SophoMORE Connections is an exclusive career conference offered to second-year students during winter break.

About

We are bringing in our best resources to help you think about your most pressing career questions. SophoMORE Connections is a two-day event specifically for sophomores featuring workshops, alumni panels, and networking events to identify and explore your career areas of interest. The event, housing, and food are free for all registrants for the duration of the event.

Begin planning for the 13th annual SophoMORE Connections

The event will be held January 17–18, 2025. Here is how you can start planning now:

Students will need to make travel arrangements to return to campus on Thursday, January 16.
Registration details will be shared with students — stay tuned to Career Services emails for forthcoming information.
This event, including housing and meals, is offered at no cost to students who register and attend.

Meet our 2025 SophoMORE Connections keynote speaker

Career Services is proud to present Toby Bozzuto ’96 as the 2025 SophoMORE Connections keynote speaker. Toby is president and CEO of Bozzuto and chair of Colgate University’s Board of Trustees.

As president and CEO of Bozzuto, Toby Bozzuto ’96 provides strategic and day-to-day leadership for more than 3,400 employees nationwide. The real estate company has been nationally recognized as a “Great Place to Work” and named a “Top Workplace” by The Washington Post for nine consecutive years and a “Top Company for Executive Women” by Seramount for four consecutive years.

In July 2024, Toby was named chair of Colgate University’s Board of Trustees, becoming the youngest person to serve in that position.

He is also an executive committee member of the Policy Advisory Board for the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University and a member of the Board of Visitors for the Shock Trauma Center at The University of Maryland Medical Center, M&T Bank’s Directors Advisory Council, Catalyst CEO Champions for Change, and CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion. Toby’s clear vision, approachable nature, and progressive thinking guide the company to create extraordinary experiences and maintain a culture of kindness for residents, clients, partners, and each other.

Toby has been featured in leading media outlets such as CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business Review, Bloomberg, The Washington Post, the Washington Business Journal, Huffington Post, and the MIT Sloan Management Review.

Toby strives to share his insight and passion for creating community. He is a regular guest lecturer at Harvard Business School, Harvard Business School Executive Education program, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate, Georgetown University, Cornell University, the University of Maryland, and Johns Hopkins University.

Mike Aguilar ’96, Managing Director, JPMorganChase

Jesse Allen ’19, Architectural Designer, RAMSA

Cecilia Belzer ’22, Press Secretary and Digital Director, Office of Representative Gabe Vasquez, U.S. House of Representatives

Nathan Belzer ’93, Founding Member, Belzer PC

David Bergerson ’93, Wealth Management, Edward Jones

Vanessa Puzio Billotti ’98, Deputy Bureau Chief, Sex Crimes and Intimate Partner Violence, Manhattan District Attorney's Office

Amanda Bradshaw ’06, Director, People Operations, Great Expectations

Jane Brogan ’02, Independent Consultant focusing on disaster recovery, resiliency, and public policy

Carter Brokaw ’94, Chief Revenue and Digital Officer, iHeartMedia

Stephen Brown ’81, EVP Programming and Development, Fox Television Stations

Taylor Buonocore-Guthrie ’08, Keynote Speaker and Facilitator (self-employed)

Tim Burkly ’10, Co-founder, Interclear

Jonathan Byer ’08, Partner, Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Caroline Callahan ’11, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, The Family Institute

Madeline Canning ’18, Legislative Assistant, U.S. House of Representatives

James Carino ’16, Admissions Counselor, George Mason University

Jessica Prata Cianciara ’01, AVP, Office of Sustainability, Columbia University

James Clark ’23, Chemistry PhD Student, Cornell University

Andrew Colbert ’05, Senior Managing Director, Ziegler

Bob Connelly ’84, Senior Adjunct Professorial Lecturer of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, American University

Michael Cruz ’11, Manager, Customer Success, Travel, Hospitality and Sports, Adobe Inc.

