New York Tri-State: Navigating Your Career in Tech
Tue 10/28 • 3:30PM PDT
First Round's on Me Social Club • New York NY
Join us in New York City as five UCLA Alumni come together for a candid panel on navigating your career in tech—through pivots, growth, and everything in between. Whether you're breaking into the industry, switching roles, or curious about where AI is taking us, this conversation is packed with insights to help you adapt and thrive.
**AGENDA**
6:30-7:00pm: Arrival & greeting
7:00-8:00pm: Panel discussion + Q&A
8:00-8:30pm: Closing remarks & social time
**SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES**
**Alexa Parmisano** graduated from UCLA in 2013 with a double major in communication and sociology. She was a member of the Bruin Belles Service Association, an experience that fostered lifelong friendships that she holds today. Alexa has spent nearly her entire career in big tech, approaching her 10-year anniversary at Google, though her career trajectory changed dramatically after she pursued an MBA focused on business analytics. She currently works as an analytical lead for clients in the luxury fashion space, where she provides market intelligence grounded in Google search data and coaches clients on how to effectively measure their advertising investment. Outside of her professional life, she is an avid fitness enthusiast and has been a certified cycling and pilates instructor since 2018.
**Mike Nourian** studied computer engineering and built robotics projects such as autonomous path-finders. One of his most memorable UCLA moments was seeing Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Russel Westbrook at Pauley Pavilion. Mike has worked at companies like Boeing and Apple before joining Meta. He’s worked across multiple teams —from building AI-driven business messaging products integrated into Meta’s ad ecosystem to developing search infrastructure within the Generative AI organization, focusing on retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). His experience spans both startups and major tech companies, with a focus on AI, search, and model training and serving. Outside of work, Mike enjoys weight training and mixed workouts. He’s an avid foodie, traver, and likes to unwind by walking along NYC’s west side highway while listening to podcasts.
**Sriram Ramakrishnan** is a partnerships manager at Adyen, where he blends his technical expertise with a customer-centric approach to craft impactful solutions in the payments space. He is also an advisor, co-founder, and former chapter lead of the AI Collective NYC, where he fostered conversations and built communities around the transformative potential of AI. A dedicated mentor with Minds Matter and Techstars, Sriram also guides the next generation of innovators and contributes to funding early-stage startups as a scout and angel investor. His diverse career journey includes roles at Hulu, Walmart eCommerce, and Finch (where he played a critical role in its growth and eventual acquisition by Finder). He graduated in the class of 2017 with a degree in economics, and one of his favorite UCLA memories is starting the Westwoodstock music festival. These days, you can find him in the vibrant energy of New York City, playing basketball, poker, and chess.
**Shelby Kisner** is a revenue strategy & operations program manager at Google, whose career is an example of the value of continuous exploration and upskilling. She moved to New York directly after graduation, not knowing anyone, to work in consulting and begin exploring what she wanted to do. From there she has had the privilege to work in a range of tech companies (100 person startup, DoorDash, Google). Shelby currently specializes in designing high-impact programs and workflows for sales teams, but holds onto her roots as a data analyst, always seeking opportunities to integrate analytical insights with qualitative feedback to build the best possible solutions. When she’s off the clock, you can find her eating bagels, at the park, going to concerts, drawing, and boxing.