NORDP News

The Holly J. Falk-Krzesinski Service Award was established in 2011 and named for NORDP’s founding President, Holly J. Falk-Krzesinski, Ph.D., who was the first recipient. Voted on by the Board of Directors, the award is given annually to a NORDP Member in recognition of outstanding service to the organization and to the Research Development profession. The honor is recognized with a commemorative plaque and free registration to the following year’s NORDP Research Development Conference.

Kari Whittenberger-Keith, Ph.D.
Senior Proposal Development Manager, Office of Research, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
NORDP Board of Directors 2016-2020

Kari’s 30 plus years in higher education is a testament to her advocacy for professional development and for RD professionals. NORDP members have benefited positively from her efforts. She is both an innovator in our field and in her service to our organization.

Through her role in laying the groundwork for our professional development programming, Kari has built a high quality and enriching curriculum for all NORDP members – from the early pre-conference workshops, to webinar offerings all year long, to an exciting new and innovative conference program this year to suit every taste and every need.

In 2016, Kari received a “Rising Star” award for her service; was elected to the NORDP Board; and served as Co-Chair of the Effective Practices & Professional Development Committee through its transition into the Professional Development (PD) Committee. As a 2019 Conference Co-Chair, Kari helped spearhead the substantial changes to our annual conference structure.

Kari’s clear dedication to NORDP and its members contributed to her election to the Board of Directors. NORDP benefits from her continuity of service through a multi-year commitment to our conference committees and her active service on subcommittees.

In short, Kari’s official leadership roles in NORDP have been numerous, and her contributions in those roles substantial. As one of her nominators noted, “Kari embodies warmth, humor, and opens her heart to all of us.”

Kari’s practical approach and collaborative spirit have provided an excellent model for others to emulate in their service to our community. Kari’s leadership through the PD committee’s many transitions most certainly contributed to the committee’s success, and her leadership has helped ensure that NORDP meets its members’ evolving professional development programming needs, ensuring growth of the RD profession.

Those who know her well compliment her communication skills and ability to manage diverse teams as two of her greatest assets. She is an accomplished mentor/coach to those who serve the organization, offering her own brand of support and encouragement to sustain our efforts. With a dedication to seeing plans through to fruition, Kari can talk us off the proverbial “ledge” and get things back on track. She has given so much and we all benefit from her selflessness. She is a powerful force!

Posted on behalf of the NORDP Board of Directors 

NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.

The NORDP Board of Directors established the Rising Star Award in 2016 to recognize up to three members annually who have made outstanding volunteer contributions and show great potential for future contributions to NORDP and the Research Development Profession. Awardees are announced at the NORDP annual conference, presented with an etched glass plaque, and receive free registration for the following year’s annual conference.

JOANNA DOWNER, DUKE UNIVERSITY

Joanna joined NORDP in 2010. She has been a member and, since 2016, co-chair of the Professional Development Committee. As such, she developed and contributed to numerous, significant enhancements to NORDP’s Webinar Program, including an RD webinar topic framework, standard evaluation, presenter instructions, and hosting scripts. She now spearheads development and delivery of a growing number of webinars, organizes logistics, and works to continuously improve webinar content and process. Joanna is also the Strategic Alliances Committee liaison to the National Association of Science Writers (since 2017) and a member of the NORDP Training Working Group (since 2018). A regular NORDP Conference presenter and contributor to the listserv, Joanna has become one of NORDP’s go-to persons for RD best practices. Joanna’s selection as the inaugural recipient of a NORD Research Grant in RD further exemplifies her commitment and capacity to advance our field.

Posted on behalf of the Member Services Committee

NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.

The NORDP Board of Directors established the Rising Star Award in 2016 to recognize up to three members annually who have made outstanding volunteer contributions and show great potential for future contributions to NORDP and the Research Development Profession. Awardees are announced at the NORDP annual conference, presented with an etched glass plaque, and receive free registration for the following year’s annual conference. 

DAVID WIDMER, MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING CANCER CENTER

David participated in the first (2011-12) Mentoring Program mentor/mentee class and has been “paying it forward” ever since. As a Membership Committee member (2012-14), he worked on the analysis and reporting of NORDP’s first Salary Survey. In 2015-16, he was a member of the Effective Practices & Professional Development Committee, and its Online Professional Development working group. David joined the Mentoring Committee in 2015, has mentored 4 mentees since 2016, became Committee co-chair in 2017, and serves on the MESHH working group that developed the NORDP mentorship on-boarding packet. He and his Mentoring Committee co-chair have increased member interactions to include five working group teams focusing on items such as the annual Mentor/ Mentee pairing survey, and development of a National Research Mentoring Network – supported curriculum for mentoring in the RD field. As a Conference Planning & Program Committee member since 2018, David has carefully interwoven mentoring throughout Conference engagement and programming (e.g., mentoring networking dinners, 1- and 2- hour presentations, lightning talks, roundtables). David epitomizes the model organizational citizen for NORDP.

Posted on behalf of the Member Services Committee

NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.

The NORDP Board of Directors established the Rising Star Award in 2016 to recognize up to three members annually who have made outstanding volunteer contributions and show great potential for future contributions to NORDP and the Research Development Profession. Awardees are announced at the NORDP annual conference, presented with an etched glass plaque, and receive free registration for the following year’s annual conference.

SAMARPITA SENGUPTA, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER

A NORDP member since 2017, Samar is our Strategic Alliances Committee liaison to the National Postdoc Association. Formerly a postdoc, she created an innovative RD internship / mentoring program for postdocs at UT-SwMC, presented the program at NORDP’s 2017 IDEA Showcase, and led trans-forming the program into a comprehensive, flexible pedagogy for NORDP members to implement at their institutions – to train postdocs, grad students and staff for RD positions. Active in NORDP’s Member Services Committee (MSC), Samar works not only to increase the pipeline of new NORDP members, but also to support and retain members. She co-chairs the MSC subcommittee that creates events and activities for First-Time Conference Attendees, and is one of the architects of the current Ambassador Program. She is active in NORDP Region VI, recently launched a Region VI newsletter, and is a regular contributor to the NORDP listserv. Samar embodies many of the core qualities we value in NORDP: mentoring, service, knowledge transfer, and promoting the RD field to the uninitiated.

Posted on behalf of the Member Services Committee 

NORDP fosters a culture of inclusive excellence by actively promoting and supporting diversity, inclusion and equity in all its forms to expand our worldview, enrich our work, and elevate our profession.