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Jessica Pieri
Founder / Careers Advisor
Having spent the last 10 years working in Recruitment, Training and Careers Education, Jess started The Careers Lady in 2018. Working with schools, education organisations and employers has provided her with a broad range of knowledge across the early careers sector.
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Jess has her Level 6 in Careers Guidance and Level 6 in Careers Leadership qualifications. She has completed training sessions on behalf of the Careers and Enterprise company, UniTasterDays and several universities.
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After the demand for support rose, Jess realised she couldn't do everything alone! The Careers People was born and now consists of a collective of careers professionals working together to support Schools, Young People and Education Companies across the UK.
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When Jess isn't working, she can be found running around after her two small children, trying out new food spots or at a vintage market (Or on a particularly chaotic day, all three... At the same time!).
Lauren Bugiel
Business Manager / Queen of Operations
Lauren started as waiting staff in the hotel industry, and after almost ten years, during which she earned her 2:1 BA in Business Management from the University of Gloucestershire, she worked her way up to Guest Relations Manager.
She worked in admin and management across various industries – from sports admin at Hartpury University and College to Senior Assistant Buyer and then Operations and Production Manager in the luxury skincare industry to cyber security Operations Executive – and alongside her role at The Careers People, she also works as an Independent Travel Agent at Avanda Travel.
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Thanks to the past 16 years of work, a childhood with horses, and being a mother to two girls, Lauren has been awarded the gifts of discipline, time management, patience, resilience, and responsibility. Gifts she uses in her job of “Queen of Operations” within The Careers People, a job that includes managing finances, team events, general administration and nurturing relationships with schools and advisors, not to mention the organising of weekly careers newsletters across 200+ schools with personalised branding.
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Which she does while taking care of a one-eyed rescue cat, reading books backwards, Googling the endings to what she’s watching, and finding good food wherever she travels.
Nicola Renshaw
Independent Schools Lead
Nicola Renshaw was educated at Queen Anne’s School, Caversham and studied LLB in European Law and Business at the University of West England. She has over 20 years of Marketing and PR experience in senior roles at major household names like Sky, BT, Feefo before making a switch to the Education Sector.
Nicola is The Careers People liaison with the Independent School Sector. She brings a student-first approach to Careers guidance and is committed to helping young people discover their strengths, explore the paths that are right for them and build confidence in their future. Nicola is also Head of Careers at St Teresa’s School, Surrey, a Governor at an Independent Girls School in the South East and founder of Beyond Your Grades, an independent early Careers and Communications consultancy.
Ray Katatic
Ray Katatic has always worked in education, a field that has nurtured her interest and passion for working with young people to raise aspirations and help them realise their strengths, options and potential.
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She began as a languages teacher in 2012, qualified through Teach First to teach French and Spanish, and became Head of Languages at Debden Park High School within 3 years, during which time she studied at University College London’s Institute of Education, achieving a PGCE and MA in Leadership and Education in 2016 to add to her 2008 BA in French from the University of Southampton.
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This wasn’t her last foray in study as she attained a Level 6 diploma in Careers Development and Guidance in 2023 from the University of Bath. Her interest in careers began during her 5 years as Study Programmes Centre Manager at Green Labyrinth, a company she still works for as a Careers Consultant, in addition to running ROK Education; a company that specialises in offering career advice to young people and providing one-to-one tutoring in a range of subjects.
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For The Careers People, Ray is a Careers Advisor, providing a safe and non judgemental space for personalised guidance as well as running their Apprenticeship Academy – a 6-week online programme supporting apprenticeship seekers – 3 times a year. She has also worked on resource design projects, creating lessons on PSHE and Career topics for learners from primary to KS5.
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When she isn’t seeing Beyoncé in concert (Five. Times.), you will find Ray doing yoga, going on adventures with her family or walking her lurcher dog.
Nic Dean
Engaging in a Performing Arts degree at Plymouth University opened more than stage doors for Nic Dean. It was there she discovered a true calling in helping others find their way. In order to pursue this passion, she pivoted to a postgraduate diploma in Careers Guidance from the University of Reading in 2004, and later a Level 6 diploma in Career Guidance and Development from The Open University in 2007.
She has since been a Careers Advisor with Connexions Oxfordshire and the Adviza Partnership before going freelance in 2024. She now works directly with schools and with The Careers People guiding students to identify their goals, build confidence, and unlock opportunities they might not have considered using her excellent presentation and interpersonal skills, making complex career advice accessible and engaging for students and bringing a personal, inspiring approach to every interaction, helping students realise their dreams and make informed choices about their futures.
Sam Gray
A mother to three (if you include the dog and cat), a lover of forests and beaches, and currently a freelance Careers Advisor with The Careers People, helping young people to explore and connect with their next steps.
