2024 Staff Excellence Award Winner: Alessandro Zampi

Why did you choose Northeastern?

I started working at Northeastern six months after getting my bachelor’s degree with no real idea of what industry I wanted to go into.

I liked the Northeastern brand (even though I knew very little about the university) and I liked the subjects it is known for. I also liked what the mascot represents (intelligent, energetic, hardworking). I was very much “trying out” higher education, and I’m so glad I did!

What kinds of challenges have you encountered in your journey here and how have you learned from them?

One challenge is trying to synthesize the avalanche of information you’re given in a short space of time. My advice is to block off time to just think (preferably, while walking). And read Build a Second Brain by Thiago Forte.

With challenges, come opportunities. Navigating an organization this complex gave me a headache by the end of every day for my first month or two. But the opportunity that came from that was the ability to work with likeminded colleagues who are looking to challenge assumptions and create positive impact.

Alessandro Zampi

Have you learned anything about yourself during your career at Northeastern?

I’ve learned that I can be more patient than I realized. In my former industry, hospitality, everything was always full speed, and I loved the adrenaline. Higher education is much more complex, and moves must be planned further ahead. I’ve grown to appreciate the longer game.

What advice do you have for someone considering higher education, either as a student or as a career?

Invest time learning whatever you can about the university. It is an unbelievably enormous, interdependent ecosystem, and the better you understand it beyond your role, department, and college, the better you’ll be at your job.

At the same time, Northeastern is no different from any other organization in that it is made up of people, so prioritize cultivating genuine relationships.

What inspires you every day?

Confronting intuition-based decision-making and “best practices” by bringing scholarship to the business environment.

Alessandro Zampi

Where do you see yourself in the near future?

Still at Northeastern! I love CPS. What and who we are is less obvious than the other colleges, but I think that is our superpower. We aren’t tied down to an identity, and this gives us the freedom to innovate.

We are all more than our jobs. What interests or passions do you have outside of work?

Other than food, travel, reading, watching movies/tv, hanging out with my partner, and seeing friends and family, I love any kind of board or word or card games. I’m unbelievably lucky that my partner works in travel and exploring the world is a core value of his. We went gorilla trekking in Rwanda in 2022, Japan in 2023, and now we’re going to Kenya and Tanzania in August of this year for some safari.

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

I’m just grateful for the folks I get to work with everyday.

2024 Excellence in Teaching Award Winner: Anthony Alsayed

As a faculty member, what were some of the reasons you chose to join the Northeastern community?

I was looking for a new challenge and a new career chapter. By happy chance, I found a faculty opening with the NU-Toronto Campus. Before applying for this position, I visited the NU website where I learned that Northeastern is a global research university and a recognized leader in experience-powered lifelong learning.

I was also attracted by the university values and the organizational culture and felt inspired by its leaders and the mission that was based on practical training and research. At NU I have more room to do more, produce more, become more, and learn more.

Tell us a little bit more about you. What are your interests? What motivates you?

Teaching is my life’s top priority. I enjoy brainstorming with colleagues to come up with the best creative ideas. I find immense joy when my students exhibit tangible signs of learning in my classroom. Connecting academic concepts to real-life, practical situations is acutely gratifying. At NU, I became a progressive academic and educator where I found that teaching is not merely a profession—it’s a way of life for me.

“Teaching is not merely a profession. It’s a way of life for me.

Anthony Alsayed

What advice do you have for others considering higher education, either as a student or as a career?

I prefer to share my favourite proverbs instead of giving direct advice. These three renowned proverbs continually fuel my teaching passion and leadership skills:

• Latin Proverb: “By Learning you will teach; by teaching you will learn.”
• Native American Saying: “Tell me, and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand.”
• A Japanese proverb: “A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle.”

These timeless words of wisdom resonate deeply with me, guiding my approach to education and inspiring me to create meaningful and immersive learning experiences for my students. Also, I strongly believe that a harmonious team is a true strength that helps to make better and more innovative decisions.

