All Online Exclusives

Invest in Yourself

Advice from W&M Professional Development Week 2026

March 17, 2026
By Claire De Lisle M.B.A. ’21

Every year during Professional Development Week, members of the W&M community at all stages of their careers — from students to C-suite leaders — gather online and at regional events around the country to learn from each other and grow professional skills. More than 20 leaders shared their career journeys, advice and lessons learned.

From a candid conversation about career courage with Debi Brooks ’81 of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research to practical playbooks on negotiating salaries and promotions, building a financial runway and recovering from workplace mistakes, this week was packed with actionable insights. We explored the honest tradeoffs of big career moves, validating your startup, the art of entrepreneurship without burning out and how to harness the power of artificial intelligence and a W&M education to thrive in an evolving world of work.

Here are four voices from the week with practical advice you can use today. Look for more from Professional Development Week speakers in future editions of the W&M Alumni Magazine and watch all of the recordings on the W&M Career Development & Professional Engagement webpage.

Professional Development Week is part of William & Mary's commitment to being your career partner for life. Bucking national trends, in the latest Next Destination Survey at William & Mary, 92% of the Class of 2024 reported positive career outcomes — either employed or attending graduate or professional school — within six months of graduation. Of those employed, 97% reported that their jobs aligned with their career interests. Learn more about our career outcomes.

Deborah “Debi” Brooks ’81

“Self-awareness is the best investment you can make in yourself — to figure out what will make the idea of work feel valuable to you and rewarding financially, emotionally, intellectually and socially.” — Debi Brooks ’81

Keynote speaker Deborah “Debi” Brooks ’81, CEO and co-founder of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, describes herself as being “scrappy,” a “pop-quiz person” and someone who is comfortable figuring things out as she goes and making decisions without waiting for perfect certainty. These traits have served her well in building a career she loves. “I have faith in what I bring,” she says.

She knew she wanted to work at a place where she could be her authentic self, with smart people around her, constantly learning and doing work that aligned with her values. After interviewing with actor and activist Michael J. Fox about helping to launch what would become The Michael J. Fox Foundation, their conversation continued as they left the building — discussing not just the role, but the kind of organization they wanted to build. “We talked through those things casually on the sidewalk, but fundamentally they are still who we both are and core to the goals and values of the Fox Foundation,” she says. Read more about her background and career in the W&M Alumni Magazine.

Other advice from Debi:

Watch the recording to hear more from Debi and moderator Darpan Kapadia ’95, COO of LS Power and chair of the W&M Foundation Board of Trustees.

Christian Chisolm ’18, M.B.A. ’24

“Feedback can help you understand how you and your work are being perceived. You might have your own perception of yourself and what you are doing or contributing, but the team or manager could have a different outlook. When you seek it out early and often, it’s going to allow you to course correct.” — Christian Chisolm ’18, M.B.A. ’24

Christian Chisolm ’18, M.B.A. ’24 served in the U.S. Army as an armor officer in the 3rd Infantry Division, where one of his nicknames was “Compliment Sandwich” for the way he would begin and end his feedback with positives. His goal was to create safe spaces for his team to debrief together, and he would often ask them for their thoughts on what happened and what they could do differently next time before offering his own assessment.

Christian returned to the Alma Mater of the Nation for his M.B.A. and during that program took an internship with JPMorgan Chase, where he works today. Read more about his experience in the W&M VET Certificate Program. He also serves on the W&M Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Other advice from Christian:

  • When you receive feedback from your manager, write it down and email it back to them to show you understood what they said and what they want to see next. “It shows your manager that you care and are willing to take the feedback and implement their vision, which can go a very long way,” he says.
  • If leadership is a tower, each piece of feedback is a building block and you can choose which pieces you use to make your tower strong.

Watch the recording to learn more about giving and receiving feedback from Lindsay Wilson ’27 (W&M Student-Athlete Advisory Committee), Ryan Wood (HRDP & Jefferson Lab, W&M Employer Advisory Board) and Roxane Adler Hickey M.Ed. ’02, Ed.D. ’23 (Assistant Provost for Leadership & Academic Engagement at William & Mary’s Washington Center).

Maybelline Mendoza Sak ’07, M.B.A. ’14

“What I’ve learned as an entrepreneur is that motivation comes from confidence, and a lot of that confidence comes from just doing something. So, if you test and then you realize ‘hey, that’s not the direction I’ll go in,’ it’ll actually give you a bit more momentum to keep going and explore new things.” — Maybelline Mendoza Sak ’07, M.B.A. ’14

Maybelline Mendoza Sak ’07, M.B.A. ’14, is the head of marketing for ADV, which she co-founded in 2017. This fitness brand is known for its gear for tennis and pickleball players. She described how she grew ADV into a profitable business by testing and testing some more to see what resonated with her customers and how best to reach them.

Maybelline was the first in her family to graduate from college and is part of a close-knit Latino family. “My family is used to me hitting hard and going for things,” she says. Before she started ADV, she worked in marketing for L’Oréal, the Coca-Cola Co. and Nestlé. Read more about Maybelline’s experience at Coca-Cola in this W&M Alumni Magazine article from 2017. 

Other advice from Maybelline:

  • Keep it simple. Using an overly complicated organizational tool or sales platform will cause you to spend too much time fussing with that instead of working on your product.
  • Work on what’s important when you have the most energy. (She is a morning person so makes sure she tackles projects that require focus between 5 a.m. and 2 p.m., whereas her co-founder doesn’t start his work until the evening.)


Watch the recording to learn more about building a side business from Chelsea Mandello M.B.A. ’21 (founder and CEO of Troopster and 2024 National Veteran Entrepreneur of the Year) and Graham Henshaw (Assistant Provost for Entrepreneurship at William & Mary).

Steve Heinzman M.B.A. ’88

“A career runway is a financial backstop — money combined with a plan that gives your career journey the flexibility to define it on your own terms and not be dependent on others or the environment.” — Steve Heinzman M.B.A. ’88

Steve Heinzman M.B.A. ’88 is a financial coach and the founder of RedSky Money, a nonprofit that provides free financial coaching to early-career professionals. He worked in corporate finance for more than 30 years, and when he retired, he became an Accredited Financial Counselor and volunteer for local and national nonprofits, helping hundreds of people make financial decisions. He realized that bright, capable young people were falling behind, not because they lacked potential, but because they weren’t being exposed to financial education and the skills to make sound financial decisions for their futures. He founded RedSky to help change that.

He encourages people at all stages of their careers to make a three-step plan. Step 1 is awareness: Assess what you value, then look at your expenses — are you spending money on things that aren’t on the list of what you value? Step 2 is setting a direction for yourself with clear, measurable goals. Step 3 is sequencing those goals so you work on the ones that build momentum.

Other advice from Steve:

  • A good first goal is to build a small emergency fund of one month’s living expenses. That will not only give you an essential cushion but help you gain momentum to build a larger fund and work toward other goals.
  • Get started today — don’t let uncertainty or the desire for perfection get in the way. You should build the runway before you need to fly the plane!

Watch the recording to learn more about building your financial runway.