Learn more about our counselors and how to contact them.
We carefully select our CCN counselors based on a set of rigorous criteria to ensure you receive the best services possible. View counselor requirements
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 of 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 11's "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
Email: Roy@RJBConsulting.biz
Office hours: by mutual agreement
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 ctenters.
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
Email: 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;
Email: annechan1@gmail.com
Office hours: by mutual agreement
M.J. Mangiarelli, M.S., B.A.
- M.S., Counseling, with a Specialization in Work and Careers, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
- B.A., Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
- Certified Health and Wellness Coach, Wellcoaches Corporation, Boston, MA
- Nationally Certified Counselor
M.J. Mangiarelli is an insightful, empathic, and strategic career and life coach. She is passionate about helping individuals move forward in their professional and personal lives with clarity and confidence. M.J. meets clients wherever they are with objectivity and encouragement. Topics range from “I’m lost, I don’t know what I want to do next” to “I know what I want to do; now how do I get there?”
M.J.’s approach to counseling is holistic. She combines her twenty years of experience as a counselor and human resources manager, along with a certification in health and wellness, and strongly supports the integration of work-life with physical and mental wellbeing. This includes helping clients understand the alignment of their core values, strengths, individual styles, and goals to their work roles and work environment.
MJ readily shares her insights on managing one’s career inside organizations. Her HR background spans the technology, healthcare, and ed-tech industries, and her previous roles and functional expertise includes HR Business Partner, Employee Relations Manager, Management Development, Performance Management, Recruiting, and Diversity. In addition, she worked in the outplacement industry, where she facilitated workshops, led small groups, and counseled clients in all aspects of job loss, job change, and obtaining new career opportunities.
Currently, M.J. coaches mid- to senior-level executives in the MSx Program (Sloan Fellows) at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and MDs, PhDs, and postdocs at the Stanford School of Medicine Career Center.
Her Specialty Areas:
Career management, creating a career roadmap, dual careers and parenting, job search strategies for domestic and international job seekers, interviewing with confidence, leadership development, career and life transitions, encore careers, change management, performance management, 360 assessments, Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (certified).
Contact Information:
Email: mjmangi19@gmail.com
Office hours: By mutual agreement. Evening and weekend appointments available.
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:
Email: 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 email 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
Email: 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 email 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
Email: 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
