Our authorsThe Top HR and Government experts

MyCareer@VA is a program that helps you build the career you want at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. With expertise brought to you by a team of career development specialists who understand the Federal workplace, MyCareer@VA is the place to set and achieve your career goals.

Mohamed Markar is the founder and President of The Center for Professional Education, Inc., an acclaimed provider of continuing education programs for financial professionals. For more than three decades, Markar has initiated cutting-edge courses for a wide range of industries, employing the best speakers and instructors from the worlds of accounting, tax, and business to ensure the latest knowledge and updates are always available. His company offers thousands of webinars, self-study programs, seminars and conferences annually, and hosts events nationally and internationally.

Milena Gallo is the resident editor at The Negotiation Experts, with more than five years of experience. Milena has a master’s degree in writing and has been creating and editing online content ever since. She is passionate about clear messaging, helping business professionals continue learning, and the Oxford comma. Milena also loves to write in her free time. A member of a creative writing club, Milena and her friends have authored several science fiction novels, which they hope to one day have published.

Mike Podesto is a former recruiter and current Founder & CEO of Find My Profession, a leading resume writing and career coaching company. Mike’s career advice has been featured on sites like Inc., Zety, Motherly, Fast Company, and more. His viral posts on employment have been seen by millions on LinkedIn. He’s even been featured in a variety of career-related podcasts such as the Hired podcast Talk Talent to Me, Strong Suit, and Authors Unite. Mike is passionate about helping jobseekers find fulfillment in their careers by breaking down the tedious job search barriers.

Matt Glodz is the Founder and Managing Partner of Resume Pilots, an award-winning resume writing service that works with clients pursuing roles in the government and public sector as well as clients making military-to-civilian career transitions. Matt, a Certified Professional Resume Writer and Certified Professional Career Coach, graduated from Cornell University, where he studied business communication with leading professors in the field. He served as a Communication Consultant in Cornell’s Communication Center and is a former writer for a Chicago Tribune publication. At Resume Pilots, Matt applies his journalism background to powerfully convey his clients’ work experience, where he and his team bring writing excellence, superior service, and market expertise to applicants who are looking for job-search services beyond mere resume assistance. The Resume Pilots team leverages an unparalleled combination of writing and coaching expertise and in-depth understanding of today’s recruiting environment to support you in your career growth.

Bsharah Public Relations, with operations in Dearborn, Michigan and Charleston, West Virginia, provides exceptional strategic and image development, messaging, executive writing, media placement, crisis management and public affairs services to private and public sector clients.

Matt Parks is VP of Product and Strategy at Software Solutions Inc. (SSI). Having worked in the software space for over 10 years, he has a proven track record of driving customer success and organizational growth through innovative product strategies. He also received a Master of Public Administration from Wright State University, giving him a unique perspective on ERP software for local governments.

Michaela Wong is a content creator who helps Resume Now create insightful career development articles. She is a graduate of San Diego State University with a background in digital marketing. In her free time, she enjoys reading and exploring her home state of California with her corgi.

Matthew J. Paese, Ph.D., is Vice President of Succession and C-Suite Services for Development Dimensions International (DDI). Matt’s work has centered on the application of succession, assessment, and development approaches as they apply to boards, CEOs, senior management teams, and leaders across the pipeline. He consults, coaches, speaks, and conducts research around all those topics and more. Audrey B. Smith, Ph.D., is Senior Vice President for Global Talent Diagnostics at DDI. Audrey’s customer-driven innovation and global consulting insights have helped shape DDI’s succession, selection, and development offerings, from the C-suite to the front line. She has been a key strategist and solution architect, encompassing technology-enabled virtual assessments and development aligned to current business challenges. William C. Byham, Ph.D., is Executive Chairman of DDI. He cofounded the company in 1970 and has worked with hundreds of the world’s largest organizations on executive assessment, executive development, and succession management. Bill authored Zapp!® The Lightning of Empowerment, a groundbreaking book that has sold more than 3 million copies. He has coauthored 23 other books, including seminal works on the assessment center method.

Founded in 2008 and headquartered in Washington DC, GovLoop's mission is simple: connect government to improve government. The goal is to inspire public sector professionals to better service by acting as the knowledge network for government. GovLoop serves a community of more than 100,000 government leaders by helping them to foster collaboration, learn from each other, solve problems and advance in their government careers. The GovLoop community has been widely recognized across the public sector -- federal, state local, industry and academia -- as a leading site for addressing public sector issues.

Meredith Persily is CEO of Aspire@Work, a leadership development firm in Washington D.C. She teaches in American University’s Key Leadership Programs and formerly taught in the Kogod School of Business. She is also a proud member of Generation X.

Valerie Alvarado is a graduate student at the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy, and is a Human Resources Manager for USC's Office of the Senior Vice President, Administration. Valerie is a Trojan through and through and is proud to be the first in her family to attend college. Obtaining her undergraduate degree in business administration was only the starting point for her career in higher education. After spending seven years working at USC and one year into her graduate program, her passion for education only continues to grow and she can't wait to see her two small children grow up to be Trojans, too.