
Christina Ferrari
5.0
(15)
Career Pivot & Ivy Admissions Coach | Senior-Level Repositioning
Studied at Columbia Business School
Works at Amazon
Successful clients at
Available tomorrow at 1:00 PM UTC
I may be available for additional slots, contact me directly.
Questions? Start chatting with this coach before you get started.
Christina's Coaching Offerings
Custom hourly · $249/hr
Get help with Cover Letters, General Exploration, and .
Christina’s Career Coaching Qualifications
Coaches professionally
Experience level: Director
Christina has helped clients get into these companies:
Most people don’t lose opportunities because they lack credentials. They lose them because their story doesn’t land. I work with ambitious professionals and Ivy-bound applicants who need to reposition their story during moments of change (e.g., career pivots, industry shifts, layoffs, or competitive admissions cycles.) I continue to operate professionally while coaching, which keeps my advice grounded in current market realities. My background spans higher education leadership, global tech, and platform-based businesses, where I’ve led strategy and partnerships through periods of growth, reinvention, and ambiguity. I’ve personally navigated non-linear career moves, rebranding at senior levels, and the trade-offs that come with choosing momentum over optics. What I do differently than most coaches: I don’t optimize for logos or titles. I help you decide what you’re actually positioning for, make intentional trade-offs, and articulate a narrative that holds up across resumes, applications, interviews, and real conversations. This work draws from: Senior leadership experience in complex, competitive environments First-hand career pivots across sectors and functions Deep familiarity with Ivy-caliber standards and selection logic Clients work with me when they want: Clarity on what to pursue and what to stop chasing A credible story that explains change without apology Positioning that feels grounded, confident, and defensible If you’re looking for surface-level edits or reassurance, I’m likely not the right fit. If you want strategic clarity and honest feedback, I’m happy to help.
Christina can help with:
Cover Letters
General Exploration
Skill Building
Job Search Strategies
Resume Review
Leadership
Professional Networking
Salary Negotiation
Networking Strategy
Interview Prep
Career Planning
Personal Branding
Freelancing
About Christina
I’ve built my career through a series of intentional, non-linear moves, or what I call "a curvy career". Across higher education leadership, global tech, and platform businesses I've led teams and processes from 0 to scale often during moments of uncertainty or transition. Along the way, I’ve had to repeatedly reposition my story: explaining career pivots, navigating layoffs and resets, and making trade-offs between optics and long-term growth. Those experiences shaped how I think about careers not as ladders, but as portfolios of decisions that compound over time. I've had set backs like layoffs, scope changes, and challenging work environments and I work fulltime in tech today. Today, I work at the intersection of strategy, partnerships, and growth while coaching others through similar inflection points. I’m especially drawn to working with people who are high-achieving on paper but struggling to articulate a cohesive narrative, whether for a career pivot, an Ivy-caliber application, or a senior-level role. I value clarity over credentials, conviction over polish, and progress over perfection. I can't wait to hear your story and work with you to find clarification and refine it for your audience.
Why do I coach?
I coach because I’ve seen how often talented, capable people stall not because they lack ability, but because they don’t have language for their experience or a framework for making trade-offs. Most advice focuses on surface-level tactics: resume edits, interview tips, application checklists. What’s usually missing is strategic clarity — deciding who you’re positioning as, what you’re optimizing for, and what no longer serves you. I started coaching to offer what I wish I’d had at multiple points in my own career: someone who could challenge my assumptions, help me articulate change without apology, and translate complexity into a story that held up in real decision-making rooms. Coaching, for me, is about helping people move forward with intention; not chasing prestige, but building momentum they can defend.