What other passions do you have outside of teaching?

Outside of my work, I’m a family man. I like to spend quality time with my family and our pets, practice a healthy lifestyle, keep myself fit, and attend the gym several times a week. I’m also a chess player and enjoy volunteering in the community to train new generations on chess strategies. Also, I am dedicated to ongoing personal and professional development.

How would you describe yourself to others?

I’m a multi-specialized professional with more than 25 years of experience in the medical and healthcare field, clinical and academic research, academia and teaching, as well as strategic management and healthcare leadership. I was fortunate to be trained in various academic institutions, different countries, and languages (I speak English, French, Russian, and Lebanese). I’m a multicultural individual or global citizen.

My greatest achievements: I have been able to incorporate my research results into practice and in my workplaces. For example: Stimulating my student performance and skills by using simulated activities and practicing stress-free teaching-learning methodology. I would describe myself as an extremely organized professional, positive, enthusiastic, goal-oriented, resourceful, and quickly adapting to new situations or changes. I am an excellent team player and I enjoy working with talented people, but I also excel working independently with respect to work ethics, behavioral management, and with strong leadership skills.

It is a privilege to be part of Northeastern’s commitment to using education as a catalyst to address global health challenges. It’s a great honor for me to become a member of the esteemed faculty, to have the opportunity to contribute to the university’s academic mission, and to achieve more under our NU’s tremendous leaders.

Academic Leadership

David Bell, EdD
Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs

David Bell serves as the Assistant Dean of Graduate Programs for Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a Master of Education, and a Doctor of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Loyola University Chicago.

David’s expertise extends beyond academia, having also served as a consultant for the Illinois Multi-Tiered System of Support Network (Illinois MTSS-N). In this capacity, he has provided invaluable guidance to numerous school districts in the development and implementation of frameworks designed to enhance instructional practices and ensure high-quality educational experiences for all students.

In addition to his leadership roles, David has authored or co-authored over 15 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, contributing significantly to the academic discourse within the field of education.

Christopher Bolick, EdD, MPM, PMP
Associate Dean of Graduate Programs

Chris Bolick serves as Associate Dean of Graduate Programs. He holds a doctorate in Organizational Leadership Studies from Northeastern University and a Master’s in Project Management (MPM) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) from Western Carolina University. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and holds certifications in Business Process Management (BPM) and PRINCE2.

Chris joined CPS in 2013 as an adjunct faculty and has since served in several roles, including: assistant academic specialist, associate teaching professor, faculty lead, academic programs chair, and most recently, Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs. In his current role, Chris is focused on developing new offerings, revitalizing existing programs and launching initiatives to enhance the learner experience and learner outcomes. He manages all aspects of program development, quality, and growth for a portfolio of graduate degrees and graduate certificates across Northeastern’s Global University System.

Prior to joining Northeastern, Chris worked in various design, manufacturing, and retail construction industries serving in management, operations, procurement, process improvement, and project management roles.

Erin Clair, PhD
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs

Erin Clair serves as the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs. She holds a PhD in English from the University of Missouri – Columbia and a graduate certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies. In addition, she has a master’s in literature from Texas State University and a bachelor’s in English from Case Western Reserve University.

In her role as Associate Dean for CPS, Erin oversees a portfolio of 13 academic programs, the Associate to Master’s (A2M) pathway programs, the eA2M Impact Engine, and the Global Pathways programs. Under her leadership, the college has generated over 40 community college and industry academic partnership agreements and has launched undergraduate programs across the global university network.

Before joining Northeastern, Erin was Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and Professor of English at Arkansas Tech University, where she also served as Director of General Education and on the Higher Learning Commission Steering Committee. Erin is a recipient of the Jerry Gaff Award for Emerging Campus Leader from the Association for General and Liberal Studies in addition to a number of other awards and accolades for her teaching, leadership and service.

