Administration Staff

Suzanne Helbig is the Associate Vice Provost at UC Irvine’s Division of Career Pathways, the first and only career services operation designated as a Division among US universities. Suzanne arrived at UCI with 15 years of experience in career services, including over 10 years at UC Berkeley. 

Working with career services and global talent acquisition leaders from across the globe, Suzanne serves as Programme Chair for the 2023 Global Career Services Summit to be held in London. Suzanne was also Programme Co-Chair for Summits in 2022 and 2021 (online), 2020 (set for Singapore) and 2018 (Newcastle, UK). She has been invited to speak at conferences in England, Ireland, Japan, and China.

Suzanne has served on the Mountain Pacific Association of Colleges and Employers (MPACE) and the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Boards of Directors. Her NACE involvement also includes co-chairing numerous committees; presenting at NACE’s inaugural Executive Leadership Symposium; joining the faculty of NACE’s Management Leadership Institute; delivering numerous annual conference presentations; and authoring articles. Suzanne holds a Master of Arts in Higher Education from the University of Arizona.  

Karol Johansen is a proud UCI alumna (BA English) and has served in the field of Career Development for more than 25 years, specializing in the career needs of college students. Prior to her current position as Director of Career Education, she served as Senior Counseling Manager for Pre-Professional Services at the UCLA Career Center where she assisted students in preparing and applying to graduate/professional schools.

Karol earned her Master's degree in Counseling at Loyola Marymount University with a concentration in multicultural education. She comes to UCI with private industry experience in financial services/advertising, having worked for a leading investment publication. Karol's work in the field of career services has been featured in many major publications, including Time Magazine (Joel Stein's Awesome Column) and the Los Angeles Times. One of Karol's favorite career development quotes is "Be true to yourself and useful to the journey."

Hema Paliwal brings with her a diverse background in both higher education and corporate HR, with a keen eye for business strategy development and promoting student career success.

Most recently, Hema was the Assistant Director of Employer Relations for Mihaylo College of Business & Economics at California State University, Fullerton. In her seven years at Mihaylo, she started and grew the employer relations program, in which she oversaw all employer outreach, developed diverse employer programming, and was integral in strengthening recruiting relationships to serve the college’s 9.500 elite undergraduate and graduate students. Prior to Mihaylo, Hema worked in corporate Human Resources where she wore multiple hats from talent recruitment, navigating HR operations, and promoting key business development.

Hema holds an MBA in Organizational Leadership and a BA in Human Resource Management, both from California State University, Fullerton. In her free time and as a SoCal native, she enjoys going to outdoor summer concerts, singing in her local choir, and hiking around the lakes and mountains of Southern California.

Coming Soon

Leigh creates teachable moments to help others grow. With more than 20 years' experience in education - ranging from elementary school teacher to directing the UCI Graduate Resource Center - she understands the power of education. In her current position as the Senior Project Manager for the Division of Career Pathways, she develops and promotes initiatives for students as they navigate their career paths. Her passion for mentoring and connecting people fuel her both professionally and personally.