Courtney Diamond ’12, Director, Digital Analytics, Hilton

Jonathan Dienst ’90, NBC New York Chief Investigative Reporter and NBC News Chief Justice Contributor, NBCUniversal

Nicole Dienst ’22, Analyst, ESG Center of Excellence, Global Capital Markets, Morgan Stanley

Micah Dirkers ’19, Vice President, Family First Life

Catherine Donne ’09, Senior Vice President and Head of Institutional Marketing, North America, Neuberger Berman

Bobby Dorf ’80, Consultant (self-employed)

Laynie Dratch ’17, Genetic Counselor, Penn Medicine

Taylor Dumas ’20, Photographer, Taylor Monet Photography

Sheila Dunne ’20, President, Toggle Communications

Kimberly Elek ’87, Co-Founder and Chief Communications Strategist, McReynolds Elek Communications

Judge Samantha Elliott ’97, U.S. District Court Judge, U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire

Matt Elliott ’95, Senior Editor, CNET

Ahmad Emad ’13, Staff Data Scientist, Google

Liam Emmart ’19, Senior Software Engineer, Scythe

Molly Emmett ’12, Lead Consultant, Atrium

Jonny Feldman ’90, Orthodontist, Feldman Orthodontics (self-employed)

Jill Ferris ’08, Vice President, Education and Interpretation, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Jamie Foley ’94, CEO, Foley, Incorporated

Nick Freud ’15, Co-Founder, CampusReel

Karl Fries ’10, Quantitative Investment Analyst, Arjuna Capital

Cindy Gaete ’15, Union Organizer, formerly at the National Union of Healthcare Workers

Ria Gazdar ’92, Executive In Charge of Production, Stephen David Entertainment

Veronica Genco ’11, Director, Reporting and Yield, Everyday Health Group

Rich Grant ’02, Principal, Northlane Capital Partners

Bailey Graves ’16, Associate Director, Macro

Ashley Grove ’04, Sr. Director, Organizational Development, Vail Resorts

Alison King Haley ’84, Adjunct Lecturer, Harvard Kennedy School

Lauren Hayes ’04, District Counsel, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Kevin Heffernan ’90, Writer, Director, Producer, Actor, Searchlight Pictures

Michela Hendell ’18, Investor Relations, Ardinall Investment Management

Niall Henderson ’16, Senior Associate, Teneo

Salem Hoffman-Sadka ’17, Special Agent, U.S. Department of State, Diplomatic Security Service

Jenna Jacoby ’13, Account Manager, International Rescue Committee

Omer Jilani ’93, Chief Revenue Officer, Digital Avenues

Kelly Johnson ’94, Math Teacher, Highland Park High School

Robert Johnson ’94, Chief Pilot, Avigate Aviation

Ali Jordahl ’20, Software Engineering Manager, Pega

Randall Joseph ’01, Cloud Delivery Practice Lead, Eviden

Samantha Kaden ’15, Product Strategy and Marketing, BigBear.ai

Greg Kafaf ’12, Director Enterprise Strategy and Business Development, Novo Nordisk

Emily Kahn ’19, Executive Director, The New York Preservation Archive Project

Julia Kaplan ’17, Senior Director, Health System Solutions, Trilliant Health

David Kerschner ’09, Partner, Arnold & Porter

Dipesh Khati ’22, Senior Associate, EY-Parthenon

Eliza King ’12, Assistant Director of Development, Yale Peabody Museum

Emily Klein ’18, Director, Servicing Transfers, Valon Technologies, Inc.

