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6th Annual Symposium for Research Administrators

September 28th and 29th, 2021 - Virtual Event

Page Updated: August 27, 2021

2021 Concurrent Session Presenters

• Reba Ames, Grants Data Manager, Research and Sponsored Programs
  Reba started at UW–Madison in 2009, working in purchasing and grants management on campus before moving to Research and Sponsored Programs, first as a Post-Award Accountant, then as a Grants Systems Analyst and currently as a Grants Data Analyst. She is responsible for assembling, analyzing, and reporting data for grants requests to and within RSP.
• Gretchen Anding MA, Director, IRB Office
  Gretchen previously served as the Assistant Director of the Health Sciences IRBs office and Manager of the Minimal Risk IRB. Gretchen has almost two decades of experience in human research protections and IRB administration, focusing primarily on minimal risk research, privacy, and confidentiality protections.
• Kelly Belshaw, Effort Administrator, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Kelly has been the campus Effort Administrator for the past two years. She has worked on campus since 2008 in a variety of pre- and post-award roles. Kelly has a B.S. in Biological Conservation from UW-Madison. Outside of work, you’ll likely find her hanging out with her four kids or fly fishing.
• Ben Biltz, Grants System Business Analyst, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Ben supports the Grants Modules in SFS and is the Research Administration Core Team member for Single Payroll at UW - Madison
• Chris Birke, Pre-Award Specialist, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
  Chris is a Pre-Award Research Administrator with the Wisconsin Center for Education Research (WCER) in the School of Education. He started at WCER in 2015 as a Financial Specialist navigating the Center’s faculty and staff through travel reimbursements and the associated policies and procedures. In 2019, Chris joined the WCER Grants Team and was welcomed to the world of Research Administration. As a Pre-Award Specialist, Chris has assisted faculty and staff apply for both federal and non-federal awards as well as provided pre- and post-award support for projects being administered by WCER.
• Aaron Crandall, Department Research Manager, Population Health Sciences in School of Medicine and Public Health
  Aaron has over seventeen years of research administration experience. Prior to his current role in the department, Aaron had previously worked at Research and Sponsored Programs and for a School/Dean’s office. His experience is mostly in pre-award, including but not limited to grant applications, budgeting, compliance, and contract negotiations, with some post-award and gift management experience. In his current position however, he is now more involved in managing projects from start to finish, mostly dealing with NIH or other DHHS funding.
• Kris DeArmond, Advanced Accountant, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Kris is an Advanced Accountant on the Miscellaneous Federal Post Award team in Research & Sponsored Programs. She has been a part of the team since 2009, with a brief period on the DHHS/NIH team as well as time spent assisting the NSF/DOE team. Throw in a few Non-Federal awards and she has worked with a wide variety of sponsored projects. To make things more exciting, in 2012-13, she thought it would be interesting to learn more about cost share, so she joined the RSP Cost Share Working Group. Later, she took on the role of Cost Share Lead and continues that role today in conjunction with Post Award Accountant duties.
• Irina Diaz, Pre-Award Specialist, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
  Irina has over 12 years of experience managing different pre- and post-award processes and working with various federal and non-federal sponsors. In her current role, Irina supports researchers with pre-award activities and manages the department’s outgoing subawards. Irina has a B.A. in Business Administration and is currently working on her Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at UW-Madison.
• John Douglas, Non-Federal Team Accountant, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  As an RSP accountant, John oversees and manages the prestigious Vilas awards, along with that of those in International Studies and half of L&S. John first joined RSP as an intern back in 2016. He remained an intern until transitioning to his current full-time position, a transition that occurred in the spring of 2019. While a student at UW-Madison, John studied both accounting and history, earning a B.B.A in Spring 2019.
• Lea Erickson, Assistant Director of Financial Reporting, Analysis, and Systems, Division of Business Services
  Lea is the Assistant Director of Financial Reporting, Analysis and Systems and has been with the Accounting Services department for 7 years. She oversees the UWMSN year-end & month end closing processes (including Fringe Allocations, Terminal Leave Allocations, and Tuition Remission Surcharge), financial year end reporting, and administers a variety of campus tools including WISER, SFS, Cost Transfer Tool, and JET. Prior to UW, she worked as an Accounting Manager in the private industry for 11 years.