Sara Ewell, PhD
Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs

Sara Ewell is the Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs for the College of Professional Studies at Northeastern University. She previously served as the Assistant Dean of Faculty and Student Affairs, Director of the Doctor of Education, and Teaching Professor at the Graduate School of Education.

During her tenure in the Graduate School of Education, she chaired nearly 100 dissertations and led the redesign of the EdD program that was awarded the 2022 Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate Program of the Year. Sara also serves on the Board of the Carnegie Project of the Education Doctorate.

Sara serves as a reviewer for professional journals and conferences, and volunteers for various community-based organizations and the Traumatic Brain Injury Association. Sara founded the Disability Alliance, an affinity group for faculty and staff with disabilities at Northeastern in 2022.

Joe Griffin, D.Min
Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs

Joe Griffin serves as the Senior Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Northeastern University’s College of Professional Studies, where he also holds a faculty appointment as a teaching professor in project management.

Joe formerly served in a variety of roles within the university’s Chancellor’s Office and College of Professional Studies including as the Vice Chancellor of Educational Innovation, the Associate Vice President of Business Development, and Acting Vice Chancellor of Regional Campuses. He also served as Associate Dean of Partnership & Engagement and as faculty director for graduate programs in analytics, informatics, and project management.

Prior to joining Northeastern, Joe worked within the construction, land development, and real estate industries. He is a certified Project Management Professional and he holds a current General Contractor Builder license in North Carolina.

Joe holds a doctorate in Workplace Leadership and Ethics from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a Master of Project Management from Western Carolina University, and an MBA from Lenoir-Rhyne University.

Casey Moffatt
Assistant Dean – Academic & CPS Global Operations

Casey Moffatt provides high-level operational leadership related to planning, implementing, directing, and administering all aspects of academic operations.

With more than 25 years of experience in higher education, Casey has spent the last 14 years working for the College of Professional Studies. Prior to working at CPS, Casey worked in various community colleges . He earned his MA in Training and Organizational Development from Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL., and is a graduate of Armstrong State University in Savannah, GA with a BA in Political Science.

Allison Ruda, EdD
Associate Dean – Education Design & Curriculum Innovation

Allison Ruda serves as Associate Dean of Education Design & Curriculum Innovation for Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies. Leading curriculum and program-wide assessment strategy, she collaborates with faculty and academic leadership to develop and scale educational innovations that serve diverse learners. Allison’s leadership includes university-wide initiatives that focus on modular learning design, micro-credentialing, and AI-enhanced skills mapping.

She also leads the college’s Academic Quality unit which focuses on data-driven, continuous improvement planning, program evaluation and reporting, and coordinated faculty development. She works with centralized teams and academic units across Northeastern to advance key initiatives including the university’s digital badging implementation, the learning management system transition, and the lifelong learning platform strategy.

With two decades of experience in the learning design and ed tech field, Allison has collaborated with academic researchers, practitioners, technologists, and industry leaders around the shared goal of expanding access to experiential education. Prior to Northeastern, Allison worked at Emerson College, Regis College and Harvard University and produced educational media for non-profit clients on a freelance basis.

Allison holds an EdD in Curriculum, Learning, Teaching & Leadership from Northeastern, a MEd in Technology, Innovation, and Education from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education and a BA in Cultural Anthropology from Mount Holyoke College.

Molly Smith, PhD
Associate Dean – CPS Undergraduate Programs

Molly Smith is the Associate Dean of CPS Undergraduate Programs and leads the Opportunity Pathway Programs for Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies. This unique program aims to build pathways and partnerships that advance opportunities for all learners.

The Opportunity Pathway Programs division works with the university to create, deepen, and broaden undergraduate pathways and partnerships at Northeastern. In collaboration with community-based and industry partners, Molly and her team utilize asset-based advising models and academic curricula that meet learners’ immediate needs while building the competencies required to be successful in 21st century educational and career environments.

