Virtual Career Day
Welcome to Jefferson School's Virtual Career Day...
Below are examples of different professions you may be interested in. You will find a short biography about the presenter and a link to a video the presenter prepared about their profession.
Please take some time to explore the various careers.
Ilene Dudek – Children’s Book Author
Ilene Dudek is a self-published author from Nutley, NJ. She writes and illustrates Little Ant children’s books—an adventure series inspired by her two fun-loving, active boys. She has participated in over 30 local author events, including a book signing at Barnes & Noble, and has been featured on News 12 New Jersey. She plans to continue writing her Little Ant series and sharing her books with the local community.
Dr. Scott Gersch – Orthodontist
Dr. Scott Gersch is a native of Westfield, NJ, where he graduated from Westfield High School in 1995. He received his bachelor's degree with honors from the University of Michigan in 1999. He attended the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in pursuit of his Doctor of Dental Medicine degree, and graduated in 2003. Dr. Gersch continued his post-graduate studies at New York University College of Dentistry, where he completed his residency in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics in July 2005.
Paul Casey – Assistant Director of Interships for Kean University
Paul Casey, is the Assistant Director of Internships for Kean University. Mr. Casey is also a volunteer baseball and basketball coach. Prior to joining Kean University he spent almost twenty years working in Youth Development and spent five years as CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Garfield and eight years as the Plainfield Club Director for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Union County. Paul has always been committed to career development and was excited to share his thoughts with the students.
Fabiana Marques-Lawrence – Licensed Therapeutic Massage Therapist
Fabiana Marques-Lawrence has been a licensed massage therapist since 2019. As a graduate of The Therapeutic Massage and Training Center in Westfield NJ she has created her own company, Healing Equilibrium Massage, where she meets clients in their homes to provide necessary therapy.
Marlena Connor – Senior Vice President of Media
Marlena Connor is a Senior Vice President of Media at Evoke, a leading healthcare-focused advertising agency in New York City. She leads a team that recommends and buys space where advertisements appear for the company's clients, whether it's Television, Print magazines, Radio, Social Media, or other places Online. Marlena has worked in advertising for a number of years. When she first started out she was involved with making the advertisements before she switched to media. Marlena has worked at multiple different advertising agencies in her career to date. Her clients have included Tylenol, Jaguar Cars, Pfizer and many other pharmaceutical companies. She has known that she wanted to get into advertising ever since high school.
Dr. Kara Barnett – Director of Anesthesia Services at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Dr. Barnett graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a major in biology and minor in psychology. She completed medical school at Washington University School of Medicine. Her residency training included a transitional year at Albert Einstein Medical Center and three years of anesthesia training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She has been working at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for almost 11 years.
Dr. Amy Hoch – Orthodontist
Dr. Amy Hoch was born and raised in Holmdel, New Jersey. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and went on to attend dental school at New York University College of Dentistry. After graduating New York University, Dr. Amy completed a one-year general residency at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, New York before completing a three-year orthodontic residency back at New York University College of Dentistry. During the last year of residency, Dr. Hoch participated in a private practice program where she worked 3 days a month at Hoch Orthodontics. Dr. Amy has been a Diplomat of the American Board of Orthodontics since 2013. This is the highest honor awarded in the field by the only specialty licensing board recognized by both the American Association of Orthodontists and the American Dental Association. Dr. Amy joined the practice full time in July 2013. Dr. Amy has been named a Top Orthodontist in New Jersey Monthly's Survey of Top Dentists in New Jersey in 2019.
Jessenia Negron – National Key Account Manager an Olive Oil Company, Palmero
Jessenia Negron is a National Key Account Manager for an Olive Oil Company, Palmero. She has worked in the food and beverage industry for 18 years. Palermo specialize in Olive Oil but has an extensive profile of products from spices, coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, honey and pastas. Her career has her traveling to visit the corporate offices of major retailers like Marshall's, TJ Maxx, Homegoods, Shop Rite, and Walmart and most are located in California, Texas and Florida. She loves that she gets to travel for work because she gets to visit many states that she has never been to before.
Dr. Lissette M. Cespedes – Assistant Professor of Medicine at Rutger’s University NJ Medical School– Division of Endocrinology
Lissette M. Céspedes is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Rutgers University-New Jersey Medical School in the Division of Endocrinology. After graduating from high school, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Health from Brown University. She received a Doctor of Medicine from Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School. She then completed a 3 year residency in Internal Medicine followed by a 2 year fellowship in Endocrinology at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Since 2017, she has been a faculty member at Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School, where she takes care of patients, participates in clinical research and teaches our next generation of physicians. The best part of her present job is taking care of patients and helping to educate our future physicians.
Erin Skurdal – Product Ideation Director at Johnson & Johnson
Erin Skurdal designs new products for Johnson & Johnson, the largest healthcare company in the world. She earned an undergraduate degree from Carnegie Mellon University in Communication Design & Psychology. After designing marketing materials for a couple of years, she got a graduate degree from Pratt University in Design Management. Erin spent 6+ years managing projects for a global innovation consultancy called frog Design before transitioning to her current role as Product Ideation Director at Johnson & Johnson. Erin thoroughly enjoys overseeing the strategy and design of new products that help people live happier, healthier lives. She lives in Cranford, NJ with her husband and two young children.
