Penn State Behrend Chancellor Ralph Ford, at left, celebrates with Nicole (Frisbee) Gailey, a 2010 graduate and one of seven new Penn State Alumni Achievement Award recipients.
ERIE, Pa. — Nicole (Frisbee) Gailey, a 2010 graduate of Penn State Behrend, was honored as one of seven Penn State Alumni Achievement Award recipients at a ceremony on March 17.
The Alumni Achievement Award recognizes alumni 35 years of age and younger for outstanding professional accomplishments. Alumni are nominated by the college from which they graduated and are invited by the president of the University and the chancellor or dean of their college to return to campus to share their expertise with students, faculty and administrators. They demonstrate to students that Penn State alumni succeed in exceptional fashion at an early age.
Gailey is the director of R&D and Innovation PMO Americas for Trivium Packaging, focusing on the next generation of metal packaging solutions. She and her team are charged with discovering, evaluating and designing new technologies, materials and graphics that can lead to developing new products, improving existing products and furthering product differentiation.
Before working in the packaging industry, Gailey held roles in engineering design, measurement and integrity, technical project management, operational excellence and quality for TechnipFMC (formerly FMC Technologies).
“We are proud to see Nicole recognized for her achievements,” said Behrend Chancellor Ralph Ford. “She epitomizes everything we envision in a Behrend graduate — not just successful and passionate in her career, but also committed to lifelong learning and giving back to her community.”
Gailey graduated from Penn State Behrend with a degree in mechanical engineering and a minor in operations and supply chain management. She earned a master’s degree in engineering management from Gannon University, where she is currently pursuing a doctorate in organizational learning and leadership.
Gailey was the keynote speaker at Behrend’s Richard J. Fasenmyer Engineering Design Conference in 2022. She also is actively involved in Behrend’s K-12 Youth Education Outreach efforts, specifically Women in Engineering Day and College for Kids. A standout soccer player at Behrend, she was inducted into the Penn State Behrend Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019.
Since 2005, about 100 accomplished young alumni — 10 of them Penn State Behrend graduates — have received the Alumni Achievement Award.
Robb Frederick
Assistant director, news and information, Penn State Behrend
