Columbia SIPA Campus

Advising Staff

During your time at SIPA, you will have staff and faculty advisers available to guide you through your degree program. Faculty concentration directors and concentration administrators can be found on the concentration webpage.

You will be assigned an advising dean from SIPA’s Office of Student Affairs (OSA) whose primary responsibility is to advise you on degree core requirements and to connect you to both SIPA and Columbia resources. You also have a career adviser from SIPA's Career Advancement Center (CAC), assigned based on your concentration to help guide you through your professional development and career path during your studies. Advisers from both OSA and CAC are listed below. Click on each name to learn more about their areas of responsibility. We recommend that you set up a time during your first semester to meet with your advising dean and career adviser to discuss in more depth your academic and professional plans.

Academic Advising

  • Advising Dean | [email protected]

    Tsuya Yee Headshot

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Overall strategic management & team leadership for the Office of Student Affairs
    • Relationship management with student & key stakeholders with a focus on supporting and enhancing the student experience
    • Student Conduct
    • Barnard 4+1 Program
    • General Advising

  • Advising Dean | [email protected]

    Urbano Gaza

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • FGV dual degree program
    • Cross Registration
    • Student recruitment
    • Academic Policies & Procedures
    • General Advising

  • Advising Dean | [email protected]

    Alleyne Waysome

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Registration & Academic Calendar
    • International Dual Degree Programs
    • Liaison to Academic Affairs
    • General Advising

  • Advising Dean | [email protected]

    Tan Nguyen Headshot

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Assistantships
    • Degree Clearance/Leave of Absence
    • International Student Contact
    • General Advising

  • Advising Dean | [email protected]

    Karina Rodriguez-Nguyen

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • 5-year program (Columbia College, School of General Studies)
    • Disability Liaison
    • General Advising
    • Parent Liaison
    • Student Wellness Programming
    • Student Life
    • Peer Coach Liaison
  • Gabriella Barajas

    [email protected]

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • EMPA Academic Advising
    • Columbia Dual Degree Student Advising (Mailman, Law, Social Work, QMSS, Journalism)
    • EMPA Student Life Initiatives
    • EMPA Course registration and course management
    • EMPA and Columbia Dual Degree Clearance
    • Evening and weekend course support

  • [email protected]

    Michael Littlejohn

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Diversity, Equity & inclusion liaison for students
    • Student Life & Student Organizations
    • Housing Liaison
    • Student Group Trek Support
    • OSA Mini Grant Programs

  • Advising Dean (Specialized Degree Programs) | [email protected]

    Priscilla Yuen

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Registration
    • Advising
    • Curriculum Management
    • Faculty Recruitment
    • Academic Programming
    • Degree Clearance

  • Advising Dean | [email protected]

    Haniya Rizwan headshot

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Orientation
    • Graduation
    • Student Academic Events
    • General Advising

  • Student Services Coordinator, PEPM & MPAGL |  [email protected]

    Areas of Responsibility: 

  • [email protected]

    Robin Thiel

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Graduation Clearances
    • Support for International Travel
    • Stellic

  • [email protected]

    Benjamin Seagren Headshot

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Office Email
    • CampusGroups liaison
    • Generates weekly OSA Newsletter
    • Supports student life initiatives
    • Signature Events Support

  • [email protected]

    Areli Villavicencio

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Front Desk & Peer Assistants
    • Signature Events Support
    • Student Life & Engagement Support

Career Advising

  • [email protected]

    Meg Heenehan

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Adviser for CEE and USP
    • Provides career advisement, mock interviews, and resume/cover letter critiques for students and alumni
    • Oversees all office personnel
    • Teaches the Professional Development Course
    • Liaises with concentration directors and managers
    • Manages Student Relations team
    • Manages office budget
    • Evaluates SIPA admission applications
    • Works with the Development Office, Alumni Relations, and the Capstone Program Coordinator to identify leads for potential internships and jobs
    • Conducts career-related workshops
    • Manages the Alumni-Student Mentoring Initiative alongside Student Affairs and Alumni Relations

  • [email protected]

