Learn more about our counselors and how to contact them.
Marianne Adoradio, M.A.
Marianne brings to the career coaching process her business background in operations, management, staffing and over 15 years of career development and training. She has a passion for supporting professionals through any phase of their career journey including:
- Creating a platform of self knowledge around values, style, skills and interests for success in the work place
- Finding the most suitable and satisfying work roles and projects in order to contribute within their organizations and to have meaningful careers
- Leveraging strengths and building confidence for success
- Marketing ones unique brand and integrating it into resumes, cover letters and job interviews
Early in Marianne's career, she worked at several leading edge companies, including medical device and telecommunications, working in procurement operations as both an individual contributor and hiring manager. She supported new product development teams as well as sustaining products in manufacturing.
After a career transition, Marianne began her private practice, Design Your Direction, where she has been both a career coach and trainer for individuals and corporations. She was part of the startup of one of IBM's largest career services programs and worked onsite at Advanced Micro Devices, supporting organizations during growth and transition. Marianne was also involved with the Career Action Center, a well-known nonprofit in the Silicon Valley area that focused on helping professionals in the workplace and in transition.
Most recently, Marianne is part of the award winning Genentech CareerLab - one of the original team members in 2009. She is an adjunct career advisor for Berkeley's Haas MBA program and continues in her own career development practice, Design Your Direction.
Marianne holds a Master of Arts in Counseling from Santa Clara University and a B.S. in Business from San Jose State University. Marianne is certified in and facilitates many corporate team building sessions in the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). She is also certified in the Strong Interest Inventory.
Contact Information:
250 Josefa St. Suite 206, San Jose, CA 95110
E-mail: marianneadoradio@gmail.com
Phone: 408-295-6656
Website: www.designyourdirection.com
Office hours: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Evening appointments offered Wednesday and Thursday, 5 - 8 p.m.
Saturday appointments also available between 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. as needed.
Roy J. Blitzer
- B.A., English Literature, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
- MBA., Organizational Behavior, University of California at Berkeley
Roy J. Blitzer, an Executive Coach and Management Consultant, has 30+ years experience as a human resources and business management professional. He has held numerous positions -- manager of training and corporate communications, founding principal, vice president, and senior executive consultant -- and has championed a variety of projects that range from creation and delivery of a world wide management training program and executive coaching and development process to chairing a human resource function and establishing systems and support for service quality and self-managing team implementations.
He is an adjunct faculty member at the University of San Francisco, San Jose State University and Menlo College, sits on the Board of Directors for the Institute of Social Responsibility and the Institute for Effective School Leadership and is former chair the Palo Alto, CA Human Relations Commission. The author of five books,"Office Smarts: 252 Tips for Success in the Workplace", "Find the Bathrooms First", and the "Hire Me, Inc." series ("Package Yourself to Get Your Dream Job", "Interviews that Get Offers", and "Resumes that Get Results"), Roy has been published in numerous journals and magazines. He produces and hosts his own television show, "Ask Dr. Business," has been a regular guest on NBC Channel 11s "Bay Area Saturday," and is a frequent speaker at national professional conferences.
Recently, Roy’s coaching assignments have included C-Level and senior professionals in Finance, IT, Sales & Marketing, HR and Operations. Roy has coached extensively at Stanford at many levels in the university and in numerous departments (H & S, Law, Engineering) and has supported and helped staff at other academic institutions and not-for-profits.
Previously, he was a founding principal and vice president of Zenger-Miller, a training, education and consulting company (now Achieve Global International), a senior director at Spherion Corporation and a manager at Syntex Corporation (now Roche, Inc.).
