2022-23 NACE Board of Directors

Prior to joining the NACE staff, VanDerziel was with the Field Museum, where he most recently served as chief human resources officer and as chief of staff for the 85-member Board of Trustees, driving strategic priorities and goals and delivering innovative solutions to enhance the overall museum experience for visitors, nearly 700 volunteers, 500 staff members, and 200 interns. His 23 years with the museum included experiences leading strategy, people, volunteers, marketing, educational programming, and technology functions.

Earlier roles included a corporate recruiting position with Norrell Corporation and a position in higher education as associate director of student enrollment at National Louis University.

VanDerziel also served as a volunteer leader on the NACE Board of Directors, including as vice president-employer (2004 – 2006) and as president-elect, president, and past-president (2008 – 2011). He also contributed to NACE and the membership in other capacities, serving as chair and facilitator for the task force that revised the Principles for Ethical Professional Practice, chairing the inaugural Advocacy Advisory Committee, and facilitating the development of NACE’s strategic plan. In 2014, he was inducted into the NACE Academy of Fellows in recognition of his contributions to the profession.

VanDerziel is a senior professional in human resources through the HR Certification Institute and is a senior certified professional through the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Dr. Guerrero served as NACE Vice-President, co-chaired our association’s 2015 Conference & Expo, co-chaired the Ambassador Program Committee, and was a member of the Sourcing and Nomination Committee and the Graduate Student Membership Task Force. In addition, he took part in the Leadership Advancement Committee and is a 2014 graduate of NACE’s Management Leadership Institute.

Dr. Guerrero was named NACE’s Mentor of the Year in 2015 and earned a NACE Innovation Excellence Award in Global Initiatives in 2010. Additionally, he has co-authored articles for the NACE Journal and regularly presents on a range of topics, including emerging technologies and leadership.

Dr. Guerrero earned his doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Southern California, a master’s in higher education administration from NYU, and an undergraduate degree from San Francisco State University.

Before joining Cigna in 2018, Pallante served as the early career recruitment and programs leader for Aramark, where she was instrumental in establishing an enterprise-wide recruitment strategy that identified collegiate talent for Aramark’s management training program. She has also held recruitment leadership roles at PPD, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline, and Unisys.

As an active member of NACE for more than 25 years, Pallante’s volunteer service has included Vice President & Director – Employer, along with numerous strategic committees and task forces, such as Strategic Positioning of Career Services, Career Readiness Competencies, Conference Committee, Communities of Practice, and Honors & Awards, to name a few.

Pallante holds a B.S. in communications from Kutztown University.

Ong is active in NACE and has served on a number of committees and task forces, including, most recently, the NACE 2019 Conference Planning Committee, where he served as co-chair. He also served on the Finance and Audit, Sourcing and Nomination, Honors and Awards, and Membership Ambassador committees among others. Ong also served as vice president – employer to the NACE Board from 2014 through 2016. In addition, Ong serves as a NACE mentor, has blogged for the association, and has presented programming at NACE’s annual conference.

This year, on behalf of the NACE Board, he will provide support to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and three NACE Affinity Groups: LGBTQ & Allies, Individuals Serving/Recruiting Students With Disabilities; and Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

Ong earned his bachelor’s degree from University of Richmond.

Blocker served as a member of the NACE Board from 2018 through 2020 and on the Honors and Awards committee, as well as co-chair of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Affinity group. This year, he will provide support on behalf of the Board to the HBCU and STEM NACE Affinity Groups.

Blocker holds a bachelor’s degree from Clemson University and earned a master’s in human resources from Cornell University.

Harding served as a college director on the NACE Board of Directors as well as a co-chair for the Career Readiness Competencies Task Force, the 21st Century Career Center Task Force, and the New Member’s Committee for the NACE Conference. He is a recent recipient of NACE’s Mackes Leadership Award.

Harding is the co-founder of the annual Institution-Wide Competency Symposium and consults and presents often on career readiness competency development. He co-authored a chapter on career competencies in the book, Advancing Talent Development: Steps Toward a T-Model Infused Undergraduate Education.

Harding earned his master’s in education from Indiana University and an undergraduate degree from Anderson University. He also completed a certificate in student affairs policy and law at the Stetson University College of Law.

