“I Know He Would be So Proud” – Scholarship Donors Connect with Students

Written by Stephanie Krzyzewski

“Always, always be grateful to those who helped you.” These are the closing words of Marisa Lemus-Reynoso (Biotechnology, Class of 2023) as she addressed a crowded Raytheon Amphitheater at the annual College of Professional Studies undergraduate scholarship reception on the evening of August 19, 2021 on Northeastern’s Boston campus.

Marissa has good reason to be thankful, as do the dozens of other students in the room. A few weeks ago, they received the news that they would be receiving additional financial aid for the 2021-2022 academic year thanks to philanthropic contributions made by alumni and friends of Northeastern.

The College of Professional Studies has more than 50 scholarship funds established and supported through philanthropy throughout the past 40 years. For the upcoming academic year, this translates to approximately $400,000 in scholarship funding being awarded to more than 200 undergraduate students. Each summer the College hosts an event on campus to celebrate scholarship recipients and recognize their generous benefactors.

Marissa Lemus-Reynoso is receiving two scholarship this year – the Charles E. and Gail A. Evirs, Jr. Scholarship and the David R. Johnson Memorial Scholarship – and her benefactors were in the room on August 19 to hear her personal story and support her academic journey.

Nancy Johnson, who spoke just before Marissa, established the David R. Johnson Memorial Scholarship in memory of her late husband in 2019 along with her sister and brother-in-law, Joan and Pete Johnson. Dave, who earned his business degree from Northeastern in 1976, passed away in June 2018, and establishing the scholarship was a way for his family to find solace in his loss.

It was a special moment when Nancy introduced Marissa and invited her to take the stage, giving her an elbow-bump by way of welcome. Nancy had just finished sharing the story of Dave’s academic and professional journey, and you could hear her voice crack with emotion as she said, “Receiving this scholarship means Marissa’s life will forever be connected to Dave’s legacy, and I know he would be so proud of her if he’d had the chance to meet her.”

That sentiment is a tidy way to describe the purpose of this annual event – celebrating the impact of scholarships and the ability they have to transform lives and to foster lifelong connections among the Northeastern community.

College of Professional Studies Undergraduate Scholarship Program

Learn more about undergraduate scholarships at the College of Professional Studies and view photos and video from the 2021 annual reception event.

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If you have any questions about the undergraduate scholarship program at the College of Professional Studies, please contact Stephanie Krzyzewski, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Funds, at [email protected].

Wide-Ranging Research Wins Recognition at RISE Awards

Six CPS students were honored at the 2021 RISE Awards, which recognize members of the Northeastern community universitywide for exceptional work in research, innovation, scholarship and entrepreneurship.

Victor Aimi (MS ’21, Corporate & Organizational Communication), Emily Bauer (EdD ’21, Higher Education Administration), Rhea (MPS ’21, Analytics), Joel Livingston (EdD ’21, Education), and Shreshthi Mehta (MS ’21, Leadership) won Focus Awards, while Kelsey Kaul (EdD ’22, Education) received a Category Award in Social Sciences, Business, and Law.

“The RISE Award means that others believe in the work I have done,” Livingston said. “I have always been someone who is self-motivated, but knowing that others see the significance of my research inspires me.”

Inclusive Engagement

Livingston was honored with the Graduate Innovator Award for “Restorative Justice Challenges and Culturally Responsive Classrooms to Improve Engagement.”

“Culturally responsive teachers create classroom environments that utilize symbolic curriculum to highlight beliefs and values related to cultural diversity and ensure that the images portrayed reflect positive aspects of multiculturalism,” Livingston said, describing his research. “Even more, culturally responsive classrooms can assist in keeping students of color engaged in class, which in return can influence positive behavior. ​In addition to culturally responsive classrooms, the implementation of restorative justice practices is recommen­­­­­­ded to maintain positive behavior. In many schools across the United States, restorative justice practices have been used as an alternative to suspensions, expulsions, and other exclusionary disciplinary practices. This inequality can prevent students of color from succeeding throughout their educational trajectory, leading them to misbehave more in school and the school-to-prison pipeline, which will ultimately prevent them from being successful and unlocking their full potential.”

The study for which he was recognized, he said, was designed “to ensure that restorative justice is more than just a buzzword in education.”

Diversity in Tech

In her project, “Reforming the Referral Process: Increasing Diversity for Tech Startups,” Kaul sought to address equity in the workplace.

“My research is rooted in understanding how to improve the diversity of technology teams at startups,” Kaul said. “This work is important because the technology sector impacts each of us, every day. Although the tech sector creates products for everyone, the teams that do this work are often not representative of the users they serve. The tech sector needs to increase its diversity to create better products.”

Kaul examined ways in which such companies can improve their diversity, focusing on how to ensure that referrals can diversify the pool of job candidates.

“This work is especially important to me because of my focus on ensuring the success of women and minorities in STEM,” she said. “At Northeastern I work with master’s in engineering students who are the future of the technology sector. My program is over 50% female, which is unique in this sector. In my role, I help these students prepare for their future careers in tech, but I often ask myself, where are they headed? Is the industry ready to support them? That is what led me towards this research.” 

Improving Access

Supporting the success of women is at the heart of the work of Shreshthi Mehta. In “Exploring the Challenges of Employing Women as Porters in Cusco, Peru,”Mehta studied the cultural and demographic barriers preventing women from working as porters on the popular tourist trek to the Incan citadel of Machu Picchu. Her research revealed how measures to ease women’s access to such coveted jobs have proved profitable.

“Women of many cultures face several stereotypes, where they are prohibited from pursuing certain jobs or careers,” Mehta said. “The story of women porters in Cusco and their pursuit to work in a severely male dominated profession is revolutionary. It showcases the DEI [diversity, equity, and inclusion] initiatives of the owners of Evolution Treks in how diversity has proven to be beneficial to the tour company, in spite of the higher operational costs of employing women porters.”

Cross-Cultural Communications

Victor Aimi’s identity as an immigrant, he said, informed “Cultural Challenges of International Websites,” in which the native Argentine “set out to study why websites sometimes seem to have a mind of their own when accessed overseas.” In the course of his work, Aimi found that web technology is just one dimension in the more complex problem of making the web work well across borders.

