Grants & Contracts Senior Associate

The Pew Charitable Trusts | 03.2022 - present

• Manage over 200 grants, international and national, totaling over $40 million for the Lenfest Ocean Program, Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation, Pew Biomedical Programs, Protecting Australia’s Nature program, and Pew’s donor-advised funds.

• Oversee the contract and grant process for the above mentioned programs, creating complete agreements and purchase orders, performing quality checks, obtaining necessary approvals, facilitating execution, and ensuring proper documentation and archiving. Negotiate agreements in conjunction with the legal team.

• Review documents for compliance with Pew’s policies and procedures. Assist with the revision of grants policies and procedures. Create standard operating procedures for the grant and contract processes related to my programs.

• Manage PeopleSoft and FoundationConnect databases for to track new grants, amendments, payments, rescissions, closures, and other information relevant to the oversight of active grants.

• Perform and analyze quarterly metrics with Salesforce data for vice president’s review. Quality checked monthly grant and contracts metrics for vice president and Chief Program Officer.

• Track grant benchmarks, ensuring grantee teams submit reports on time. Analyze 100+ financial reports annually.

Administrative Assistant, Environmental Research & Science

The Pew Charitable Trusts | 10.2019 - 03.2022

• Collaborated with project directors and staff to develop and write research proposals, newsletters, and grant proposals, along with monitoring peer review processes for papers.

• Developed and maintained a project management system to track the tasks and deadlines for the three projects in the environmental research & science department.

• Liaised with Finance on the approval of expense reports, invoices, third-party reimbursements, and honoraria, resolved payment issues, and discussed refining current procedures for a more streamlined approach. 

• Partnered with Research Review and Support to quality check and edit all citations in Preventing Ocean Plastics’ Breaking the Plastic Wave report. 

• Managed the Lenfest Ocean Program’s teambuilding workshop series and ongoing team-building activities.

• Established and managed relationships with Lenfest Ocean Program’s grantees through the scheduling of their quarterly check-ins. 

• Maintained and curated a list of current and potential peer reviewers for research papers and analyses for the Conservation Science team and Environment portfolio. 

• Coordinated travel for program staff for various work trips and fellows for the annual marine fellow meeting.

• Participated in the programmatic planning and on-site logistics of an annual meeting for fellows and fellowship alumni.

• Researched and maintained an understanding of the trends among environmental conservation and ocean conservation as it pertains to the grantees, fellows, and projects of Environmental Research and Science. 

Senior Administrative Assistant

American University, School of Public Affairs | 08.2017 - 10.2019

• Managed the logistics of adjunct appointments for the School of Public Affairs’ Analytics and Management Institute, collecting proper documentation, submitting appointment paperwork, and tracking adjunct pay scales and appointment timelines. 

• Oversaw the organization and review process of applications for undergraduate student donor-funded scholarships, coordinating with Donor Relations to award scholarships. 

• Communicated with graduate and undergraduate students on behalf of the Associate Dean and Senior Associate Dean, maintaining relationships with the student population. 

• Maintained the schedules of the Senior Associate Dean and Associate Dean of the School of Public Affairs; liaised with students, prospective students, and parents on their behalf.

• Coordinated and planned meetings and special events like graduate student orientations, alumni-student networking events, and hackathons by tracking attendance, communicating with stakeholders, preparing materials, and coordinating A/V and catering needs.

Communications Specialist

St. John’s Lutheran Church | 07.2015 - 08.2017

• Partnered with the Senior Pastor and Director of Worship to plan and execute the yearly stewardship campaign and seasonal fundraising drives, developing the communications timelines for contacting members and monitoring their pledges. 

• Spearheaded the contracting of a new printing company for the church’s in-house printing needs and chose vendors for out-of-house printing. 

• Designed the organization’s first rental agreement protocol and established a preliminary contract for member and non-member rentals. 

• Managed the communications and publications process to make sure all staff communicated transparently in all major publications by performing the organization’s first communications audit with a communications committee, developing its first communications plan and style guide. 

• Worked with staff and volunteers to coordinate event logistics, including, but not limited to, invitations, attendee tracking, facilities use application submissions, talent, catering and menus, security, technology, seating, pre and post-event evaluations.

• Established strong relationships with members by attending their events and gatherings to make sure their voices were heard in how they wanted to receive information about the church’s activities. 

• Made recommendations to leadership and staff regarding communication content and appropriate medium and audience based upon specific goals, objectives, and strategies.

Media Relations Associate

Dewey Square Group | 03.2014 - 07.2015

• Collaborated on organizing a coalition of electric vehicle charging companies to lobby the California assembly to maintain a fair market for charging stations throughout the state. 

• Coordinated with colleagues and external partners on the press launch of a first-of-its-kind report on resources available to individuals with development disabilities after high school.  

• Managed the media relations for a women’s conference in the Bay Area with over 10,000 attendees, recruiting media to attend, and scheduling over 50 day-of interviews.

• Designed social media graphics, advertisements, and posters for client events and event launches.

• Wrote press releases and newsletter articles for an aviation expert, series of women's conferences, and a report launch.

• Found and tracked various reporters, newspapers, and blogs that focus on clients' areas of interest and pitched stories to press and media outlets.

• Developed an understanding of client-specific issues like electric vehicle charging, foster care rights, developmental disability rights, and airline regulations to best advance their missions and work, specifically within the California legislature.