As the founding director of the Foundation Year program, Molly has extensive experience designing programs for first-year college students and nontraditional student populations. Prior to joining Northeastern, she worked as the associate director of teacher education at Rutgers University.

She earned her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction from Boston College’s Lynch School of Education. Her research interests include higher education access, persistence, and attainment of first-generation and nontraditional students.

Corliss B. Thompson, PhD
Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Education

Corliss Thompson serves as the Associate Dean of the Graduate School of Education and has been a full-time faculty member since 2013. She is a recognized leader in research methodology and design as well as social justice.

Corliss has been involved with NExT, the Global Network of Experiential Educators, at Northeastern since its inception and has helped guide its mission to elevate experiential learning and make it accessible to every learner. She is passionate about using culturally relevant and experiential approaches in her teaching and mentoring, as she leads research methodology and program evaluation approaches for deeper understanding and improvement of teaching and learning.

Before becoming a faculty member, Corliss worked in a research and evaluation office in a school district and at the University of North Carolina, where she earned her doctoral degree. She also was an elementary school teacher in Charlotte and Chapel Hill, NC.

Save the date: Northeastern Giving Day is on April 11.

Generous donors make Northeastern’s Giving Day one of the most exciting events of the year. Your gift has a direct impact on our students and carries the power to help them spark fresh ideas, solve problems, and experience the world in new ways.

Tessa Baum, CAMD’24

“Scout, Northeastern’s student-led design studio, has been by far the best part of my college career. In past years, Giving Day has allowed Scout to create new teams; develop our annual conference, ‘Interventions; host speaker series that connect students with design professionals; and grow by more than 40 members. Your support will open doors for Scout’s students and allow us to build the future of student-led design initiatives.”

Dallon Archibald, Khoury’25

“Gifts from Giving Day are an indispensable asset for making Men’s Club Ultimate accessible and competitive at a national level. We host three teams, combining over 100 players and coaching staff, so we rely extensively on donor support. We are so grateful for the continued support from our donors. Your generosity and passion allow us to pursue the sport we all love!”

CJ Huey, E’24

“In 2023, Giving Day donations made the difference that allowed the AerospaceNU club to travel to the Mojave Desert to launch a test rocket. Our club relies on donor support to help our members partake in experiences they may never have otherwise, from research trips and drone competitions to conferences and testing rockets across the country. I cannot thank our Giving Day donors enough!”

The Giving Day site is now live! As a member of our faculty and staff community, show your support for the next generation of Northeastern changemakers. Your generosity will help students pursue their ambitions and fund the opportunities that will shape their university experience.

Harmonize 101: Using Harmonize Increase Engagement in Online Classes

Please join the EDCI team for two upcoming training opportunities available to all CPS instructors.

Harmonize is a Canvas-integrated tool that modernizes and enhances the traditional online discussion platform via interactive, engaging, and visually appealing discussion boards.

Watch this short (just 3 minutes!) demo to see what it can do. Please join the EDCI team for two upcoming training opportunities available to all CPS instructors.

Contact Jennifer Turrentine for additional information.

Harmonize 101: Using Harmonize Increase Engagement in Online Classes

Please join the EDCI team for two upcoming training opportunities available to all CPS instructors.

Harmonize is a Canvas-integrated tool that modernizes and enhances the traditional online discussion platform via interactive, engaging, and visually appealing discussion boards.

Watch this short (just 3 minutes!) demo to see what it can do. Please join the EDCI team for two upcoming training opportunities available to all CPS instructors.

Contact Jennifer Turrentine for additional information.

GSE faculty publish a two-volume book sharing the national impact of “action research”

When students graduate with their EdD at Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies, they have already made an impact. That’s because the EdD program is centered on principles of “action research” and the dissertations involve comprehensive research, as well as thoughtful implementation.