Contact Information:
618 Fulton Street
Palo Alto, CA 94301-2137
Phone: (650) 326-5489 |
Mobile: (650) 303-6862
E-Mail: Roy@RJBConsulting.biz
Office hours: by mutual agreement
Yvonne Blockie, M.A., NCC, MFT
- B.A., Business Administration - San Jose State University
- M.A, Counseling/Psychology - Santa Clara University
- NCC, Nationally Certified Counselor
- MFT, Marriage Family Therapist
Yvonne Blockie has been a career counselor and marriage family therapist for over 20 years, working in several career centers where innovative career development programs were developed and implemented. Yvonne has counseled and coached clients in career management and decisions on career paths. Yvonne worked at the Sun Microsystems Career Center for 10 years and was also involved in a mentoring program. She has presented workshops on career decision making and professional development.
Her counseling interests include:
- Overcoming roadblocks to success
- Assertiveness skills
- Self assessment
- Letting go of self-defeating beliefs from the past
Yvonne combines her marriage family counseling skills with career counseling to look at the whole person and how to balance work and life. Yvonne is goal oriented and believes strongly that people should have a life mission statement that serves as guide for achievements and choices.
Yvonne worked for a high-tech company for over 10 years in management and overseeing customer service programs. She has also been a individual contributor and worked in purchasing positions.
Yvonne's community service has included grief and loss counseling, development of a mentoring program for local chapter of CAMFT (California Association of Marriage Family Therapists) and leading a newly licensed MFT group.
Contact Information:
4100 Moorpark Ave, Ste 120, San Jose, CA 95117
E-mail: yvonnemft@gmail.com
Phone: 408-235-0872
Website: www.yvonnemft.com
Office hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursdays 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Diane Byster, LMFT, NCC, RYT
- B.S.W., University of Illinois, Urbana, Il
- M.S., Career Counseling San Francisco State University, San Fransico, CA
- NCC, National Certified Counselor
- LMFT, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Diane Byster is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, National Certified Counselor and Registered Yoga Teacher. Currently, Diane sees clients in her private practice in Palo Alto and Berkeley and specializes in the intersection between career counseling and personal adjustment issues, such as problems with motivation, procrastination, underemployment, workplace conflict and self-confidence. She serves as instructor in the Behavioral Health Education program for Kaiser Permanente and teaches yoga at studios in the Bay Area. She has previously provided counseling and training services at Employee Assistance Programs, a Career Management Consulting Firm and University Career Centers.
Diane has published articles in professional journals including "Career Planning and Adult Development" and "California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists". Diane edited a book called; "Co-Creating Change," by Jon Frederickson, winner of the 2014 International Award for best book in mental health. She was an editor and story contributor for another book; "Luck is No Accident: Making the Most of Happenstance in Work and Life."
Diane has completed an advanced training program in an evidenced based therapy called Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) that integrates neurobiology, somatic experience, mindfulness, biofeedback and experiential learning.
Contact Information:
667 Lytton Ave, Suite #7, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Phone: 650-482-9577
E-mail: Diane@Byster.com
Office hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 9:30 a.m.- 5:30 p.m., Thursday 9:45 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Anne Chan, M.A., M.S., M.F.T.
- B.A., English, University of California, Berkeley
- M.A., English, University of Washington, Seattle
- M.S., Counseling Psychology, California State University, Hayward
- Ph.D. (June 2008), Counseling Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford
- Licensed Marriage Family Therapist
Anne’s passion for helping others led her to make a career change from teaching to career counseling. She has worked as a career counselor in a variety of settings, including community agencies and higher education. She was a marriage family therapy intern at the Stanford Faculty and Staff Help Center from 2002 to 2004, where she worked with Stanford employees to resolve a variety of work, career and mental health issues. Her Stanford experience also includes being a doctoral student at the School of Education for seven years.
Anne utilizes her training, life experiences, and intuition to guide clients toward their best possible selves in their careers. She absolutely believes in the potential and capacity of people to achieve their goals and dreams in their lives and relationships.
Her counseling style is warm, caring, compassionate, down-to-earth, thoughtful and respectful. She provides an individualized plan for her clients and enjoys working collaboratively with people to maximize benefits from career counseling.