Prior to taking on this role, Giordano served in a leadership capacity overseeing university relations, campus diversity, campus marketing, and several early insight programs. She created and partnered with the businesses in introducing the HBCU Innovation & Leadership Symposium, which focused on celebrating the HBCU experience and provided coaching and leadership skills to students.

Giordano’s involvement with NACE includes serving as co-chair to the People of Color Affinity Impact Team; member of the 2019-2020 Inclusion, Equity, and Affinity Committee; panel member during the 2020 NACE Connect Virtual Experience; panel member of the NACE’s HBCU Summit Bridging College to Employment; and mentor in the NACE Mentor Program.

Giordano earned her bachelor’s degree at Pace University.

Hall served NACE as co-chair of the Conference Committee and co-chaired the Inclusion Committee. She also served as a member of the Employer Membership Task Force and the NACE Promise of Value Task Force. Additionally, Hall served as a member of the NACE Executive Director Search Committee.

Hall earned her B.S. in marketing from Indiana University and her M.B.A. from Pepperdine University, and she is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in educational leadership and cultural studies at UNC Greensboro.

Jackson’s NACE involvement includes co-chairing the 2019 Conference Program Committee as well as serving as a member on the Honors and Awards Committee, Inclusion Committee, Future of Skill Development and Hiring Task Force, and First Destination Task Force. He also received the 2017 NACE/Spelman Johnson Rising Star Award for his contributions to the NACE organization and career services field.

Jackson received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bradley University. He also holds a master’s degree in clinical psychology with a counseling specialization from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.

Kho has worked across multiple industries, holding national and global leadership roles with JPMorgan, Heidrick & Struggles, BP, and KPMG.

Prior to the career shift into corporate recruiting, Kho served in higher education administration roles at Fordham University and Michigan State University.

Lowe currently serves as the chair of the employability group for Universitas 21, a global consortium of 28 research-intensive universities from 18 countries. He is also an active member of the Big East Career Center Consortium, the North East Career Center Directors Forum, and the Connecticut Career Center Consortium.

Lowe is a frequent guest speaker and panelist for various local and national organizations, speaking on issues related to the support, development, and employment of the college-educated workforce.

In the past, he has served on the NACE University Engagement Committee and was recently the chair of the EACE Pre-Conference Committee.

Lowe earned his bachelor’s degree from Fairfield University, is a Certified Career Management Professional, and is certified in multiple individual and 360 organizational tools.

Dr. Smith regularly partners with Academic Affairs on student success-related projects, such as working on elevating high-impact practices for students, helping oversee the division's first diversity strategic plan, and leading the creation of the Common Read program, now going into its third year.

She currently serves on the boards of the Ross Park Zoo and study abroad company CEA, and recently co-chaired the NACE Strategic Positioning of Career Services Task Force. Other NACE involvement includes co-chairing the NACE Professional Standards Task Force, serving as a NACE Ambassador and blogger, being a NACE LAP participant, and serving as a member of the initial First Destination Survey Task Force. Dr. Smith also co-chaired the 2018 Global Career Services Summit in Newcastle, United Kingdom. Additionally, she has conducted numerous presentations and published within the field, including serving as editor for two Wiley New Directions books related to career services.

Inspired by being a Pell-grant recipient and first-generation college student herself, Dr. Smith created the first campus pantry at UNL and its first internship scholarship program, and she helped champion the creation of Binghamton’s B-First mentoring program. Under her leadership, graduate career outcomes metrics exceeded the campus strategic planning goal three years early and the Fleishman Center has won numerous state, national, and global awards, including the top “Exemplary Career Center” award granted by NCDA.

Dr. Smith holds a master’s degree from Indiana University-Bloomington and a Ph.D. in leadership studies from UNL.

Vaidian worked in higher education for more than a decade and was previously the director of career services at Pace University in New York.

Wagner was promoted to Enterprise’s Corporate Headquarters in 2019 to help direct the North American talent acquisition strategy for operating groups within the U.S. operations. Most recently, she was promoted to lead the talent acquisition, generalist, and talent development functions of the Northeast operations of Enterprise.