Introducing Sue Valerio Sladen as assistant vice president, Gateway Career Center
Lafayette College is pleased to announce the appointment of Sue Valerio Sladen as the new assistant vice president of the Gateway Career Center, joining Lafayette Jan. 5, 2026.
Valerio Sladen joins Lafayette with more than two decades of distinguished leadership experience in career development, academic administration, and employer engagement at highly selective institutions. A strategic and student-centered administrator, she has built a reputation for strengthening career outcomes, developing innovative programming, and forging high-impact partnerships that elevate the student experience.
Most recently, Valerio Sladen served as director of career and professional development at Ursinus College, where she led a comprehensive strategic transformation of the career ecosystem. Under her leadership, the college’s student career outcomes met higher benchmarks, and she created a four-year developmental career curriculum—including a new required career pathways course. Valerio Sladen and her team expanded experiential learning opportunities across academic disciplines through strong collaborations with faculty leaders. She also launched hybrid academic/career advising roles to strengthen holistic student support, and cultivated a strong network of employer and donor partners.
Prior to Ursinus, Valerio Sladen spent 16 years at The Wharton School of University of Pennsylvania, where she served as senior associate director. There, she advised MBA-level professionals and alumni, expanded Fortune 100 partnerships, and enhanced program offerings through data-driven evaluation and curriculum development. Earlier in her career, she served as director of cooperative education and career development at Drexel University.
Valerio Sladen holds a Master of Science in applied educational psychology with a concentration in college student development from Northeastern University and a Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a sociology minor from Villanova University. Her professional background also includes private career coaching practice, AI- and DEI-focused training, extensive technical expertise across major career services platforms, and adjunct teaching experience in business education.
Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a consistent commitment to student success, data-informed strategy, and building inclusive, future-ready career development initiatives. Her vision and leadership will play a vital role in advancing the College’s new strategic plan initiatives, elevating Gateway’s impact, and strengthening Lafayette’s commitment to preparing students for meaningful, successful lives after college.
The search committee included Seo-Hyun Park, professor and department head Government & Law; Jenn Rossmann, William Jeffers Dean of Engineering and Baird Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Ben Landis, senior director of annual giving; Nalishha Mehta ’98, John Mulcahy ’87, P’27, Ellie Sherwood ’26, and Jason Mazzella ’26. Please welcome Sue Valerio Sladen to the Lafayette community.