Tag: NORDP 2025 Conference

Congratulations to the 2025 NORDP Awardees!

NORDP is powered by the excellence and impact of its members. Each year, NORDP Awards celebrate the outstanding accomplishments of NORDP members making exemplary contributions to the organization as well as the practice and/or study of research development. NORDP Awards honor the distinctive achievements and contributions of individuals, collaborative groups or work teams, programs or projects, and organizations. 

Recipients of 2025 NORDP Awards were recognized during the annual NORDP Conference held virtually from April 28 – May 1. In the coming months, you will have a chance to learn more about each awardee through in-depth interviews that will be shared through NORDP News. Congratulations to all of the fantastic awardees for your service to our organization and profession!

Rising Star Award

Kayla Dryden, The University of Texas at Austin

Nicole Motzer, Montana State University

Nicholas Stelzner, University of Washington

Mentoring Award

Angela Jordan, University of South Alabama

Innovation Award

Fostering Opportunities through Collaborative University Synergies (FOCUS): Tracy Gatlin and Nicole Motzer (Montana State University), Carly Cummings and Ryan McAllister (University of Idaho), Heather Borck, Matthew Dwyer, Nathan Meier, Jackson Hardin, and Tisha Gilreath Mullen (University of Nebraska-Lincoln), Carrie Busha and Aurora Pinkey (University of Nevada, Reno), Jeri Hansen and Dawnie Elzinga (Utah State University)

Grants Development Ecosystem Inventory (GDEI): Kara Luckey (Seattle University), Jennifer Glass (University of Massachusetts Dartmouth), Dean Gerstein (Pomona College), Sarah Robertson (Bryn Mawr College), Amy Chan-Hilton (University of Southern Indiana)

Leadership Award

Jill Jividen, University of Michigan

Anne Maglia, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Research Development Champion Award

Russell Wyland, National Endowment for the Humanities

Holly J. Falk-Krzesinski Service Award

Joanna Downer, Duke University

Navigating the Federal Landscape: A Preview of Sarah Spreitzer’s NORDP 2025 Keynote

Written by Kate Duggan, Conference Planning Committee
NORDP 2025 Keynote Speaker, Sarah Spreitzer

As research development professionals and NORDP members, we pride ourselves on our flexibility, versatility, and ability to meet the moment. This year’s NORDP Conference closing keynote, Sarah Spreitzer, utilizes many of these same skills in her role as Vice President and Chief of Staff of Government Relations for the American Council on Education (ACE). Her May 1 keynote will provide an update from Washington, DC on the new administration’s actions and policies relevant to higher education and research, the response from Congress, and how NORDP members can draw upon their own skills and experience to understand, interpret, and advocate in the evolving federal landscape.

Sarah was drawn to federal advocacy by way of her passion for education, which was inspired by her mother and grandmother, both elementary school teachers. After earning her bachelor’s degree from Beloit College in Wisconsin and a master’s degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, Sarah was aiming for a career as an academic when she took a break from being a student to work for the University of Washington’s Federal Relations office. That one post-graduation job turned into a career for Sarah, who went on to become a Senior Government Relations Representative/ Lobbyist for Lewis-Burke Associates and then Director of Federal Relations for the University of Missouri System before joining ACE in 2017.

In her role at ACE, Sarah represents 1600+ institutions of higher education, working to unite the postsecondary community around topics of mutual concern and interest. At present, these topics include the proposed decrease of federal facilities and administrative (F&A) rates to a maximum of 15%; opposing the DETERRENT Act, which would add extensive new faculty and staff foreign gift reporting requirements; and immigration policies that affect international students and faculty.

While the current moment is presenting some unique challenges to the national academic research enterprise, Sarah still sees reason to be optimistic. On considering how higher education reacts to adversity and might respond in this moment, Sarah reflected that “we’re a little slow, but we are flexible. And I think that that was really demonstrated during COVID. If you had told me that all of our institutions would be able to transition online within a week and address all of the needs of our international students who suddenly weren’t sure if they were going to stay, or if they were going to have to go. I would be like, there’s no way we could do that. We did it. We did it and I think that that is the strength of higher education.”

Beyond drawing upon the resiliency our institutions cultivated during the pandemic, Sarah has more advice for NORDP members on how to handle the headlines:

Pause: “When something new comes out…it’s important to take a breath and pause before you react … understand what’s actually happening, that there is supposed to be a rule of order for the implementation, that a lot of things that are happening are being stopped by the courts.”

Share: “Sharing information during this really confusing time is incredibly important, because I may have an NIH grant that got canceled because of the DEI executive order. You may not have had a grant canceled yet, but perhaps the program officer isn’t returning your phone calls or something’s happened when you try and draw down the funding. And so sharing that information and being part of this larger community is really really important.”

