Dean Melanie Leslie is proud to announce that Maria Saez-Tatman will become the new Dean of Students of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Saez-Tatman, who will join Cardozo in late August, is a proven leader in higher education administration. Her career has focused on student services including career planning and professionalism training.
“We are delighted to welcome Maria to the Cardozo team,” said Dean Melanie Leslie. “Her experience, leadership and strategic vision will undoubtedly be tremendous assets to Cardozo students.”
Saez-Tatman most recently served as Assistant Dean of Career Planning and Professional Development at the University of Oregon School of Law in Eugene, Oregon where she ran the career services office and served as the law school’s principal employer outreach officer. Saez-Tatman also provided academic and crisis counseling, and redesigned the first-year student professionalism course to emphasize current employment-market demands.
Prior to her role at the University of Oregon School of Law, Saez-Tatman was Associate Director of Career Planning and Professional Development at the University of Illinois College of Law in Champaign, Illinois. In addition to her regular duties, she collaborated on the development of a new course to introduce students to the business of law, project management, business development, marketing and other fundamentals of legal practice.
“I am incredibly excited to join the culture of collaboration and excellence at Cardozo Law,” said Saez-Tatman. “As a native New Yorker, I look forward to returning home to help support Cardozo Law students as they prepare to confidently and competently enter the legal profession.”
Saez-Tatman has a B.S. and a M.S.W. in social policy from the University of Michigan, and a JD from the University of Illinois College of Law. She previously worked as a labor and employment associate at Neal Gerber & Eisenberg LLP in Chicago and as a health law/medical malpractice/employment litigation associate at Smith Haughey Rice & Roegge in Ann Arbor.
Saez-Tatman succeeds Judith Mender, who is retiring after 22 years of dedicated service to the law school.