• Brenda Egan, Proposals Team Manager, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Brenda is the manager of the Proposals team in the Office Research and Sponsored Programs. Prior to joining RSP in 2011, Brenda worked as a research administrator at the Waisman Center, the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, and in the Dean’s office at the School of Human Ecology.
• Steve Flaherty, Research Administrator, College of Engineering
  Steve Flaherty is a Research Administrator in the College of Engineering. His responsibilities are primarily pre-award, including proposal review and submission, as well as training and outreach to CoE faculty and staff. Prior to his current role, Steve served as the research administrator for CoE’s large-scale proposal team. He has also worked in research administration roles in the department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and at the University of Washington’s Information School.
• Sandy Fowler, Assistant Dean, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
  Sandy started her career with the University in 1997 at University Housing as a Program Assistant training students how to use the point-of-sale system and the basics of cash handling. In 1999 she moved to the Department of Forest Ecology and Management assisting with almost all aspects of an academic and research department. The time spent in the department prepped her for a move to the CALS Research Division in 2006. This role sparked her curiosity about and to learn more about sponsored project management and how grants fit overall into the UW financial scene. In 2010, her position was moved to Business Services to facilitate sponsored project reviews into the spending and purchase processes. In January 2019, Sandy became an Assistant Dean and now leads a great team of accountants who provide sponsored project (post award), travel, payment, and purchasing, and policy guidance to CALS departmental staff and faculty. Her and her team are the liaisons between central campus areas and departments. They play a large part in helping faculty and staff understand and interpret federal, state, and UW policies and procedures that are intertwined into a business process.
• Lauren Gee, Research Administrator, Department of Engineering Physics within the College of Engineering
  Lauren previously worked on high-risk high-reward multidisciplinary proposals at Colorado State University and Duke University. She is deeply passionate about working in research administration and proposal development, where she utilizes skills in copy writing, editing, and project/team management to provide assistance to a wide range of clients. She has a special interest in the science of team science, and in aiding teams with building effective leadership and communication networks for successful proposal development and award management.
• Mike Geier, Electronic Research Administration Manager, Research and Sponsored Programs
  Mike is the leader of the Electronic Research Administration Team (eRA) at RSP. The eRA team provides technology services, systems development, data reporting and analysis, and oversight of cost sharing to RSP and campus as a whole. Prior to managing eRA, he worked for ten years as a web programmer and data analyst on the team, being responsible for a multitude of projects from the Subaward Portal to HERD Survey reporting. Mike came to the UW from the University of Pittsburgh where he worked for nearly a decade as a programmer for an NIH-funded cancer research cooperative group that runs clinical trials.
• Bob Gratzl, Assistant Director of Contracts, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Bob joined the University in 2011 as a Grant and Contract Specialist for the RSP Contracts Team. He and his staff on the RSP Contracts Team negotiate and execute sponsored research agreements with sponsors, including federal, non-profit, for-profit, and academic partners. As part of RSP, he and his staff are also responsible for the new issuance of subawards to UW’s partners. Bob has presented at both regional and national meetings on a wide range of research topics. Bob has a B.S. in History and Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a J.D. from Marquette University Law School.
• Jenny Hackel, NSF/DOE Post Award Manager, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Jenny is the Post Award Manager for the NSF/DOE team in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. She is a detail-oriented problem solver with nearly 19 years of UW-Madison research administrative experience. Prior to joining RSP, her past roles include serving as a research administrator and Assistant Director for Administration at the Space Science and Engineering Center. Her resulting experience includes full life cycle of research administration for a variety of sponsors as well a broad understanding of how sponsored programs interact with other areas of administration such as purchasing, property, and human resources. Jenny has a B.S. in Business Administration from University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.