Her passions include helping people make career changes during major life transitions (e.g., after a baby or job loss), identify their strengths, find a niche for themselves in the work world and get unstuck from emotional blocks. She loves guiding clients in resume construction and job interview preparation. She also loves working with people seeking creative and artistic jobs and are looking to incorporate meaning into their lives.
Contact Information:
3209 Whipple Rd, Union City, CA 94587
Phone: 510-744-1781;
E-mail: annechan1@gmail.com
Office hours: by mutual agreement
Agnes Le, MBA, MS
- B.A., Economics, Rice University
- M.B.A., Stanford Graduate School of Business
- M.S., Career Management and Counseling, University of London
Agnes Le is a career counselor and coach with over 15 years of expertise in career development. Previously, she worked at the Career Management Center at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In her role as the director of career development and advising, she led the team of advisors who coached 800-plus students and alumni every year. She conducted more than 100 one-on-one sessions as well as led Career Life Vision workshops for 350 students and alumni. In addition to her career counseling work with Stanford, she coaches experienced leaders in the Exec Ed and MSx programs and is a group facilitator for the popular Interpersonal Dynamics course at Stanford Business School.
As a former Stanford staff member, Agnes is passionate about supporting Stanford employees in their career development. She works with people to develop a career strategy aligned with their values, identify their strengths and personal brand, and position themselves effectively for their next career step. Agnes also cares deeply about helping clients thrive in their work environments both in their work and in their relationships with others. She supports clients to manage effective career conversations, build a personal board and support network and leverage their inner game (mental, emotional and physical state) to increase work satisfaction and well-being.
Agnes lives in Palo Alto with her husband and her young son who inspires her to be present and to enjoy life. When she is not running after her child, she enjoys running half-marathons and marathons.
Contact Information:
408 Deodar Street, Palo Alto, CA 94306
Phone: 650-888 9426
E-mail: agnes.le@gmail.com
Office hours: Monday, Friday 9:30 a.m.- 1 p.m., Wednesday 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m., 6:30 - 8 p.m., Tuesday, Thursday 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-11 a.m.
Kathy Lindblom, MA
- B.S., Psychology / Minor in Spanish, Santa Clara University
- M.A., Counseling with Emphasis in Career Development, Santa Clara University
Kathy Lindblom is a career counselor with over 10 years of experience in career counseling and development. Kathy’s private practice offers one-on-one counseling and coaching, as well as workshop facilitation. She has extensive experience working with diverse ages, cultures, genders, careers and industries. Her own career background includes sales, staffing, project management, counseling, coaching, training and corporate career development in industries such as education, high-tech and non-profit. She has worked in a career development/counseling capacity at the NOVA Job Center, San Jose State University Career Center, Right Management Consultants, Career Action Center, ProMatch and Seagate Technology. In addition to her practice, she is also an adjunct lecturer at Santa Clara University in the Graduate School of Education and Counseling Psychology.
Kathy is a former board member and current member of the Silicon Valley Chapter of the California Career Development Association. She is also a member of the California Counseling Association and National Career Development Association where she has Master Career Counselor (MCC) designation and participates in various conferences, workshops and webinars.
Career issues in which Kathy has expertise are:
- Choosing a career
- Planning for career change and/or advancement strategies
- Marketable/transferable skills analysis and development
- Labor market research including forecasts and trends
- Assessment of career values, interests, skills and preferences
- Improving job search skills and strategies, including resume and interview preparation, networking and compensation negotiation
- Managing career transitions including layoffs, downsizing and re-entry
- Life/work balance and dual career family issues
Contact Information:
Office: 1930 Camden Ave., Ste 1B, San Jose, CA 95124
Phone: 408-219-4727
Email: Kathy@klcareer.com
Website: www.klcareer.com
Office hours: Monday, Tuedays, Thursday, Friday, 9 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Anna Ranieri, MBA, Ph.D, M.F.T
- B.A., Literature, Yale University
- M.B.A., Marketing, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, Stanford University
Anna Ranieri has been a career counselor, consultant and coach for over 15 years. She aids clients in career development, advancement and job change.
