Beyond Small Talk: Successful Strategies to Network with Intention and Purpose

Tessa W. McKenzie, certified as a Designing Your Life Coach and as  Career Coach by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), serves in the role of Associate Director of Mentorship Initiatives, Hopkins Connect and co-facilitator for the Alumni Life Design Experience.  With over 15 years of experience in training, nonprofit capacity building, and branding, Tessa served as a Life Design Educator with Johns Hopkins University’s Krieger School of Arts and Sciences as well as for students with disabilities and international students for seven years.  Prior to coaching, Tessa was Public Education Officer at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) and served in numerous capacities, including as an AmeriCorps volunteer, regarding outreach and immigrant advocacy. 

Tessa is a survivor of Autoimmune Encephalitis (AE -swelling of the brain).  Serving as Chief Resilience Officer of at the International Autoimmune Encephalitis Society (IAES), Tessa promotes disease awareness and support AE warriors through "resilience" and mentorship education.

Nettie Owens, a JHU Class of 2001 graduate with a BA in Computer Science, has a proven track record of building impactful communities and programs. As the founder of the Momentum Community for Women, she has created a dynamic space where entrepreneurial and executive women can connect, collaborate, and thrive. Nettie is the creator of the Take Control System®, author of several books including What Businesses Need to Know Right Now (vol. 1 & 2), and has appeared on national television in TLC’s Hoarding: Buried Alive. A Certified Professional Organizer specializing in chronic disorganization, an ICF-trained ADHD & Leadership Coach, and a Heroic Performance Coach, she blends two decades of expertise with her passion for empowering women to achieve sustainable 

Robin Merle is the author of Involuntary Exit, A Woman’s Guide to Thriving After Being Fired, which won the Gold Medal Nonfiction Book Award.  Her new novel, A Dangerous Friendship, will be published in the Fall of 2025. Sheis the President of Robin Merle Associates, LLC and the Founder of The Professional Guide which helps senior- and mid-level professionals succeed in their career transitions.  A Certified Fundraising Professional (CFRE), she has more than 35 years’ experience as a senior executive for billion-dollar nonprofit organizations, raising more than a half-billion dollars primarily for universities and healthcare. 

As someone on a mission to help people move forward with their career transitions, Robin is a frequent podcast guest, webinar speaker, and co-founder of the workshop Rewrite Your Success that helps professionals pivot in their careers.  She’s been a featured speaker at Chief, the Rutgers Center for Women in Business, the Johns Hopkins University Women’s Leadership Conference, Parlay House, Ivy Exec, and AFP-NYC Global.  Robin is a proud graduate of The Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins.

Follow Robin on Instagram @robinmerletpg or https://www.linkedin.com/robinmerletpg/ and subscribe to her blog, Moving Forward https://theprofessionalguide.com/blog/.  You can purchase her books on Amazon.