“This is fascinating to me,” Aimi said, “because websites are a central part of any communications effort with international audiences, yet I did not often think of the cultural dimensions enabled by the web before this project. My habit was to just to rely on the technology.”

Receiving a RISE Award, Aimi said, illuminated his own identity in a way he hadn’t expected.

“As an immigrant I often experience cultural differences as a burden,” he said. “The award made me realize that cultural awareness can also be an advantage. I’m truly grateful to Professor Patty Goodman for helping me figure that out.”

Improving Efficiency

Rhea — who, like Aimi, is an international student—rooted her research in resource optimization, using her project, “Predicting Memory Utilization on High Performance Computing Cluster,” as an opportunity to help hone the efficiency of Northeastern’s research computer network.

“Northeastern made it easy for me to settle down in the culture,” the Analytics graduate said of emigrating to Boston from her native India. “At the very beginning of my experience, I was offered a part-time job at Northeastern, in Research Computing. I felt ecstatic and I couldn’t wait to apply all the knowledge into practice as I learned. I had a chance to learn from the best professors at CPS. This project was my chance to use my knowledge to create something for my university.”

 By analyzing the way Northeastern’s high-performance computing cluster utilized memory, she developed a data analytics framework and a machine learning model that makes the cluster more efficient—and more easily accessible to researchers.

 “I was lucky to have had this opportunity to learn from the best of my team here in the Research Computing department at Northeastern, and I can’t thank them enough for their constant support and motivation,” she said. “This experience has created a platform for me to move forward, and it has set a path for me to reach my career goals.”

 Mental Health Literacy

Emily Bauer’s dissertation, “Mental Health Literacy in Student Affairs Graduate Preparation Programs,” focused on training non-clinical college and university student-affairs staff in identifying and intervening in emerging mental health issues for students. Citing increasing student mental-health concerns—and observing that they are now coupled with the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic—Bauer described her study as a pilot education program aimed at graduate students in student affairs master’s programs “to enhance skills and confidence in the area of mental health literacy.”

Like many of her colleagues, Bauer’s research was inspired by direct experience in which she discerned a broader challenge.

“I chose the framework of mental health literacy based on my perspective as a mental health first aid instructor,” she said, “which has shown me that anyone can support and help others experiencing mental health concerns. I would like to empower those in my field to do this and take action to support students on college campuses.”

Livingston noted that his work, too, was rooted in personal experience.

“Restorative justice in schools is important to me because as a student in New York City public schools, I had several teachers who misinterpreted my lack of focus as defiance,” he said. “As a teacher/school administrator, I see many students experiencing the same issues I had. I am now in a position where I can change this narrative, and that is what I intend to do.”

Northeastern CPS Program Named to PRNEWS’ “2021 Education A-List”

PRNEWS, a highly-respected information source for corporate public relations (PR) departments and agencies for more than 75 years, has named Northeastern University to its inaugural “Education A-List.” The A-List is “designed to spotlight the top 35 educational institutions advancing the careers of PR and communication professionals in the U.S.”

The honor is a welcome professional recognition for Northeastern’s Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication program, according to Ed Powers, the faculty lead for the public and media relations concentration.

“We have offered the degree program since 2015 and public and media relations is the most popular concentration in the program,” said Powers. “We’ve been steadily building it out, year after year.”

Part of that process has been an effort to make the Northeastern program more directly applicable to the full work lifecycle of PR departments and agencies. Ed Powers has a deep understanding of that lifecycle, having worked for more than 25 years in corporate PR and communications before joining Northeastern over a decade ago.

“For the past three years, we’ve been working on a concept we call ‘the virtual public relations firm,’” said Powers. In keeping with Northeastern’s emphasis on experiential learning, students in the program have long worked in PR internships as part of their degree program. The virtual PR firm, however, takes that concept one step further.

“We were discovering that oftentimes, an internship for an individual class was too short a period of time,” explained Powers. “Just as students were ramping up and getting to know an organization they were working for, it would be time to finish up and move on to the next class.”

“One of the distinguishing features of the virtual PR firm is that we offer four courses in a row – taking students from research to strategy to two content courses,” he said. “This matches the process that PR agencies go through. The beauty of it is, as they’re learning concepts in each of those four courses, they’re actually trying them out in developing materials for their clients – and it’s the same client for the entire set of four courses.”

This year’s public and media relations students are working for four clients. One of them, Akvo, is a nonprofit organization offering big data analytics services for sustainable development projects. Three Northeastern student teams are working on op-ed opportunities, social media campaigns, and a direct mail project for the organization.

Ed Powers is pleased to see Northeastern’s innovative approach to PR studies is getting noticed by professionals in the field.

“PRNEWS is a respected source in the industry,” he noted. “We’re pleased to be on this list and be seen as one of the leading universities in the country when it comes to developing the next generation of public relations professionals. This provides yet another avenue for prospective students to learn what we’re offering.”

Finding a niche in the news business

PR professional and entrepreneur Victor Aimi brings the tools of journalism to bear on brand-building—even as he hones his digital skills at Northeastern.

To illustrate the speed of the advertising industry’s shift from traditional to digital media, Victor Aimi (CPS ’22) refers to a line from Ernest Hemingway: “Like the famous quote about bankruptcy,” Aimi says, “it happened gradually, then all at once!”

In 2013, while working as director of public relations for Latin America at Microsoft, Aimi had a front-row seat as that shift accelerated. One day, while checking traffic on the tech giant’s in-house news site, he noticed that a top “referrer” the prior month had been the mobile version of Facebook. That meant a lot of people were linking to Microsoft’s site through an article it had posted on the social media platform. Not only that, but they were doing it from their phones.

“We’re thinking, what’s going on?” Aimi says. “What are these people doing on Facebook on their mobile phones? We were shocked by all this traffic coming from mobile.”

The surge in clicks was startling, and it gave Aimi an idea. Traditionally, companies’ PR departments have pitched story ideas to reporters assigned to an industry beat. An article about a new product or trend that appears in a trade journal or popular publication can draw attention, bolster a business’s credibility, and boost sales. But the activity Aimi was seeing suggested that a different model might be possible.

“The ‘aha’ moment was, oh wait, we have more traffic now on our own news site than some of the trade media we work with,” Aimi says. “If a reporter isn’t interested in writing about a particular topic, this could be an opportunity for us to just tell the story the way we want to tell it.”

Two years later, in a partnership that included several accomplished journalists, Aimi launched Verb Company, a business designed to capitalize on the opportunity he had recognized. By providing tech companies with deeply researched content that matters to their customers, Verb helps firms establish expertise and credibility. The company focuses primarily on the Latin American market, where the Spanish-speaking Aimi, a native Argentine, has years of professional expertise—and where some of his partners and employees have been working for years as reporters. Through customized news articles, intelligence reports and social media posts in English, Spanish and Portuguese, Verb helps clients position themselves as trusted resources and thought leaders.

The key, Aimi says, is to honor a long-venerated journalistic principle: accuracy.

“Customers have to know the information is true,” he says. “Everything marketing companies do has the goal of creating trust in prospective customers. If they are inaccurate, they get in trouble; they fail at the goal—or it results in a communications crisis. You know when you see some company on the news, in big trouble because they posted something silly online? It’s often really because nobody has thought in depth about what they were doing. That’s the value we provide.”

The company’s founding was timely in more ways than one. As advertising has moved online, traditional media such as newspapers have suffered, many have closed, and others have been forced to lay off workers. This has not only created a demand for trusted sources of information but has expanded the pool of talented, experienced journalists seeking employment. When one of Aimi’s founding partners, a onetime Wall Street Journal editor, reached out to former colleagues, he found several seasoned reporters with deep experience in Latin American markets available to work for the new venture. Soon they were onboard, producing articles, white papers, e-books, charts, art and social-media content to the highest journalistic standard for an array of customers.

“We run a newsroom, essentially,” Aimi says.

They also do most of it remotely, an approach—unusual when they started—that made their business resilient when the pandemic hit. In a recent blog post on Verb’s website, Aimi cites the unexpected benefit of having opted out of a traditional office-based work structure: 

“Surely, we said [at the beginning], it would be better if we could all be in the same office. Right? Covid-19 answered that question with a resounding ‘no’.”

In 2017, with his company growing, Aimi attended a conference of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). It was there, he says, that he learned of Northeastern’s College of Professional Studies (CPS) from Associate Teaching Professor Carl Zangerl, the Faculty Director for Graduate Communication and Human Resources programs. In a break-out session for professionals who had earned a certificate of accreditation from the Society, Zangerl encouraged attendees to apply to CPS, mentioning that professional experience could count toward a degree. That piqued Aimi’s interest—both because it meant a saving on tuition and because it meant he wouldn’t have to take classes in topics where he already had extensive practical experience.

“Professor Zangerl said we wouldn’t have to study the things we already know, like communication strategy, which is what we do every day,” Aimi says. “So you can get right to stuff that’s of interest to you.”

For Aimi, some of those topics literally hadn’t been invented when he graduated with a degree in advertising from Argentina’s Universidad del Salvador in 1994.

“My final project as an undergraduate was on advertising in online systems,” Aimi says. “I wrote 60 pages. And I had one page in total on the internet. One page. Think about it. The internet existed, but no one used it. Everyone was using forums and things like that—and I didn’t think of Google myself, I’m sorry to say!”

Having already achieved success in online spaces, and with a business of his own to run, Aimi saw the online master’s in corporate communications as a perfect fit.

“For our profession,” Aimi says, “the change to digital can be a real boon. In corporate communications we’re in a great position to exploit digital, and to develop a digital practice, to a much larger extent than we are doing now. But we need to make the transition. And that takes a lot of courage.”

Zoe Cohen (CPS ’06), the founder of digital communications firm Everbrightly and a CPS lecturer in corporate communications who taught Aimi, agrees.

“Going back to school in the middle of your career is just different” she says.

Cohen sees Aimi as a good example of the kind of student who can benefit from the CPS program. “With years—maybe decades—under their belts, my mid-career students have a rock-solid foundation in communications,” she says. “But many are looking to update their skills. To learn new strategies, platforms and technologies—selectively. Not as a firehose, which it can feel like in digital communications, but in a thoughtful, relevant, career-focused manner.”

Not only did CPS count Victor’s professional experience as credit toward his degree, it also allowed him to study remotely, meaning he could keep building his company as he continued his education. In a parallel to the international collaborations he fosters in his business, Aimi worked for a semester from his office in Fort Lauderdale with two other CPS students, one in upstate New York and one in Nigeria, to analyze the social media presence of a New York artisanal ice cream chain.

“We were able to do the project entirely online,” Aimi says. “With one person in Lagos, one person in upstate New York, and one person in Florida. And we got a good grade!”

He also notes that the program at CPS has had immediate real-world benefits.

“That’s something else I like about Northeastern,” he says. “I thought it was going to be less focused on the practical side, more theoretical. But no, it has been extremely useful.”           

While Aimi is among those for whom earning a master’s through CPS has supplemented a thriving career, Cohen points out that CPS can also be a key for less-experienced professionals to unlock success.

“Many mid-career students are looking for a master’s degree credential from a highly ranked school,” she notes. “According to the census, 13.1 percent of U.S. adults have an advanced degree, up from 8.6 percent in 2000. For mid-career professionals looking to advance in their field or jump into a new job, a master’s degree can be the difference.”

Meanwhile, Aimi continues to discover overlaps between his academic work and his professional life.

“One of the assignments in Professor Cohen’s class,” he says, “was to write blog posts. I had never written a blog post following guidelines on how to write a good blog post. And it was great! I realized that the end result was a much better post than I had ever written before. I’m presenting a project this year for the PRSA, and I’m using a lot of the material that I created in class with Professor Cohen. Those blog posts—I think the association is going to post them. I have to remember to send Professor Cohen the link when they go live.”

Meet Our New and Promoted Faculty

This year, the College of Professional Studies welcomed 15 new faculty colleagues and celebrated 11 faculty colleagues who earned a promotion, whose accomplishments are listed below.

The faculty of the College of Professional Studies create exceptional learning experiences that are essential to our students’ success. Along with that demonstrated excellence, the faculty also share a commitment to exploring new ways of responding to the changing needs of our students. Our faculty members’ ingenuity, expertise, and creativity in program and curriculum development prove that education can persist and even flourish during difficult times.

New Faculty:

Heidi Liu Banerjee

EdD (Applied Linguistics), Teachers College, Columbia University

Heidi Liu Banerjee is an assistant teaching professor in the NU Immerse and Global Pathway programs. Dr. Banerjee’s research and teaching interests include developing game- and scenario-based assessment and implementing learning-oriented assessment in language classrooms. Her dissertation, which investigates the construct of topical knowledge in a scenario-based language assessment, received a TIRF (The International Research Foundation for English Language Education) Doctoral Dissertation Grant and as well as ETS TOEFL (Educational Testing Service Test of English as a Foreign Language) Small Grants for Doctoral Research in Second or Foreign Language Assessment, and it was selected as the finalist for the Jacqueline Ross TOEFL Dissertation Award. Previously, Dr. Banerjee was a lecturer in the NU Immerse and Global Pathway programs where she taught English for academic purposes to international students. She also taught second language assessment to students enrolled in the TESOL Certificate program at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Banerjee lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Alex Fronduto

DHS (Health Sciences), Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences

Alex Fronduto is an assistant teaching professor in the Graduate School of Education, where he teaches on topics that include strategic leadership in enrollment management, assessment and accreditation and the foundations of higher education. Dr. Fronduto’s research has ranged from the lab-based study of “Kaposi’s Sarcoma-associated Herpes Virus and Yeast-Two Hybrid System” to an investigation of team-based learning in health professions education and its impact on student achievement. He has also served as a Teaching Fellow in biochemistry at Boston University and as a Teaching Assistant in biochemistry at Simmons College. Dr. Fronduto previously worked for a decade in admissions at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, where he became Associate Director of Admissions in 2017. His responsibilities included recruitment of students, supervision of staff and student workers, operations and data management, educating students on affordability and financial aid and managing events and marketing. He lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Susan Gracia

PhD (Educational Measurement, Research and Evaluation), Boston College

Susan Gracia is an assistant teaching professor in the Analytics program. She is also a former faculty member in the college’s Graduate School of Education, where she taught courses in learning analytics, data mining, data visualization, text mining and classroom assessment. For the past 20 years, Dr. Gracia has directed her own consultancy in educational research and evaluation. She previously served as a tenured associate professor at the Feinstein School of Education and Human Development at Rhode Island College, designing and teaching a variety of research and evaluation courses. She also served as the Director of Assessment at Rhode Island College and at Simmons College, where she assessed student learning outcomes and teaching effectiveness and evaluated programs at the graduate and undergraduate levels. She has been a visiting professor of evaluation and learning analytics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú since 2013. Dr. Gracia lives in Providence, RI, and teaches in Boston and online.

Fareed Hawwa

PhD (Mathematics), Louisiana State University

Fareed Hawwa is an assistant teaching professor in the Foundation Year program. Before joining Northeastern, Dr. Hawwa worked in the financial industry, first as an equities and exchange traded funds trader in New York City, then as an analyst, partner and head of trading at a financial firm in Chicago. In these roles he provided technical analysis and risk management using logic, quantitative analysis, and expertise in the mechanics of capital markets, leading trading and strategy for funds valued at $250 million in assets under management. In the course of his graduate studies at Louisiana State University (LSU), Dr. Hawwa was a three-time recipient of the LSU Mathematics Department Teaching Excellence Award for his work with LSU students. He was also named one of eight National Science Foundation GK-12 Fellows. He managed workshops for high school students on the LSU campus and at nearby high schools and implemented technology such as video conference teaching and online learning. Dr. Hawwa lives in Rhode Island and teaches in Boston and online.

Sarmann I. Kennedyd

PhD (Strategy, Program and Project Management), SKEMA Business School of Lille, France

Sarmann I. Kennedyd is an assistant teaching professor in the Project Management program. With more than 20 years of experience in business process reengineering, information technology systems development, managing complex projects and data analysis, Dr. Kennedyd has served as a strategic financial and business analyst, consultant, and project manager with companies that include AOL, Fannie Mae, Charles E. Smith, Verizon, and USAC (Universal Service Administrative Company). He has provided corporate training sessions in project, program, and agile management to professionals from all backgrounds in many countries. Previously, Dr. Kennedyd served as an Assistant Professor of Management at Kean University – Wenzhou China and at Northern New Mexico College, where his responsibilities included teaching, research, and developing undergraduate curricula for courses in operations management and project management. His research is focused on agile project management, electronic commerce, virtual communication in projects and topics related to the connected workplace. Dr. Kennedyd lives in the greater Seattle area and teaches at Northeastern’s Seattle campus and online.

Varsha S. Kulkarni

PhD (Information Sciences), Indiana University Bloomington

Varsha S. Kulkarni is an assistant teaching professor in the Analytics program. Dr. Kulkarni has worked at the Harvard Business School as a researcher specializing as a statistician and in applied math areas, as a research affiliate at the Harvard Institute of Quantitative Social Science. Her research encompasses quantitative data analysis, mathematical modeling and socioeconomics, and she has lectured on data analytics in business, socioeconomics and applied mathematical sciences. Her research on topics of the evolution of social innovation, inflation and volatility and rising food prices is published in academic journals including the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems. She has received numerous awards and fellowships. An affiliate of Harvard University, Dr. Kulkarni conducts research in various fields. Her interests are in dynamic models in social networks, social innovation modeling, health, development, macroeconomic modeling, market volatility, financial markets, and analysis of socioeconomic systems.

Todd Loeb

MBA, Boston University

Todd Loeb is an assistant academic specialist in the Project Management program. Professor Loeb is a consultant, speaker, author and blogger in the areas of project management tactics and strategy, communications and soft skills, and staff recruiting and development. In more than 30 years in the financial services industry, his professional roles have encompassed project management, leadership and technology. He has worked with organizations including State Street Corporation, Bank of New York Mellon, Thomson Financial, Barclay’s, and Liberty Mutual Insurance, where he managed the design, development, and implementation of several multi-million dollar technology platforms and helped clients improve project management practices. Currently a vice president and program manager at a large Boston investment management firm, Professor Loeb has been a certified Project Management Professional since 2003. In 2013, he published No Project Management by Powerpoint, a book on project management in the financial services industry. Professor Loeb lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Tim Mills

MBA (Global Management), Golden State University

Tim Mills is an assistant academic specialist in the Leadership and Project Management programs. He joined Northeastern as an associate professor in 2015. An executive management consultant, Professor Mills has led global projects with KPMG Consulting and IBM Global Services, focusing on information technology strategy and design, project management and e-commerce projects. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force, where he managed acquisition and implementation of fighter aircraft, integrated telecommunications and ballistic missile programs. He also earned a Master of Science in Logistics Management at the Air Force Institute of Technology. Professor Mills has taught on topics including global project management, agile methods, and project portfolio management at Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education, California State College Sacramento and as a guest lecturer at the US Naval Postgraduate School. He is a member of the Project Management Institute, a certified Project Management Professional, and an Agile Alliance-certified Scrum Master. Professor Mills lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Mikhail Oet

PhD (Designing Sustainable Systems), Case Western Reserve University

Mikhail Oet is an associate teaching professor and the faculty lead in the Commerce and Economic Development graduate program. Currently the Director of Analytics at Financial Network Analytics, a deep technology analytics innovator, Dr. Oet began his career with the Federal Reserve System, working to strengthen the resilience of risky and complex financial service organizations. He later led research, development and the extension of supervisory technologies and financial stability analytics at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. In 2016, he started the Economic Forecasting Group at the Bank of New York Mellon, the world’s largest asset servicing company. Dr. Oet has held teaching positions in economics, finance, and supervisory analytics at the Federal Reserve System, Cleveland State University, and Case Western Reserve University. He is the author of numerous articles in refereed journals including the Review of Finance and the European Journal of Finance. He lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Lindsay Portnoy

PhD (Educational Psychology), Fordham University

Lindsay Portnoy is a cognitive scientist and associate teaching professor in the Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership concentration in the Doctor of Education program. Dr. Portnoy’s research focuses on the use of immersive technologies and systems thinking to enhance cognition and create a more equitable and authentic system of education. She is a former public school teacher and a co-founder of the National Science Foundation and Institute of Education Sciences funded learning-games company Killer Snails. Dr. Portnoy has been published in academic journals and popular media outlets including The Washington Post, World Economic Forum, and EdSurge. She is the author of Designed to Learn: Using Design Thinking to Bring Purpose and Passion to the Classroom and the forthcoming Game On? Brain On! The Surprising Relationship Between Play and Gray (Matter). A member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network, a former Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development Emerging Leader, and an Assessment Fellow at Hunter College, City University of New York, Dr. Portnoy lives in New York City and teaches online.

John Terpinas

JD, California Western School of Law

John Terpinas is a professor of the practice and faculty lead in the Homeland Security, Strategic Intelligence & Analysis and Criminal Justice programs. Professor Terpinas’ experience encompasses leadership, law enforcement, intelligence, and international diplomacy. His 21-year career as a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI included serving as Director of the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary, and as the FBI Chair and Assistant Professor of National Security Studies at the Eisenhower School of National Security and Resource Strategy at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. Professor Terpinas held numerous managerial positions within the FBI’s National Security Division and Counterterrorism programs including serving as Director of Law Enforcement and Investigations in the White House. Previously, he was a counterterrorism specialist in the FBI Chicago Division. Before joining the FBI, he was an Assistant State’s Attorney in the Criminal Division of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office in Chicago. Professor Terpinas lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Youngbok Ryu

PhD (Policy Analysis), Pardee RAND Graduate School

Youngbok Ryu is an assistant teaching professor in the Commerce and Economic Development graduate program and the undergraduate Management program. The recipient of numerous grants and awards, Dr. Ryu has conducted research with the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT), the RAND Corporation, The National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, South Korea’s Incheon Development Institute and other institutions. This work has included analyses of science, technology and environmental policy issues as well as the study of global special economic zones. Previously, Dr. Ryu was an instructor at NMT, where he taught courses including Business Policy and Corporate Strategy, Creativity, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship and Engineering Economics and served on thesis committees and as an advisor to independent studies and student clubs. At NMT, he founded the Tech Policy Group, the first science policy group in New Mexico affiliated with the National Science Policy Network. Dr. Ryu lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Adel A. Zadeh

PhD (Civil & Environmental Engineering), University of Cambridge

Adel A. Zadeh is an associate teaching professor in the Project Management program. A civil engineering and project management educator and consultant with more than 10 years of experience, Dr. Zadeh has managed complex public/private construction projects including planning, estimating, engineering, procurement and construction. He is a certified Project Management Professional, and accredited LEED BD+C (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design – Building Design and Construction). Dr. Zadeh’s research and teaching focus on organizational transformation, construction management, sustainability initiatives in green building construction, and how sustainability trends impact the building and construction industry. He previously served as program director and lecturer at a number of colleges in Ontario, teaching and supervising students in advanced project management and strategic leadership, construction management and engineering, and applied research. He is the director of the Toronto chapter of the Project Management Institute. Dr. Zadeh lives in the greater Toronto area and teaches in Toronto and online.

Lin Zhou

PhD (Second Language Studies), University of Hawai’i

Lin Zhou is an assistant teaching professor in the NU Global program.

An expert in pedagogical game design and innovative course design, Dr. Zhou promotes and practices teaching that revolves around experiential learning, project-based instruction and game-supported pedagogies using new online technologies. A frequent speaker at international conferences, she has presented papers on topics including Learning Chinese in Chinatown with an Augmented Reality Mobile Game, Translanguaging in Pedagogical Drama Gaming, and An Ecological Approach to an Online Second Language Writing Course.

Dr. Zhou has taught in the Department of Second Language Studies and the English Language Institute at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa. Her research focuses on game and course design to empower educators and foster differentiated instruction. For her PhD dissertation, she created a game-supported critical writing course for second-language learners in which students could work with peers and game characters to explore socio-political issues.

Dr. Zhou lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Promoted Faculty:

Congratulations to 11 faculty members of the College of Professional Studies who have been promoted, effective May 1, 2020. The following faculty members have been recognized for their excellence in teaching and curriculum development. Promotion also recognizes their contributions to the college and university through their leadership, service, educational innovation, discovery and professional engagement in their fields.

Dr. Jacques Alexis

Jacques Alexis, PhD, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor in the Professional Programs.

Dr. Alexis joined Northeastern in 2012. He teaches in the Master of Science in Project Management program and has served as Principal Instructor for the “Foundations of Project Management” and the “Project Quality Management” courses. He developed a guide for innovation in teaching the latter, has revised existing courses and developed a new course in project finance. Dr. Alexis participates in recruiting, outreach, and orientation events, and is a founding advisor to a student network for the Project Management program. He has served on the Faculty Academic Council, on the Professional Standards committee of the Council and on a task force examining college practices in faculty merit review. Dr. Alexis previously worked in the manufacturing and power-generation industries. An active member of several management-oriented professional organizations, he earned his Doctor of Management degree from the University of Maryland in 2018. He lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Dr. Earlene Avalon

Earlene Avalon, PhD, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor in the Professional Programs.

Dr. Avalon designed and piloted both the Health Management Capstone and Public Health courses and has co-authored numerous conference presentations and articles, including one in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics. Other collaborations with colleagues include a grant to map the opioid epidemic in Boston using geospatial technology. An advocate for first-generation student success and a co-founder and steering committee member of the First Generation, Undocumented, Low Income (FUNL) Network at Northeastern, Dr. Avalon also serves on faculty governance committees and has been an organizer and presenter at Northeastern’s Women of Color in the Academy Conference since 2018. Dr. Avalon’s career has included roles as a financial analyst for Partners Healthcare, as Director of Nursing Diversity Initiatives at Boston Children’s Hospital and in various leadership roles in higher education. She earned her PhD in Health Professions Education from Simmons University in 2009 and joined Northeastern as a lecturer in 2010. She lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Cynthia Baron

Cynthia Baron has been promoted to Full Academic Specialist in the Professional Programs.

Professor Baron has contributed uniquely to the development of the Digital Media program at Northeastern, recruiting faculty, serving as the program’s Academic Director and adapting it for changing student populations. She designed and implemented a bridge program, Connect, that prepares students without undergraduate backgrounds in digital media for success in the master’s program. Professor Baron has also served as Chair of the Academic Programs Committee of the Faculty Academic Council and is the former Chair of the Council’s Agenda Committee. The co-founder and former Executive Vice President of Serif & Sans, Inc., a Boston graphic design company, Professor Baron was a partner in LeWinterBaron Graphics Multitasking, Inc., and a principal in her own firm, Phoenix Design & Communications, and she has edited, authored, or co-authored more than a dozen books. She joined Northeastern in 1988 and earned her MBA in Marketing at the university in 1993. She lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Dr. Darin Detwiler

Darin Detwiler, LPD, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor in the Professional Programs.

Dr. Detwiler helped relaunch the college’s Regulatory Affairs of Food and Food Industries program and serves as its lead faculty member. The Assistant Dean of Academic and Faculty Affairs, he oversees Academic Quality Assurance across the professional programs. The 2016 recipient of the college’s Excellence in Teaching Award, Dr. Detwiler has advised the Department of Agriculture and is the author of two books on food safety. He consults internationally on food safety and regulation, serves on advisory and editorial boards, and received the 2018 Distinguished Service Award from the International Association for Food Protection. Dr. Detwiler earned the Doctor of Law and Policy degree from Northeastern in 2016 and joined the university the same year. Prior to completing his doctorate, he served in the US Navy’s Nuclear Submarine Force and was an award-winning teacher in Redmond, WA. He lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Constance Emerson

Constance Emerson, EdD, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor in the Professional Programs.

Dr. Emerson has served as Academic Quality Assurance lead for the Project Management program and as a Master Teacher, ensuring the risk management and capstone courses teach relevant curricula in innovative ways. She teaches a number of courses in the program. She contributed to the Project Management program’s reaccreditation in 2017, took a leading role connecting the Project Management program with the needs of regional businesses, and is working to build and implement the bachelor of science program in Project Management. She also served on a task force that evaluated instructor feedback and presence and the use of best practices in online and hybrid learning across courses in the college. The principal of her own project-management consultancy, Dr. Emerson joined the university in 2015. She earned her EdD from Northeastern in 2018 and previously worked with firms that included Inland Steel Company and Mitchell Management Systems. She lives in Sarasota, Florida, and teaches online.

Patricia Goodman

Patricia Goodman, EdD, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor in the Communications, Media and Human Resources Programs.

A faculty member since 2015, Dr. Goodman led the development and implementation of the concentration in Cross-cultural Communication for the Master’s in Corporate and Organizational Communication and has served as chair of the college’s faculty development conference and on its Task Force for Diversity and Inclusion. She worked with students and faculty across the university to generate definitions and expressions of global citizenship and organized the university-wide “Visions of Peace” event with Northeastern’s Center for Intercultural Engagement. She serves on the Faculty Academic Council and chairs the Faculty Development Support Committee. A frequent presenter at international conferences, Dr. Goodman earned her EdD from The George Washington University in 2004. She previously served as Human Resource Director at Florida mental health provider The Centers and in finance and program delivery at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. Dr. Goodman lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

David Hagen

David Hagen, JD, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor in the Security Programs.

Professor Hagen serves as Special Assistant to the Dean for Veteran and Military Affairs, acting as a liaison to Northeastern’s Dolce Center for the Advancement of Veterans and Service Members, to external agencies, and to faculty and student veterans and members of service families. He has served on committees including the Professional Standards Committee, which he currently chairs; the Academic Policy Committee; the Ad hoc Grievance Committee; and the Academic Policy Committee of the Faculty Senate. In 2019, he received the college’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Professor Hagen earned his JD from the New England School of Law in 1984. His teaching appointment at Northeastern in 2016 followed a distinguished career in military service, and he volunteers in the military and veteran community. In 2016, he was Military Volunteer of the Year at Veteran’s Inc., a shelter in Worcester, MA. He lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Cristine McMartin-Miller

Cristine McMartin-Miller, PhD, has been promoted to full Teaching Professor in NU Global.

The program coordinator of the International Tutoring Center (ITC), Dr. McMartin-Miller recruits, trains and supervises tutors who collectively deliver more than 2,000 appointments per term. She is course coordinator of the courses “Writing for Graduate School,” “Advanced Listening and Speaking for Graduate School,” and “Foundations of Professional Communication,” and she has served on curriculum committees and university-level search committees. The Vice Chair of the Faculty Review and Promotion Committee of the Faculty Academic Council, Dr. McMartin-Miller is also a member of the university-wide International Student Academic Success Team. She regularly presents at conferences, and her team’s findings on student engagement with the ITC were presented at NAFSA: Association of International Educators meetings. She also serves as a manuscript reviewer for two journals in language learning.Dr. McMartin-Miller earned her PhD in English, with a specialization in Second Language Studies, from Purdue University in 2012, joining Northeastern the same year. She lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Dr. Pamela Wojnar

Pamela Wojnar, EdD, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor in the Professional Programs.

Dr. Wojnar’s contributions to the Master of Sports Leadership Program since 2016 have included curriculum development; supporting the Academic Quality Assurance assessment process; representing the program at the university’s Charlotte campus; helping maintain accreditation with the Commission on Sports Management Accreditation (COSMA); and engaging students in volunteering. She served on the planning committee for the college’s 2017 Faculty Development Conference, as Chair of an ad hoc Bylaws Review Committee for the Faculty Academic Council, and as co-chair of the Faculty Senate Full-Time Nontenure-Track Faculty Committee. She has also served on COSMA’s Nominating Committee and as Chair of the Program and Abstract Review Committee for COSMA’s annual conference. Dr. Wojnar earned her Doctor of Education from the United States Sports Academy in 2008. Previous professional roles included serving as Director of the Athletics at both Notre Dame of Maryland University and Rosemont College. She lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Dr. Xiamou Zhou

Xiaomu Zhou, PhD, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor in the Professional Programs.

As lead faculty member for the Informatics program, Dr. Zhou has expanded and restructured the curriculum in collaboration with colleagues to address cutting-edge technology needs, emphasizing academic honesty and incorporating real-world projects. Enrollment has risen under Dr. Zhou’s leadership, and she continues to guide the college’s work towards a cross-program integrated computing environment. Dr. Zhou served on the Professional Standards Committee of the Faculty Academic Council and currently serves on the Academic Program Committee and Faculty Development and Support Committee. She is a frequent journal referee, and her participation in Boston-area professional meetings on platform strategy and open data science support her leadership in the digital transformation of teaching and learning. Dr. Zhou earned her PhD in Information Science from the University of Michigan in 2010. Before joining Northeastern in 2016, she taught in the School of Communication and Information at Rutgers University. She lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Dr. Elizabeth Zulick

Elizabeth Zulick, PhD, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor in the Professional Programs.

A faculty member since 2016, Dr. Zulick is Faculty Director for Health Care and Biotechnology programs, Director of the Lowell Institute School, and Special Assistant to the Dean for Research, Innovation, Discovery and Entrepreneurship. In collaboration with faculty in the College of Science (COS), she designed the first “Plus One” pathway from the College of Professional Studies (CPS) into a degree in another college of Northeastern. She secured a $4.4 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to support students moving from a partner community college into CPS and COS earning both an undergraduate and graduate degree. She has collaborated with colleagues on another NSF grant assessing the efficacy of experiential learning in increasing the persistence of young women and underrepresented minorities in STEM careers. Dr. Zulick earned her PhD in Molecular Medicine from Boston University’s School of Medicine in 2015. She lives in the greater Boston area and teaches in Boston and online.

Celebrating our Newest Graduates– Virtually

The college celebrated the achievements of undergraduate and master’s graduates in a virtual recognition ceremony on May 15.  Watch highlights from the ceremony below, and click here to watch the full ceremony, which includes candidates’ personalized messages and photos as well as messages from faculty members. Congratulations to our newest graduates! 

Mary Loeffelholz, Dean of the College of Professional Studies, welcomes students, families and friends to the virtual recognition ceremony. 

David Fields, Senior Associate Dean, Academic and Faculty Affairs and Professional Programs, introduces this year’s student speakers. 

Anh (Ann) Doan and Tien (Tiffany) Nguyen, this year’s student speakers, discuss their career goals and how the college has helped them on their journey to create a start-up that supports women’s development.  

Dave Hagen, Associate Teaching Professor, announces this year’s Excellence in Teaching award winners:  Dr. Margaret Gorman and Dr. Wendy Crocker. 

Dean Loeffelholz introduces the recognition ceremony speaker. Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Robert DeLeo, AS’72, gives his address to graduates.  

Dean Loeffelholz introduces the ceremony’s alumni speaker. Clifford Harrison, CPS’15, addresses graduates as this year’s alumni speaker. 

Congratulations to all of our newest graduates! Click here to watch the full ceremony, which includes graduates’ personalized messages and photos as well as individual messages from faculty members.

14 CPS Students Won Awards at RISE –  Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Entrepreneurship Exhibition

Students, faculty, staff across Northeastern University and industry leaders came together virtually on April 9, 2020 for the university’s annual RISE (Research, Innovation, Scholarship, Entrepreneurship) to celebrate innovation in multidisciplinary student research projects with a strong showing from College of Professional Studies (CPS) students. Student competitors had the opportunity to showcase their work to a virtual audience that included industry professionals and potential employers or investors. 

This year, a record number of College of Professional Studies undergraduate and graduate students participated (24 students presenting 18 entries) with 14 students winning awards in eight categories, of a possible 23 categories. The students represented five degree programs and a wide range of professions and industries.

New in 2020, RISE included a Northeastern College of Professional Studies Resiliency and Sustainability Focus award specifically for students of the college. This award recognized one undergraduate and one graduate student or team whose project best applied research and communication to an important resiliency and sustainability topic. 

Winners of the CPS prize are:

• Mark Turner, Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering Technology: Fixed-Wing Drone Autonomous Re-Flight Platform
• Mruga Salunke, Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication: Building Cultural Resilience and Agility: Based on Cross-Cultural Adaptation by Global Consultancies

Following is the list of all CPS RISE award winners in each category, their projects and faculty mentors: 

Computer and Information Sciences 

• Jinyuan Chen, MPS Analytics: Applying a Customized Ordinal Machine Learning Classification Method to Predict Potential Retail Location Performance
  • Faculty advisor — Alice Mello, Assistant Teaching Professor, Master of Professional Studies in Analytics  

Social Sciences, Business and Law 

• Mika Morikawa, Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication: Cultural Awareness in the Social Work Workplace: How Social Work Management Can Improve the Experiences of Social Workers of Color
  • Faculty advisor — Patricia Goodman, Assistant Teaching Professor, Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication 

CPS Resiliency and Sustainability 

• Mark Turner, Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering Technology: Fixed-Wing Drone Autonomous Re-Flight Platform
  • Faculty advisor — Jonathan Cue, Lecturer in Engineering 
• Mruga Salunke, Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication: Building Cultural Resilience and Agility: Based on Cross-Cultural Adaptation by Global Consultancies
  • Faculty advisor — Patricia Goodman, Assistant Teaching Professor, Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication

Data

• Freida Parsons and Wangzi Zhao, Master of Science in Commerce and Economic Development: Multi-Level Sentiment Analysis of Stress
  • Faculty advisor — Mikhail Oet, Associate Teaching Professor, Master of Science in Commerce and Economic Development 

Grand Impact 

• Mariangela Cardoso Miguel Carmona, Joyce Liu, Anu Ajaya Kumar, Yasha Barthia, Chia Hsiang Shih, Yingtao Dai, Master of Science in Project Management: Give It Here: An App-Based Solution for Charity Donations
  • Faculty advisor — Jeryl Concepcion, Lecturer, Master of Science in Project Management and Assistant Director, Academic Advising and Program Operations 

Illuminating Complex Problems 

• Mruga Salunke, Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication: Building Cultural Resilience and Agility: Based on Cross-Cultural Adaptation by Global Consultancies
  • Faculty advisor — Patricia Goodman, Assistant Teaching Professor, Master of Science in Corporate and Organizational Communication 

 
Sharing Economy 

• Jinyuan Chen, Master of Professional Studies in Analytics: Applying a Customized Ordinal Machine Learning Classification Method to Predict Potential Retail Location Performance
  • Faculty advisor — Alice Mello, Assistant Teaching Professor, Master of Professional Studies in Analytics

Commenting on how RISE complements coursework learning, Darin Detwiler, assistant dean of academic and faculty affairs and lead for RISE notes, “It’s one more piece to their experience; one more way to show what they have done, and what they’re capable of doing. For these students, this is where the real world begins. They’re really putting themselves out there, showing off what they’ve done. RISE provides opportunities.”

Detwiler commented on the wide range of participation and student topics: “The increase in CPS participation came from the dedication and hard work of many faculty and leaders across all domains and programs. These awards reflect the strong and diverse talent of our students. Our faculty and students exemplify the interdisciplinary nature of computer and information sciences, social sciences, business and law, resiliency and sustainability, data, impact, complex problems, the economy and beyond.” 

Learn more about RISE 2020

Faculty Promotions

Congratulations to 11 faculty members of the College of Professional Studies who have been promoted, effective May 1, 2020. The following faculty members have been recognized for their excellence in teaching and curriculum development. Promotion also recognizes their contributions to the college and university through their leadership, service, educational innovation, discovery and professional engagement in their fields. 

Dr. Jacques Alexis
Dr. Jacques Alexis, Assistant Teaching Professor of Project Management in the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.


Dr. Earlene Avalon
Dr. Earlene Avalon, Assistant Teaching Professor of Health Management in the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.


Cynthia Baron
Cynthia Baron, Associate Academic Specialist of Digital Media in the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to Full Academic Specialist.


Dr. Darin Detwiler
Dr. Darin Detwiler, Assistant Teaching Professor of Regulatory Affairs for Food and Food Industries in the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.

Dr. Constance Emerson
Dr. Constance Emerson, Assistant Teaching Professor of Project Management in the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.


Patricia Goodman
Patricia Goodman, Assistant Teaching Professor of the Communications and Media programs of the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.


David Hagen
David Hagen, Assistant Teaching Professor in the Security programs of the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.


Cristine McMartin-Miller
Cristine McMartin-Miller, Associate Teaching Professor of NU Global in the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to full Teaching Professor.


Dr. Pamela Wojnar
Dr. Pamela Wojnar, Assistant Teaching Professor of Sports Leadership in the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.

Dr. Xiamou Zhou
Dr. Xiamou Zhou, Assistant Teaching Professor of Informatics in the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.

Dr. Elizabeth Zulick
Dr. Elizabeth Zulick, Assistant Teaching Professor of the Biological Sciences Biotechnology programs of the College of Professional Studies, has been promoted to Associate Teaching Professor.

Open for Registration: Effective Crisis Communication Program

The Effective Crisis Communication program is now open for free registration. Learn from faculty members Dr. Carl Zangerl and Dr. Ed Powers about the elements of an effective crisis communication plan and the development of communication tactics for a range of stakeholder audiences. This Lifelong Learning: On Demand program runs from April 13-May 4, and it includes the opportunity to earn a non-credit digital badge.

Please note: The program will be archived for future access beginning in mid-May 2020. However, completion of the quiz questions for each of the three learning modules is required by May 4, 2020, to earn a non-credit digital badge. 

Learn more about the program and faculty

Register now

CPS Alumna Stacy Raine Creates Three-Episode Podcast for The Nature Conservancy

Alumna Stacy Raine, CPS ’17, often shares her perspectives on many issues facing communicators, especially those working in the non-profit sector. In her most recent post for Northeastern’s Communications Alumni Network blog, she discusses her motivation behind creating Destination Nature, a three-episode podcast series for The Nature Conservancy.

In Destination Nature, you can journey to a reef restoration project, or follow the path of a mountain lion, or visit a neighborhood in Philadelphia that’s using nature to help solve storm-water challenges. The show is full of interesting conversations and beautiful and surprising sounds. 

Click here to read Stacy’s blog post, or listen to the podcast here.