Staff

Liz Horgan has served as the Director of the Career and Professional Development Center since 2011. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Bryant University and her Master of Education in Student Affairs Counseling from Bridgewater State University. Liz also serves as the Director of the Professional Development Seminar Program (PDS) at Nichols, a series of four credit bearing career focused courses which all undergraduate students are required to complete before graduating.  Students take one PDS course each of their four years at Nichols. Liz truly enjoys helping students and alumni as they pursue their career goals.  She also finds teaching in the PDS program very rewarding.

Prior to joining Nichols, Liz spent over 20 years working for a Boston based residential property management firm in a variety of marketing, management, and human resource roles.  Her responsibilities there included over ten years developing and managing its national college recruitment program. The experience gained while attending career fairs, conducting information sessions, and interviewing hundreds of students lends itself well to her work developing employer partnerships and career coaching students and alumni.

Employer Focus: Accounting, Economics, Finance, Mathematics, Human Resource Management

Beth Gionfriddo joined the Career and Professional Development Center in December 2021. She previously taught in the Professional Development Seminar Program and is excited to continue to work with students on career exploration. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Merrimack College and her Master of Arts in Higher Education Administration from Boston College.

Prior to joining CPDC, Beth worked in Student Involvement at Nichols College for over 11 years. She worked with Student Government, Student Organizations, Campus Recreation, Orientation, and with campus-wide events. This experience gives her an insider’s view of Nichols College and its students and will help in supporting students in CPDC.

Brijin Kastberg joined the Career and Professional Development Center (CPDC) in March of 2019 as the Marketing and Administrative Coordinator. She has a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a Certificate of Studies in Horticulture from Piedmont Virginia Community College. Brijin welcomes students, employers, faculty, staff and the public as the first point of contact for CPDC. She works closely with the CPDC team to communicate with students and recruiters about on/off-campus events and job/internship postings. Brijin also manages the social media and digital platforms for the department.

Prior to joining CPDC, Brijin started her career at Nichols College as an Administrative Assistant in the Office for International Engagement and Fischer Institute. She particularly loved assisting the study abroad students from initial sign-up to their return. Brijin is excited for her new role at Nichols, and to still be able to support our student population. Prior to joining Nichols, Brijin worked in the horticulture field for over twenty years.

Danielle joined the Career and Professional Development Center in February 2022 as the Employer Partnerships Coordinator. She is a proud returning alum where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration ’19 and has plans to earn her Master of Science in Organizational Leadership ’24. Danielle is excited to build partnerships with external employers interested in Nichols students as well as the opportunity to coach students in their job search and early careers. Danielle knows first hand how Nichols prepares their students to set themselves apart and is honored to be apart of that.

Prior to joining Nichols professionally, Danielle worked for the TJX Companies Inc. in Accounts Payable and as a Team Lead in Payroll. Her experience gained while negotiating with retail vendors and leading a team will serve her well while she builds employer partnerships and coaches students in their career explorations.

Lisa joined the Career and Professional Development Center as the Career Development Coordinator in May of 2022.  She earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications with a minor in Psychology from Framingham State University.  Lisa is excited to help lead marketing efforts and oversee the social media as well as be the friendly first point of contact in the CPDC!

Prior to joining Nichols, Lisa spent many years in Early Education.  She is excited to use her skills and experience to now become a part of Higher Education.