She has been a Stanford staff member and a senior director of an international human capital consulting company. Anna has a private practice at Stanford, as well as a consulting practice with organizations that include not-for-profit groups, high tech firms and financial service companies.
She is also the co-author of the book "How Can I Help?" "What You Can (and Can’t) Do to Counsel a Friend, Colleague or Family Member With a Problem".
Anna is particularly interested in helping people assess their interests and strengths, make behavioral changes needed to meet their career goals, and overcome perceived obstacles on the way to optimizing their professional lives and work/life balance. She is skilled in guiding clients through all the processes of job search, job enhancement and career advancement.
Contact Information:
Phone: (650) 701-7602
E-mail: annaranieri@gmail.com
Office hours: Monday - Friday 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Ellen Shulman
- B.A., Communications, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- M.A., Career Development, John F. Kennedy University
Ellen is a co-founder, career coach, and group facilitator for CareerGenerations in Palo Alto as well as a career consultant and trainer at Lee Hecht Harrison in Silicon Valley. She is passionate about career development and truly enjoys helping people navigate the complex world of work.
She counsels clients with career changing, job search and work adjustment issues. She helps individuals find their career focus through a creative self-assessment process, including career assessments and deep open dialogue.
Ellen brings a warm, motivating and strategic approach and practical tools to aid clients in conducting an effective job search including:
- Job search strategy and tactics
- Personal branding
- Resume and LinkedIn profile and other social media development, and
- Interview practice including a taped interview session
Prior to becoming a career counselor, Ellen worked in marketing and strategy as a senior consultant and manager to Strategic Mindshare, a boutique consulting firm specializing in consumer products and services. She was also a fashion buyer, importing goods from Asia and Europe, an adjunct assistant professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, and an adjunct instructor in career counseling in the Bay Area.
Ellen offers complimentary 15-minute phone consultations to get things started. Please feel free to e-mail her to schedule a time to talk.
Contact Information:
CareerGenerations
2225 E. Bayshore Rd. Suite #200, Palo Alto, CA 94303 (at Embarcadero and 101)
Phone: (650) 799-5652
E-Mail: ellen@careergenerations.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ellenshulman
Web: www.careergenerations.com
Office hours: Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. - 9 p.m., Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., some Saturdays
Lisa Stotlar
- B.A., Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
- M.A., Counseling Psychology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Lisa Stotlar has been a career counselor, workshop trainer and program director in educational, nonprofit and corporate settings since 1990. She has successfully helped thousands of people discover and celebrate their gifts and find meaningful work.
Some of Lisa's specialties include:
Career Development:
- Career exploration
- Career assessments: Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), the Strong Interest Inventory, Skillscan, DISC, Values, and others
- Managing your career effectively
- Managing challenging work situations
Job Search:
- Highly effective job search strategies
- Strategic networking – in person and online
- Successful interviewing
- Designing top-notch resumes, cover letters, & LinkedIn profiles
- Professional branding
She co-founded the career services firm CareerGenerations in Palo Alto in 2010. Her goal is to help people from every generation navigate their careers successfully. Her style is warm, positive and supportive and at the same time, practical and strategic. She teaches people the fundamental skills of planning and implementing a successful career path and successful career transitions. Once they learn how, they're empowered. They know they can use those skills not only right now, but for the rest of their lives.
Lisa offers complimentary 15-minute phone consultations so she can learn about your specific needs and share helpful next steps. Please feel free to e-mail her to schedule a time to talk.
Contact Information:
CareerGenerations
2225 E. Bayshore Rd. Suite #200, Palo Alto, CA 94303 (at Embarcadero and 101)
Phone: (650) 619-2214
E-Mail: lisa@careergenerations.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/lisacareercoach
Web: www.careergenerations.com
Office hours: Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. - 9 p.m. Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., some Saturdays