Sara Ewell, Joe McNabb, and Joan Giblin collaborated on a comprehensive overview of national research led by EdD students around the country. This two-volume book highlights the work of graduate students whose EdD programs share Northeastern’s partnership with the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) – an international organization dedicated to transforming the Education Doctorate into the Professional Practice Doctorate in Education.

According to its website:

“Members are committed to rethinking advanced educational preparation through improved EdD program designs that offer academic rigor, practical impact, applied research, and value. CPED, the first action-oriented effort working to distinguish the EdD from the PhD, defines the EdD as one that prepares educators to become Scholarly Practitioners who can apply appropriate and specific practices, generate new knowledge, and steward the profession.”

The books are available at Information Age Publishing: https://www.infoagepub.com/authors/joe-mcnabb

We sat down with one of the collaborators, professor of practice and full-time faculty member, Joe McNabb, to learn more about the importance of this work and the value of Northeastern’s EdD program.

Q: What is “action research”

Action research is really at the heart of how we establish the EdD as an advanced professional degree — such as a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) or Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) — versus a PhD which is more of an academic research degree. It moves away from traditional research by taking the step beyond just making recommendations, to actually implementing change based on rigorous research findings. For EdD students, when they graduate with their doctorate, they are armed not only with a degree but with a story of how their research resulted in meaningful change with significant impact.

Q: Why is this approach to “action research” so important?

Action research can empower all administrators in higher education to engage more effectively in resolving challenges in colleges and universities.

The first volume of the work we published, Faculty Development: Achieving Change Through Action Research, presents a compelling collection of chapters that explore faculty development through the lens of action research, tackling a diverse array of challenges with innovative solutions. Chapters include Cragg’s investigation into the barriers preventing faculty from implementing digital formative assessments in a top-tier business school highlights crucial issues of self-efficacy and time. Brewer’s examination of developmental English courses offers insightful structural and pedagogical strategies to enhance student success.

The second volume, Taking Action: Creating Sustainable Change in Student Affairs is an insightful compilation that utilizes action research to tackle complex issues in student development and support. Through a series of chapters, the volume delves into various facets of student life and administration, offering valuable findings and recommendations such as Tresselor-Gelok’s exploration of leadership styles in student affairs and Bevins’ work that highlights the benefits of peer-mentoring for first-generation students’ financial resource access.

Q: How did you decide what students to include in the book?

We did an open call for book chapters and reviewed all the proposals. Those that we kept were those that really demonstrated the impact of action research. We looked for highly rigorous research as well as measurable impact. The call was answered by universities across the country who are part of the CPED network, and the results were truly moving.

Q: Why did CPS decide to join the CPED network?

Sara Ewell was the vision for moving in this direction. We wanted our students to do something with their degree instead of just getting a piece of paper. She really created this vision in 2017 and 2018. We introduced the program in Fall 2018 — pivoting away from the traditional model so our students can take away high-impact skills.

This is even more meaningful when you consider the mean age of our students is 43. Most are mid-career professionals who are looking for ways to not only advance their careers, in higher ed, K-12, or non-profit spheres but make an impact. We have students from all over the country, representing community colleges, private liberal arts colleges, specialized colleges in fashion and design, prestigious global research universities, and Ivy League and public research universities. It really is a broad and diverse network of seasoned professionals generating remarkable work.

Alumni Spotlight: Denise Reid: Double Husky, and A Collector of ‘Firsts’

A “Double Husky” is someone who attains more than one degree at Northeastern University.

In Denise Reid’s case, as the ‘Double Husky’ Associate Director of Communications, Social Media, and Brand Management for the College of Professional Studies (CPS), she helps the college understand the value of the online community. And she understands our mission, from more than one perspective.

In the last decade, Reid has applied her unique life experience to strategic action for Northeastern University on the digital front. She graduated with an MBA from D’Amore Mckim School of Business while working full-time to build and manage the university’s social media platforms. She grew these platforms to valuable size, and she continues to build on these strengths.

