cONTACT
 | Kathryn Wrench Kathryn Wrench, MBA, CRA, is the Executive Director of Sponsored Research and Institutional Grants at Lawrence Technological University. Wrench is the current chair of the Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities (MICU) Research Working Group. Wrench has worked in research administration since 1996 and co-authored a handbook chapter for the National Council of University Research Administrators on navigating converging research administration and development in organizations entitled “Research Development for Research Administrators: Understanding, Mapping and Leveraging Assets” and a follow-up webinar entitled “Sponsored Research Administration: A Guide to Effective Strategies and Recommended Practices. |
 | Dr. Matt Cole Matt L. Cole, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the College of Business and Information Technology at Lawrence Technological University, and the chair of the Lawrence Tech Assessment Committee and the Institutional Review Board. He is a strong proponent of interdisciplinary research collaborations at Lawrence Tech and manages the annual Research Day and Presidential Colloquium. Cole has published journal articles and book chapters on the science of teams, team conflict, team leadership, entrepreneurship, research methods and models, the neuroscience of the self, positive organizational scholarship, Appreciative Inquiry, SOAR, and SOAR-based coaching. Cole also serves on the SA Journal of Industrial Psychology editorial team. |
 | Dr. Jackie Stavros Jackie Stavros, DM, is passionate about working with others to create meaningful results for positive change. She is recognized for her creation of SOAR, a positive approach to strategic thinking, planning, and leading (www.soar-strategy.com). She is a professor in the College of Business and Information Technology at Lawrence Technological University and an Advisor for the David L. Cooperrider Center for Appreciative Inquiry and AiMS Institute. She has co-authored numerous articles and books, including Conversations Worth Having: Using Appreciative Inquiry to Fuel Productive and Meaningful Engagement and Learning to SOAR: Creating Strategy that Inspires Innovation and Engagement. She has worked in 25 countries using Appreciative Inquiry and SOAR to affect the lives of thousands of people and help hundreds of organizations as they improve their capacity to thrive and increase performance. Her work has been featured in Forbes, SmartBrief, Live in the D, dbusiness Magazine, and leadership and training blogs and podcasts. She earned her doctorate in Management from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. |
 | Sandy Justice Sandy Justice, CRA, is the Associate Director for Research at the University of South Florida. Justice is a member of the Florida Research Development Alliance, the National Organization for Research Development Professionals, the National Council for University Research Administrators, and the Society for Research Administrators International. Justice has led the coordination of large conferences and conventions at the University of South Florida, such as the two-day 1079th American Mathematical Society (AMS) Conference, which attracted over 300 math scholars from across the country and internationally. Justice also supports the USF Summer Grant Writing Workshops program, which is a rigorous certificate program for early career grant writers from more than two dozen institutions including R2, minority-serving universities, hospitals, libraries, and foundations. |