Contact the Career Development Office

Mariann Adams

Administrative Assistant

Mariann has been at YSE since 1996. She has provided administrative support at the school for over twenty years, specializing in student affairs, business operations, and now she specifically supports the CDO and the career aspirations of current students. She is very interested in environmentalism and the work of YSE. Mariann is a native of Connecticut, and currently resides in East Haven, close to the water. 

Kathy Douglas

Senior Associate Director

Kathy has nineteen years of experience in career development and student services at Yale University, thirteen of them at YSE where she specializes in environmental careers. She served for five years at Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences as Recruitment Coordinator for PhD and masters candidates in tech, biochemical research, investment banking, and management consulting. Kathy is an active member of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), is a certified Myers-Brigg Practitioner, a certified LGBTQ SafeZone Trainer, and a member of the National Career Development Association (NCDA). In 2018, she was selected by the graduating YSE class for the "People's Choice Award" for her leadership at the school.

Kathy holds an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, an M.F.A. in Museum Studies, a B.A. in Studio Art, and is a practicing poet. She has served the New Haven community on the Board of the YMCA Youth Center, an organization committed to at-risk youth.  She is a founding neighbor of the Nash Street Community Park, an Urban Resources Initiative urban restoration project.

Kevin Doyle

Executive Director

Kevin leads a team of dedicated professionals and student workers responsible for: helping current graduate students and alumni advance in their chosen careers; increasing the involvement of employers in the life of YSE; and managing YSE’s Professional Skills Program. Before coming to YSE in August of 2019, Kevin had a long career in environmental consulting, workforce development, and executive management in the public, private and nonprofit sectors.  His previous professional work includes:

• President of Green Economy, an independent environmental consulting firm in Boston, from 2007-2019
• National Director of Program Development for Environmental Careers Organization (ECO), from 1991-2007

He is the co-author of four popular reference books on environmental careers from Island Press in Washington, DC. Kevin has a BA in Geography and Environmental Planning from the University of Iowa, which honored him as one of six inductees to the inaugural class of Alumni Fellows.

Maya Polan

Assistant Director

Maya joined YSE as the CDO Assistant Director after coordinating programming for international students in her role with Yale College’s Center for International and Professional Experience (CIPE). In addition to extensive work with international students at Yale, Maya's experience in higher education includes managing employer relationships, advising undergraduate and graduate students on their career development goals and strategies, and serving as Acting Director of Fine Arts Career Services at the University of Texas at Austin.

At YSE, Maya supports general CDO operations, manages recruitment activity on and off-campus, runs the Environmental Leadership Mentoring (ELM) program, and coordinates and develops summer experience opportunities and funding. A native of New Haven, Maya’s appetite for travel sent her across the country and around the world. She spent a decade living and working in California, Oregon, Bali, and Texas. She returned to her hometown in 2016 and will finish up a second master’s degree in public health at Southern Connecticut State University in the spring of 2021.

Peer Career Advisor Danielle Flanagan

Danielle is a first year MEM interested in wildlife conservation. She will be pursuing the Ecosystem Management and Conservation track. Danielle received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Washington where she focused on ocean acidification policy. During undergrad, she interned for several organizations including the Sierra Club, The Nature Conservancy, and the U.S. EPA Region 10. After graduation, she spent 3 years working for a non-profit that focused on business sustainability in the Silicon Valley.

Outside of school and work, Danielle was a competitive swimmer and waterpolo player and now keep busy with hikes, road trips and a bookclub.

Danielle is looking forward to meeting the YSE community and helping students utilize the extensive resources at the CDO!

Student Assistant Humna Sharif

Humna is a second year MEM focusing on Water Resource Science & Management and Environmental Policy Analysis. She is interested in exploring the interconnectedness of freshwater systems with land, and how we can address issues of water quantity/quality through ecosystems management practices and policy changes.This summer she worked with the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) on issues of water and land conservation in the Western US. In addition to her work with the Career Development Office, Humna is a peer editor for the Yale Environment Review. She holds a BA in Environmental Sciences and Environmental Thought & Practice from the University of Virginia, and worked at the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in Washington D.C prior to beginning her graduate work.

Humna enjoys drawing and exploring the outdoors in her free time, and is always ready for a game of softball. She is looking forward to keeping fellow YSEers informed abiout all the great opportunities coming through CDO!

Student Assistant Carlos Velazquez

Carlos is a first year MEM student interested in integrated landscape management and its applications to sustainable disaster resilience. He just graduated with a bachelor’s in Environmental Engineering and came to YSE to explore other areas within the environmental field while deepening his engineering knowledge through the Tsinghua joint degree program. Carlos hopes to build meaningful connections with his peers and serve as a resource and liaison between students and CDO.