About the Center for Graduate Career Success
Meet the Team
Founded in 2017 in Denver, Colorado, our team partners with universities to prepare thousands of graduate students each year for career and job search success
Our History
Our journey started in 2014 when our founder, Dr. L. Maren Wood, hosted the very first online career conference for graduate students and PhDs. From 2014 to 2017, she conducted research on career pathways for the Chronicle of Higher Education and the American Historical Association. Graduate students began reaching out to Dr. Wood asking for career advice on how they, too, could make the leap from academia to industry.
Under the brand Beyond the Professoriate, Dr. Wood and her team of PhD researchers and educators began building programming and resources to support PhDs who were in career crisis. In 2019, BtP launched an e-learning platform to partner with universities to help programs prepare doctoral students for job searching in and beyond the professoriate.
Not only were doctoral students using our e-learning platform, so too were master’s students. But what we learned through surveys and interviews was that master’s students had different obstacles and challenges from doctoral students. One curriculum and one platform was insufficient to meet the needs of both groups of students.
In 2021, the Center conducted research into the needs of master’s students and began designing curriculum. Launching in 2022, Beyond Graduate School will be the only online career platform dedicated to the needs of master’s students, allowing institutions to better support, mentor, and advise students on how to leverage their education in today’s fast-paced and changing economy.
L. Maren Wood, PhD | Director and CEO
Maren earned her PhD in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Since 2014, she has dedicated her career to supporting universities in preparing graduate students and PhDs for meaningful careers in academia and beyond. Her expertise has been featured in Inside Higher Ed, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and peer-reviewed books. She also serves as an external advisor on committees such as the Council of Graduate Schools Humanities Advisory Committee and the ETS Graduate Education Advisory Council and is regularly sought as a keynote speaker.
Martin Leppitsch, MBA | Chief Information Officer
Martin joined the Center in 2023. In his role, he works closely with partner institutions to provide technology support, ensures that our platforms comply with security requirements, and oversees the day-to-day administration of our digital platforms. Martin has several years of experience in IT within university environments, having worked at Virginia Tech and Duke University.
Martin earned his MBA from Duke University. He is passionate about helping start-ups succeed and enjoys leveraging his expertise to help organizations achieve their missions. Prior to joining the Center, Martin worked as a management consultant in Denver.
Malisa Kurtz, PhD | Digital Marketing Strategist
Malisa earned her PhD in Interdisciplinary Humanities from Brock University. After earning her doctorate, Malisa faced the uncertainty that many PhDs experience when they leave academia and look for new opportunities.
After working for a start-up and then in fundraising for a non-profit, Malisa discovered her interest and talent in marketing and sales. In 2019, Malisa joined the Center team to help connect students and graduate students with resources that empower them to explore career options and learn job search strategies.
Diane Sepa-Kishi, PhD | Business Manager
Diane earned her PhD in Kinesiology and Health Science from York University. During her time in graduate school, Diane found that she enjoyed her time in the classroom as a teaching assistant, and decided to pursue careers with a focus on education and empowering others.
Her first position after graduate school was as an Instructional Design Specialist at the Michener Institute of Education at the University Health Network in Toronto. She joined the Center in 2020. In her position, Diane oversees the onboarding process for new institutions, provides customer support to subscribing partners, and assists in creating new learning materials.
Susan Joudrey, PhD | Director of Partnerships and Learner Engagement
Susan earned her PhD in History from Carleton University (Canada). She joined the Center in 2024 to support partner offices in deploying strategies to increase student awareness and adoption of our career training platforms. In addition, Susan helps design and deliver curriculum and programming for graduate students.
Susan brings over 15 years of experience developing educational materials, facilitating engaging learning experiences, and creating content for the public and private sectors to this position.