Advisory Council

Ian Sladen is Drexel University’s Vice President of Cooperative Education and Career Development, overseeing the Steinbright Career Development Center. As one of the region’s premiere providers of talent, Drexel’s cooperative education program assists over 5500 students with obtaining six-month work experiences at over 1500 companies annually.  

Prior to this role, Ian was the associate dean and one of the founders of Drexel’s Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship. As Associate Dean, Ian assisted in curriculum development for the School’s BA and MS degrees in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and helped the Close School achieve top #25 national ranking by the Princeton Review/Entrepreneur within five years of its founding. 

For a decade, Ian served as the Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Programs for Drexel’s Bennett S. LeBow College of Business and was responsible for all undergraduate student support services including academic advising, career services, recruitment, co-curricular engagement and freshmen business studies. Ian helped LeBow’s undergraduate program achieve top 50 national ranking from BusinessWeek. He began his career working in admissions for Bunker Hill Community College in Boston, MA before moving to Drexel’s admissions office in 1999. 

Ian’s holds a BA in Psychology from Stonehill College in Easton, MA and an MS in Applied Educational Psychology from Northeastern University in Boston, MA. 

Patrick Wallace is a proud Scarlet Raptor, Rutgers-Camden class of 2002, and currently serves as the Associate Director of the Campus Center & Student Involvement, responsible for directly supervising the day-to-day operations of the Campus Center, conference services, student activities, and fraternity and sorority affairs. Patrick also serves as the advisor to the Rutgers University-Camden Student Governing Association (RUCSGA), a body that represents the University’s undergraduate student population. Patrick has been a student affairs professional for close to twenty years, during which time he has been a member of the Association of College Unions International (ACUI), serving in various regional positions and presenting at regional conferences. 

ACUI’s motto of “Advance Campus Community” is at the core of Patrick’s professional identity. Patrick believes the individual, personal development of students through co-curricular engagement, and the willingness of individuals to question, challenge, and learn from one another, is what leads to creating more inclusive, diverse, and equitable communities on college campuses and beyond. 

Patrick Wallace was born in South Philadelphia, moved to South Jersey during middle school and currently resides in Delaware County, PA with his wife, three children, and four chickens. He loves punk rock and continues to infuse its DIY ethics in his role as a university administrator. 

Dayna Levy currently serves as Director of Career & Professional Development at Bryn Mawr College.  Prior to joining Bryn Mawr in 2014, Dayna worked in career services at 3 other institutions: Jefferson University, St. Joseph’s University, and Quinnipiac College (now University).  Dayna earned a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development from Binghamton University in upstate New York, a Master’s degree in College Counseling & Student Affairs Administration from the University of Delaware, and a Doctoral degree in Higher Education Administrative Leadership from Widener University.  Dayna also has earned the LPC (Licensed Professional Counselor) credential.  

It was during her undergraduate years that Dayna identified her career goal of working in higher ed/student affairs, holding roles such as Orientation Leader, Resident Assistant, and Career Peer Assistant.  A first-generation college student who worked all through college, and as the oldest sibling in her family, Dayna is passionate about sharing knowledge to help others navigate college and career opportunities. In her day-to-day work, Dayna is particularly enthusiastic about assessment and the practice of disaggregating data to examine patterns and identify opportunities to better reach people of historically marginalized identities.  Dayna is also interested in discovering and creating resources and career opportunities for undocumented and international students. Dayna’s spouse also works in higher education/student affairs which makes for some interesting dinner conversation!  Dayna’s hobbies include cooking, gardening, and spending time with Charlie the cat.      

Jennifer Rossi Long is leading the continued efforts of fostering a culture of career development at West Chester University as the Director of the Twardowski Career Development Center.  She is a proud alumna of West Chester University, with a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy.  Majoring in Philosophy still ranks in the top three best decisions she’s made in her whole life.  She also has her Master of Education in Student Personnel Services and Counseling in Higher Education from Widener University.   

Outside of her role at WCU, Jennifer serves as the Past President of the Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers, as well as consults for college career centers looking to evolve, grow, modernize and/or integrate into their campuses in strategic and meaningful ways. She is also a regular contributor to KYW’s “In Depth” podcast on the evolving workforce and the impacts of the pandemic on careers. 

