Our Team
Richard Bottner Click For Bio
Founder, President, and the Internship Advocate
Richard started Intern Bridge in 2005 after networking with hundreds of HR professionals and as the result of both positive and poor internship experiences. He is the author of Total Internship Management: The Employer's Guide To Building The Ultimate Internship Program. He is also the founder and lead researcher of the National Internship and Co-op Study, an annual college recruiting best practices survey that has been completed by over 100,000 students nationwide since its inception. Richard has provided professional development opportunities to over 10,000 individuals and over 80% of the Fortune 100 Companies. in 2008, he was named to Business Week's list of the Top 25 U.S. Entrepreneurs Under 25.
Robert Shindell Click For Bio
Director of Content and Resource Development
Over the past 13 years, Robert has successfully served in a variety of professional leadership roles within higher education and the private sector. He developed career centers at The University of Toledo's College of Engineering, Midwestern State University and the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University, in addition to serving as the Associate Vice President of Enrollment Services at Texas Tech University and the Dean of Enrollment Management for Huston-Tillotson University. Immediately prior to joining the Intern Bridge team, Robert worked to grow an award winning "virtual career center" at www.ilostmyjob.com and www.careercentertoolbox.com.
David Cofer Click For Bio
Director of Client Solutions
David Cofer most recently served as the President of Cofer Consulting Solutions, a full service provider of millennial talent management solutions. Prior to starting his consulting practice, David spent over 15 years working in various strategy roles for JPMorgan Chase. In his last role prior to leaving the company, David served as Recruiting Manager and Intern Program Manager for the Corporate Sector's entry programs. In this Vice President level role, Dave oversaw the firm's largest entry talent recruiting team and summer internship program globally. David's team was responsible for hiring over 700 people annually (full-time hires and interns) and overseeing a 350+ person summer internship program.
Dr. Phil Gardner
Lead Research Advisor
As the Director of the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University, Dr. Phil Gardner is the most well-known and respected name in college labor market research. Prior to joining MSU, Dr. Gardner spent six years on the faculty at the University of California, Riverside. His research interests cover the transition from college to work and early workplace socialization; labor market dynamics for college educated employees, especially career development; student engagement, learning and competency development; and impact of the first and second year of college on commitment to learning.
Nancy Mikkelsen
Director of Higher Education Programming
Nancy Mikkelsen is an entrepreneur, consultant and trainer working with clients on leadership development, networking and management coaching skills. Nancy is passionate about helping others develop into great leaders. Her career has moved from Engineering to Technical Training to Adult Education – very much a renaissance woman! She has worked in various roles in multiple industries including medical equipment service and training with DuPont/Dade Behring, lighting control education at Lutron Electronics, and 10 years as Director of Education for the National Association of Colleges and Employers(NACE)directing their professional education efforts working with colleges and Fortune 500 employers involved in college recruiting. As a consultant, her clients have included various non-profit agencies and the Federal Reserve Bank.
Christopher Rhoads
Statistical Consultant
Chris is an Institute of Education Sciences post-doctoral fellow at the Institute for Policy Research in Evanston, IL. Chris has served as a statistical consultant for numerous research projects both in private industry and in academia. Example consulting projects include a nationwide study of family leave policies at U.S. institutions of higher education and a randomized trial examining the efficacy of an innovative method for delivering health care messages to adolescents with asthma via MP3 players. Chris has a Ph.D. in Statistics from Northwestern University. His academic research is focused on issues arising in the design and analysis of experimental evaluations of educational interventions. Chris ensures that all of our research exceeds statistical standards.
Gautam Gupta
Consultant
Gautam is an investment team member of General Catalyst Partners. Prior to that, he was employed by Procter and Gamble, where he analyzed brand strategy and consumer preferences in the Consumer Market Knowledge group of the company's North American Fabric Care business unit. Before P&G, Gautam worked closely with the sales and marketing groups at Wireless Services Corporation (now known as SinglePoint) and CTV Live on Campus, during his studies at Babson College. Gautam received a B.S. in Business Administration from Babson College, with a concentration in Entrepreneurial Studies. Gautam is in charge of Intern Bridge's operational and strategic initiatives.
Kevin Kermes
Talent Acquisition Consultant
Kevin has over 15 years experience building boutique search firms, placing executives in Fortune 100 companies, and helping high level professionals transition to the C-Suite. He harnesses this unique first-hand 360 degree perspective for his executive coaching clients, providing them the tools they need to excel in today’s marketplace.
Kevin is a frequent presenter at executive career focused groups in organizations such as Citibank and PMI (Project Management Institute). He also is published in a variety of media, including the Wall Street Journal, TheLadders, Monster.com and a columnist for the Examiner.com.
Kevin holds a BS in History and Spanish from Georgia State University and also served as an Infantry Officer in the United States Army. He has worked and consulted for Robert Half International, Freddie Mac, Northrop Grumman, Computer Sciences Corporation, General Dynamics and formed two boutique search firms.
Rachel Reiser
Generational Consultant
Rachel I. Reiser is currently Associate Dean for Academic Services at Babson College in Wellesley, MA. In a career spanning over 15 years she has worked directly with college students, providing her with the opportunity to experience first hand the changing characteristics of today's late adolescent. This, coupled with her own observations, has fostered her professional interest in generational studies. Rachel has researched, written, and presented extensively on the demographics and psychographics of the current generation of young students born between 1982 and 2002, often known as Millennials. She recently published an article entitled "Meet the Millennials: The Baby on Board Generation," and has presented countless programs on this topic to a range of audiences including high school and college faculties and administration, Boards of Trustees, professional organizations, corporate industry, and groups of Millennial parents. She has also served as a consultant to groups and organizations in helping them to consider their work in the age of the Millennial Generation.
Dan Berger
Graphic Designer
Dan Berger holds a B.A. in English and a degree in Color Theory from UCLA. He has worked on numerous high-profile national marketing campaigns for Fortune 500 companies. Dan has over 18 years of experience as a corporate, agency and freelance designer. His work at Intern Bridge involves the design and layout of publications and marketing materials (including books, white papers, flyers and postcards.)
Sean Janson
Editor
Sean Janson holds a B.A. and an M.A. in English. He has worked variously as a writing tutor, researcher, copy editor, proofreader, writer, and teacher. He is the author of numerous published works, both scholarly and creative. His work at Intern Bridge, Inc. involves proofing, editing, and sometimes writing publications.
