Meet the CPD Team

Diane Singel is a seasoned leader and change agent renowned for her unwavering commitment to fostering high-performing teams and driving organizational success. With a passion for tackling complex strategic and operational challenges, Diane has amassed over two decades of experience serving as a senior leadership proxy and partner.

Diane brings holistic experience within business education, working with internal and external stakeholders, academics and student services, providing her with a big picture view of how it all fits together. She has developed industry partnerships, leads operations, and has worked collaboratively with faculty and University leadership to drive program development and enhancement. 

Throughout her career, Diane has demonstrated a remarkable aptitude for planning, selecting, and directing the completion of multifaceted projects and programs. As a human-centered leader, Diane prioritizes the development and empowerment of her team members, maximizing their potential to build high-functioning teams and achieve collective goals. She is dedicated to nurturing individual growth and fostering a culture of continuous learning, enabling her team members to realize their full potential and advance their careers.

Diane holds a Bachelors Degree in Optics from the University of Rochester and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Ken Murphy is the Director of Professional Programs and Alumni Career Services, working with all of our part time students and alumni across all degree programs. He is also the executive career coach for our Executive MBA, President/Key Executive MBA, Executive DBA, and MSOD programs.  Previously, Ken led PGBS career services for all full-time programs.  Prior to his arrival at Pepperdine in 2016, Ken served for more than twenty-five years in a wide range of executive roles in medium to large international corporations, and was the founder and CEO of several successful management consulting firms, where he led large-scale global projects and managed teams in multiple business functions, including HR, recruiting, talent management, organization development, leadership development, M&A integration, change management, and career development.  He has worked with dozens of fast-paced, rapidly changing global organizations in the high tech, R&D, manufacturing, healthcare, military, government and academic sectors. 

Having coached, mentored, and trained thousands of individuals over several decades, Ken has deep expertise in developing and implementing career transition strategies for those seeking to discover, accelerate, and achieve their professional goals and life purpose.  With family roots in the military and prior service as a senior staff officer in the California State Guard’s Officer Candidate School (California Military Department), Ken also has a passion for supporting veterans navigating the difficult transition from military to civilian life.  Ken also serves as an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine’s Graduate School of Education and Psychology.  He is currently completing his Ph.D. in Global Leadership and Change at Pepperdine University, and holds a Master of Human Resources and Organization Development degree from the University of San Francisco, along with a B.A. degree in Psychology from Chapman University.  

Karen is the Director of Career Readiness and Employer Engagement and in this role she leads outreach and employer engagement activities as well as implementing career development strategies to increase students’ career readiness across all programs.  Karen is a proven relationship builder and cultivator of a robust network that she calls upon to implement scalable pathways for recruiting of Pepperdine graduate business talent.  Using a high touch approach with employers, alumni and other external partners, Karen’s creativity and relationships have led to embedding key leaders into the student experience for things such as case competitions, career panels, speaker events with student organizations, and more.  Using her vast knowledge of business career paths and market trends, Karen works diligently to foster mentoring and targeted networking connections for students while disseminating that knowledge into action for the CPD staff.  Additionally, Karen prioritizes impacting students’ success through individual coaching by providing insightful and caring career guidance.

 In her free time Karen enjoys a variety of outdoor sports and activities, along with cooking, reading and “watching shows”.  She holds a BA in Sociology from UCLA, an MS in Counseling with an emphasis on Organization Development from CSUN and a Dimension Coaching career coach certification.   

Lauren is a Senior Employer Engagement Specialist with PGBS. In her 20 plus years of student services at Pepperdine, she started in recruitment and has worked in various capacities in career services. While her main focus is on employer engagement, Lauren has been a career coach, event manager and international student advisor. She partners with employers and alumni to support their recruiting needs and is dedicated to providing students with connections to career opportunities.  Lauren received her BA in Sociology from UCSB and is a fellow Wave with an MA in Psychology from Pepperdine. She loves to try new recipes and restaurants and spend time with family and friends.

