Carter Lea, PhD
Director of Proposal Development
The City College of New York (CCNY)
4.5 years in RD positions + more during PhD & postdocs
NORDP member for about four years
When and how did you enter the field? What kind of research development work do you do?
Like a lot of folks in RD, I kind of stumbled into it. I was in academia—did my PhD, then two postdocs—and realized what I really enjoyed wasn’t so much the day-to-day lab work, but the act of crafting proposals. I loved thinking through the research design, figuring out how to make it all happen, and, imagining all the fun things we could do with the right funding. Writing proposals just clicked for me. After watching faculty members spend more time on administrative tasks than actual research, I knew I didn’t want that. So, when a full-time RD position opened up at Tulane University in New Orleans, I made the leap to proposal development focused on federal agencies. I’ve very recently shifted to a new position at CCNY with a broader set of responsibilities, which I’m excited about.
One of my favorite parts of the job? The deadlines! There’s something so satisfying about having a hard stop and knowing that once a proposal is submitted, it’s finished. No endless revisions. Just done. It’s kind of perfect for my personality.
What’s your history with NORDP? How have you engaged with the organization (committee work, conferences attended/presented)?
I joined NORDP shortly after starting at Tulane. Honestly, I don’t remember exactly when (because…COVID), but it was probably within the first couple of months of being hired. I was encouraged to get involved with the Committee on Inclusive Excellence (CIE) after I spoke up during a breakout session at a NORDP event. I honestly don’t remember the details, but Gretchen Kiser reached out, and I’ve been with the committee ever since. I haven’t presented at a NORDP conference yet but have aspirations. I’ve been thinking about leading a workshop on visualizations—something that I think is missing in a lot of proposal writing. My goal is to show how design principles can elevate a proposal, making it not just technically sound but also engaging and visually appealing. We’re not just writing for the brain; we’re also writing for the heart, and I want to help people craft proposals that spark excitement and interest in the reader.
What motivated you to run for the NORDP Board?
Funny story—running for the board wasn’t really on my radar. It was Samar Sengupta who nominated me, so she’s the one to blame! We had a few conversations about it, and she convinced me that my perspective would be valuable to the board. I think it’s because I come at things with a mix of design thinking and a focus on social justice.
RD is such an interdisciplinary field, and that’s part of what I love about it. We don’t have to stay in our silos. I can work with a biomedical engineer one day and someone from literary history the next. I think it gives us this unique opportunity to influence scholarship in a broader sense, and being on the board means I can help shape how NORDP moves forward, especially as the organization grows.
What are you most excited about as a new NORDP Board member?
For me, it’s all about pushing new ideas. I’m really excited to bring more focus on design thinking into RD—creating proposals that not only communicate ideas but do so in a way that’s visually engaging. I also think we need to be more critical when it comes to AI. There’s a lot of buzz around it, but I’m particularly concerned about how we might start relying on large language models for things like writing letters of support. We need to think about the ethical implications before we just dive in.
NORDP is at this interesting inflection point. We’re not quite a “small” organization anymore, but we’re also not a giant, well-established one, either. It’s a bit of an awkward growing phase, but it’s also a huge opportunity. I’m looking forward to helping us navigate that growth in a sustainable and resilient way, making sure we’re adaptable to the changes happening across academia and research funding.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I guess the big thing on my mind is resilience. The way research funding and academia operate right now feels… precarious. I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t say what the world will look like in five or ten years, but I think we need to be ready for big shifts. If I can help bring some new ideas to the table that make NORDP and the RD community more adaptable, that’s what I’d love to contribute.
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