    Paula King headshot

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Adviser for DSP and IFEP
    • Provides career advisement, mock interviews, and resume/cover letter critiques for students and alumni
    • Liaises with concentration directors and managers
    • Organizes, schedules, and teaches seminars in the Professional Development program
    • Supervises the Associate Director of Student Relations and the Director of Events and Career Programming
    • Directs the program of career-related workshops
    • Manages office budget 

  • [email protected]

    Jodi Caplan

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Adviser for EMPA, ESP, GL, and PEPM
    • Provides career advisement, mock interviews, and resume/cover letter critiques for SIPA students and alumni
    • Liaises with concentration directors and managers
    • Designs and conducts career-related workshops, webinars, and information sessions for students and alumni
    • Manages the SIPA Career Coaching Program
    • Teaches Professional Development 

  • [email protected]

    Camille Hall

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Adviser for DG, DP, and HRGE
    • Provides career advisement, mock interviews and resume/cover letter critiques for students and alumni
    • Liaises with concentration directors and managers
    • Coordinates career events, including the NYC Career Series and the annual Washington, D.C. Career Conference, career panels, and networking receptions
    • Manages student workers
    • Manages CAC Newsletter, promotional materials, and website
    • Manages office budget

  • [email protected]

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Employer Specialist for IFEP, DSP, CEE, DG, DP, GL, and PEPM
    • Researches and conducts employer outreach and markets SIPA to new employers
    • Organizes on-campus employer information sessions and interviews  
    • Liaises with concentration directors and managers
    • Works with the Development Office, Alumni Relations, and the Capstone Program Coordinator to identify leads for potential internships and jobs
    • Co-supervises the Recruitment Coordinator and the Employer Relations Coordinator
    • Serves as Client Manager for key employers
    • Liaises with the SIPA Finance Club, the Consulting Club, the SIPA Energy Association
    • Co-presents Recruitment Orientations for the concentrations
    • Organizes employer site visits for DC Conference 

  • Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Employer Specialist for EMPA, ESP, HRGE, ISD, and TPI
    • Liaises with concentration directors and managers
    • Co-supervises Recruitment and Employer Relations Coordinators
    • Serves as Client Manager for majority of on-campus recruiters
    • Manages employer outreach solicitations
    • Works with the Development Office, Alumni Relations, and the Capstone Program Coordinator to identify leads for potential internships and jobs
    • Organizes and co-presents Recruitment Orientations for each concentration
    • Oversees Presidential Management Fellowship application Process
    • Organizes employer site visits for Washington, D.C. Career Conference
    • Manages collection, analysis, and publication of employment statistics

  • [email protected]

    Carla Espinoza

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Adviser for ISD and TPI
    • Provides career advisement, mock interviews and resume/cover letter critiques for students and alumni
    • Liaises with concentration directors/managers and ISSO
    • Manages the Internship Program/Internship Course
    • Manages and administers SIPA summer internship stipends
    • Co-manages the Administrative Assistant, Student Relations
    • Conducts career-related workshops
    • Creates and edits Fact Sheets

  • [email protected]

    Wesley Marsh

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Maintains jobs and internship database in SIPA Connect
    • Provides administrative support to the Employer Relations Team
    • Checks main CAC email account and distributes emails to correct parties
    • Maintains the event flyers
    • Sends weekly upcoming deadlines email to all current SIPA students

  • Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Schedules student interviews
    • Secures rooms for employer information sessions
    • Schedules events in SIPA Connect
    • Compiles and analyzes graduate employment statistics
    • Compiles monthly comparison report
    • Conducts employer outreach mailings
    • Maintains on-campus recruiting database in SIPA Connect
    • Provides support to and coordinates the Recruitment Program
  • Jess Fleming headshot

    [email protected]

    Areas of Responsibility: 

    • Greets visitors, schedules appointments, and answers student/alumni inquiries
    • Oversees and processes Internship and Professional Development paperwork and course grades
    • Maintains the career resources
    • Manages expense reports for Executive Director and other expenses for Directors
    • Oversees CAC email account and the SIPA Internships account
    • Manages the Alumni-Student Mentoring Initiative alongside Student Affairs and Alumni Relations