Elizabeth is a Career Coach on the Career and Professional Development team where she works with full-time students, as well as alumni, to prepare them for telling their story in professional settings. She brings her background in academic advising to the position in order to successfully communicate with students on an individual level, as well as her extensive writing and editing experience to assist students in creating compelling resumes and cover letters. Elizabeth’s institutional knowledge of Pepperdine spans 8 years, where she has previously worked in the OneStop Office as a Student Administrative Services Advisor and in the PGBS Programs Office as an Academic Advisor before transitioning to the Career team in 2022. Additionally, Elizabeth serves on both the Staff Advisory Council and the Graziadio Diversity and Belonging Council here at Pepperdine. She recently completed her MA in Educational Leadership at CSU Channel Islands and holds BAs in Literature and Writing from Point Loma Nazarene University. Elizabeth loves spending time at concerts, reading for her book club, or hanging at home with her cat, Binx, and service dog, Edge.

Scott is a Career Coach supporting students in the Full-Time programs by guiding them in their search for future careers, providing resources and tools, and building networks and career opportunities. Scott comes to Pepperdine with a Masters of Science in Executive Leadership and Change in Business, and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Marketing and Economics. Scott has 10 years working in higher education and is certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner in the EQi 2.0 & 360, certified Level 2 Council Facilitator, instructed social and emotional learning and development, facilitated career coaching and leadership development for Division 1, 2 and 3 Athletes and placed them with Fortune 500 Companies. Scott recently was the Career Department Head and Coordinator working with neurodiverse college students. 

Scott is also a 5th degree black belt in Isshinryu Karate and teaches classes weekly, while continuing to operate as Chairman of the Board for his nonprofit promoting complementary and alternative medicine for members of the community. As a former student athlete (soccer), Scott continues to enjoy competition playing Gaelic Football for the Los Angeles Cougars Gaelic Football Club winning multiple National Championships and local tournaments.

Donna Brabec is the Internship & Education Specialist for Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. She has worked in higher education for over 15 years with Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Pepperdine Caruso Law School and Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.  Her career began in the aviation industry as a commercial pilot and flight instructor for Embry Riddle, the FAA and various flight schools. Prior to joining Pepperdine, she worked in the aerospace industry as a flight operations engineer for McDonnell Douglas developing technical training for Air Force and NASA space shuttle controllers. She later managed Lockheed Martin’s Satellite Operations Training Center for a large DoD contract providing technical training to military and contractor personnel. Donna is an Embry Riddle Aeronautical University alum with a BS in Aeronautical Science, a Certified Flight Instructor and a Commercial Pilot.  She supports students from all of the specialty master’s programs and MBAs seeking internships. Outside of Pepperdine, Donna enjoys traveling, sailing, hiking and working with animals/Guide Dogs for the Blind.

Kristen Oshiro is the Assistant Director of Special Projects and the driving force behind the implementation and management of Pepperdine Graziadio’s first ever virtual career platform. Kristen combines her knowledge as a former FTMBA Career Coach with her industry background in ecommerce and marketing to lead on system integrations, stakeholder communication and change management processes.

After working for several small to medium sized beauty brands, Kristen decided to return to higher education in 2021 and redirect her marketing experience from helping brands craft their messaging to helping MBA students tell their story and articulate their career throughline. In addition to her professional expertise, Kristen leverages her own lived experience navigating several key career transitions to relate directly with students and support ongoing coach development within the CPD team.  

Kristen holds a MS in Business Management from the University of Central Lancashire in England as well as a BA in Communication from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She advocates for designing life on your terms and cultivating a definition of success based on personal values and vision.

Vania Garcia is the Project Administrator on the Career and Professional Development team, working with all programs. Vania supports the team with communications, marketing campaigns, materials design, technology management, and planning of on-campus and virtual events.

With ten years of experience in higher education, she has served students as a career advisor, on-campus employment coordinator, and academic advisor. Before joining the CPD team, Vania advised Pepperdine undergraduate students at Seaver College and Part-Time MBA students at Graziadio with their educational plans. She is passionate about student success and finds it rewarding to see students grow and progress throughout their time at Pepperdine, advancing in their academic and career goals to the day of their graduation.

Vania is a double alumna from California State University, Northridge, holding a Master in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Deaf Studies. As a Los Angeles native, she enjoys exploring all that California has to offer and has most recently taken on learning how to surf and snowboard.