
Berklee Online CEO Debbie Cavalier Recognized for Extraordinary Leadership Cavalier receives the rare Julius M. Nolte Award from UPCEA.
By
Colette Greenstein
March 28, 2025
Berklee Online CEO and co-founder Debbie Cavalier, center, is pictured holding the Julius M. Nolte Award for Extraordinary Leadership-UPCEA's most prestigious honor, given for unusual and extraordinary contributions to the cause of continuing education -flanked by UPCEA Deputy CEO Amy Heitzman, left, and UPCEA Board President Kim Siegenthaler, right, at a ceremony in Denver, Colorado on March 25, 2025.
Image courtesy of Julia Zhogina Photography
Debbie Cavalier, the CEO and cofounder of Berklee Online, has been recognized with the rare Julius M. Nolte Award for Extraordinary Leadership from UPCEA, the online and professional education association. Since 2002, Cavalier's leadership has helped Berklee Online become the world's leading online music college, providing opportunities for students around the globe. She accepted her award on March 25 at the annual UPCEA conference in Denver.
UPCEA has been an invaluable partner to Berklee Online throughout our journey, says Cavalier. In our early days, they were my go-to resource for connecting with other online administrators and finding essential support. That history with UPCEA makes this special award from them particularly meaningful.
Throughout her tenure at Berklee Online, Cavalier has been at the forefront of several major milestones that have expanded the reach of music education. Under her leadership, Berklee Online launched its first online degree programs, making Berklee's renowned curriculum accessible to students at a fraction of the cost of on-campus tuition. In her acceptance speech, Cavalier dedicated the award to Roger H. Brown, Berklee's president from 2004 to 2021.
Roger recognized something in me and entrusted me with the leadership of Berklee Online, says Cavalier. At the time, I was an untested CEO, but Roger gave me the opportunity to lead and mentored me week after week during that crucial first year. This experience taught me a powerful leadership lesson: sometimes, a spark of belief in someone means more than experience itself.
In addition to her role as CEO, Cavalier continues to teach Music Theory 101 at Berklee Online, a rarity among leaders at her level. She is also the bandleader of her Grammy Award-winning children's music project, Debbie and Friends.
About Berklee OnlineFounded in 2002, Berklee Online is the premier innovator and largest provider of worldwide music education, offering more than 75,000 students from 164 countries the renowned curriculum of Berklee College of Music, at a fraction of the cost. With more than 18,000 annual enrollments in credit-based courses, certificates, bachelor's, and master's degree programs, and 3.1 million enrollments in massive open online courses, Berklee Online offers students expert music instruction to emerge with the skills necessary to exceed the demands of the music industry.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Toto in the recording studio from Yacht Rock: A Dockumentary.
Photograph by Jim Hagopian/HBO
The Best Music Documentaries on Every Streaming Platform Explore groundbreaking music documentaries streaming across Netflix, HBO Max, Disney+, and more. From intimate artist portraits to legendary concert films, discover the stories behind your favorite artists and iconic moments.
Latest
Image courtesy of the artist
Students to Perform with Earl Slick in David Bowie Tribute Concert Known for his work with Bowie and John Lennon, the influential guitarist will also visit classrooms and lead a master class for students.
Boston Conservatory at Berklee to Present Beloved Works and World Premieres at Spring Dance Concert: Limitless The annual showcase will feature captivating choreography by Lar Lubovitch and Andrea Miller, as well as brand new works by Ken Ossola and Aszure Barton.
SASA students rehearsal for their Mehfil concert which will be held on April 20, 2025 at Brighton Music Hall.
Image courtesy of SASA
Berklee's South Asian Scholar Association to Host All-Ages Concert The student-led event, Mehfil, will feature songs in eight different languages and blend traditional South Asian folk melodies with contemporary instrumentation.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
Most recent headlines
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
21/04/2025
NEW YORK Samsung Ads, the advanced advertising division of Samsung Electronics, has announced the availability of its Optimal Reach solution for advertisers acr...
21/04/2025
DENVER, Colo. A new survey highlights just how important streaming has become in...
19/04/2025
SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that the company earned multiple awards at the 2025 NAB Show, with two...
19/04/2025
Ateliere Creative Technologies, a leading GenAI media software solutions company, today announced that Dan Goman has stepped down as CEO and David Bortis, Ateli...
19/04/2025
As Director of Media and Aerial Production at Terrible Herbst Motorsports, Bryan Moore is setting new standards in off-road racing media coverage thanks to his ...
19/04/2025
A next-generation collaboration device that redefines connectivity for meeting environments
Lightware, an industry-leading manufacturer of signal management so...
19/04/2025
Calrec is today announcing that its True Control 2.0 is a Remote Production winner in the 2025 NAB Show Product of the Year Awards. This official awards program...
19/04/2025
Appear, a global leader in live production technology, proudly announces it has been recognised alongside NBCUniversal with the prestigious NAB Show Delivery Pr...
19/04/2025
Deity Microphones, a leader in innovative audio equipment, is proud to announce the expected release of our Ultra-Wide Band IFB to the market. The THEOS DIFB wi...
19/04/2025
A world renowned broadcaster and long-standing LiveU customer has successfully completed a series of live connectivity tests using LiveU's revolutionary, aw...
19/04/2025
BitFire (bitfire.tv), a longtime leader in live video transport, today announced dual NAB Show award wins at the 2025 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The company's M...
19/04/2025
BitFire (bitfire.tv), a longtime leader in live video transport, today announced three major award wins at the 2025 NAB Show, April 5-9, in Las Vegas. The compa...