She started as a learning support assistant, and forged on as a pastoral support tutor and achievement coach working with Further Education colleges. Her vast experience includes 20 years working in post 16 training and education roles including the support team at the Open University and as a Team Leader for the King’s Trust Team programme where she gained QTLS in 2009. Her journey in career guidance started when she became a Careers Advisor in 2023, a job that was a natural progression from her roles in pastoral support. Sam achieved her Level 6 diploma in Career Guidance and Development from the Career Development Institute in 2024, officially joining The Careers People in April 2025.
On top of her job as a freelance Careers Advisor – and between her forays into nature – she works with TACT Fostering as a post 16 Education Advisor and volunteers with The Ripple Pond helping family members of serving personnel and veterans with PTSD.
Claire Naidu-Johnson
Claire Naidu-Johnson wasn’t always a career advisor. That journey began in 2016 when she started her postgraduate in Careers Guidance from Coventry University.
Originally she studied Travel and Tourism at City of Oxford College before foregoing university for backpacking across the world. This background led her into becoming a Specialist Travel Consultant at USIT and then 15 years with British Airways, eventually joining the airline’s Talent Management department where her encounters with graduates and apprentices she worked alongside inspired her to retrain as a Career Advisor.
Since then she has been a Group Career Adviser at Activate Learning college group and worked freelance at Career Conversations and now with The Careers People. She also supports unemployed women to get the career coaching, clothing and confidence they need to secure employment.
In her down time, she enjoys travel, strength training, and training to become a professional organiser, to help others live a clutter-free life.
Louisa Lewis
Louisa Lewis saw how career advisors help students and it was love at first sight. She has been a Careers Advisor since 2000 after earning her BA in Sociology from the University of Hull in 1999 and the QCG from Nottingham Trent University in 2000.
Since then, she has been a Careers Advisor at multiple institutions, working with young people in schools and colleges including working with young people with additional needs. This has involved advising on year 9 options, helping year 10 & 11 students with post 16 options, supporting applications to colleges and apprenticeships, and helping 6th formers explore higher education, apprenticeship, work and gap year options. In 2019 she took her experience into freelance work.
She earned a Level 3 in Assessing Competence in the Work Environment in 2022 and a Level 4 in Internal Quality Assurance of Assessment Processes and Practice in 2024, qualifying her for her role at AC Training as an Associate Assessor where she worked with trainee career advisors. She joined The Careers People as a freelance Careers Advisor in April 2025 where she helps young people make well-informed, realistic and confident decisions about their next steps.
Claire Flannery
Claire Flannery built a foundation for her job in helping students access careers by initially working in graduate and apprenticeship recruitment for large corporate employers ranging from finance, to insurance, and creative sectors. These experiences have made her uniquely equipped for her job as a freelance Careers Advisor, but she is also officially qualified with a level 7 Careers Guidance qualification and BSc (Hons) in Business Studies undergraduate degree.
Her 4 years working for the Institute of Student Employers allowed Claire to cultivate a wide range of connections and knowledge about career opportunities and pathways across multiple sectors, which she uses working for The Careers People.
In her personal life, she still flexes her business muscles, as Head of Fundraising at her children’s school increasing the amount raised last year by 20% (to over £20,000!), a job she takes on between her cross fit competitions, triathlons, and assorted running events.
Alex Arber
Alexandra Arber didn’t always have her sights set on a career in Careers Guidance. She originally studied Music and Drama at a BA level, which included a deeply impactful visit to the Globe Theatre that inspired her application to work in the Globe’s Education department after graduation. Her role as the department’s assistant evolved into managing University and Drama School courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, as well as overseeing the Work Experience, Internship, and Gap Year programmes. What she enjoyed most was working one-to-one with students, helping them to explore their next steps.
After 15 years at the Globe, and her engagement, she moved out of London and reflected on her career, leading her to discover that she was most passionate about supporting students and their development. Alex gained her level 6 in Careers Guidance and Development while working at the Berkhamsted School as a Careers Coordinator, becoming the Head of Careers before taking a break to raise her two daughters. But it wasn’t much of a career break as she continued to write a Careers Newsletter for a former colleague and on the same day her youngest started school, Alex rejoined the workforce as Head of Careers at Wellingborough School. She is now a part of The Careers People as a freelance Careers Advisor.
Alex’s passions aren’t just for student guidance however. She is working towards her level 2 in Food Hygiene in order to further pursue her love of cooking, a creative outlet surely appreciated by her daughters.
Kath Dunn
Profile Coming Soon!
Hatinder Hari
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Ina Bogatu
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Samira Ahmed
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