Ask the Expert

She Opened the Door Ask the Expert talks are virtual interviews featuring expert Columbians speaking about their experiences, challenges, and achievements in an interactive setting with audiences from across the globe.

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Upcoming Virtual Ask the Expert Talks 

Ask the Expert | Creating a Life of Service from the U.S. Navy and Beyond | 11/21/2025

Randee Howard ‘21 GS, will take you through her compelling story of resilience and service. After a four-year US Navy enlistment, Randee attended the School of General Studies (where she served two years as the women’s representative for Columbia MilVets). Post Columbia, she started at a private wealth management firm, but realized her heart was in the nonprofit world. She has a deep commitment to service and will share her stories of working with incarcerated individuals at Rikers while a student and later at San Quentin (while working at a military-based newsroom). Randee will share her current activities, as well as her hope to combine her commitment to public service and cross-cultural understanding by working at the US Embassy in Belize, her current home.

Past Ask the Expert Talks 

Click on the links below to view recordings of these events.

Ask the Expert | Capital, Cloud, and Curiosity: Navigating a Career in FinTech Partnerships with Svetla Marinova '11GSAS | 9/12/2025
Svetla Marinova ’11GSAS, Strategic Partnerships Specialist at Microsoft, kicks off Season Three of She Opened the Door: Ask the Expert with a candid conversation on navigating a career in big tech. Svetla’s journey has spanned capital markets, cloud innovation, and fintech—building a dynamic, purpose-driven career that didn’t always follow a straight line. From arriving in the U.S. as an international student, to breaking into competitive industries, to learning how to trust her intuition in high-stakes environments, Svetla offers real insight into the evolving realities of work and leadership today.

Ask the Expert | Dentistry and HealthTech: Creating Firstgrin for Families with Ashley Lerman '18DM, '20DM | 5/30/2025

Dr. Ashley Lerman '18DM, '20DM—pediatric dentist, mom, and founder of Firstgrin. Known online as @pediatric.dentist.mom, Dr. Lerman is reshaping how parents think about kids' oral health. Learn how she's leveraging tech and expertise to fight cavities (the #1 chronic disease in children) and empower families with tools for lifelong healthy habits.

Ask the Expert | My Journey to the Olympic Games and Building a New Life After Figure Skating, with Sasha Cohen, ‘16GS | 4/25/2025

From performing at the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II to being a TV correspondent and podcaster, to working as a disruptive change associate at Morgan Stanley, Sasha's journey has been inspiring and exciting. Whether you're an aspiring athlete, a fan of the Olympics, or just want to hear some great stories, this conversation is for you! Sasha will take you through her incredible journey before coming to Columbia, where she was a two-time Olympian and Olympic silver medalist, three-time World medalist and 2006 U.S. champion. She reinvented herself after figure skating, including graduating from Columbia's School of General Studies, with a magna cum laude degree in Political Science and Government.

As Campaign Director for ClimateVoice, Jennifer Allyn is working to unlock corporate influence to solve the climate crisis. She’s responsible for designing strategic initiatives to push companies to advocate for bold and equitable climate policy. In 2023, Jennifer earned a Master’s degree from Columbia University’s new climate school, focusing on climatology, public policy, and environmental justice. Jennifer started her career leading diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, most recently as a Managing Director at PwC. 

Ask the Expert | Creating Educational and Curriculum Transformation with Kathryn Kaiser ‘11, '19TC, ‘22SIPA | 11/22/2024
Kathryn Kaiser '11TC, '19TC, '22SIPA, Transitional Head of School at The Harley School in Rochester, NY, discusses diversity and inclusion in education and school leadership.

Ask the Expert | Technology to Philanthropy: Building Innovative Solutions for Social Change | 10/25/2024
Lavina Nagpal's '21SPS speaks about building innovative solutions for social change.

Alicia Serrani ’13BC and Isabella Serrani ‘16BC share their journeys from Columbia to creating T.W.I.N. (That’s What I Need), a sustainable fashion brand in NYC.

Ask the Expert | Understanding Natural Language Processing and Creating Ethical AI with Kate Harwood '23SEAS | 5/31/2024
Kate Harwood '23SEAS an AI expert, is currently working with The New York Times on large language models. The interactive session, moderated by Kate Konecny Pope '13 SPS, focused on Kate Harwood's journey into Natural Language Processing (NLP) and ethical AI. The discussion explored Harwood’s career path, including her time at Tufts University, her early role as a software engineer at Google, and her decision to pursue a master’s degree at Columbia. She shared insights on AI and NLP, detailing how these technologies support journalism at The New York Times. Harwood also discussed the evolution and applications of NLP across industries, ethical challenges, and the future of NLP in the next 3-5 years. Due to confidentiality, this event was not recorded.

Ask the Expert | Judge Kimberly Parker '92BC, '97LAW | 3/22/2024
Judge Kimberly E. Parker '92BC, '97LAW' discusses her Columbia journey and her experiences as a Judge in the Santa Clara County Superior Court, bringing a wealth of experience to this thought-provoking virtual program! Due to confidentiality, this event was not recorded.

Ask the Expert | Moving Beyond Goals, Centering Our Life Around Intentions with Shelly Tygielski ’99SIPA | 1/26/2024
Activist, bestselling author, and philanthropist Shelly Tygielski ’99SIPA, offers a refreshing perspective that invites you to embark on a journey of self-discovery and fulfillment. Due to confidentiality, this event was not recorded.

Ask the Expert | Visionary Leadership in Art and Finance: A Conversation with Heidi Yang ’93CC |  12/8/2023
Heidi Yang ’93CC, the Global Managing Director for Asian and world Art at Christies discusses her experiences, challenges, and achievements in the field.  

Ask the Expert | Corporate Governance, DEI, and Mission-Driven Work with Yen Chu '97LAW |  11/10/2023
Yen Chu '97LAW discusses her experiences as the current Executive Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, and Corporate Secretary of Tailored Brands, Inc., the holding company for retailers, Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, Moores (Canada), and K&G Fashion Superstores.

Ask the Expert | The Intersection of AI and Martech with Tamara Gruzbarg '97GSAS '06BUS | 10/13/2023
An engaging conversation with Tamara Gruzbarg '97GSAS '06BUS, Vice President of Customer Strategy at ActionIQ.

Ask the Expert | Exploring Philanthropy, Environmental, and Social Impact with Anisa Kamadoli Costa '97BC, '98SIPA  | 9/8/2023
Anisa Kamadoli Costa '97BC '98SIPA, Chief Sustainability Officer of Rivian and President & Trustee of the Rivian Foundation, who previously served as Chairman & President of The Tiffany & Co. Foundation as well as Tiffany & Co.’s first Chief Sustainability Officer was interviewed by Cassandra Ziegler '17TC, '25SIPA on the important work in Environmental and Social Impact. Due to confidentiality, this event was not recorded.

Ask the Expert | Building Your Professional Negotiation Skills with Lenore Kantor '93BUS and Sasha McDowell '09SIPA, '09SW | 8/3/2023
Columbia Career Coaches Network members Lenore Kantor '93BUS and Sasha McDowell '09SIPA, '09SW lead a workshop on building professional negotiation skills.