Advocate: “I also think talking about what messages work, like when you’re talking to individual members of Congress,” can be helpful in giving RDPs the tools we need to demonstrate the value and contributions of our institutions with elected officials and members of the public who may not be familiar with how college and university funding is allocated, governed, and what kinds of research and programming it makes possible in our communities.


Despite the uncertainty many of us are experiencing, Sarah has “complete confidence in the ability of higher education to respond to the challenges during this time, and I’m kind of excited to see how we do respond….the relationship between higher education and the federal government is going to be very different. There’s going to be a lot of things thrown at us, but I know that higher education will come out at the other end okay; it’ll just be different.” For more Washington insights and a dash of related optimism, be sure to attend Sarah Spreitzer’s May 1 closing keynote; conference attendees are encouraged to submit questions for Sarah by navigating to the keynote session in the Whova app.

NORDP 2025: What to Know Before You Go

Greetings NORDP 2025 attendees:

We are thrilled to have you join us for this year’s conference, where you’ll have the opportunity to connect with and learn from research development colleagues from the comfort of your own space. We on the NORDP 2025 Conference Planning Committee have put together the following guide to help you make the most of your conference experience, from navigating the virtual conference platform to engaging in professional development, networking, and volunteering activities. We look forward to coming together to build community at NORDP 2025!

🙂  Find Your Way Around

We encourage you to spend time between now and the start of the conference familiarizing yourself with our virtual conference platform: Whova. There will be a pre-conference Tools & Tips (TnT) webinar focused on using Whova on Wednesday, April 15, at noon ET/9am PT. Register today.

If you’re just getting familiar with Whova, here’s a link to the Whova guide on how to upload your information.

Fun Fact: You can use the Whova App to directly message Conference Organizers. Find this feature under Community → Ask Organizers Anything.

Note: if you are NOT using the Whova app, you can still navigate the conference via the Whova web platform. 

🔘 ​​ Conference Code of Conduct 

We have posted a NORDP Conference Code of Conduct on the conference website. It can be found under More → Inclusivity and Accessibility → Conference Code of Conduct. Please take a chance to review it prior to the start of the conference. If you witness any violations of the Code of Conduct during the conference, please report it using the reporting form linked in the Code of Conduct.

💻 Virtual Conference Best Practices

Maximize your experience at this year’s conference by staying engaged and comfortable. Mute your mic when not speaking, participate in chats or Q&As, and take regular breaks to avoid screen fatigue. Find a cozy spot, grab snacks, and settle in with what you need to stay focused during each conference day.

We also encourage you to make the most of networking opportunities—introduce yourself in the chat, join breakout rooms, and explore attendee profiles. The Whova app is your best friend: use it to build your agenda, connect with others, and join discussion boards. Whether you’re attending live sessions or engaging through the app, staying present and proactive will help you get the most out of NORDP 2025!

🏙️ ​​ Social and Networking Activities

Looking to connect and socialize with fellow conference attendees? Join us for a variety of engaging social activities at the beginning and end of each conference day. From virtual coffee hours and committee- or region-hosted events to art classes and yoga sessions, there’s something for everyone!

Find the current list of social activities in the Whova App under Community → Meet-ups & Virtual Meets. Don’t see something that you’d like to do? Feel free to create your own meet-up for others to join!

🤝  Volunteer Sign Up

NORDP is fueled by volunteers, and this conference is no exception! Contribute to enhancing your own conference experience, as well as that of others, by volunteering in one of the following capacities:

  • Become a Session Host to help moderate a colleague’s presentation!
  • Serve as a Tech Host to ensure a colleague’s presentation goes off without any technical hitches
  • Host a social activity (e.g., coffee hour, happy hour, bingo, trivia, networking dinner, etc.) and create your own virtual adventure!
  • Help the Resume Coaching Corner run smoothly

To find out more about volunteer roles, visit the Volunteering webpage.

Ready to volunteer? Sign up here!

📄  Resume Coaching Corner

Whether you’re looking to refine your resume, highlight your achievements, or tailor your CV for your next big opportunity, consider checking out the Resume Coaching Corner to receive tailored support from one of our resume coaches. The Resume Coaching Corner will be open on each conference day, immediately before and after program content. Participants will have the ability to sign up in advance for a 20-minute 1:1 appointment with a coach.

If you’re interested in receiving support, sign up for a time slot here and learn about how to prepare for your appointment using our Resume Coaching Corner Guide for Participants.

Eager to lend your experience to support others? Consider volunteering to be a Resume Corner Coach! Learn more about coaching expectations in our Resume Coaching Corner Guide for Coaches, and sign up for a time slot here.

🖼️  Virtual Poster Session

In addition to exciting and informative presentations, this year’s conference will also include a virtual poster session. You can view posters at any time in the Whova App under Agenda → Posters and interact with poster presenters using the Chat feature (access this by clicking on any individual poster) or by attending the live poster session from 1:15-2:15 PM ET/10:15-11:15 AM PT on Wednesday, April 30.