• Kristin Harmon, Intellectual Property Disclosure Specialist, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
  Kristin currently works as an Intellectual Property (IP) Disclosure Specialist in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research (OVCR), working cooperatively with University of Wisconsin faculty and staff, as well as the schools and colleges and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) to evaluate intellectual property developed at UW for university obligations based on agreements with outside entities. She began her career in non-profit grant-writing before working in central post-award administration at Indiana University and came to UW-Madison in 2004 as a Grants & Contracts Specialist at RSP. She spent eight years as grant manager at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center and the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, taking responsibility for all aspects of pre-award and non-financial post-award research administration. Kristin also works closely with OVCRs leadership and Legal Affairs to interpret intellectual property regulations, and design and implement compliance processes. She is a strong believer in communication and collaboration and is actively involved in outreach and mentorship activities. Kristin holds a B.A. in History and Russian Studies from Colorado College and a Master of Arts in Russian History from Indiana University.
• Patti Havlicek, Assistant Director of Risk Management & Compliance, in the Office of Cybersecurity
  Patti works with all campus partners to secure data and reduce risk on campus. Her team of 9 risk analysts review and make recommendations in all areas: specifically, HIPAA compliance and support of researchers. Patti has a diverse background in Communications, Customer Service and Technology, with the last 12 years spent on the campus of UW-Madison. Upon arriving in Cybersecurity, Patti spent time understanding and taking steps to allow the campus to prepare for the new Department of Defense regulations requiring CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification).
• Miranda Heimstreet, Grant and Contract Specialist, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Miranda joined the University in 2018 after working in private legal practices. She currently works primarily on agreements for the College of Letters and Sciences, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, and the School of Education. As a member of the Contracts Team, she reviews and negotiates agreements including sponsored research agreements, materials transfer agreements, fee for service agreements, confidentiality agreements, and more. She negotiates the agreement terms and conditions, and acts as a liaison between campus and a variety of sponsors, including industry partners, federal entities, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions. Miranda has a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School.
• Dawn Herrick, Senior Research Administrator, College of Engineering
  Dawn is a Pre-Award Research Administrator in the College of Engineering, Office of Research. She has been a research administrator at the UW since 2000. She started her career as a Grant and Contract Specialist at RSP and, after 6 years there, joined the College of Engineering. Dawn primarily works with pre-award administration and is responsible for proposal review and submission, compliance, and contract negotiations. She enjoys the challenges and problem solving that happens on an everyday basis in research administration.
• Angie Johnson, Post-Award Manager of the Non-Federal team in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Angie joined UW-Madison in 2009 as an accountant on the Non-Federal team. The team is responsible for fund 133 post-award management. In addition, she oversees the student intern program within RSP, provides training for new employees and campus, has served on several process improvement committees, and oversees the award closeout process and aspects of the subaward process. Prior to joining UW-Madison, Angie worked for a printer company for 10 years in Accounts Receivable and has a B.A. in Accounting and Business from Lakeland University.
• Dorothy Johnson, Post Award Manager, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Dorothy is the Manager of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) team in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. Prior to joining the University in May 2018, she gained extensive university research administration experience through her positions at Macalester College, Bucknell University, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her numerous certifications include Certified Research Administrator, Certified Financial Research Administrator, and Certified Public Accountant. Dorothy has a Master of Science in Research Administration from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She has presented at both regional and national meetings on a wide range of research topics.
• Theresa Kim, Fully Prepared to Lead Program Manager, Learning and Talent Development, OHR
  Theresa Kim is the Program Manager for the Fully Prepared to Lead Leadership Competency Certificate program in the Learning and Talent Development department. As a fulltime professional, parent of two teens and one preteen, volunteer, artist, and human being trying to make it through these strange days, she has found tremendous value in exploring new ways to calm her mind.