Reid was born in Boston and raised by her parents, Dwayne and Bridgette, both Jamaican immigrants. When she was just ten years old, her father was deported after being racially profiled and harassed by a client who hired his livery service. The entire family was forced to return to Jamaica, where Reid continued her education at a private school. She said, “My parents weren’t wealthy, but they always prioritized education for their kids.”

Five years later, at 15 years old, Reid was sent back to Boston by her parents to attend high school. She said,

“They thought it was best to send me back and my mom was like ‘You need to go to college’. While she didn’t go herself, she knew the value of it [education].”

She moved in with her grandparents who resided in Dorchester, and she attended Boston Public School (BPS). Her re-emigration was a difficult transition. “I live between two different worlds. I’m Jamaican but was born here. So, the Jamaicans are like ‘You’re not Jamaican’ and I’m like ‘but I am.’ Then I move back to the States and the Americans are like ‘You’re not American’ and I’m like ‘But I am’.”

While at BPS, Reid experienced a curriculum that was less rigorous than it was in Jamaica, and she soon found herself enrolled in advanced placement (AP) classes for the duration of her high school years. She said, “By my senior year, I attended [a prominent Boston-based university] through a partnership program that my principal championed. I received college credit for English 101 and English 102 courses and every day, we were allowed to leave school at BPS to attend class on university campus and this experience gave me a window into college and for the first time.” she said.

During this time, Reid experienced another ‘first’. “Unfortunately, my time in the partnership program also gave me a window into the world of ‘microaggressions’. Some of the professors treated us differently, and it was the first time I really felt marginalized.” Reid describes professors assigning books about poor inner-city circumstances and then expecting the teens to relate to its subject matter directly.

“They would intensely ask, ‘How do you feel when you read stuff like this?’ I’m looking at this professor like ‘I didn’t realize that you thought I was poor!’ It was the first time I felt that a narrative was being pushed on me from the outside. And then I started to wonder, ‘Is this really how the world sees me, or am I just being painted this way?’” Reid says that this experience also prepared her with expectations of going to a predominantly white institution as a Black student. She said, “I realized I needed to learn how to navigate that.”

So I started to take responsibility over my own narrative because I didn’t want people to place that on my authentic identity. If you’re going to know me, you will learn that from me and not what you think you learned from TV or wherever

DENISE REID

Reid said, “This was the first time I could identify with my father’s struggle because he came to the U.S. as a ‘whole citizen’ earning a living as a cab driver and one encounter with a customer led to him having to defend himself in an environment where they essentially forced him to plead guilty to charges that ultimately got him deported.” She said, “They were forcing my dad to be a person he wasn’t, and in my classroom as a high schooler, some painted me to be who they thought I was, and that was the first time I realized all of this.”

After graduating high school, Reid applied to a program called ‘Bottom Line’ which provides college counseling for inner-city youth. The program identified and secured scholarships that paid the way for Reid’s first year at St. Johns University in Queens, New York. But she failed to secure funding for the second year. “It was a diverse college and I loved being immersed in all the cultures,” she said.

Without the ability to pay after that second year, Reid returned to Boston in 2010 and began working in retail at places like Forever 21 and H&M – and she felt depressed. Resolved to resume her education, she soon enrolled at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. “I decided to just take one class,” she said.

That one class turned into two, then three.

Introduction to Northeastern

In 2011, a friend who worked at the Northeastern Office of Student Employment called to see if Reid wanted to work a summer job in that department. She jumped at the chance. The office’s executive assistant went on maternity leave and that provided Reid the opportunity to extend her employment there. While in that role, two things happened: a large digital media project presented itself and they asked Reid to work on it, and the former executive assistant did not return from her second maternity leave of absence. At 19, Reid landed her first full-time job working on digital media strategy at Northeastern.

