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fdp@nas.edu
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WS524
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© 2023 The Federal Demonstration Partnership
Alexandra Albinak
Associate Vice Provost for Research Administration
Johns Hopkins University
amckeow1@jhu.edu
FDP Administrative Co-chair and Vice President of the Federal Demonstration Partnership Foundation
Alexandra M. Albinak is the Associate Vice Provost for Research Administration at Johns Hopkins University, supporting the efforts of the faculty across the university to identify and acquire funding for their research and providing leadership to the university’s research administration functions. She has over 30 years of experience in research administration and currently serves as Co-chair of the Federal Demonstration Partnership. She is a member of the Research Security and Intellectual Property Committee of the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) and is a former member of the COGR Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Alex is past chair of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Region II. She has participated in NCURA as workshop faculty, moderator and as a speaker. In addition, she served as a member of the NCURA Presidential Task Force on Educational Needs.
Previous positions include Associate Dean for Research Administration at the university’s Bloomberg School of Public Health and Assistant Vice President for Research Administration and Advancement at the University of Maryland. She holds a BA from Towson University, an MBA from Johns Hopkins University, and a JD from the University of Baltimore. She is also a member of the Maryland State Bar.
Michele Masucci, Ph.D
Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development
Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems
University System of Maryland
mmasucci@usmd.edu
FDP Faculty Co-chair and President of the Federal Demonstration Partnership Foundation
Dr. Michele Masucci is the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development at the University System of Maryland. She received an M.A. and Ph.D. from Clark University in Geography and a B.S. in Geography and Regional Planning from Salisbury University. She currently holds the position of Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and an appointment as Research Faculty at the University of Maryland College Park. She previously served as the Vice President for Research at Temple University, Director of the Information Technology and Society Research Group and Professor and Chair of the Department of Geography and Urban Studies. In her current position, she is responsible for advancing research and economic development strategy, workforce development, technology commercialization, and innovation across the institutions of the University System of Maryland and the system’s Board of Regents. At Temple University, she led the research enterprise for 10 years, overseeing its rise as the 4th fastest growing research enterprise in the U.S. based on research expenditures. She also leads the Federal Demonstration Partnership as the Faculty Co-Chair and President of the Federal Demonstration Partnership Foundation and is a member of the board of directors for Oak Ridge Associated Universities and the University City Science Center.
Dr. Masucci’s research examines how barriers to accessing information resources using geographic information technologies are interrelated with community development and environmental quality problems, including accessing health, education and social services. She led the Building Information Technology Skills (BITS) program for the past 20 years funded by the National Science Foundation, Knight Foundation, Economic Development Agency, Philadelphia Youth Network, and many other sponsors since its inception. Her work on identifying criteria for assessing appropriate use of information technology in marginalized community settings is the focus of numerous peer reviewed publications and books. She has also worked to develop university-community partnerships with organizations that address human rights issues, and with a number of national and international community and environmental planning organizations in the U.S. and Brazil.
Maria Koszalka
Executive Director
mkoszalka@nas.edu
Maria comes to the FDP following a long career as a published researcher and research administrator for several key federal research agencies including the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (U.S. Department of Agriculture), the National Institutes of Health, and the Health Resources and Services Administration. She has also worked in the private sector for the Office of Technology Development at the Northrop Grumman Corporation and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Prior to assuming her position at the FDP, Maria spent more than six years in the Division of Institution and Award Support (DIAS) at the National Science Foundation. In that position, among her responsibilities was the implementation of Research.gov, the online electronic grants management system that has replaced FastLane. For the past few years, Maria has served as the institutional representative to the FDP of the National Science Foundation. In that capacity, Maria has worked with several key committees, including the Membership Committee, the Federal Engagement Working Group, the Faculty Committee, and the FDP Executive Committee. Maria is the recipient of the NCURA 2021 Joseph F. Carrabino Award for her significant contributions to research administration.
Sara Pietrzak
Senior Program Assistant
spietrzak@nas.edu
Sara Pietrzak is the Senior Program Assistant for the FDP and currently works at the National Academy of Sciences in the Policy and Global Affairs Division. Sara went to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for undergrad and studied Marketing and Information Systems & Technology. She graduated in 2021 and went on to work at Personal Solutions Counseling as a Business Development Consultant before joining the academies. Sara’s previous experience includes being a project manager (1.5 years) and then a Senior Manager(1.5 years) for the Gies College of Business’s consulting organization, EntreCorps. Sara also worked at iVenture, a start-up accelerator, as the Marketing Fellow.