30th Annual NSPAA Technical Assistance Workshop

New Orleans, Louisiana

Wednesday, June 03, 2026

• 8:45 AM - 9:30 AM Plenary Session: NASA Funding Opportunities Location: Vieux Carre Ballroom
  Speaker:

  • Misti Moore
  • Moderator: Tiajuana Jackson
• 9:30 AM - 10:15 AM Plenary Session- Indirect Cost Rates- Changes and Challenges in 2025 and 2026Location: Vieux Carre Ballroom
  Speakers:

  • Harold Horton
  • Mak ARIF Karim
  • Scott Sheffler
  • Moderator: Mildred Huff Ofosu, Ph.D.
• 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM Concurrent Session: Finding Funding in a Shifting Grants LandscapeLocation: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon I
  Speaker:

  • Richard Wellons
  • Moderator: Dorothy Langley
• 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM Concurrent Session: Responsible Use of Generative AI in Sponsored Research and Proposal Development Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon II
  Speaker:

  • Sajid Hussain
  • Moderator: Ebony Turner
• 1:15 PM - 2:10 PM Concurrent: Gifts, Grants, and Contracts: Practical Strategies for Managing Diverse Funding Sources Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon I
  Speakers:

  • Matthew Kingore
  • Dotty Waters
  • Moderator: Teresa Williams-Jackson
• 1:15 PM - 2:10 PM Concurrent Session: From Zero to Infrastucture: Comparative Lessons in Building Research Security Capacity at Minority-Serving and Emerging Research Universities Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon II
  Speakers:

  • Keyshawn Moncrieffe
  • Lucy Manyara
  • Mana Rassaeikashuk
  • Chanel Haman Tate
  • Moderator: Sajid Hussain
• 1:15 PM - 2:10 PM Concurrent Session: HBCU Community Engagement in Fulbright Specialist Programs Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon III
  Speaker:

  • Michael E. Ayewoh Ph.D., CALD
  • Moderator: LaKerri Mack
• 2:15 PM - 3:10 PM Concurrent Session: Partners in Pre-Award: Teaching Federal Expectations Without Adding Work Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon I
  Speakers:

  • Emily Davis
  • Amaka Nwankwo, DrPH
  • Moderator: Keyshawn Moncrieffe
• 2:15 PM - 3:10 PM Concurrent Session: Strategies for Supporting Faculty as They Develop Supplementary Proposal Documents Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon II
  Speakers:

  • Carrie Hall
  • Chris Atchison
  • Moderator: Dr. LaRico Treadwell
• 2:15 PM - 3:10 PM Concurrent Session: Interdisciplinary Collaborations: Strategies for Emphasizing and Optimizing the Significance and Broader Impacts of Proposal Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon III
  Speakers:

  • Naomi Hall-Byers
  • Jennifer Riehl
  • Moderator: M Omar Faison, Ph.D.
• 3:25 PM - 4:15 PM Concurrent Session: Understanding Federal Funding Priorities: How Universities Can Align Strategy, Faculty, and Sponsored Programs in Today's World Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon I
  Speakers:

  • Amaka Nwankwo, DrPH
  • Tori Rhoulac Smith
  • Jennifer Riehl
  • Moderator: Mercy Mugo
• 3:25 PM - 4:15 PM Concurrent Session: Introduction to Security Clearances: What It Is and What It's Not Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon II
  Speakers:

  • Gregory Davis
  • Aprille Ericsson
  • Mana Rassaeikashuk
• 3:25 PM - 4:15 PM Concurrent Session: Proposal Budgeting 101 Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon III
  Speakers:

  • Tarina Whitfield
  • Quincy Brown
  • Sharmini Pitter Boghos
  • Christine Wood
  • Moderator: Elbert Malone

Thursday, June 04, 2026

• 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Plenary Session: Washington Updates-New Landscape for Higher Education and HBCUs Location: Vieux Carre Ballroom
  Speaker:

  • Victor Santos
  • Moderator: Theodore Callier
• 10:15 AM - 11:15 AM Concurrent Session: Benchmarking Sponsored Programs Administration and Research Development in Diverse Campus Environments Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon I
  Speaker:

  • Dean Gerstein, Ph.D.
  • Moderator: Tori Rhoulac Smith
• 10:15 AM - 11:15 AM Concurrent Session: Beyond Compliance: Building Sponsored Programs Systems that Survive Turnover, Transitions, and Time Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon II
  Speaker:

  • Rashonda Harris
  • Moderator: Amaka Nwankwo, DrPH
• 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Luncheon Location: Vieux Carre Ballroom
  Speakers:

  • Presiding: Tiajuana Jackson
  • Invocation: Norma J. Frank, Ph.D.
  • Keynote Speaker: Emily M. Dickens, J.D.
  • Closing Remarks: Theodore Callier
• 1:15 PM - 2:10 PM Plenary Session: Hot Issues in Federal Grant Management Location: Vieux Carre Ballroom
  Speaker:

  • Mark Davis
  • Moderator: Quincy Brown
• 2:15 PM - 3:10 PM Concurrent Session: Sustainability & Institutionalization: Why It Matters Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon I
  Speaker:

  • Erick Akins, Ph.D.
  • Moderator: Karen Ford-Jackson
• 2:15 PM - 3:10 PM Concurrent Session: National Institute of Health's PEI Initiative Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon II
  Speaker:

  • Annette Owens-Scarboro
  • Moderator: LaKerri Mack
• 2:15 PM - 3:10 PM Concurrent Session: LLM- Assisted Data Mapping for Sponsored Programs: A Human-in-the-Loop Data Cleanup Workflow Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon III
  Speakers:

  • Mana Rassaeikashuk
  • Esther Olaleye
  • Moderator: Bradley Lusk
• 3:25 PM - 4:15 PM Concurrent Session: The Compliance Matrix: A Workshop for Creating This Essential Strategic Tool to Prepare Compliant Federal Contract Proposals Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon I
  Speakers:

  • Sharon Brooks Hodge
  • LaTonia Jones
  • Moderator: Carrie Hall
• 3:25 PM - 4:15 PM Concurrent Session: The Grants Development Ecosystem Inventory (GDEI): An Open-Source Institutional Self-Assessment Tool for Identifying Grant-Seeking Assets and Opportunities Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon II
  Speakers:

  • Kara Luckey
  • Dean Gerstein, Ph.D.
  • Moderator: Gregory Davis
• 3:25 PM - 4:15 PM Concurrent Session: Every Step Counts: How Post-Award Management Shapes a Successful Audit Location: Fulton Street Rooms - Salon III
  Speaker:

  • Annette Thomas
  • Moderator: Jonathan Smalls, Ph.D.

Friday, June 05, 2026

• 8:30 AM - 9:25 AM Plenary Session: Structure for Success in the Research Enterprise Location: Vieux Carre Ballroom - Salon II
  Speaker:

  • Dr. LaRico Treadwell
  • Moderator: Esther Olaleye
• 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Concurrent: Practical Lessons in Launching a Multi-Institutional Research Informational System Location: Vieux Carre Ballroom - Salon I
  Speaker:

  • M Omar Faison, Ph.D.
  • Moderator: Lee Edward
• 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Concurrent Session: Building Research Centers of Excellence: Partnerships, Incentives, and Capacity-Enhancing Strategies Location: Vieux Carre Ballroom - Salon II
  Speakers:

  • Jill Keith
  • Catherine Armwood
  • Talitha Washington, Ph.D.
  • Grant Warner
  • Moderator: Norma J. Frank, Ph.D.