Profile: Jaimee Rizzo
Jaimee Rizzo started her career at Emerson in the Development and Alumni Relations Office 13 years ago, when she was hired as a coordinator of special events. In this role, she organized Alumni Weekend, President’s Society events, and various alumni events. She also helped plan groundbreakings and building openings, including the Cutler Majestic Theatre opening night in 2003.
When President Pelton arrived in 2011 and the College acquired his residence at 2 Spruce Street, Rizzo transferred to the President’s Office and began her role of coordinator of presidential events. She is in charge of planning a number of small events at the president’s residence, ranging from community events to President’s Council meetings and retreats and academic dean and chair events. She also assists in the planning of the annual Board of Trustees meetings in Boston and Los Angeles.
Another of her main responsibilities is to plan the College’s large-scale annual events: the staff and faculty holiday party, the staff recognition event, assisting with Commencement-related events, and various presidential events that the president hosts. She works closely with Sodexo’s chef and catering manager to create menus and also works with a number of departments across campus to create invitations and book on-campus event spaces.
She has the most fun planning the staff and faculty holiday party. When she first started working on the party, it was held at the Hyatt Regency and had 200–300 attendees. Over the years, attendance has doubled. She has invited an entourage of performers for the children in attendance: a clown, magician, caricaturist, face painter, and tattoo/glitter artist, as well as Frozen character actors. She has also brought in a human-sized snow globe and the pièce de résistance from last year’s party: a petting zoo with baby animals.
Rizzo came to Emerson from Goldman Sachs in New York City. She started as an administrative assistant in the Investment Banking Division but helped out the events department when she had the time. She eventually was hired by the events department as a coordinator of recruiting events, dinners, holiday parties, conferences, and other corporate functions.
She grew up on Long Island, New York, and graduated from Hamilton College with a bachelor’s in American studies and minor in art history. She eventually moved to Boston because she found New York City to be too hectic, and she has family in Vermont and Massachusetts. She currently lives in Quincy, Massachusetts.
In the summertime, Rizzo is often found on the beach at the Cape on the weekends; in the wintertime, she spends many weekends snowshoeing and skiing in Vermont. Although she likes to visit other New England locales, such as Nantucket and Maine, she really loves traveling to other countries. A few of the places she has visited are Iceland, the Caribbean, England, and France. In a few weeks, she is heading to Quebec City’s Ice Hotel for the first time. That requires an adventurous spirit!
Nancy Howell (Creative Services)