19/04/2025
AI video discovery company Moments Lab and Satisfaction Group, a leading independent unscripted television production company, are proud to announce a unique st...
19/04/2025
As the media industry navigates the triple challenge of AI-driven production, distributed teams, and skyrocketing content demand, DigitalGlue s creative.space h...
19/04/2025
Network technology startup Miri Technologies Inc. capped off its tremendously successful NAB Show debut by winning two prestigious industry awards for its cutti...
19/04/2025
CINCINNATI Scripp's Nuvyyo USA has concluded a deal with Warner Bros. Discovery to bring 45 FAST channels to Nuvyyo's Tablo TV device....
19/04/2025
In a ruling that could have broader implications on the legality of regulatory agencies levying fines through administrative proceedings, the 5th U.S. Circuit C...
19/04/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission chair Brendan Carr has blasted Comcast over MSNBC's coverage of the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia in a so...
19/04/2025
Berklee NYC and NYC Media Launch Season 3 of Inside Power Station @BerkleeNYC This season features faculty member Arun Pandian as the new host and interviews ...
18/04/2025
Director Andrew Ahn, alongside actors Youn Yuh-jung and Joan Chen, takes a photo of the audience after the premiere of his film The Wedding Banquet at Eccles ...
18/04/2025
In a ruling that could have a major impact on the digital advertising market, a federal judge has ruled that Google has monopolized some types of advertising te...
18/04/2025
Broadcast and cable TV news outlets saw strong social media growth in March, according to new data from the social video analytics company Tubular Labs ....
18/04/2025
Berklee Student Yukai Yang Named 2025 Yamaha Young Performing Artist The drummer secured a spot among the elite winners in this years competition.
By
Maddie...
18/04/2025
Boston Conservatory Alums Bring Real Women Have Curves to Broadway The Latin American immigrant community takes center stage in a new musical featuring Tatian...
18/04/2025
WASHINGTON The FCC's call for public comments and suggestions on outdated regulations that it should be eliminated, has prompted a slew of fillings from bro...
18/04/2025
In a ruling that could have a major impact on the digital advertising market, a federal judge has ruled that Google has monopolized some types of advertising te...
18/04/2025
PEARL RIVER, N.Y. Global media solutions company Active Media Services (AMS) has formed a new relationship with VideoAmp, a measurement company for linear TV, c...
18/04/2025
Netflix reported generally positive results for first-quarter 2025, with revenue up 13% year-over-year to $10.543 billion and operating income growing by 27% to...
18/04/2025
NHL Playoffs 2025: TNT Sports Hits the Road for Onsite Productions With Mobile U...
18/04/2025
EVSs S bastien Verlaine on U.S. Expansion, Next-Generation Products Beyond replay, offerings also target asset management and media infrastructure By Ken Kersc...
18/04/2025
ESPN Unleashes 4DREPLAY as NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships Hit ABC Men's championships to follow Saturday night on ESPN2 By Brandon Costa, Direct...
18/04/2025
Visualizing Victory: The Latest in AR, XR, and Virtual Production in Live Sports This panel discussion featured leaders from ESPN, CBS Sports, Warner Bros. Disc...
18/04/2025
NHL Playoffs 2025: With 16 Games in First Six Days, ESPN Deploys Variety of Remo...
17/04/2025
Emilie Blichfeldt attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of The Ugly ...
17/04/2025
R-GPS gives warfighters a decisive battlefield advantage by punching through adv...
17/04/2025
This year's NAB Show in Las Vegas marked a noticeable shift in the priorities of media and broadcast organisations. Gone are the days of chasing flashy, or ...
17/04/2025
class=attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail f-align-center alt= decoding=async data-lazy-srcset=https://www.antonbauer.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Amy-Daniel-1...
17/04/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku and Adobe have announced that they are collaborating on a real time data platform made possible by a a new integration of the Roku Data C...
17/04/2025
NEW YORK Internet advertising revenues demonstrated strong growth in 2024, increasing 14.9% year-over-year to $258.6 billion, according to the IAB Internet Adv...
17/04/2025
SDVI Earns Both Product and Project of the Year Awards at 2025 NAB Show
Brie Clayton April 17, 2025
0 Comments
Left to right, Geoff Stedman, CMO, SDVI...
17/04/2025
Singapore Polytechnic Readies Aspiring AV Professionals for Live IP Productions ...
17/04/2025
Calrec Wins 2025 NAB Show Product of the Year Award for True Control 2.0
Brie Clayton April 17, 2025
0 Comments
Image: The Calrec True Control 2.o on ...
17/04/2025
In Return to Berklee, Lucius Looks Back and Moves Forward From mood boards to live demos, the alumni band gave students an exclusive look at the process behin...
17/04/2025
DirecTV's free streaming service MyFree DirecTV has just added another eight channels from NBCUniversal....
17/04/2025
LOS ANGELES The virtual production company GameChanger has announced that it is expanding its global footprint by bringing its virtual production technology to ...
17/04/2025
DENVER The International Broadcaster Coalition Against Piracy (IBCAP) has announced that it has developed a proprietary, automated software-based system to iden...
17/04/2025
Pixalate's new CTV Device Market Share report for Q1 2025 shows that Roku has the highest open programmatic CTV device market share in the United States, wi...
17/04/2025
Edward J. Lewis III Named Senior Vice President of Institutional Advancement Lewis has more than 20 years of industry experience, leading fundraising initiati...
17/04/2025
The Curling Group Puts On Inaugural Curling All-Star Game in Nashville The location in Music City is intended to broaden the sport's appeal By Dan Daley, ...