Jon Anjaria, Ayla Cordell, and Marika McCann

The Professional Development Team: (from left) Jon Anjaria, Ayla Cordell, and Marika McCann

Meet the Team

Jonathan Anjaria
Jonathan Anjaria
Faculty Director of Professional Development in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
781-736-2221

Jonathan has taught at Brandeis for nine years, served as director of Graduate Studies of Anthropology for three years and was recently awarded an ACLS Scholars & Society Fellowship, which focuses on changing the culture of doctoral pedagogy. He works with MA and PhD students in the Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts on career exploration, planning and general graduate school survival skills. Meet with Jonathan to learn about career options for people with your PhD and how to plan for them, how to network with people in your field, how to get an internship and how to manage doing PhD research while keeping diverse career options open.

schedule a meeting with jonathan

Marika McCann
Marika McCann
Associate Director, Professional Development and Employer Outreach
781-736-3402

Marika has over 15 years of experience in higher education, marketing and recruiting. She works with MA, PhD students and alums on resume and CV development, personal branding, social media presence, networking and interview preparation. Marika also focuses on building relationships with employers and plans on-campus networking events. Before Marika's time in GSAS, she worked in the Career Strategies office at the International Business School at Brandeis and in other career and development positions at the University of Michigan. Marika enjoys working collaboratively with students to teach them how to tell their personal story, from writing details about their skills and accomplishments on their resume or CV, to being able to articulate strengths and background in networking and in interviewing.

Schedule an Meeting with Marika

Ayla Cordell
Ayla Cordell
Career and Professional Development Student Assistant
Pronouns: she/her/hers

Ayla (eye-luh) is excited to continue working in Career and Professional Development this year! She loves all the skill-building, career and networking opportunities, and hot tips she gets from the events and seminars, as well as the chance to connect with other graduate students in meaningful ways. She will graduate with her Joint MA in English and Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies in May 2024,  and is working at the intersection of gender and queer theory, trans studies, embodiment and culture, and creative nonfiction.