• Tammy Kuhn Martin, Assistant Dean, College of Engineering
  Tammy is the Assistant Dean for Research Administration in the College of Engineering. Tammy got her start in Research Administration in 2001 when she took a student hourly position as an Accountant Intern at Research & Sponsored Programs. She has a wealth of experience and expertise across all aspects of research administration spanning full-life-cycle grants, contract management and research compliance. She serves on a number of campus committees, is a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) and has presented at their regional meetings. Tammy has a B.S. in Human Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
• Sarah Marcotte, Senior Research Administrator, School of Human Ecology
  Sarah has nearly 20 years of experience in research administration at UW-Madison, including her current role at the School of Human Ecology (SoHE) as the primary pre-award and research compliance specialist for the School. Before joining SoHE, she spent seven years in the Research Division of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS). Sarah launched her career in research administration in 2002 at the Carbone Cancer Center within the UW School of Medicine in Public Health, where she first worked as a clinical trials data manager before advancing through other roles within that unit. When not navigating the joys and complexities of research administration, she enjoys trail running, playing soccer, playing guitar, and taking her 4-year-old niece on bike rides around town.
• Kurt McMillen, Research Administration Strategy Lead, Administrative Transformation Project
  Kurt is currently the Research Administration Strategy Lead with the Administrative Transformation Program (ATP). He is responsible for the strategic leadership and oversight of the research administration workstream of the ATP program which includes, among other things, the Research Administration Modernization Project (RAMP). He joined the University in 2010 as a Grant and Contracts Specialist in RSP, and prior to joining ATP, Kurt was the Assistant Director for Grants and Proposals. Kurt is a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) and has presented nationally on a wide range of topics. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater.
• Debbie Meltzer, Assistant Dean in the School of Medicine and Public Health
  Debbie believes the magic of Research Administration happens when you have good people, who are well led, well trained, rewarded, and have challenging roles. Debbie graduated from the University of Wisconsin and went on to do research in Cancer Center prior to becoming Assistant Dean. She serves as a senior academic officer within SMPH and is responsible for planning, organizing, and directing the day-to-day operations and strategic direction of Research Administration at SMPH. She stays current with grant policies/regulations as a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) and campus committees, using that information to inform the SMPH Research Administrators in 17 Clinical Departments, 10 Basic Science Departments, and 23 Institutes and Centers.
• Molly Mitchell, Preaward Specialist, Wisconsin Center for Education Research
  Molly Mitchell works in research, primarily preaward grants, at the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. She has been with the UW-Madison since 2014, and with the State of Wisconsin since 2012; prior to that she worked as a farmhand, a folk-guitar busker, and a cheesemonger. Her primary goal at work is to help PIs get funded and follow campus and federal rules so they can do their research and stay out of trouble.
• Bridgett Molinar, Accountant in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Bridgett is an Accountant on the RSP Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) team in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. She has been part of the team since mid-2019. Bridgett started working on Campus over a decade ago as a student hourly. She has experience in both pre and post award, managing sponsored and non-sponsored awards at the Department Level, and now Post Award Sponsored Grants Administration at RSP. At RSP, Bridgett assists departments by providing oversight on expenditure allowability and allocability according to Uniform Guidance and also strives for the timely submission of financial reports, to name a few of her duties. She brings her knowledge of campus policies and grants administration, as well as a department operation/function/administration perspective to RSP and enjoys working with multiple parties ranging from Departments, Dean’s Offices, and Sponsors.
• Kim Moreland, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Kim is on the Board of Directors of the Federal Demonstration Partnership and a former Board member of the Council on Governmental Relations. She currently serves on the Advisory Committee on Business and Operations for the director of the National Science Foundation. She is also a lecturer for Johns Hopkins University in the Master’s degree program in Research Administration. Kim is a recipient of NCURA’s national Award for Distinguished Service in Research Administration and the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Research Administration. She is a former president of NCURA and an NCURA Distinguished Educator.
• Mallory Musolf, Associate Director for the Office of Training Grant Support, School of Medicine and Public Health
  Mallory currently serves training grant program directors and administrators across campus, providing expertise and resources to enable effective training grant administration, from grant preparation through award closeout. Mallory has 9 years previous experience working with NIH Training Grants and individual pre-doctoral fellowships (HHMI, NIH and NSF). She has co-presented on NIH T32 and F awards on campus and at national and regional National Council of University Research Administrators meetings. Mallory holds a B.A. and M.A. in Modern European and Global History from Marquette University.
