Career Planning Staff

Johanna Hartwig, J.D., Senior Director of Career Development

Johanna Hartwig leads the School of Law’s career services program through setting strategy for identifying and expanding employment opportunities for students and graduates; supervising the services and programming provided by the office; and promoting the high quality of USF law students and alumni to a range of potential employers.

Previously, Johanna practiced general commercial litigation in San Francisco, first at Morrison & Foerster LLP and then at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP. Johanna’s representation included commercial contract disputes, intellectual property matters, and regulatory investigations. Johanna punctuated her commercial litigation practice with a two-year clerkship for the Hon. Margaret M. McKeown of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, whose chambers are in San Diego. Johanna served simultaneously as an appellate clerk and as an ethics clerk, supporting Judge McKeown in her role as Chair of the Codes of Conduct Committee, which is the ethics committee for the entire federal judiciary.

Johanna holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Michigan, where she graduated magna cum laude, earned Order of the Coif, was awarded the Rockwell T. Gust Advocacy Award, and served as contributing editor of the Michigan Law Review. While earning her law degree, Johanna also earned a Masters in Public Policy.  

Ellen Schuster Strauss. Esq., Assistant Director of Career Development

Ellen counsels USF Law students and alumni on their career options. Prior to joining USF, she was a legal recruiter, during which she worked with and placed attorneys at all levels and developed relationships with firms and companies throughout California. Ellen has experience with law firms and non-profits, and spent six years with the world’s largest provider of ADR services. There, she developed relationships with and managed the businesses of attorneys and Judges throughout the country. Ellen’s clients and students value her direct, consultative approach and her concrete, real-world advice regarding the job market.

Ellen earned her JD from the University of California, Davis School of Law, where she was a founding member of the King Hall ACLU and an active member of the Equal Justice Society. She earned her B.A. in French and English from the University of Florida, where she graduated with honors. 

Van B. Luong, Esq., Assistant Director of Career Development

Van counsels USF Law students and alumni on their career options and serves on the USF Public Interest Law Foundation Advisory Board. Prior to joining USF, Van was the legislative assistant to U.S. Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel K. Inouye in Washington, D.C., where she managed transportation and housing appropriations legislation as well as judicial nominations, education, immigration, and social justice issues. 

During her legal career, Van clerked at the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, externed for the Hawaii Supreme Court, and worked as a public interest immigration attorney specializing in domestic violence in assisting low income Asian and Pacific Islander clients. She also practiced law in the private sector at a law firm in Honolulu. Van holds a B.A. in anthropology from Grinnell College and received her J.D. from the University of Hawaii Richardson School of Law, where she wrote and edited for Law Review. In the six years she spent working in Washington, D.C., Van was an active Voter Protection volunteer attorney in Virginia precincts, a reading volunteer for D.C. public schools, and a volunteer at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival.

Elizabeth Jurmu, Recruiting Coordinator

Elizabeth Jurmu has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan, where she was involved with organizational research, multicultural and community engagement, as well as peer advising. She is currently pursuing her Master's degree at the School of Education at USF, where she is studying Organization and Leadership. Elizabeth has a sincere passion for higher education that she brings with her to the Recruiting Coordinator role. Prior to working at USF, she was an Intercultural Programs Advisor for the University of Michigan, where she focused on faculty lead intercultural engagement programs. She was also the Recruiting Coordinator at Whittier Law School in Southern California, where she was in charge of the On-Campus Recruiting Programs and general administration at the Career Development Office. In the Office of Career Planning, Elizabeth is in charge of running the On-Campus Interviewing program, working with employers, and managing USF LawLink. She looks forward to working with all of you!

Virginia Green, Program Assistant 

Virginia Green is a graduate of Denison University in Ohio, where she earned a B.A. in History. Prior to joining USF, Virginia served as the Program Coordinator for the Roy H. Park Leadership Fellows Program at Cornell University’s S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management. She has also worked as an Advertising Coordinator for Ohio Magazine and as a Collegiate Finance Consultant for the Delta Gamma Fraternity Executive Offices. Virginia heads the front desk, coordinates the Office of Career Planning programs and events, and oversees the administrative aspects of the office.