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Susan C.

Susan Cera

  • Duke's Fuqua School of Business Logo

    Duke's Fuqua School of Business

  • Cera Coaching, LLC Logo

    Cera Coaching, LLC

Available tomorrow

Starting at 5:30 PM UTC

Susan C.
Note from Susan

I'm only taking clients applying in R2 or for deferred enrollment.

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After working in consulting for a few years, I went to business school to retook and redirect my career. I went in thinking that I wanted to go into operations but after taking a marketing class, I realized that I could build on my computer science background and help develop technology products that would make work more efficient. I had no interest in creating a product line extension for soap or repackaging a food product. Long before becoming a product manager in technology was a 'thing,' I was doing it. First at an established company, then at a firm that went public during my time there and finally as one of the first 10 employees at an angel-funded start-up. After taking a break to focus on family, I re-entered the work force reading applications at Duke. I loved reading about applicants' interests, passions and motivations but never truly got to know them and often thought that they were communicating a story that they THOUGHT I wanted to read. For over 11 years I've been supporting MBA applicants, digging into their past experiences, exploring potential career paths, identifying what makes them special, finding the best schools to help them achieve their goals.

Work with Susan

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Why do I coach?

I coach because my high school track coach believed in me before I had confidence in myself. I want to give that same gift to those navigating professional transitions. After spending 10 years reading applications at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, I realized that many applicants were likely stronger than what they presented in their applications. For that reason, I joined Stratus where I spent 11 years helping young professionals navigate the often opaque MBA application process. I love getting to know my clients and helping them to uncover what makes them truly unique so they can present a compelling narrative in their applications.

Work Experience

Cera Coaching, LLC Logo

President

Cera Coaching, LLC

January 2020 - Present

Independent MBA Admissions Counselor service global clients who were accepted to Stanford GSB, HBS, Wharton, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School, Tuck, NYU Stern, Berkeley Haas, Duke Fuqua, Michigan Ross, London Business School, INSEAD, Cornell Johnson, UCLA Anderson and more. Work with candidates to full-time, part-time and EMBA programs.

Stratus Admissions Counseling Logo

Director

Stratus Admissions Counseling

July 2015 - Present

Hiring Manager

Responsible for leading the MBA, JD and grad school admissions counseling teams and building knowledge of admissions processes globally. MBA clients have been accepted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Haas, Kellogg, Booth, MIT, and many additional MBA programs in the US, Canada and Europe. Numerous clients have been awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in merit scholarships. And clients have been honored as Forte Fellows at Berkeley-Haas, Tuck, Yale SOM, UCLA-Anderson, Michigan-Ross, Duke-Fuqua, Darden, UT-McCombs, Vanderbilt and others. Worked with clients granted Consortium Fellowships at Berkeley-Haas, Yale SOM, UT-McCombs and WashU-Olin. Mainted >80 Net Promoter Score since 2021. CEO - April 2018 - January 2020 Director of MBA Admissions - January 2016 - April 2018 MBA Admissions Counselor/Senior Strategist - July 2015 - January 2016

Duke Univeristy Fuqua School of Business Logo

Manager

Duke Univeristy Fuqua School of Business

January 2006 - June 2015

Admissions Committee

Evaluated qualifications of thousands of prospective students using established standards and guidelines. Guided team of five staff and contract readers to identify and recommend strongest prospective students from South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam and 30 additional Asian countries. Presented top MBA applicants with scholarship recommendations to Admissions Committee. Over ~10 years reviewed thousands of applications for full-time and part-time MBA programs. Active participant on reviewing applications from Indian MBA candidates for 5+ years.

Parent Teacher Organization Logo

Co-Founder & President

Parent Teacher Organization

2002 - 2005

Founding officer of active Parent Teacher Organization supporting the Brookline Early Education Program (BEEP). Developed focused three-pronged mission statement. Wrote by-laws to establish organization as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization supporting an educational entity. Lobbied at state and local level to maintain funding for lower income families. Presided over monthly PTO meetings. Met regularly with BEEP administrators and Superintendent of Schools. Spearheaded efforts to streamline Kindergarten registration process across 8 elementary schools. Built network of room parents across sixteen preschool classrooms in eight different locations. Reached out to private preschools in and around Brookline that fed students into Brookline Public Schools.

Upromise Logo

Senior Manager, Product

Upromise

January 2000 - September 2001

One of the first ten employees hired to build an online network of companies to assist families saving money for college. Responsible for understanding customer and partner needs, developing the vision and original requirements for Upromise service and establishing product management processes.

Open Market Logo

Director of Sales, West

Open Market

January 1996 - November 1999

Pioneer in development and marketing of packaged software for Internet commerce applications. Director, West Coast Consulting (March 1999 – November 1999) Senior Product Manager (July 1996 – February 1999) Product Manager (January 1996 – July 1996)

Lotus Software Logo

Product Manager

Lotus Software

July 1994 - December 1995

Charles River Associates Logo

Associate

Charles River Associates

November 1989 - July 1992

Anti-trust litigation team.

Education

Duke's Fuqua School of Business Logo

Duke's Fuqua School of Business

Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.)

1992 - 1994

Activities and societies: MBA Games, Marketing Club, Soccer Club Co-Chair - Corporate Fundraising - MBA Games - raised over $50,000 for Special Olympics of North Carolina - 25% increase over previous year. Co-Captain - Fuqua Soccer Club - managed practices and game schedules for three teams in three soccer leagues. Successfully negotiated with Duke Intramural Organizers to allow women to play in 'competitive' men's soccer league. Founder - Week In Cities Boston - Marketing Club - initiated and spearheaded annual visit program to marketing departments of Boston area companies over spring break including Bose, Ocean Spray, Stride Rite, Lotus Development Corporation, and Biogen. Independent Study - Business to Business Marketing in High Technology with case study on SAS Institute.

Dartmouth College Logo

Dartmouth College

Bachelor's Degree, Economics modified with Computer Science

1985 - 1989

Activities and societies: Varsity Track and Field, Varsity Soccer, Language Study Abroad - Blois, France.

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