📋  Give us Your Feedback

Our goal for each NORDP Conference is to provide timely, relevant, and valuable information for conference attendees and your input is an important part of that process. Throughout the conference, you’ll have the opportunity to provide feedback on specific sessions by completing a brief evaluation form at the end of each session, and you can provide feedback on the overall conference experience by completing a final evaluation at the conclusion of the conference. Your feedback is important and will inform the planning of future conferences!

🌟  NORDP Sponsor Shout-Out

Our sponsors make the conference happen! A huge thank you to this year’s conference sponsors: InfoReady, Bouvier Grant Group, AtKisson Training Group, McAllister & Quinn, and Overton. You can learn more about this year’s conference sponsors in the Whova app.

❤️  NORDP’s Got Heart 

Launched in 2023, NORDP’s Got Heart is our annual social good campaign, held during the conference to support a community organization that aligns with NORDP’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and accessibility. Past efforts have supported The Sophia Way in Bellevue, WA (2024) and Carpenter’s Shelter in Alexandria, VA (2023). 

For our 2025 campaign, we’re turning inward to support our own community by raising funds for Conference Attendance Awards for NORDP 2026 – our next in-person annual meeting. With this year’s conference theme of “Building Community” we wanted to respond to the uncertainties many of us are facing and rethink what “local” means in a virtual world.  We hope for all of us that the NORDP community is a safe space to connect and that the annual meeting is a prime opportunity to do just that.

We recognize that the ability to attend an in-person gathering is often dependent on department/university funding, which can be uncertain. These attendance awards will cover the cost of member registration and are intended for those who need financial support beyond what their institutions or organizations can provide. An application process, similar to previous years, will open in early 2026. 

The donation portal for this year’s campaign will open in late April. We hope you’ll consider giving back to help more of our members come together next year. 

Building Human Infrastructure in STEM: A Preview of Lou Woodley’s NORDP 2025 Keynote

Written by Kelly A. Moore, Conference Planning Committee
NORDP 2025 Keynote Speaker, Dr. Lou Woodley

NORDP 2025 conference attendees are in for an inspiring and thought-provoking keynote by Lou Woodley, a scientist-turned-community-builder who has dedicated her career to supporting human infrastructure in science. Lou is the Founder and Director of the Center for Scientific Collaboration and Community Engagement (CSCCE), an organization that offers evidence-based professional development training, online resources, and consultancy for scientific community managers.

So, what exactly is a scientific community manager? According to Lou, if you’re the person in a collaborative project who is thinking about the human side of how work gets done—how meetings are run, how decisions are made, how knowledge is shared and documented—chances are, you’re doing community management. And, much like research development professionals, you might not even realize you’re doing it.

In a recent conversation with the NORDP conference team, Lou shared her journey from the lab bench to advocating for the professionalization of community management in STEM around the world. Her path included founding a student-run popular science magazine during her graduate studies in the UK and establishing online and in-person community engagement spaces in her role at Nature Publishing Group, early signs of her passion for connecting people and building collaborative ecosystems.

That passion eventually led her to securing a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation while at AAAS, which supported the creation of the first professional development curriculum for STEM community managers via the Community Engagement Fellows Program. From there, CSCCE was born, offering online trainings, a multi-component certification program, consultancy for a range of different organizations in the STEM ecosystem, and an online community of practice that includes nearly 900 professionals worldwide.

Lou emphasizes that community management is often a less visible but critical function in scientific enterprises—much like physical infrastructure, you might only notice its absence when things fall apart. This lack of visibility poses challenges, including a dearth of professional development opportunities and a lack of institutional recognition of the value of professional community managers.

To address these challenges, CSCCE focuses on three key areas: professional development, consultancy, and research. Their flagship course, Scientific Community Engagement Fundamentals, has trained over 15 cohorts since it launched in 2020 and is backed by longitudinal evaluation data showing measurable impacts at three levels of scale – on individuals, organizations, and the broader STEM ecosystem.

Importantly, the parallels between community management and research development are striking. Both are emerging fields filled with professionals who often have advanced degrees, especially PhDs, and who act as change agents and systems thinkers within their organizations. Both fields are also heavily gendered and require ongoing advocacy to ensure the value of their contributions is recognized.

Lou also notes the importance of developing shared language and frameworks that help community managers articulate their impact. Whether it’s creating collaboration playbooks or developing new norms for inclusive engagement, the work of community managers is about more than just logistics—it’s about building culture.

NORDP members working in training, proposal development, research communication, or community engagement will find much to relate to in Lou’s keynote. Her message of strategic collaboration, systems thinking, and empowering human infrastructure will resonate deeply across our diverse professional roles.

We can’t wait to welcome Lou Woodley to NORDP 2025 and to learn from her insights about how we can strengthen our communities, our collaborations, and ourselves.