Marie Koko
Director of Career and Employer Services
🗓️ To make an appointment with me, click the button to the right to email your preferred dates/times and I will respond with a calendar hold. If you have a specific preference for in-person vs remote, please indicate that in the email. 🗓️
Marie is originally from the Chicago area (Oak Park) and joined the La Follette School in 2019, bringing a decade of specialized experience in career development. Before La Follette, she created and served for ten years as the Career & Internship Specialist for Government/Policy/International Affairs & Law (GPIAL) at SuccessWorks.
Marie provides comprehensive professional development and guidance to MPA and MIPA students and alums, as well as undergraduates, using her expertise with applications to:
- Government agencies federal/state/local
- Congressional and state legislative positions
- NGOs
- Public sector consulting firms
- Service Organizations such as AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, and the Student Conservation Association
She is also highly engaged in strengthening connections between academia and public service and has been actively involved with UW-Madison’s Wisconsin in Washington (WiW) program, the NASPAA Employer Relations Committee, WCDA, NACE, and the HireBig10+ Network. She also actively contributes to several campus-wide committees.
She earned her bachelor’s degree in Corporate Finance from Drake University and her master’s in Counseling from Concordia University. Before joining UW-Madison, she worked at Concordia University-Chicago, Florida Gulf Coast University, and The University of Nevada–Reno in career and academic advising roles. Marie is an avid traveler who spent her Junior year abroad in Vienna, Austria, and is currently pursuing many bucket-list destinations. In her spare time, she is dedicated to animal welfare, volunteering as the Orientation Coordinator for Angel’s Wish in Verona to help find homes for homeless cats. She can often be found relaxing at home with her cats, Sophie, Mouse, Luna, and Magnus, or searching for “treasures” in thrift and antique shops.
Marie was interviewed on a 1050 Bascom podcast episode and offered concrete advice for students seeking jobs and internships during the pandemic. She also shared helpful information about the La Follette School’s Undergraduate Certificate in Public Policy program and the Accelerated Master’s program open to select UW-Madison undergraduates.