ACDA Board Member Introductions - 2011-12

Kerry Sanderson, President, is the Director of Career & Employment Services at GateWay Community College in Phoenix, where she focuses on student & job seeker training, workforce development and community partnerships.   She has over ten years of experience in career services and employment branding, including roles at Jobing.com and Thunderbird School of Global Management. Kerry has her BA in Art History from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Rice University. Kerry lives in Scottsdale with her two children, and all three are avid baseball fans.

Barbara Aarestad, President-Elect, is a Career Counselor/Employment Advisor at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic campus, Barbara has also been active in Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers. Previously, she taught at Concordia College –Moorhead, MN, until appointed to Director of Cooperative Education and Internships, supervising over 350 internship students annually.

Sandy Somers, Past President, has a master’s degree in Community Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing and used the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI) in her thesis to examine personality type and work satisfaction. Fueled by her lifelong interest in career development she transitioned from healthcare to career coaching. She completed the Career Development Facilitator curriculum through the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and is credentialed as an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) through the International Coach Federation (ICF). Sandy currently works in Career Services at Arizona State University, Tempe campus and is a career coach in private practice.

Joyce Donahue, Past President ACDA, and currently serves as Policy Committee chair. Joyce is currently employed as the Career Development Coordinator in the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering Career Center at Arizona State University. She was previously employed at the Business Career Center in the W. P. Carey School of Business.  Joyce has worked at ASU since 1996 as an academic advisor, internship coordinator and career coach. Prior to moving to Arizona, Joyce worked as a community college counselor in New Jersey. In her “former life”, she worked for Eastern Airlines – as a reservations agent, supervisor, trainer and sales coach.  It was the experience of a hostile corporate takeover that led her to graduate school and the world of Career Development Professionals.

Joyce has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA; a Master of Education Counseling Psychology from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies Counseling Psychology from Ottawa University, Phoenix, AZ. Joyce is a National Certified Counselor and a National Certified Career Counselor. She is a member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers and holds Master Career Counselor membership status with the National Career Development Association. Joyce has served on the ACDA Executive Board since 1996.

Doug DeVoe, Treasurer, has been a career professional for the past 30 years in both the private and public sectors. He is a recently retired Career Specialist from Arizona State University where he worked with students individually on a number of career related issues. He also facilitated workshops on various topics such as resume writing, interviewing and job search strategies. Doug has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish with a certification to teach secondary education from Wright State University and a Master of Counseling degree from Arizona State University. He has lived in Tempe for the past 34 years.

Korrie Gernert , Secretary, is the Program Coordinator for Recruiting Services at Arizona State University’s Tempe campus.  Korrie has been with ASU since February of 2011.  Besides a brief stint working in administration at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon, the bulk of her professional career has been spent in the hospitality industry in Scottsdale as a Corporate Event Planner and Hotel Sales & Marketing Manager. Korrie has her BS in Recreation & Tourism from ASU and is looking forward to beginning work on her Masters degree in August 2011.  Korrie lives for St. Louis Cardinal baseball, traveling, running and reading.  She lives in Tempe with her husband.

Diana Potapenko, Membership, has become an expert in the career transition industry with several years of experience in helping individuals find the right educational opportunities, make informed career choices, and efficiently job search. As a Maricopa Community Colleges representative for the Maricopa Workforce Connection One-Stop Career Centers in the valley, she assists clients in finding and obtaining government training dollars and conducts workshops such as, Financial Aid, Career Pathways, and Career Search Tools. Diana is also a speaker for the City of Phoenix, Community and Economic Development Department. Her topics include resume writing, effectively using the internet to job search, and social networking. In pursuing her passion for the study of history, she also teaches Western Civilization courses at Mesa Community College as an adjunct professor.

Virginia Chomiak, Past VP ACDA-Southern Region and currently serves as the Communications/Technology Chair and ACDA webmaster. Virginia was recently certified as a Career Development Facilitator Instructor (CDFI), and is a member of the National Career Development Association (NCDA) and the NCDA CDF Instructor Registry. She managed the Career Center at Pima Community College’s Downtown campus for five years specializing in Career Information Systems and is currently working as a Curriculum Coordinator for Pima Community College. Virginia graduated from the University of Arizona with a B.S. in Home Economics and a Master of Public Administration specializing in Public Management. Virginia has served on the ACDA Executive Board since 2005.

Maryjo Douglas Zunk, MA, MBA, past President ACDA. Maryjo has been a career consultant and specialist and academic advisor with Arizona State University for the 12 years she’s been in the Phoenix Valley. As a member of ACDA since 1996 she has served as Secretary, Treasurer, Membership and Program Chair. Maryjo has combined her counseling and business education, presentation and management experience, creative talents, and service-orientation to assist graduates, students and job seekers in transition successfully achieve their goals.

Karen E. Lamb, (Kaye) is the Assistant Director of Career Advising and Curriculum for Arizona State University Career Services on the Tempe campus. She is also the Past President of the Arizona Career Development Association (ACDA) and an active member of University Career Women.

Before coming to Arizona State University, Kaye was the Director of Career Services at Elgin Community College (ECC) and two-time President of the ECC Chapter, American Association for Women in Community College (AAWCC). She also worked as a consultant for Women Employed where she served as the head writer of a career development curriculum, Strategies for Success. The Strategies for Success manual was designed to assist instructors and service providers who work with adult learners in the process of choosing a career, changing careers, or selecting an educational concentration.

Kaye holds a BA in Speech Communication from Valparaiso University (IN), a MA in Communication Education and Training from the University of Maryland, and a MS in Industrial Relations from Loyola University of Chicago. She is certified as a Global Career Development Facilitator and is an active member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and the National Career Development Association (NCDA).