Arjun Arora
Experience: A leader in AI technology, career coaching, and education with over a decade of experience educating 5,000+ experts on AI ethics and implementations. Spearheaded 100+ enterprise AI projects across Fortune 500 and founded Advisor AI to level the playing field via comprehensive, individualized advising support services.
BEST CAREER ADVICE
First ask yourself who you want to be, then go do that!
Michael Griffin
Experience: Michael brings 25+ years of experience in higher education administration, spanning admissions, enrollment, retention, financial aid, and advising. With a background in private universities and public systems, he now focuses on helping high school students navigate career and postsecondary education pathways.
BEST CAREER ADVICE
Visionaries see no barriers, only what could be. They ask what if and why not. Answered by let’s try. They see the invisible. What do you see?
Alan Beaudrie
Experience: Nationally recognized, award-winning academic advisor with 25+ years in higher education. Founder of Beaudrie College Success Coaching, LLC. Former advisor at ASU and University of Arizona.
BEST CAREER ADVICE
The purpose of college is not to prepare you for what you will do the rest of your life. It is to prepare you for your first steps after graduation. You just need to make sure you are going in the right direction.
Alan Williams
Experience: Alan is an engineering leader who transforms technical organizations through strategic architecture and team development. With 20+ years across enterprise and startup environments, he specializes in accelerating release velocity, reducing costs, and strengthening security postures. Known for building collaborative, high-impact teams that bridge technical strategy with hands-on execution.
Best Career Advice: Do what you love, learn from your experiences, and have no regrets!
Anna Stoefen
Experience: With 10+ years in content development & digital publishing for SaaS startups, and a deep background in editorial operations, online course creation, and legal work, Anna brings a wide range of industry experience to craft easy onboarding and delightful learning experiences.
BEST CAREER ADVICE
Stay flexible, curious, and keep learning.
Shubham Shinde
Experience: 4+ years in AI research and academic advising. MS in Computer Science from Santa Clara; former Amazon employee and AI hackathon winner. Improved advising AI model accuracy and speed by 75%.
BEST CAREER ADVICE
To achieve independence and success, you must work harder and smarter than the rest, especially when others quit. Success isn't reserved for a select few; it belongs to those who persist when others let go.
Aditya Gupta
Experience: Aditya, a Computer Science graduate from the University of Arizona, has 3+ years as a Teaching Assistant and Peer Advisor, supporting 450+ students. A former data analyst, he specializes in leveraging technology to optimize solutions, enhance user experiences, and drive impactful, data-driven results.
BEST CAREER ADVICE
Reach out, don’t hesitate—it's the first step to growth.
Priyanka Subramanian
Experience: 12+ years as a product manager and former entrepreneur with expertise in building learner-centered products. Co-founded Allrounder Cup, a quiz-based social games company reaching 30,000+ students. Led high-impact projects with top brands, including Pearson, Leap Finance, and Teach for India.
BEST CAREER ADVICE
Embrace the uncomfortable.
S.K. Lee, Ed.M., CPCC
Experience: S.K. Lee is a seasoned founder, certified executive coach, and strategic investor with a track record of scaling startups and empowering leadership teams. As an angel investor, Venture Scout, and LP, she backs bold founders in EdTech, future-of-work, health, sustainability, and vertical SaaS. A Harvard and women’s college alumna, she’s most at home among startups—or with her rescue pups in the Redwoods.
BEST CAREER ADVICE
Invest in relationships. Relationships with your peers, supervisors and staff, professors and staff on campus– no matter who it is, this network will be invaluable to you as your career unfolds.
Brian Backus
Experience: 20+ years in family media; co-founder of Hello Wonder, leveraging AI for family-friendly internet experiences. Former Disney and DreamWorks producer, Amazon product manager. Harvard MBA, USC MFA.
BEST CAREER ADVICE
You have to go out on a limb to get the best fruit.
Stephen Blaker
Experience: Cofounder of Blaker & Granet with 10+ years helping students and professionals navigate U.S. immigration for career success. Client industries include tech, healthcare, real estate, and apparel.
BEST CAREER ADVICE
Where there is a will, there is a way.
Founder Story
Arjun Arora's professional journey demonstrates how intentional skill development, timely guidance, and perseverance can unlock transformative career opportunities.
His path was shaped by overcoming numerous challenges—ranging from being marginalized for his LGBTQ+ identity in school to facing discrimination as an immigrant in corporate settings to navigating the complexities of being a first-generation college student. Through these experiences, he cultivated a growth mindset anchored in continuous self-assessment, skill-building, and mentoring, enabling him to reach significant milestones in record time.
Starting as a student sitting in the back of the classroom who didn't know how to ask the right questions, he grew into a global technology leader responsible for implementing AI solutions for multiple Fortune 500 companies, including major clothing retailers, technology firms, chip manufacturers, higher education institutions and Formula 1 teams, helping generate over $100M in business ROI within five years. In leading large-scale enterprise projects, he has trained more than 10,000 business and technical leaders on adopting a human-centric approach to AI and technology projects.
In 2024, Arjun, along with his experienced team of higher education leaders and nationally recognized advisors, traveled over 30,000 miles to visit more than 250 colleges, identifying key barriers to student success and co-creating meaningful, holistic, and personalized support solutions. This effort led to the launch of Advisor AI and subsequent collaborations with global associations and universities, now reaching teams across 2000 colleges.
Arjun actively participates in philanthropic efforts such as the Arjun Arora '15 Sports Business Institute Research Grant, which supports hundreds of university students’ professional growth each year. He has also assisted thousands of students and professionals with career development and has helped numerous LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs and startups find purpose and achieve business success.
"There is always a first; we just need the right support and guidance to explore, prepare, and achieve it."