Center for Career Engagement Leadership

Norma Guerra Gaier is the Associate Vice Chancellor for Career Development and Education. In this role she leads the newly established WashU Center for Career Engagement designed to provide equitable and consistent access and services for all undergraduate, graduate and professional students across schools and a one-stop connection for all employers, alumni and families who want to support WashU students and alumni in their career journeys.

She most recently served as the inaugural Executive Director for Texas Career Engagement at the University of Texas at Austin, where she led and engaged in strategic collaborations with the institution’s 15 independent career centers and created a campus-wide culture of collaboration to support its 52,000+ students. At UT Austin, she expanded internship and career exploration opportunities; secured and awarded need-based grants and funding to support students in their career experiences; launched a graduate career and professional development team; developed and fostered new local-to-global industry relationships; and partnered with alumni to serve as mentors and career connections. Gaier is a frequent presenter and contributor in her profession and is a past-president of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Employers (SoACE). She has also served as a faculty member for the NACE Management Leadership Institute and the Executive Leadership Symposium and enjoys serving as a mentor to rising career services professionals.

She brings more than 30 years of experience in the field of career development and has previously held leadership roles and faculty appointments at Texas State University and St. Mary’s University. Gaier holds a Master of Arts in Communication Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in English-Communication Arts, both from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas.

Danny Pape serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Career Engagement at Washington University in St. Louis. He previously oversaw the Brown School Career Services team (Social Work, Public Health, Social Policy) before the unification of career centers on campus. He has more than 13 years of experience in career services, serving in roles as a career counselor graduate assistant at the University of Kansas; career consultant to the Haslam College of Business and associate director of employer development, both at the University of Tennessee; and director of the T. Rowe Price Career & Innovation Center at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Danny has worked and engaged in every aspect of a career services operation.

He holds a Master of Science in Education, Higher Education Administration from the University of Kansas and a Bachelor of Science, Finance from Missouri State University.

Danny is a St. Louis native and loves Blues hockey, Cardinals baseball, and Imo’s pizza. He has an amazing spouse, daughter, and dog who are important to him.

Danny’s favorite quote is from his dad who always said, “Work hard! People will notice if you work hard. They might not notice when you want them to but they will notice eventually!”

Nan Barnes serves as the Director of Academic Partnerships at WashU’s Center for Career Engagement. In this role, she is responsible for building strong relationships with WashU’s colleges, academic departments, faculty, and campus partners, providing students with a robust support network for their career development on campus.

Nan holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from WashU’s College of Arts & Sciences, and a Master of Accounting degree and an Executive MBA degree from WashU’s Olin Business School. For more than a decade, Nan served as a career mentor to international students studying at WashU. Nan’s commitment to the university extends to her role on the Danforth Staff Council from 2020 to 2022, where she advocated for staff benefits, particularly flexible work arrangements in response to post-pandemic changes.

Residing in St. Louis with her husband and daughter, Nan enjoys spending time with her family during weekends and celebrates her Chinese heritage by watching historical drama.

Tyler Gahrs serves as the Manager of Strategy & Impact for the Center for Career Engagement. In this role, he leads the operations, events, and data strategy for career engagement efforts at Washington University in St. Louis. Tyler previously directed the Chancellor’s Career Fellows program and has taught in Arts & Sciences at WashU. He holds a Master of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis and a Bachelor of Arts in German and History from Oakland University.

Casey Jenkerson is the Director of Employer Engagement at WashU Center for Career Engagement. In this role, she provides strategic direction for the employer engagement team, fostering relationships with employers, campus partners, and alumni to expand internship and employment opportunities for WashU students.

Since joining WashU in 2017, Casey has leveraged her background in both higher education and the corporate sector to build meaningful partnerships and innovative recruitment strategies. Prior to her work in higher education, she spent several years in human resources and recruitment, where she developed expertise in talent acquisition and organizational collaboration.

Under her leadership, the employer engagement team cultivates new employer relationships, strengthens existing partnerships, and collaborates closely with talent acquisition leaders to design tailored recruitment approaches. Beyond her work at WashU, Casey also serves on the Board of Directors for the Midwest Association of Colleges and Employers (MWACE) as the Director of College Membership.

Christine Keller is the Director of Career Communities & Career Development. She seeks to inspire students to explore careers, make connections, meet alumni, and feel a sense of belonging. Her mission is to connect students to their ideas and goals for the future, even in times of uncertainty, through innovative programming, collaborative partnerships, and active listening.

With more than 25 years in higher education, Christine is a certified career management coach who has presented at the National Career Development Association conference on liberal arts employability, career innovation, and career development as a retention tool. In 2016, she attended the NACE Career Management Leadership Institute.

With her foreign language degree, she wants to communicate with students in their own language, figuratively if not literally, and with a Master of Arts in Counseling, she seeks to support them throughout the lifelong process of self-discovery and career discernment.

Christine champions equity, innovation, and wellness in her community as an elected school board vice president of her local school district. Along with her husband, she enjoys spending time with their two daughters, traveling and catching live shows. He’s a great chef, always whipping up something new, and she’s a baker who wants to pass down the family recipes.