Bettsy McKlaine currently serves as the Director of Degree Completion and Graduate Admissions at Neumann University. She has been working in Enrollment Management in the greater Philadelphia area for almost a decade, assisting undergraduate students, adult and online degree completion students, and graduate students pursue their academic and professional goals. Bettsy was born in India but migrated to America when she was three years old and has been a Philadelphia area native since. She has earned her Bachelor’s degree in Secondary English and Special Education and her Master of Science degree in Business and Organizational Leadership, both from Neumann University. She also holds a Master of Science in Business Administration from Rosemont College.  

Bettsy is extremely passionate about helping others succeed, not only in the classroom (both in-person and online), but as well as in life. She is the founder and President of a non-profit organization called Sneham, which means “love” in a south Indian language. The organization focuses on spiritual, personal, and professional development through community service in the Philadelphia, the Delaware County, and the Delaware state regions. 

Jillian Clark works at Drexel University’s Steinbright Career Development Center, where she collaborates with campus partners and employers to create meaningful career opportunities for all Drexel students. She is particularly interested in how virtual engagement opportunities can increase equity for students by exposing them to a wider variety of career paths and allowing them to network in creative ways. Prior to her position at Drexel, Jillian developed events and community-based programming for the Franklin Institute. Originally from the Midwest, Jillian has grown to love the food and culture of Philadelphia, not to mention its numerous parks. Outside of work she can be found biking around the city and trying new dance classes. 

Chris Carey is a native New Yorker but has called Philadelphia and surrounding areas home for 21 years. As a graduate of St. Joe’s, Temple and Widener, he has been able to experience student life in several local settings. Chris is in the 16th year of his career at Temple University where he has focused on student engagement and development. Chris has been married to his wife Lauren for 13 years, and they have two awesome kids, Megan (8) and Jack (6). He enjoys coaching all their teams throughout the year. 

Utsav Schurmans is the director of Research and Scholars Programs for the Undergraduate Division of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He manages the division’s research and scholars initiatives and works to promote access to research experiences for all Wharton undergraduate students. He oversees the Joseph Wharton Scholars program, which is the Wharton component of the university-wide Benjamin Franklin Scholars Program that promotes broad intellectual curiosity and cross-disciplinary learning. Besides directing several research programs, Utsav teaches an honors thesis seminar and leads a number of summer research programs.

He received his Lincentiaat in archaeology from the University of Leuven in Belgium, M.A. in anthropology from Arizona State University, and Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania. Utsav has published numerous journal articles on his research in North Africa, the Near East, and Europe, as well as edited a book on the use of stone tools during the Paleolithic. Prior to joining Wharton, Utsav taught anthropology courses, worked at the Penn Museum, and served as House Dean in Penn’s Ware College House, where he enjoyed advising and mentoring students. Some of his most cherished involvements at Penn include leading the Mayor’s Scholars initiative to bring Philadelphia students at Penn together in a student-led organization, chairing the Penn Professional Staff Assembly, and co-founding the Wharton Intergroup Dialogue and Inclusion Team (WIDIT).

In his spare time, Utsav plays ultimate Frisbee, likes to travel, volunteers around West Philadelphia, and goofs around with his kids. Utsav can be reached at [email protected]. 

Joseph Sun is a seasoned administrator, strategist, teacher, adviser, consultant, and community volunteer with nearly 40 years of experience in higher education, consulting, and the non-profit sector. His experience and expertise span the local, regional, and international levels in strategy, assessment, leadership, DEIJ (diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice), admissions, global education, and service learning/civic engagement. Living and working in the Philadelphia region since the early ‘80s, Joseph spent 31 years at the University of Pennsylvania, where he served Penn’s engineering school as vice dean for Academic Affairs, the Wharton School as director of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, and the School of Arts and Sciences as an assistant dean. He also held leadership roles in Penn’s University Life Division.

After retiring from Penn, Joseph has served as vice rector (Provost) at Forman Christian College University (Lahore, Pakistan,) director of strategic initiatives in the President’s Office at Arcadia University, and global director of master’s programs at DAI, an iNGO providing leadership education in low-income countries. He currently serves as diversity, equity, and inclusion program manager in the President’s Office at Montgomery County Community College (PA). He has taught courses across a spectrum of fields, including appropriate technology and development, information and communications technology for development, social research methods, race and ethnic studies, Asian American studies, Chinese development, and leadership. 

Joseph holds a master’s in Appropriate Technology and Energy Management for Development from Penn and a bachelor’s in Design from the UCLA School of Fine Arts.