS, Accounting

Brian LeComte is President/COO of Gold Medal Bakery, headquartered in Fall River, MA. He is part of the 4-th generation of family ownership of this baked goods manufacturer and distributor. Gold Medal employs over 600 people throughout the United States, with 400 of them residing locally in the Southcoast. The business produces bread, rolls, and English muffins in a high speed bakery, and ships its products (along with 20 other partner bakeries’ goods) fresh across all 50 states. The core values of Caring, Commitment, and Integrity drive its mission to be a family owned and operated company for many generations to come.

Why I serve on the EAB: 99% of the success of our (any) organization is the people that make up our team. Attracting and keeping committed people who care about what they do for their careers is our greatest mission each and every day. If we can help shape the next generation of team members for employers throughout the region, all of our organizations will succeed!

Camille Easton

Blount Fine Foods, Training & Development Coordinator

University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
BA, English
Florida State College at Jacksonville
Associate's degree

To start, I am a UMass alumna. I graduated in 2021 with a BA in English, with a concentration in Literature & Criticism. Within two months of graduating, I secured full-time employment with my current employer, Blount Fine Foods, a large food manufacturing company in Fall River. My current role is Corporate Training & Development Coordinator, which involves wearing many hats. As a T&D Coordinator I oversee several professional development programs and compliance-based training. I am tasked with creating & facilitating training, tracking the progress of training for over 1000 employees, and researching professional development opportunities to help advance the business.

Why I serve on the EAB: I was motivated to join the Career Center Employer Advisory Board because I wanted to contribute and give back to where it all started for me. I feel like UMassD was always very supportive of my endeavors, especially when it came time for me to join the workforce. Bridging the gap between college student and professional for me wasn’t nearly as daunting as I was expecting it to be, and I’d like to help other students feel the same way.

Crystal Tanguay

Recruiting/Staffing Specialist, Naval Undersea Warfare Center

I began my career at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in 2015 as an intern in the HR Department, and my career set sail. A few years later, I decided to align my work with my interests and took on the role of Intern Program Manager, within the Recruitment and Student Outreach Department. I am passionate about helping others learn and grow into their aspirations. Some people spend their entire lives looking for what they want to do. I take pride in guiding folks to find just that. I help these students realize their passion and profession, as scientists and engineers, while supporting our service members, our mission, and our country.

How do you see the Employer Advisory Board fostering stronger connections between UMassD students and potential employers?

The best part of what I do is the engagement with fellow employers, the UMassD staff and Students. The advisory board provides the perfect platform to bring all that together. What we all gain from the advisory board is amazing. Employers get to share best practices and even candidate referrals. The staff gets to strengthen their relationships with us as the employers and refine engagement processes. The students get a more organized, aligned and efficient ability to canvas internships and jobs. It is a win-win for everyone involved and the relationships that are being developed are strong and enduring.

Elizabeth Talerico Roberts

Learning & Development, Product & Operations

Syracuse University – Martin J. Whitman School of Management
BS, Marketing Management & Corporate Finance
Suffolk University
MS, Organizational Learning and Development

Liz has over 15 years of experience in talent development & strategy, recruitment, and leadership with a focus on early in career talent. She currently serves as a Director of Learning & Development for the Products & Operations Team at Dell. In this role she leads a global team that drives Recent Grad demand planning and recruitment, Intern & Full-Time engagement & development as well as top talent leadership programs.

Why I serve on the EAB: I am continually impressed by the energy, enthusiasm and commitment to success that UMassD students bring to the table. I believe there is an opportunity to strengthen the brand of UMassD among local employers as well as further the partnership with Dell Technologies.

Brooke Simeone

Enterprise Mobility, Group Talent Acquisition Manager

Dowling College
BA, Communication and Media Studies

Experienced Talent Acquisition Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the leisure, travel & tourism industry. Skilled in Sales, Team Building, Public Speaking, Leadership, and Marketing. One of our founding values here at Enterprise Mobility is "we work hard, and reward hard work" and my favorite part about Enterprise is the work environment, due to our company culture. I currently am the Group Talent Acquisition Manager for the Southern New England Group here at Enterprise Mobility, where I oversee all the hiring and onboarding of all our new employees – covering 50+ stores.

Advice to students: In your opinion, what are the key skills or qualities that employers look for in recent graduates? Loyalty and resilience. Being loyal to anything; job, a sport, an organization, really goes a long way on a resume. It proves to me as an employer that you are dedicated to your craft, whatever it may be, and are looking to get better and be resilient when changes or adversity occurs. Which leads to me resiliency – if you can prove that you have been “knocked down” and still got up, that is a huge indicator that you are going to do well in the workforce.