Employer Perspectives: Indigenous Professionals in the Workplace

Dawn Mikalatos, Career Specialist, Purdue University Global

Dawn Mikalatos, career specialist for Purdue University Global, is a co-lead for the Individuals Serving & Recruiting Indigenous & TCU Students Affinity Groups. Prior to joining Purdue in 2021, she served as a WIOA youth workforce specialist for Arapahoe/Douglas Works and as a career adviser at Pacific Lutheran University. She holds a master's degree in leadership in higher education from University of Washington and earned her bachelor's degree from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Robin Darmon, Director Eastin Center for Career Readiness, Oklahoma State University - Career Services

Robin Darmon is the senior director of the Career Development Center at the University of San Diego. Prior to USD, she served as the director of M.B.A. Career Connections at the Rady School of Management at the University of California, San Diego. She is a co-lead for the Individuals Serving & Recruiting Indigenous & TCU Students Affinity Group.

Fedora Hunsaker, Sr. Talent Acquisition Analyst, The Vanguard Group

Fedora Hunsaker is a senior talent acquisition analyst leading Vanguard’s early talent sourcing strategy through virtual tools, analytics, and technologies, including Handshake. She manages Vanguard’s relationship with all Arizona universities and several key schools in the western United States. She supports engagement and partnerships that are aligned to attraction efforts with Indigenous communities. She is a member of the Navajo Nation (Near Water Clan, born for the Salt People Clan). She graduated from Grand Canyon University and currently pursuing her Master of Science in Leadership. Originally from New Mexico, she began her career in Real Estate Sales as an Associate Broker and then continued into the mortgage industry where she took an interest in personal finance and investments. Currently, she holds FINRA licenses in Series 7, 63, and 66. She transitioned to Human Resources due to her enjoyment of working with people and desiring to be a key driver in Vanguard’s emerging talent strategy and initiatives.

Angie Soderberg, Senior Campus Recruiter & Diversity Outreach Specialist, Barr Engineering Co.

Angie Soderberg is the senior campus recruiter and diversity outreach specialist at Barr Engineering Co, an employee-owned engineering and environmental consulting firm headquartered in Minneapolis. Barr Engineering Co. has 22 offices throughout the United States and Canada and more than 1,100 + employees. Soderberg's core functions include building relations with partners in K-12, higher education, and workforce development organizations. She also helps to facilitate the Barr internship and co-op program, corporate education giving, and K-12 STEM outreach within Barr's office locations. Prior to joining Barr Engineering Co, she spent the majority of her career working in higher education, including more than 18 years of working in experiential learning. She hold's a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Minnesota Duluth and master’s in education from Portland State University in Portland, OR.