Meet Our Team
Meet Our Leadership Team
Lisa Wilson
Interim Assistant Vice President, Research Administration, Office of Research Administration Optimization (ORAO) and Senior Director, Strategic Operations & Training (SOT) Office of Research Administration (ORA)
Contact Information
Email: delisa.a.wilson@emory.edu
Biography
Lisa joined Emory Research Administration from Clark Atlanta University, where she served as Associate Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs. In this role, she was responsible for broad oversight of research offices, including basic research, sponsored program administration (pre & post-award), lab operations and safety, research development, public-private partnerships in support of research, government relations, policy development, compliance monitoring intellectual property (IP) management, technology transfer, and research commercialization. Lisa has a proven record of success in research administration and fund development.
As the Interim Assistant Vice President of the Office of Research Administration Optimization (ORAO) and Senior Director of Strategic Operations and Training (SOT) at Emory University. Lisa’s primary responsibility is to streamline processes and operations between central and non-central research administration business units and ensure smooth and efficient management of research administration activities across the enterprise. As the Senior Director of SOT, she operationalizes a strategy across the award lifecycle, leads the team in developing and delivering research administrator training, coordinates stakeholder communication, and creates synergy across units to ensure integration transparency. Lisa’s familiarity with the research lifecycle and professional project management training uniquely positions her to excel in this role and build a robust development and training program within the Office of Research Administration (ORA).
Lisa earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Physics from Clark Atlanta University. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), a peer reviewer for the Council of International Exchange of Scholars, the U.S. Fulbright Scholar Business Committee, a member of Leadership Macon, Leadership Palm Beach County, the National Black MBA Association, the Research Administrators Certification Council (RACC) and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She is a member of Emory University's Library Policy Committee and serves on the Board of Trustees for the Mentoring Center.
Meet Our Strategic Operations (Dragon) Team
Vacant
Director, Strategic Operations
Contact Information
Email:
Phone:
Biography
Sharon Jones
Assistant Director, Strategic Operations
Contact Information
Email: sharon.a.jones@emory.edu
Phone: 404-727-0476
Biography
Sharon is a Strategic Operations Associate with the Dragon Team. In this role, she leads various process improvement initiatives within ORA. Sharon joined Emory University in 2019 and has prior experience in quality management in the healthcare insurance industry. She has bachelors' degrees in Management and International Business from Florida International University. Sharon holds certifications in Six Sigma (Green Belt), software quality (CSQA) and medical coding (CPC). She is currently working on obtaining her Lean Six Sigma Black Belt (LSSBB).
Nicole George
Strategic Operations Associate
Contact Information
Email: nicole.m.george@emory.edu
Phone: 404-727-5183
Biography
Nicole joined Emory University in Spring 2014. She's held multiple positions within the Office of Research Administration. As a Strategic Operations Associate, Nicole's responsibilities include leading process improvement projects to develop, implement, and evaluate effective cross-operational solutions.
Nicole brings nearly 18 years of experience in higher education, with over seven of those years in Research Administration. She possesses a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification and an extensive project management background. Nicole earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication and a Master's degree in Education.
Valeria Rainey
Strategic Operations Associate
Meet Our Research Training Team
Tricia Callahan
Associate Director, Operations & Research Training
Contact Information
Email: tricia.callahan@emory.edu
Phone: 404-712-9780
Biography
Tricia Callahan serves as the Associate Director of Operations and Research Training in the Office of Research Administration (ORA) at Emory University. Tricia joins the Strategic Operations and Training (SOT) team from Colorado State University (CSU) where she served as the Senior Research Education and Information Officer (SERIO) in the Office of Sponsored Programs. In her role as SERIO, Tricia was responsible for providing vision and leadership on all matters related to research and research administration education and information. At CSU, Tricia led a team in analyzing training needs, developing curriculum, and delivering courses specific to research administration, utilization of system applications, and general industry knowledge. Together, Tricia and her team built a robust certificate program for CSU administrators, onboarded new hires in the central pre- and post-award office, and provided content-specific trainings for unit administrators. Additionally, they reviewed policies and procedures for efficiencies and compliance with federal, sponsor, and institutional regulations and hosted biannual study sessions for those wanting to obtain their Certified Research Administrator (CRA) credential.
Tricia is excited to share her experience with Emory University. In her new role, she will work closely with ORA business units, academic units, investigators, and staff to develop, organize, and source education programs to meet the mission of ORA.
Tricia’s background is in physiological psychology, with a M.A. in Psychology from the University of Louisville. Tricia is also a Certified Research Administrator.
Kathryn Leigh
Training Design/Communications Manager
Contact Information
Email: kathryn.mary.leigh@emory.edu
Biography
Kathryn Leigh as a new Training Design/Communications Manager on the Research Training team in the Strategic Operations & Training (SOT) department.
Kathryn joins SOT from Tulane University where she served as the Research Proposal Development Officer for the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. As the Research Proposal Development Officer, Kathryn assisted investigators with preparing proposal components for NIH and NSF grant applications.
In her role, Kathryn provided support directly to faculty for development of federal grant proposals including managing the administrative workflow, coordinating with department budget officers, and collecting institutional data.
Kathryn is excited to share her expertise within ORA, assisting with RAE training, the CRA Study Program, and other SOT training and communication initiatives.
Kathryn received a B.A. and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Alabama.
Sandra Meadows
Instructional Designer
Contact Information
Email: smeado3@emory.edu
Biography
Sandra Meadows is an Instructional Designer under Strategic Operations & Training (SOT) in the Office of Research Administration. Sandra joins Emory after a decade of working in the academic and corporate sectors. Sandra shares her experience analyzing training needs and planning, organizing, developing, and evaluating training materials and programs to meet educational needs.
Sandra will work with subject matter experts within ORA to analyze training needs and develop on-demand and live training programs and materials. Sandra holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a Master's in Spanish Language and Literature.
She also has a certificate in Instructional Design from the ELVTR program and a certificate in Virtual Training and Facilitation from the Association for Talent Development (ATD)!
Miya Stallings
Year Up Intern
Contact Information
Email: mstall7@emory.edu
Phone: 404-594-2558
Biography
Year Up Intern Miya Stallings comes to us with a background in project management and an enthusiastic interest in helping to drive successful project outcomes. Miya’s background, interests, and experience with event management will help shape our in-person opportunities to come together in learning and celebration. Miya can be contacted at stall7@emory.edu
Meet Our Project Management Team
Tubal Yisrael
Project Support Specialist
Samson Hadush
Research Administration Specialist