Duke University Career Center
Fannie Mitchell Expert-in-Residence Program 2008-2009

Mark Rhoads
Director, Immigration Practice Group

Mark is a director in the Immigration Practice Group. His focus is on temporary visas and permanent resident green cards for university researchers and professors; high-tech and information technology personnel; international managers and executives; and professional personnel in accounting, engineering, advertising and many other professions.  Mark speaks regularly to university audiences, business groups and human resource professionals on immigration and employment issues. He has been a featured speaker at the annual conferences of the National Association of College & University Attorneys (NACUA), the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), and the National Student Employment Association, as well as regional conferences of these organizations. Mark is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and is the co-author of a handbook on immigration law for universities published by the NACUA.

Mark Rhoads will be the Duke Career Center's Expert in Residence on Friday, September 12, 2008.

Janet Fink T'93
Director, Superkids of Shanghai
Janet Fink is the founder and director of Superkids, a non-profit organization that sends pediatric therapists, physicians, and volunteers worldwide to work with orphans.  She received a B.S in Psychology from Duke University in 1993, and a M.S. in Experimental Psychology from U.C.–San Diego in 1995.  In 2005, she adopted her daughter, Jeannie, a special needs orphan from Shanghai, China.  In 2006, she founded Superkids.  Superkids therapists and volunteers specialize in pediatric physical, occupational, speech, and play therapy.  Superkids teaches orphanage caregivers how to strengthen children's gross and fine motor muscles, improve their sensory integration, and build self-esteem.

Janet will be the Duke Career Center's Expert in Residence on Thursday, September 25 - Friday, September 26, 2008. 

Preeti Garg T'02, B'07
Assistant Production Manager, Frito Lay

Preeti Garg is currently an Assistant Product Manager for SunChips at Frito-Lay, a part of the Pepsico family.  She received a B.S. in Psychology from Duke University in 2002.  After college, Preeti worked for Xerox Corporation as a Document Solutions Executive in sales for three years in Boston, serving Public Sector accounts.  She then returned to Duke to earn an MBA in Decision Sciences and Product Management from the Fuqua School of Business.  After graduating in 2007, Preeti worked as an Assistant Brand Manager at Procter and Gamble (where she had interned as an MBA student).  She now resides with her husband in Texas and is continuing her career in Brand Management at Frito-Lay. 

Preeti will be the Duke Career Center's Expert in Residence on Thursday, October 9 - Friday, October 10, 2008.

Tia Simmons
Medical Instructor, Duke University Medical Center

Tia Simmons, MPH, CHES, RHEd. serves as Medical Instructor with the Division of Community Health, Department of Community and Family Medicine at Duke University Medical Center. Ms. Simmons is responsible for the Division’s community-based service learning activities, through the Learning Together Program, to teach learners from multiple disciplines to effectively engage with the community. She directs the Community Health Elective for medical students, and also provides training and instruction in community health rotations and experiences for pre-health undergraduates, medical students, ABSN students, Physician Assistant students, Pediatric residents and Family Medicine residents. Ms. Simmons is a faculty member of the Liaison Center of the Duke Center for Community Research of the DTMI at Duke University Medical Center. Ms. Simmons also serves as the Project Coordinator for ALMA (Amigas Latinas Motivando el Alma), a Duke-UNC-CH joint peer-education research project teaching coping mechanisms related to immigration and acculturation to Latinas in Durham and Chatham Counties.

Tia Simmons will be the Duke Career Center's Expert in Residence on Thursday, October 16 - Friday, October 17, 2008.

Susannah Gora T'99
Film Journalist

Film journalist Susannah Gora has written for publications including Variety, Premiere, Playboy, and Elle. She is currently writing a nonfiction book about film and pop culture which will be published by Crown/Random House. As Associate Editor of Premiere Magazine, Gora wrote and oversaw the magazine's monthly "Previews" section—a comprehensive guide to "the movies that matter this month," from the biggest blockbuster to the smallest indie gem. Susannah Gora appears on networks such as NBC, CBS, VH1, and CNN Headline News to discuss movies. Gora is also the host and writer of "Classics on Film," a DVD series produced by Penguin Books which covers classic novels that have been made into great films. Additionally, Gora reviewed films for the Associated Press's national "All News Radio" network for three years, reaching two million listeners per broadcast.  Gora has worked for ABC Television, interned for CBS News and Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, and has studied filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She graduated cum laude with High Distinction in English from Duke University in 1999, where she was the recipient of the E. Blake Byrne Scholarship for Creative Writing. Susannah Gora is a member of The Author's Guild, and she lives in Manhattan, where she was born and raised.

Susannah Gora will be an Expert in Resident in collaboration with the Film, Video, Digital department on October 23-24, 2008. 

Carl Kurlander, T'82
Screenwriter, television producer and documentary filmmaker

Carl Kurlander is a successful Hollywood screenwriter and television producer (St. Elmo's Fire; Saved By The Bell).  He is co-author of The F Word: A Guide to Surviving Your Family with comedian Louie Anderson, and was featured in Po Bronson's book What Should I Do With my Life?  Carl is currently promoting his documentary My Tale of Two Cities which tells the affectionate, thought-provoking story of Pittsburgh, a once great industrial giant which, like many cities around the world, is struggling to redefine itself in a new age. 

Carl Kurlander will be an Expert in Resident in collaboration with the Film, Video, Digital department on October 24, 2008.