Past President

Past President 

Diana Mendez’ experiences as an immigrant, Latina, and first-generation college student have shaped her lens as a career development and student affairs professional for over 10 years. She currently works at NYU’s Wasserman Center for Career Development as Senior Assistant Director overseeing experiential education, diversity programming, career coaching, and recruiting functions for students in STEM fields. During her tenure at NYU, Diana has developed student employee training and evaluation strategies, managed an award winning first-generation student mentorship program, and revamped a student leadership group for undergraduate student engagement. Throughout her career, Diana has been deeply committed to enhancing students’ university experience by promoting, developing, and executing experiential education programs for diverse student populations (undergrad, grad, domestic, and international). Her past experience in higher education also includes academic advising, alumni relations, and college access programs. An avid traveler and volunteer, she has served as a staff advisor for student-centered international programs, overseeing student cohorts in Italy and the Dominican Republic. Aside from her contributions to MNYCCPOA, Diana also serves as NASPA’s Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community Region II Representative and as NACE’s Women in STEM Affinity Group Co-Chair. She has presented at regional and national conferences on topics such as leadership development for student employees, and combating implicit bias in the student employment hiring process. Diana’s work related to DEI in higher education, staff mentorship programs, and service learning in career services has been published in NACE’s blog, magazine, and quarterly journal. Diana received an MA in Mental Health Counseling from NYU’ Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development and a BSW from Rutgers University; she’s currently completing an MS in Human Resources Management from NYU’s School of Professional Studies.You can connect to Diana on LinkedIn.