Victor J. Uy III NBCSports On-air Operations Technical Manager
Victor went to school for Business Administration and started his career at NBCUniversal back in 2012. He first began as a freelance Tech Op. In the summer of 2015 Victor was hired as a staff Master Control Operator for NBCSports, and has flourished since then. He has worked on projects such as the first live broadcast of a live sporting event done in 4k quality, and has also helped in the execution of the 2016 Rio, and 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. Late last year, Victor was promoted to Technical Manager for NBCSports On-air Operations. He has three children with his wife Jennisse, Caleb who attends Jefferson, Chelsea, and Cassidy, who go to Hannah Caldwell; as well as three dogs to match. He credits his success to hard work, dedication to always learning something new, and a willingness to take on new challenges.
David W. Schoner Jr. – Associate Director for the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission
For over 35 years David W. Schoner Jr. has been Associate Director for the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission. He has produced two award-winning independent films ( A Dangerous Place a nd Murder Reincarnated) distributed by Screen Media, Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, ABC TV and York Entertainment. David has coordinated thousands of Hollywood productions, including The Sopranos and its upcoming prequel film, the Warner Bros. smash hit, Joker, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, and the HBO miniseries, The Plot Against America. David serves his community as Vice-President of the Cedar Grove Board of Education, where he’s involved in various educational and charitable endeavors, and also is on the Board of Trustees of the Garden State Film Festival, Women in Media – Newark Women’s History Month Film Festival, Westfield International Film Festival, and the Monmouth International Film Festival. He recently founded Great Mustachio Filmworks to nurture his passion for developing projects with upcoming filmmakers.
Lisa Sheikvoitz – Occupational Therapist
Lisa Sheikovitz has been an occupational therapist (OT) for 15 years. Lisa received her Bachelors of Science in Rehabilitation Services from Pennsylvania State University. She then pursued her Masters of Arts in Occupational Therapy from New York University. Lisa spent most of her OT career working in rehabilitation hospital settings with adults with neurologic impairments such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury. She has also worked with children as an OT in both the school and hospital setting with disorders such as autism, ADHD and cerebral palsy. Lisa also worked as a home care occupational therapist, which means that she would treat home-bound patients that are unable to leave the house to receive OT treatment. Lisa has traveled nationally and internationally to present at conferences to speak about various OT related topics and research. She also had the opportunity to take a volunteer trip to Lima, Peru to share American treatment techniques as well as learn about OT in South America. Lisa is currently a professor of Occupational Therapy at Seton Hall University.
Adam Sheikvoitz – Elizabeth Fireman
Adam Sheikovitz has been on the Elizabeth Fire Department for 9 years, but before finding his passion for firefighting, he had tried out a couple other careers first. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelors degree in Media Studies with a minor in athletic training. His first job out of college was working for a sports team, and then he became a physical education teacher. In the end, Adam found what he really wanted was to be a fireman. He loves being a fireman! It is hard work, but very rewarding and fulfilling. Adam followed a career path filled with twists and turns and he wants you to know it okay to change your career if you want to follow your passions.
Kim Kerney - Speech-Language Pathologist
Kim Kerney is a Speech-Language Pathologist with over 20 years of experience in the field. She works at the 1st Cerebral Palsy of New Jersey in Belleville, where she serves as the head of the speech therapy department. In this setting, she works with medically fragile students, ages 3-21, with complex communication and feeding needs. Mrs. Kerney also runs a small private practice in Cedar Grove, New Jersey. She graduated from Stockton University in 1998 with a Bachelor’s degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology. She received her Master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders, with a concentration in Speech-Language Pathology from Montclair State University in 2000. Mrs. Kerney has her certificate of clinical competence (CCC) from the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA). Mrs. Kerney is proud to have established and currently run a feeding clinic at her school in conjunction with the team from the Center for Pediatric Feeding and Swallowing, St. Joseph’s Health.
Yvonne Mogodiri – Managing Editor for a Publishing Company
Yvonne Mogodiri is the managing editor at Other Press, a trade book publishing company in New York City. She holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Florida, and a master's degree in Linguistic Anthropology from the University of California, Davis. Yvonne began her career as a television producer and later worked as a writer for museum exhibits before entering the field of book publishing.
CPL Colin Murray – Bandsman, U.S. Army
Colin Murray is an Army Corporal from the 1st Armored Division Band at Fort Bliss, TX. CPL Murray found the Army allowed him to follow his passions for music, performance, and fitness. He is a tuba player and is excited to share his story with you.
Neikisha Hosein – Physical Therapist
Neikisha Hosein studied at Hunter College and obtained a Bachelors of Science. Mrs. Hosein then attended SUNY Downstate Medical Center and received her Masters of Science in Physical Therapy. During her career, Mrs. Hosein has worked as a Physical Therapist in acute care hospital settings, Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation where she treated patients with amputations and brain injuries. Mrs. Hosein is currently employed at Amedisys Home Health and Hospice where she treats patients discharged from the hospital and are in need of end of life care.