Cincinnati Children's Hospital

I needed a job! I had been trying all sorts of jobs in the years immediately after getting an undergraduate degree in business. Nothing seemed to hold my interest or provide the opportunity I had expected. My first job in the field was at a large public research university in the central Grant Accounting office as an entry-level accountant. I absolutely hated it and lasted only a year. But it gave me some experience in the world of grants. After a year in a small sporting goods store selling soccer shoes and equipment (and realizing I could not live on a part-time, minimum wage job), that small amount of grant experience qualified me for another grant accounting job, but this time in a private local children’s hospital. The mission of Cincinnati Children’s and its significant commitment to research energized and intrigued me. As the research program grew, I recognized the need for someone internally to become the resident “expert” in grants management. I endeavored to become that person, and, through involvement with organizations like NCURA and its large network of colleagues, built a career there, over the span of more than 20 years… planning, building, managing, and ultimately leading the sponsored programs infrastructure.