Work Experience
Head of Partner Strategy & Operations
Amazon
October 2022 - Present
• Launch and scale partner enablement strategies to accelerate YoY partner managed advertising revenue and own the go-to-market (GTM) plan for partner sales teams across US, EU5, APAC, and IX • Develop and incubate lead generation initiatives to drive partner demand, launch new co-pitching partner programs and enablement strategy including product trainings at scale • Oversee all Strategy and Operations for partner growth strategies with Enterprise and SMB sales teams, including internal and external executive leadership relationships • Design and lead partner business development and co-selling efforts, unlocking $300M in new incremental revenue through global programs for Amazon Ads • Consult and collaborate with internal teams on process improvements, and incubate new initiatives that drive business development for partners at scale Strategic Planning, Performance Metrics and +14 skills
Director
Columbia University in the City of New York
January 2021 - September 2022
• Promoted to lead end-to-end all aspects of campus life for 1,400+ customers including the recruitment, training, policy development, and management of 130+ event staff hosting over 200 events a year • Cultivate stakeholder relationships with senior leadership and strategic partners to develop University-wide initiatives, selected to serve on numerous University committees including the Campus Reopening efforts following COVID-19 • Manage the life-cycle of projects and initiatives focused on enhancing customer engagement and campus/community relations • Continue to perform duties of Assistant Director of Programming & Student Engagement Strategic Planning, Performance Metrics and +17 skills
Assistant Director
Columbia University in the City of New York
August 2017 - December 2021
• Build local and global community partnerships resulting in University-wide campaigns, events, and collaborations across campuses • Oversee office operational budget of $500,000+; manage all aspects of budget management including accounting, forecasting budgets, and negotiating contracts with vendors • Supervise a team of 5 to design and execute plan for supporting 25+ student organizations and other departmental programs • Create and facilitate peer mentoring initiatives, leading to 100% YoY growth for three consecutive years • Design and implement Social Justice Education programming focused on activism and advocacy centering human rights issues domestically and abroad • Coordinated and successfully fund-raised over $20k for new community-based initiatives via grant proposals, crowd-funding, and partnerships with Alumni Relations Strategic Planning, Performance Metrics and +12 skills
MBA Product Intern
Iron Mountain
June 2021 - September 2021
• Created comprehensive Responsible AI Principles and governance documents, benchmark analyses, and conducted interviews with product development teams to determine appropriate company-wide ethical AI strategy • Developed and delivered workshops for InSight Content Services Team on AI/ML ethics and ESG compliance Performance Metrics, Presentations and +8 skills

Product Marketing Management Intern
Meta (Facebook)
March 2021 - May 2021
• Selected from a pool of high-achieving students to support Facebook by completing projects such as Competitor Analyses, Program Ideation & Development, Employee Engagement Strategy in a 10-week volunteer capacity • Designed a training curriculum to educate sales teams about ad revenue potential via short-form video partnerships • Pitched a Final Presentation of Recommendations to business unit leadership to inform a new business plan Performance Metrics, Presentations and +7 skills

Director Leadership Development Programs
Fashion Institute of Technology
September 2015 - August 2017
• Built a campus-wide leadership framework and program portfolio, growing from one program to 50+ initiatives for approximately 10,000 customers • Created and facilitated immersive community engagement opportunities for a total of 250+ customers • Developed and supervised the Leadership Ambassador Team, eight staff members who design leadership development and service opportunities to customers • Coordinated a new leadership training program for 120+ participants • Redesigned the bi-annual retreat, Leadership Weekend, increasing engagement by 60% • Organized training for approximately 150 officers and advisors at the start of each semester • Advised Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society chapter consisting of 1,000 members and grew chapter from the lowest tier, a 1-star level, to the pinnacle 5-star level in two years, winning regional awards for digital engagement and innovative programs Strategic Planning, Coaching and +9 skills
Education
Columbia Business School
Master of Business Administration - MBA, Management & Strategy
Activities and societies: VP, Columbia Women in Business; Technology & Data Analytics Club Venture Capital, Strategy Consulting and +4 skills
Loyola University Chicago
Master of Education (M.Ed.), Higher Education/Higher Education Administration
Presentations
DePaul University
Bachelor, English & Theater Studies
15 Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
Christina has helped Leland clients get into Columbia Business School
Christina has helped clients get into these companies: