The Speakers

Learn More about our speaker and guest speakers here!

Karen Phillips Ed.D

Dr. Karen Phillips serves as the Associate Dean for the Student Experience at the College of Professional Studies, named in 2019, providing strategic leadership and management for the learner experience for all students across the college.

Dr. Phillips supervises the Academic Advising and Learner Services teams and collaborates with academic and administrative leaders both in the college and across the university to increase student retention and satisfaction, including the retention and academic progress of first-generation students, international students, and underrepresented students.

Prior to joining Northeastern, Dr. Phillips was Assistant Dean for the graduate student experience and services at the Boston University Questrom School of Business, where she oversaw graduate program management, academic advising, registrar, financial aid and career advising. At Hult International School of Business in Cambridge, Mass., she was Associate Dean of Student Affairs and the MBA Program Dean, working in collaboration with Hult’s campuses in Dubai, London, San Francisco and Shanghai while the school grew by 33%.

Dr. Phillips holds an EdD in Organizational Change and Leadership from the University of Southern California, an MS in College Student Development and Counseling from Northeastern and a BS in Health Policy & Management from Providence College.

Elizabeth Zulick, Ph.D, MPH

Elizabeth Zulick, PhD, MPH is an Associate Teaching Professor and Director of the Lowell Institute School. Additionally, Dr. Zulick serves lead faculty for the Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Programs and Faculty Director for the Healthcare, Biotechnology, Regulatory and Quality Domain, which includes certificate, undergraduate, masters and doctoral degree programs in the College of Professional Studies. In these roles, Dr. Zulick is responsible for curriculum design, review and implementation, including learning outcome development, program-wide assessment, and development of new, industry-aligned courses, badges, programs and certificates. In addition, she leads local community college outreach and program alignment, and cultivates relationships with local companies to create learning opportunities for students. Dr. Zulick works closely with colleagues within the college, university and across New England to create access to quality STEM education for all learners, increase student retention and graduation rates, and create pathways to high-quality jobs for our diverse learner population.

Dr. Zulick is the principal investigator (PI) of a $4.4 Million NSF S-STEM grant: An Accelerated Pathway from Associates to Master's Degree in Biotechnology, which is a collaboration with Middlesex Community College, Northeastern University College of Science, and the College of Professional Studies.

Previously, Dr. Zulick received an Environmental Protection Agency STAR Fellowship award to study the effects of environmental exposures on breast cancer. She has published in a number of journals including, Stem Cells, BMC Biology, Molecular Cancer Research, and Molecular Neurodegeneration, and regularly presented at the Society of Toxicology’s annual meeting.

Previously, Dr. Zulick was a post-doctoral fellow in the Center for Regenerative Medicine at Boston University and taught at Boston University's Metropolitan College and College of Arts and Sciences, as well as the University of Massachusetts Bridges to Baccalaureate Program.

Dr. Lindsay Portnoy

Lindsay Portnoy, PhD is a cognitive scientist and Associate Teaching Professor in the Doctoral Program of Education at Northeastern University. Portnoy’s research centers on the use of immersive technologies and systems thinking to enhance cognition and create a more just system of education. Portnoy is a former public school teacher, co-founder of the NSF and IES funded ed tech Killer Snails, and author of Designed to Learn and Game On? Brain On!

Portnoy has been published in academic journals and popular media outlets including The Washington Post, USA Today, and World Economic Forum, among others. Dr. Portnoy is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Expert Network, former ASCD Emerging Leader, and Assessment Fellow at Hunter College, CUNY. Portnoy’s company received the 2018 Small Business Innovation Research /Small Business Technology Transfer of the Year Award in her home state of New York.

Rebecca Crimmins

Rebecca Crimmins is a Co-op Advisor in the College of Professional Studies. She holds a BA from Valparaiso University in International Relations and MA from American University in International Training and Education. Rebecca has been in her role and at Northeastern for just over two years working with CPS students in various programs on how experiential learning can fit into their academic journey.

Kristen Lee, Ed.D., LICSW,

Dr. Kristen Lee, Ed.D., LICSW, known as “Dr. Kris”, is an internationally recognized, award-winning behavioral science professor, clinician, author, comedian, and activist from Boston, Massachusetts. As the Lead Faculty for Behavioral Science and Faculty-in-Residence at Northeastern University, Dr. Kris’s research and teaching interests include individual and organizational well-being and resilience, particularly for marginalized and underserved populations. She consults with organizations around the world on preventing burnout and fostering healthy work cultures, and is the author of RESET: Make the Most of Your Stress, Winner of the Next Generation Indie Book Awards Motivational Book of 2015, best-selling Mentalligence: A New Psychology of Thinking: Learn What it Takes to Be More Agile, Mindful and Connected in Today’s World, and the upcoming Worth the Risk: How to Microdose Bravery to Grow Resilience, Connect More, and Offer Yourself to the World. She is a regular contributor for Thrive Global and Psychology Today. She is the host of Crackin’ Up: Where Therapy Meets Comedy. Dr. Kris’s work has been featured on NPR, Ted, and CBS radio. Her TedX talk, The Risk You Must Take has over 313k views. To learn more, visit www.kristenlee.com or connect on all social media via @TheRealDrKris.

Michele Rapp

Michele Rapp has extensive experience as a career coach and creator of educational programs for alumni at Northeastern and Masters students and alumni at Suffolk University. She loves to help alumni and students create new possibilities for their careers and for learning. In her current role as Associate Director of Alumni Career Strategy at Northeastern, she organizes career webinars, networking events, facilitates workshops, coaches alumni and manages the NUsource networking platform. She is a certified Personal and Professional Coach, has a M.Ed in Organization Development and a BA in Psychology.

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