Empowering career growth through Northwell Health’s Career Advisement Program

At Northwell Health, team members have access to a wide range of professional resources and development programs designed to support career growth and advancement. Northwell’s Career Advisement Program is a structured five-month experience that offers in-person and virtual advisement opportunities, guided learning sessions, networking events and insights from field experts across various professions.

We connected with two recent participants, advisor Gloria Touma and advisee Nicole Savage, to learn more about their experiences. Each shared the value of career advisement and how Northwell continues to encourage career exploration and professional development for its team members.

Advisor: Gloria Touma – Food Service Manager, Food and Nutrition Department

After joining Northwell in 2021, Gloria began her role as the food and dining service manager at Zucker Hillside Hospital, and after a year, advanced to managing food and dining services across multiple Northwell hospitals. Today, Gloria leads food service operations at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center, and the Katz Women’s Institute, where she drives team performance with strategic objectives and ensures exceptional service.

In her role as an advisor within the Career Advisement Program, Gloria focused on supporting team members in the early stages of self-reflection and career exploration by sharing insights into her role and guidance on how to navigate the available development resources. Gloria has provided several advisees with insight into specific job functions within the food service department and her professional experience throughout her career. Through one-on-one coaching, she guided her advisees around the program’s resources, including resume writing and interview preparation, while helping them prepare for the future.

Gloria believes the Career Advisement Program plays a vital role in supporting the career development of any Northwell team member. “We are able to connect and directly inform participants about opportunities at Northwell, foster engagement with department leaders and enhance awareness. This allows us to have a better chance to support our team members in achieving their goals.”

Advisee: Nicole Savage – Lead Administrative Support Assistant

Nicole joined Northwell in 2021 as an administrative assistant, where she spent her time collecting patient records, managing workflow and communicating with team members to ensure everyone had all the information needed to succeed within her department. She joined the advisement program in 2025 because she felt it was “incredibly important to help people gain exposure to areas of Northwell that they might not have had the chance to explore or even know about.” It is this kind of guidance and support from career advisors within the program that helps team members like Nicole discover their interests, build their skills, and kickstart their career exploration at Northwell.

What Nicole loved most about participating in the program was meeting people from various departments. She focused on connecting with advisors to learn more about how to move forward in her role. She attended networking events, asked for advice and used the program’s practical tools to help advance her career.

Nicole attributed this experience to her continued growth, as she was recently promoted to a lead administrative support assistant for the department. “My manager has been in my corner throughout my career journey. She gives me excellent feedback and suggestions about how I can grow in my role based on her experience – and she supported me in participating in this program,” Nicole said.

Take the next step in your career and join our team today.