Meet the URI Humanities Alumn who will be on our Linking Humanities to Careers Panel!
Rissa Koritzinsky is currently a Senior Investment Analyst with Transamerica Retirement Advisors in Harrison, NY. She works with the Defined Contribution Asset Allocation Services team. Her responsibilities include day to day operations and setup of the firm’s asset allocation services (these services automatically place retirement plan participants in well diversified and age appropriate investment portfolios), writing white papers, creating branded materials, and speaking on conference calls/ in presentations about these asset allocation services to clients, financial advisors, and internal teams.
Previously, Rissa worked for Northern Trust as a Senior Associate Program Manager. In this role she worked with pension, wealth and foundation clients, to develop, implement, and maintain investment programs totaling $1.5 billion in assets.
Rissa has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Rhode Island and Master in Business Administration focused in Finance and Business Economics from Fordham University.
Rissa currently lives in Stamford, CT with her husband and visits Rhode Island (especially Narragansett!) every chance she gets!
Michael Derderian currently attends the University of Rhode Island and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. His long term goal is to obtain an MA in Military Studies and Diplomacy. Michael secured an archeology internship with the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, where he is taking archeological collections and exhibiting the findings. Michael is an Eagle Scout and has served on the Corvias Foundation board since 2006.
Marisa O’Gara is the Campaign Manager for Jorge Elorza, the Democratic candidate for Mayor of Providence currently running against former Mayor, Buddy Cianci. She led a relatively unknown former Housing Court Judge to a primary victory over the sitting City Council President, who outspent Elorza 2-to-1. O’Gara is a URI 2012 Honors graduate with degrees in English and French, and aspires to attend law school. Before joining the Elorza campaign, she was Deputy Director of Community Relations for current Providence Mayor Angel Taveras. She also worked on the successful Rhode Islanders United for Marriage campaign for marriage equality, and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse’s 2012 re-election. She lives in Providence with her girlfriend Katanya.
John Kurzawa graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. He then spent four years in the insurance, custom publishing, and communications industries before obtaining his middle and high school Language Arts teaching certification in both Connecticut and North Carolina. Currently, John is employed by the Branford School district in New Haven Country, Connecticut where he is an educator and tutor. This career path allows him to take much of his knowledge gained from his URI Humanities education, and share it with younger generations.
John is currently looking to branch further into the freelance writing industry, as his University of Rhode Island Humanities education has given him a deep appreciation for poetry and essays. He has had work published in a local New Haven arts digest, and in multiple online article forums.