BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Champlain College's Career Collaborative will present a new framework for a professional career day during its inaugural 2016 Fall Career Conference on Monday, Oct. 3. This year's newly expanded format will include a keynote address and panel of speakers including several division-specific panels of industry experts in the morning, followed by the traditional Fall career fair in the afternoon. The day-long event on campus is free and open to the public.

"This year we have added a professional development element and panel discussions to the more traditional internship and job fair to reflect our new Champlain Connect partnership program with employers. The organizations that signed up to speak on these panels represent key members of our community, alumni, and parents," explained Tanja Hinterstoisser, Director of the Career Collaborative. "The team at the Career Collaborative has pushed itself to its limits to make this an extraordinary day for our students, faculty, and our community partners," she added.

The schedule for Monday's Fall Career Conference is:

10:30 to 11:30 a.m., Welcome and Keynote Address, Sean Greenwood, Director of Public Relations for Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Champlain Room in the Center for Communication and Creative Media, Champlain College.

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Industry Expert Panels

• Communication and Creative Media Panel, Skyloft CCM Lounge, 4th floor. Bill Carter, Fuse; Lance Jensen, Hill Holiday; Bess O'Brien, Kingdom County Productions; and Lloyd Komesar, Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival.
• Education and Human Studies Panel, Morgan Room, Aiken Hall: Kyle Dodson, Greater Burlington YMCA; Julia Berberan, Pride Center of VT; and Phil Kolling, SerVermont.
• Game Design Panel, Alumni Auditorium, Lauren Nishikawa '09, Deloitte Center for Immersive Learning; Edmar Mendizabal, Game Blocks Servers & Middleware; Ben Throop, Indie Game Developer; and Ben Wiley, Indie Game Developer.
• Information and Technology Science Panel, CCM Gallery Lounge: Cisco Meraki and Stroz Friedberg.
• Stiller School of Business Panel, Champlain Room, CCM, Beth Anderson, City of Burlington; Kristin Halpin '89, Cox Auto Software Group / Dealer.com; Renee Bourget-Place CPA '90, KPMG, LLP; Jim Barch, Seventh Generation; and Jessica Pointer, Tetra Tech.

1:30 to 5 pm. Fall Career Fair, Argosy Gym at IDX Student Life Center, 262 South Willard St. Meet local, regional and national employers to talk about internships, jobs and networking opportunities. The fair is focused on students, but the public is also invited to attend.

Among the employers who will be attending: Aon Insurance Managers, Central Vermont Medical Center, Chittenden County Court Diversion, Cisco Meraki, Dealer.com, ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center, Fuse, Hall Communications, Hickok & Boardman, Howard Center, Liberty Mutual, Logic Supply, MassMutual, MullenLowe Boston, MyWebGrocer, Peace Corps, People's United Bank, Seven Days, Smugglers' Notch Resort, State of Vermont, Travelers, Union Street Media, University of Vermont Medical Center, Vermont Department of Labor, Vicarious Visions/Activision, and more.

About the Champlain Career Collaborative: Champlain College has been in the business of providing career-focused education since 1878, and its comprehensive approach to professional readiness is systematically orchestrated and passionately administered through Champlain College's Career Collaborative. The Career Collaborative is where emerging talent and professional networking meet. Extending far beyond the College itself, Career Collaborative is the Champlain organization that leverages all of the career-focused academic programs and connects students with practical, hands-on, relevant experiential learning opportunities. It is the ultimate career and employer resources and is one of the main factors that contributes to Champlain's successful career outcomes for graduates year after year. For more information, careercollaborative@champlain.edu or call (802) 860-2720.