Fred Klein ’96, Founder and Owner, Sound and Fury

Hillary Kupferberg ’15, VP, Performance Marketing, Exverus Media

Jeff Lessard ’96, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Development, ASM Global

Rachel Levey ’88, School Psychologist, Rye Country Day School

Jessica Li ’15, Senior Behavioral Designer, ideas42

Ashley Ludwinski, LCSW ’08, Private Practice Owner and Therapist, Redbud Counseling Services

Dr. Maureen Lynch ’06, Resource Management Coordinator, International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators

Dr. Craig Macdonald ’94, General Dentist and owner, Craig I Macdonald DMD PC

Dr. Jolanta Macdonald ’96, Pediatric Dentist, Children’s Dentistry of Northborough

Carolina van der Mensbrugghe ’10, Associate Director, Public Interest Law Center, NYU School of Law

Dr. Emily Messing ’12, Medication Safety Officer, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Britt Milano ’13, Director of Admissions, Yale Law School

Michael Miller ’12, Co-Founder, Head of Product, Fan Shares

Sarah Miller ’07, Classics Department Chair and Upper School Community, Inclusion, and Equity Coordinator, Gilman School

Courtney Mitchell ’19, Category Manager, Wayfair

Jeff Monty ’99, Director Of Production, Carr-Hughes Productions

Matt Muskin ’10, Pricing Manager, Corning Incorporated

Jeff O’Connell ’94, Chief Operating Officer, Spring & Bond

Colleen Oberg ’14, Senior Brand Manager, Danone North America

Maggie Orr ’17, Senior Software Engineer, Hopper

John Paul Ortiz ’10, Account Executive, Google

Kelsey OYong ’09, Supervising Epidemiologist, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

Dana Paolucci ’13, Head of PR and Influence, Dove North America, Unilever

Jessica Parisi ’17, Refugee Officer, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Nicholas Quinn ’20, Senior Associate, Quinlan Partners

Natalie Ramirez ’19, Director of Operations, Connects, LA Opera

Allison Ramsey ’01, Allergy Immunology Physician, Rochester Regional Health

Cortney Renton ’10, Executive Director, Proofing Station

Sun Robinson-Smith ’07, Associate Editor, One World, Penguin Random House

Nazma Rosado ’96, Principal, Avion Consulting, Inc.

Jessica Rossi ’15, Museum Educator and Professional Development Coordinator, New Hampshire Historical Society

Sean Rossi ’15, Pediatric Hospitalist, Concord Hospital

John Sanders ’00, Director, Business Development and Licensing, Merck

Lori Scanlan ’92, Data Enablement, Digital Transformation, Sony Corporation of America

Michael Schonbraun ’96, Managing Director, Investments, Affinius Capital

Julia Segal ’20, Singer-Songwriter; Teaching Artist; Marketing Associate, Sona Energy Solutions

Clarissa Shah ’10, Senior Director, Legal, LinkedIn

Tushin Shah ’10, General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer, Wrigley Management

Travis Snell ’94, President, Concord Property Management, Inc.

Deb Sobelman ’08, Executive Director, Neighborhood House Nursery School

Robert Sobelman ’08, Chief, Public Corruption Unit, U.S. Attorney's Office, S.D.N.Y.

Troy Somero '06, Global Head of Pricing, Inventory, and Yield, Spotify

James Speight ’14, Director, Harris Philanthropies

Abigail Speight ’15, Engagement Delivery Manager, Salesforce

Dave Targan ’03, Producer, Box to Box Films/Netflix

Zack Tenner ’20, Medical Student, NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine

Allyssa Walsh ’08, Instructional Supervisor, Catapult Learning

Jamie Wasylenko ’01, Principal Scientist II, AbbVie

Pamela White ’19, Associate, Greenberg Traurig

Caitlin Whittemore ’14, Senior Associate Director, Manhattan Planning, NYC Public Schools

Sara Wolf ’03, Director, Customer Onboarding, Americas, Google

Scott Worden ’96, Director of Afghanistan and Central Asia Programs, U.S. Institute of Peace

SophoMORE Connections

SophoMORE Connections

SophoMORE Connections is an exclusive career conference offered to second-year students during winter break.

About

Begin planning for the 13th annual SophoMORE Connections

Meet our 2025 SophoMORE Connections keynote speaker

Past Keynote Speakers

2024

2023

2021

2020

2019

2018