Bizzy Herbolsheimer. (Photo by Lisa Aciukwicz)

This summer beach-goers at Bare Hill Pond will see a familiar face on the waterfront. Elizabeth “Bizzy” Herbolsheimer, a member of the beach staff for 15 years under the management of longtime waterfront director Nancy Brown, will step in to fill the void left by Brown’s passing last year.

“I feel honored to follow in her footsteps,” said Herbolsheimer in a recent interview. “Hers are big shoes to fill.”

Herbolsheimer, a Bromfield grad whose family has lived in Harvard for 30 years, was, until recently, a biomedical researcher in Cambridge, working on such cutting-edge projects as stem cell research and potential cures for diabetes. Late last year funding ran out for the projects on which she was working, giving her an opportunity to rethink her career. Although she loved the work and was good at it, she said, it kept her confined to an office analyzing data all day.

“I’m a people person,” she explained, adding that she realized she needed to do something where she had more contact with others.

Right around the time her funding ran out, an acquaintance of her father mentioned that Leominster High School had an opening for a chemistry teacher. She applied for, and landed the job, and has been there since January. And, she said, she loves it.

With a new work schedule that will leave her summers open, Herbolsheimer found herself in a position to apply for the job of Bare Hill Pond waterfront director as soon as she heard about it.

“It seemed like fate,” she said. “One door closed, and another opened.”

Herbolsheimer’s waterfront experience isn’t limited to her years on Bare Hill Pond. She was also aquatics supervisor and water safety instructor at Sudbury’s Atkinson pool, and worked as assistant swim and diving coach and lifeguard at Carnegie Mellon University.

As the new waterfront director at the town beach, she will be responsible for management of all the programs there—from swimming lessons to instruction in sailing, canoeing, and kayaking. She already has two able-bodied people on board to help: William Deeks, who will be the head lifeguard, and Sean Doocey, programs supervisor.

Herbolsheimer said the beach staff expects to uphold the high standards set by Nancy Brown. They will set high goals for swimmers, she said, such as coaching level 5 swimmers to swim 50-yard front and back crawls, instead of the 25 required for Red Cross certification.

“We will still certify swimmers to Red Cross standards,” she said, “but we want them to be able to do better than that.”

And, she added, class sizes will be kept to 15 people or fewer.

Herbolsheimer said she’s looking forward to the summer beach season, which will start June 21 and end Labor Day weekend. In between, there will be lots of events to look forward to, she noted. Among them will be the Fourth of July celebration (on June 28), which will include fireworks and afternoon games, such as apple-bobbing in the pond. Then, there is the much-anticipated Ya Gotta Regatta in mid-July, and the annual bonfire on the beach in early August.

One very special event Herbolsheimer is looking forward to is the July 4 dedication of a new flagpole at the beach in memory of Nancy Brown. She said that beach staff alumni, who have contributed money and materials to make it happen, plan to erect the new pole where Brown used to park her car. Some former beach staffers are in the military, she said, and plan to be there in full dress uniform for the initial flag-raising on Independence Day.

“Mrs. Brown was the beach director for about 38 years,” Herbolsheimer said. “She touched a lot of lives. The staff wants to make sure she’s remembered.”

Herbolsheimer said she was very close to Brown during the 15 years she spent under her tutelage at the town beach. She said that about five or six years ago Brown told her she’d be a waterfront director somewhere one day.

“She always said I’d be a good one,” she added.