Meet the Team: Bridget Nahabedian

If you’ve attended a Partners for Educational Leadership workshop, institute, or conference, you’ve probably worked with Bridget Nahabedian, whether you knew it or not. She’s often behind the scenes, making sure the website is updated, the promotional materials look good, and speakers and participants have what they need.

As Partners’ Director of Communications and Events, a position created specifically for her in 2022, Bridget has become something of a designer—not of one thing, but of the conditions that allow people to connect with ideas, with one another, and with the work of the organization.

She came to that work sideways. As a child growing up in New Hampshire, Bridget imagined becoming an archaeologist and traveling to Egypt, inspired in part by Indiana Jones. In high school, her interests shifted toward the arts. Her love of reading led her to major in English at Keene State College, followed by a master’s degree in education at Quinnipiac University.

In 2015, she saw an opening for an executive assistant at the Connecticut Center for School Change, which later became Partners. She was drawn to the organization because she cared about education and learning.

She started by supporting staff and programs. Over the next 11 years, as Partners grew, so did her role. Event management came first and has remained a constant. Over time, her responsibilities expanded to include communications—the website, social media, and marketing—and eventually graphic design. Bridget taught herself to create the infographics, logos, and visual materials Partners needed.

“I look at what I do now—marketing, design, planning. They’re things I always liked to do,” she says.

Her range was especially evident in the planning and execution of the 2026 Building Thinking Classrooms conference, which brought more than 800 attendees, 120 speakers, 35 volunteers, and 15 sponsors and exhibitors together in New Haven.

But what Bridget remembers most isn’t the attendance number. During the conference, two attendees checked in, saw her name badge, and exclaimed, “OMG, you’re Bridget?!”

They had never met her in person, but they already knew her from her emails and the countless small interactions that had helped them get to the conference.

She says the moment filled her with joy and a little embarrassment—which is about right for someone whose work has always been about making other people, and other people’s work, the center of attention.

Outside of work, Bridget’s creativity shows up in photography. She has loved taking pictures since middle school, particularly of nature, landscapes, and people in unguarded moments.

Her photography occasionally finds its way back to her professional life, too. As Partners’ de facto staff photographer, she’s taken thousands of photos during meetings, workshops, and events.

She also loves hiking, traveling, reading, crocheting, and spending time with her husband, 13-year-old daughter, and their beagle, Rooster. During the pandemic, the family completed the 52 Hike Challenge, covering 147 miles.

Bridget has built a role that brings together many of the things she has always enjoyed—design, planning, problem-solving, and figuring out what needs to happen next.

Ask Bridget what she does, and she won’t lead with a job title. She’ll tell you she designs marketing, programs, and experiences. And what she produces through all of it is connection.

Contact Bridget at bnahabedian@partnersforel.org