Thank you for making Career Night a resounding success!
On behalf of the entire PFA Executive Board, we would like to extend a heartfelt "Thank you!" to the many students, parents, NCHS administrators and staff, community members, and panelists who came together to make last night's Career Night a resounding success!
This beloved biennial event is an incredible opportunity for our students to hear directly from professionals working in careers they’re considering, gain valuable insights into many different industries, and ask questions that will help shape their academic and professional paths. We were so impressed with the enthusiastic participation of our students, whose curiosity and thoughtful questions made the event so meaningful!
Organizing an event of this magnitude truly takes a village. We would especially like to thank the following people:
NCHS National Honor Society Students
Parent Volunteers
Jayne Benton
Jeff Boulanger
Krista Colthup
Ally Dunlap
Julie Kim
Andrea Matthews
Geri Mohr
Julie O'Brien Deasy
Joe Sclafani
Sarah Wrede
NCHS Administrators & Staff
Principal Bill Egan
Asst. Principal Ari Rothman
Sue Carroll
Mary Cognetta
Kelly DelMazio
Cindy Rivera
Custodial Staff
Food Services
Campus Monitors
Tony Psenicnik
Charles Loomis
And last, but certainly not least, we are grateful for the dedication and generosity of the more than 60 PANELISTS and 20 MODERATORS who devoted several hours of their time on a work night to share their experiences and expertise! They are:
Advertising & Marketing
Moderator: Sapna Shah
Panelists:
Page Jones (Condé Nast)
Diana Takach (Gorilla Commerce)
Kate Williams (Kayak)
Arax-Rae Van Buren (Hilton)
Advocacy & Community Development
Moderator: Anne Wagner
Panelists:
Colleen Prostor (New Canaan CARES)
Meg Soffen (New Canaan Community Foundation)
Architecture & Design
Moderator: Tia Whinery
Panelists:
Jane Beiles (Jane Beiles Photography)
Christa Carr (The Glass House)
Michelle Morgan Harrison (Morgan Harrison Home)
James Schettino (James Schettino Architects)
Building & Engineering
Moderator: Liz Orelup
Panelists:
Rob Frangione (Frangione Engineering LLC)
Tiger Mann (Director of Public Works, Town of New Canaan)
Joe Schinella (Arena Development)
Business Management
Moderator: Tom Benton
Panelists:
Ann Dunn (Whitman Breed Abbott and Morgan LLC)
Glen Messina (Onity Group, Inc.)
Nancy O'Connor (Generative Investment Partners LP)
Roxanne O'Hara (Horizon Group USA)
Culinary Arts
Moderator: Silvia Baldini
Panelists:
Jess Bengtson (Executive Chef, Terrain)
Anna Gass (TV Host/Chef/Cookbook Author)
Stephanie Webster (Editor-In-Chief, CTbites)
Directing, Filmmaking & Production
Moderator: Elizabeth DeMuth
Panelists:
Claire Ayoub (Try Anyway Productions LLC)
David Cox (Strategist/Creative Director/Writer/Producer/Editor)
Allega Libonati (Freelance Director)
Education
Moderator: Julie Schlafman
Panelists:
Sarah Breznen (Woodcock Nature Center)
Anthony Carpi (John Jay College of Criminal Justice)
Kemen Holley (NCPS)
Ben Young (NCPS)
Fashion & Design
Moderator: Emma Dunlap
Panelists:
Tyler Böe Drexler (Tyler Böe)
Michelle Ferrante Walsh (Ralph Lauren)
Emilie Rubinfeld (Carolina Herrera)
Finance
Moderator: Patricia Sclafani
Panelists:
Cori Aleardi (Elevate Beauty)
John DiMarco (Igneo Infrastructure Partners)
Faraz Farzaneh (FactSet)
Rupesh Shah (Accordion)
Government & Public Administration
Moderator: Erica Schwedel
Panelists:
Lucy Dathan (CT State Representative)
Amy Murphy Carroll (New Canaan Selectwoman)
Phil Hogan (New Canaan Board of Education)
Journalism & Media
Moderator: Eileen Murphy
Panelists:
Mike Dinan (The NewCanaanite)
Marcy Jones (WFSB News Hartford)
Megan Schinella (Digital Content Creator/Podcaster/Writer)
Legal
Moderator: Natalie Plosker
Panelists:
Alexis Brooks (Lampert Toohey & Rucci, LLC)
Bonny Plosker (Henkel Corporation)
Meg Walsh (Grace Farms)
Mental Health/Wellness
Moderator: Betty Cavanaugh
Panelists:
Natalie Gould, NBC-HWC (Dr. Katie/Simply Well with Natalie)
Sarah Handler, NP (Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner)
Lauren Parsio, LPC (Psychotherapy, private practice)
Rachel Tomsky, LCSW (Clinical Social Work/Therapy, private practice)
Nursing
Moderator: Rosanne Casey, MSN, RN, CNL
Panelists:
Julie Costella, DNP, FNP-BC
Courtney Coutts, BSN, RN
Sam Rivera, RN
Public Service & Law Enforcement
Moderator: Lisa Jakovic
Panelists:
Albe Bassett (New Canaan Fire Department)
Dawn Doak (Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York)
Lauren Freeland (New Canaan Fire Department)
Jeff Rzasa (United Airlines/Retired Marine Corps Pilot)
Sound, Story & Cinematic Vision
Moderator: Michelle Riley
Panelists:
Sloan Alexander (Composer, Sound Designer & Creative Director)
Vidyut Latay (UX Designer & Documentary Filmmaker)
John Murphy (NBC Universal Media, LLC)
Specialty Healthcare
Moderator: Clara Hansen
Panelists:
Dr. Agnes DiGiacomo, Au.D. (Audiologist, Ear, Nose & Throat Center LLP)
Dr. Valerie Klats, MD (Neurologist, Hartford HealthCare Headache Center & Assistant Professor of Neurology, University of Connecticut School of Medicine)
Dr. Yogangi Malhotra, MD (Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine: Associate Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine & Director of Informatics, Department of Pediatrics, NYCHH/Jacobi Medical Center)
Dana Surena-Mattson, MA, CCC-SLP, COM (Speech-Language Pathologist and Certified Orofacial Myologist, private practice)
Sports Industry
Moderator: Jim Huetter
Panelists:
Ben Hoffhine (Westchester Country Club)
Matt Nussbaum (Major League Baseball Players Association)
Dan Robertson (NBC Olympics)
Technology
Moderator: Stacey Harmon
Panelists:
Jason Cohen (Amazon)
Andy Mank (Illumio)
Jessica Peterson (Google)
Rich Riley (CEO & Entrepreneur)
Again, thank you so much for helping to make last night such an incredible event for everyone who participated! The PFA looks forward to continuing this tradition in 2027.
Best,
Heather Boulanger and Tara Schneberger
Career Night 2025 Co-Chairs