That’s when Reid enrolled in the Organizational Communication bachelor’s program at CPS, made possible by the program’s evening course schedule. She recalls, “Balancing a full-time job with studying didn’t really give me the full experience of being a college student; I was able to do a couple of things in my job that did prove helpful to the program, but I didn’t feel like I walked away with a strong skill set that made me an immediately attractive candidate in my field.” she said.

In 2018, Reid became the first person in her family to attain a bachelor’s degree.

Still working in the Student Employment office, Reid decided to use her free time to network. “I got more involved in committees at Northeastern, like NU Dream (for Black and Brown faculty) and other things. There are so many groups on campus to explore,” she said.

By the end of the year, her boss recommended her for a full-time role in the Residential Life Offices for digital media. “Around that time across most industries, people were underestimating or just not understanding the value of social media but they also understood that they needed to have it, so my job included doing budgets and operational tasks in addition to the social media part,” she said. Reid built the office’s first social media platform, and in December 2019, she was asked to work at CPS as the college’s Student Engagement Manager, a role that was an amalgamation of communications, events, and social media. Just like she had done at Residential Life, Reid built out the college’s first comprehensive social media platform for the college and is still growing its audience.

She also thought about going back to school. In January 2020, Reid enrolled in the Master of Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. “Just in time for the pandemic!” she jokes.

Shortly after both her master’s program and the COVID pandemic began, George Floyd was murdered and the country rallied behind Civil Rights advocacy and Black Lives Matter protests. Reid, alongside Earlene Avalon, established CPS’s first Equity and Inclusion Council to advise the Dean. That initiative yielded the college’s first DEI Director, a role appointed to Magali Feruzi.

This was a challenging time for Reid.

“I enrolled in my MBA so excited to get the support of a collaborative environment and that was all gone as we migrated to online learning in isolation. By the end of my first year, I contemplated quitting, and I almost did!”

– Denise Reid

Reid took a hiatus from her studies in the first semester of 2021. “It was just a lot. I needed to take time for myself; I had to process all of it. But when I saw how many credits I had left to finish, I saw that I was halfway there and realized ‘I can’t give up now!’”, she said.

Reid graduated with her MBA in May 2023. She was the first in her family to attain a master’s degree.

Credited with crafting CPS’s first social media strategy, and now equipped with knowledge of the strategic framework to go even further in her career, Reid had successfully established a powerful Instagram presence on the student side and the CPS Dean asked her if she could do the same for the entire college.

In 2022, Reid stepped into her current role as Associate Director of Communications, Social Media, and Brand Management.

I love making each of our social platforms powerful drivers of our key message of access and opportunity to education that transforms futures. Social media is about storytelling, experimenting, and finding community in relatability. I leaned into my own personal narrative to make this happen for CPS, and I realized when I started our Instagram, as a student myself, that what I am actively going through is relatable to our student population.”

Denise Reid

“I believe the strength of our college is the power to storytell. It really transforms the future. This college always seems to have the genetic makeup of resilience. Students that come through here, faculty and staff, are resilient leaders, and their stories not only deserve to be told but telling their stories keep the door open for those who may not otherwise see their way out of their circumstances.” she said.

Transforming the future of education through a social justice lens.

Faculty in CPS’s EdD program prioritized compassion and connection in advancing curriculum development and research in a variety of education settings. As a result, 92% of graduating EdD students actively participated in change initiatives focused on social justice.

Learn more in this recently published paper “Developing and Sustaining Northeastern’s EdD Program During and Post Pandemic” in Impacting Education.

Journal on Transforming Professional Practice:

https://impactinged.pitt.edu/ojs/ImpactingEd/article/view/409/421

Writing your Problem of Practice & Application Support

This session is designed to help you choose your own problem of practice and write about it in your application to Northeastern. Every student in our program chooses a problem of practice and uses cycles of investigation to find innovative and systematic solutions to create change in their workplace and/or community.

Find more online events: Here