• Sarah Pavao, Research Administrator, Department of Surgery
  Sarah joined the Department of Surgery at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the fall of 2007. During her fourteen years with the Department, she has worked in various roles before ultimately joining the Grants Management team in 2017. She has four years of experience as a training grant coordinator providing full-time support to 5 NIH training grants and 1 privately funded research internship. She currently serves as the Director of Grants Administration for the Department of Surgery grants management team and has pre- and post-award experience.
• Carol Pech PhD, Associate Director for the Reliance and Navigation Program (RELIANT)
  Carol previously served as the Associate Director of the Health Sciences IRBs office. Carol helped develop several single IRB models across the country, including SMART IRB.
• Christine (Chrissy) Pientok, Budget Planner, Department of Pediatrics
  Chrissy is a Budget Planner for the Department of Pediatrics in the School of Medicine & Public Health. In 2014, Chrissy joined Pediatrics and in 2015 shifted into a research administrator role for the department. Over the last couple of years, she has dedicated more time to department financial and data projects and has transitioned into a Budget Planner position for Pediatrics. Along with other departmental financial tasks, Chrissy assists several investigators in managing their grant financial portfolios as well as their proposal submissions (full life cycle management). Chrissy has a BBA from the Wisconsin School of Business. In her free time, she personal trains clients, enjoys riding her bike, and loves traveling to new destinations!
• Ryan Pingel, Organizational and Data Analyst, Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
  Ryan has worked within the UW System for more than 10 years and at UW–Madison for over 5 years. In his current role, he is responsible for fielding data requests related to UW–Madison’s research enterprise; developing research, space, and operational data analyses and reports to inform decision-making in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research; and serving as the division’s liaison to internal and external stakeholders for space and facilities planning, analysis, and management.
• Christine Preston, Assistant Dean for Research Administration, School of Pharmacy
  Christine is an experienced research administrator and has been a member of the UW-Madison community for over 15 years. She began working at UW as a department administrator in the SMPH Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, and then worked for several years at the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery and the SMPH Cardiovascular Research Center prior to her position in the School of Pharmacy. Christine has served on a variety of Campus committees and has been actively involved with RED since its inception.
• Larisa Roberts, Research Administrator, Biomedical Engineering
  Larisa has been a pre- and post-award Research Administrator for the College of Engineering’s BME Department since 2017 and has been at the UW since 2015. She got her start in Research Administration while working as the Departmental Administrator for the University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library and was thrilled to find her niche when she returned to the US. She holds a Master of Studies (M.St.) from the University of Oxford in European Archaeology, and in her spare time enjoys riding her motorcycle, hiking, camping, and hanging out with her home-menagerie which consists of her husband, two stepsons, two rescue cats and one rescue greyhound.
• Jennifer Rodis, Policy and Planning Analyst, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Jennifer is a Policy & Planning Analyst in UW-Madison’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. She works on policy analysis, interpretation, development, and implementation related to research administration. She has been active with NCURA, FDP, and COGR, and currently serves on the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse Subcommittee and the COGR Contracts & Grants Administration Committee.
• Calleen Roper, Assistant Director for Research in the Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health
  Calleen joined the Department of Medicine in January 2021 and was charged with assessing the research environment across the department’s 11 divisions and developing a cohesive and strategic foundation for managing the business of research administration at DOM. Calleen has a Masters of Public Administration, is a Certified Research Administrator, and has 20 years of experience in financial and organizational management. She is an active writer and presenter for NCURA, serves as a lecturer for grant writing courses at Florida State University, and is excited to get involved in research committees and opportunities at UW.
• Eric Schafer, Assistant to the Director, Waisman Center
  Eric has done the new-trainee orientation for the Postdoctoral Training Program in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research T32 at the Waisman Center since 2018. He has been with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Waisman Center since 2006. In addition to supporting the Waisman Center’s T32, he coordinates the John D. Wiley Seminar Series, the Morse Society, and the Waisman Ethics and Professional Development seminars and supports the center’s human resources visa processing. Over his time at the Waisman Center he has been responsible for the building’s occupant emergency plan, continuity of operations plan, records retention, poster printing, meeting room scheduling and purchasing support for the center’s various research labs, in addition to providing administrative support for the center director.
