Counseling Team

Bryana Ortiz is the career counselor for the Alvarez College of Business. She obtained her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Counselor Education – Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Texas Tech University. She has been in the career counseling field since 2018 and continues to educate herself to provide the best support possible to students and alumni in their career development.  Bryana also loves collaborating with colleagues, faculty, staff, and student organizations to find fun and interesting ways to help students succeed in their career endeavors.

In addition to career counseling, Bryana is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate (LPC Associate) working on her hours to obtain full licensure. She thrives off helping students and alumni see their potential, utilize it to move forward, and believe in themselves in ways they never have before. She does this by creating a welcoming, encouraging environment that fosters hope and confidence.

Overall, Bryana wants students to know that they are not alone in navigating possible careers and welcomes any and all questions regarding topics ranging from resume development to interview prep to career exploration and more!

As the Career Counselor for the College for Health, Community and Policy (HCAP) and the College of Architecture, Construction, and Planning (COACP), Dionne Davila Granados serves students and alumni by helping them with various levels of career exploration to development needs to include such services as: career assessments, job search help, resume assistance, internship search, mock interview help, and special topic workshops (i.e. What Can I Do With My Major; Salary Negotiations, Selecting a Major). Dionne is a two time graduate from UTSA where she earned both her B.A. in Psychology and her M.A in Counseling. She has 20 years of experience in the Counseling/Social Service field, of which, 14 years has been with UTSA and has over 7 years of experience teaching at the university.  She has taught the Personal Career Planning course (UCS 2033- formerly COU 2103) to undergraduate students. Her professional interest areas include Career Development for First-Generation students, Social Media for Professional Development and Social Media’s impact on Student Engagement. In addition, she frequently facilitates and presents on StrengthsQuest and the theories/principles proposed by strengths psychology and how others can apply those principles to their career, academics, and personal life.

Jeff Patten is the Career Counselor for the College of Engineering. He spent ten years as a Career Counselor at the University of Arizona, in Tucson, AZ. In his role there, he served as a liaison to the College of Agriculture & Life Science, the Graduate College and the Honors College. During his tenure, he developed tailored content for these colleges, as well as tailored content for the College of Engineering, the Eller College of Management, the College of Education, the College of Fine Arts and the Film & Television Studies program.

Prior to his work at UA, Jeff was the Director of Counseling & International Students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Prescott, AZ, where he also served as an academic advisor for Aeronautical Science students. Jeff has a Masters’ in Counseling from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and is ABD in a Ph.D. program in the Organization and Administration of Higher Education from the University of Arizona.

Lisa Vigil is a San Antonio native, after working many years within the Colorado State University system.  An alum of CSU-Pueblo, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications and a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from CSU-Global.  Since 2011, Lisa has gained experience in higher education, working in Admissions, Financial Aid, First Year Advising, Concurrent Enrollment, and Career Counseling.

Currently, Lisa sees students within the College of Science.  She welcomes questions regarding career assessments, job & internship search strategies, résumé assistance, mock interviews, or other related career development areas.  Lisa also serves as a liaison for specialized career development programming for her affinity groups including Latinx and DACA/Dreamer students, as a liaison for the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), and as a faculty/staff advisor for the Sigma Lambda Gammas.  For this past Spring, she has co-coordinated a new student advisory council for the UCC with the goal of hearing directly from students about their career needs. Her passion for fitness and health also leads her to be a Rowdy New U Wellness Champion and hopes everyone finds a way to take care of themselves emotionally, physically, and mentally.

Career planning is an integral part of your four-year experience here at UTSA. And, for liberal arts majors in particular, career exploration during these four years is critical. I’m here to help you make decisions about the path that you will pursue upon graduation and I look forward to helping you make a smooth transition after college.

Mike Zucker is the Career Counselor that is designated to work with students in the College of Education and Human Development. Mike has been with UTSA Career Center for over 5 years. He is a graduate of UTSA and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Mike has also completed his Master of Arts degree in Community/School Counseling. Mike enjoys spending his free time volunteering in the community to coach youth basketball. He coached Team San Antonio to the Bronze medal at the 2007 Maccabi games and the consolation Gold medal at the 2010 Maccabi Games in Denver. Mike has also presented at national conferences on issues such as workplace diversity and career placement. Mike is also currently serving as the staff advisor for the COLFA Council, a Student Organization here at the University of Texas at San Antonio and has served as a staff representative on the NCAA Recertification Committee for UTSA. Mike has previously taught the COU 2103 Personal Career Planning Class.

Sara Goede is a Career Counselor for the College of Liberal & Fine Arts.    She has 7 years’ experience providing career counseling in individual and group settings on college campuses ranging from 12,000-32,000+ student enrollment. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) with a Master’s Degree in Counseling, a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology.  She is passionate about working with students at all stages of their career development as well as collaborating with faculty, staff and student groups on innovative ways to help students succeed and reach their career goals. Facilitating an environment of career confidence, insight, encouragement, and inspiration is her ultimate goal in helping students and alumni reach their fullest potential.

Sarah Williams is one of the Career Counselors for the College of Liberal & Fine Arts. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Ohio University and is pursuing her Masters of Public Administration from UTSA. Sarah was an Internship Coordinator at Texas A&M – Central Texas and created a Political Science Internship that placed two interns in Representative Scott Cosper’s office and has worked on a Presidential campaign. Sarah has facilitated career guidance workshops for transitioning Service Members and their families at the Fort Hood USO. Community service is a passion of hers as Sarah currently volunteers at the San Antonio Rape Crisis Center as a hospital advocate and outreach volunteer.

Sarah is passionate about helping students create strategies for their career success.