• Christy Schulz, Senior Research Administrator, School of Medicine and Public Health
  Christy is a Senior Research Administrator in the Dean’s office of the School of Medicine and Public Health. She joined the University in 2001 as a Grants and Contract Specialist in UW-Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP). Her focus is on pre-award research administration, including proposal review and submission, compliance review, and sharing information with SMPH researchers and research administrators. Christy enjoys the challenges of research administration and working with the talented individuals in SMPH.
• Catherine Shults, Research Administrator, Department of Mechanical Engineering
  Catherine specializes in both pre-and post-award management, and her award portfolio currently includes NSF, DOE, DOD, and various industry partners. She also has broad knowledge of general financial and operational aspects of the department gained in previously held roles.
• Zach Smith, Research Administrator, Department of Mechanical Engineering and Registered Yoga Teacher 200
  Zach enjoys facilitating the whole award cycle from proposal preparation to closeout and all the quirky bumps along the ride. His primary interests have been in refining systems and processes, while fostering effective models of communication. He enjoys detail-oriented work and maintaining systems-wide perspectives. He currently serves as the Chair of the College of Engineering CASI team, is a member of UW’s Budget Committee and a RED Mentor.
• Cheri Stephens, Biotechnology Training Program Coordinator, Department of Biochemistry
  Cheri is a Grant Specialist for the Biotechnology Training Program under PI Brian Fox, Department of Biochemistry. The Biotechnology Training Program (BTP) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is one of the largest and longest running T32 Biotechnology PhD training grants in the country. At the UW-Madison, the BTP is in its 32nd year and has trained over 500 trainees since 1989. Cheri currently oversees all aspects of training grant administration, from on-boarding trainees to tracking each trainee’s progress and milestones, while ensuring all criteria of the training grant outcomes are met for reporting to NIH. Cheri assisted in the most recent competitive renewal application that resulted in 5-years of funding to guarantee the continuation of the BTP on campus. Prior to joining the BTP, Cheri worked in the Department of Chemistry in various roles and has been on campus for a total of 15 years. She is a graduate of the UW-Madison, School of Education.
• Mark Sweet, Director of Grants and Contracts, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Mark has been working in research administration for over 20 years and has presented at several regional and national NCURA conferences. In addition, he is co-chair of the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) eRA Standing Committee. Prior to his time with RSP, Mark was a research specialist in the department of medicine.
• John Varda, Assistant Director, College of Letters and Sciences
  John is an experienced research administrator and long-time campus employee. He worked in the Astronomy department for many years, ending there as the department administrator. After a brief stint as department manager in Computer Sciences, he worked post-award grants and gifts for the L&S Dean’s office for six years, then spent three years at RSP as the manager of the post-award team. John returned to L&S as Assistant Dean for Research Services for the college in October of 2019. He has been involved with RED since its inception and presents workshops regularly.
• Kedren Witkowski, Research Administrator, Research Services Office, College of Engineering
  Kedren has been working in research administration for the past 10 years. Her career began as a department research administrator in SMPH where she assisted faculty with budget and proposal preparation along with post-award management. She now works as a pre-award research administrator in the Research Services Office in the College of Engineering where she reviews and submits proposals and contracts for faculty across the College.
• Jenny Yuan, Post-Award Accountant, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs
  Jenny is a post-award accountant on the NSF/DOE team in the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs and works exclusively on NSF awards. Jenny has been a UW-Madison employee for over 14 years. Prior to joining the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs on January 1, 2019, she had been in the Financial Management Office (i.e., the divisional business office) at the Wisconsin School of Business and the Department of Soil Science in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences. Jenny’s experience within research administration has primarily been in post-award. While working at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she completed her B.S. in Business Administration in 2012 from Upper Iowa University, followed by her MBA with an emphasis in Marketing from UW-Madison in 2017, and she is currently in school to complete an MPA from Capella University.
• Bonniejean Zitske, Director for Research Financial Services at Research and Sponsored Programs
  Bonniejean oversees central post-award activities, audits, and rate developments for UW-Madison’s research enterprise.