Staff
The Grants Office
730 E. Long Street
Shane Kirby, Director, has over a decade of experience at the College working to plan, develop, and manage hundreds of strategic initiatives and projects, leveraging Compression Planning® with Storyboarding. Shane earned a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida as a double major in finance and marketing and earned his MBA with distinction. Shane serves as an adjunct instructor at the College and holds certifications in Quality Matters, NCURA Research Administration and Compliance, tutoring, and supplemental instruction (SI) and is licensed in life, health, and annuity insurance.
John Paul Vandermark, Assistant Director, joined the team in 2015 and has expertise in project launch and deployment, project management, sustainability planning, capital procurement, and facility infrastructure. John Paul earned a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University and served his country for 10 years as a United States Air Force medic.
Kevin Rooney, Post-Award Supervisor, oversees the post-award operations for sponsored projects across the campus, supporting teams from launch to closeout and beyond. Kevin earned his Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration from the College of Charleston in South Carolina and has nearly 15 years' experience in business management, most recently with the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
Josie Newman, Development Lead Coordinator, assists the team with collecting concepts, providing continuous research support, and preparing proposal content. Josie earned a bachelor's degree from The Ohio State University, followed by a master's in public administration with tracks in nonprofit and project management. Previously, she served the College in non-credit student services, the Small Business Development Center, and Workforce Development.
Ellie Rafoth, Pre-Award Program Coordinator, brings her knowledge of writing and editing skills to the team as she works to collect concepts, provide research, and prepare proposal content. Ellie earned a bachelor's degree, followed by a master's in English, both from John Carroll University. She also serves the College as an adjunct instructor.
Karen Kyle, Project Manager for Grants Operations, oversees the engineering portfolio for NSF grants. Karen holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interpersonal and Public Communication and a master's degree in higher education and student affairs, both from Bowling Green State University. For more than 20 years, she was the Director of the Student Advocacy Center at The Ohio State University.
Stephanie Schuler, Project Manager for Grants Operations, oversees the information technology portfolio for NSF grants. Stephanie earned her bachelor's in education from the University of Toledo and her master's in educational leadership from the University of South Florida. Previously, Stephanie worked as a project manager for a school software company. She also has over 10 years of experience as an educator and school administrator.
Nick Grimmer, Program Coordinator for Grants Operations, specializes in evaluation and reporting for National Science Foundation-funded projects at Columbus State. Nick has a B.A. in criminology and a minor in sociology from The Ohio State University. He worked at Alvis for over two years as a case manager, mentoring coordinator, and then the Program Manager on the U.S. Department of Labor-funded Career Pathways program.
Alli Dayhuff, Participant Facilitator for Grants Operations, specializes in outreach for manufacturing and IT grants at the College. Alli holds a B.S. in secondary English education from Miami University and a M.A. in composition and rhetoric from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She has previous teaching experience and currently serves the College as an adjunct faculty member.
Emily Thompson, Program Coordinator for Grants Operations, specializes in grants marketing, communications, and outreach. She studied journalism at Ball State University, earning her bachelor's degree. Previously, Emily worked for media outlets including magazines, digital publications, and TV and radio stations.
Stephanie Hall, Outreach and Operations Manager, oversees the day-to-day operations, and outreach efforts, on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. Stephanie has over 20 years of experience in higher education, and is currently working toward a Ph.D. in educational studies from The Ohio State University.
Audra McIntosh, Business Advisor, supports entrepreneurs participating in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program. Audra has over 25 years in business experience, primarily in the field of strategic marketing for both large and small organizations. She has over 10 years of higher-education experience, including as an adjunct instructor for Columbus State in business management. She has an MBA from Franklin University and a B.S. in journalism/PR from Bowling Green State University.
Chelsea Elliott, MSW, Office Administrator, provides project support to the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program as well as the Grants Office staff. Chelsea began her career at Columbus State as a College Credit Plus advisor. She received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from The University of Cincinnati and a master's in macro social work from Boston College, specializing in social innovation.
Tracey Walterbusch, Ph.D., Project Manager for Grants Operations, manages the Central Ohio Compact grant projects. Tracey has worked in higher education for over 10 years. Previously, she oversaw Off Campus and Commuter Student Engagement at The Ohio State University, where she completed her dissertation, "A Recipe for Success for Staff Retention," to earn a Ph.D. in higher education and student affairs.
Patrick Bookman, Post-Award Facilitator, facilitates project administration across the Central Ohio Compact grant projects and performs responsibilities related to the general business operations and goals of the Compact. He also manages professional development in relation to the Compact, as well as the Adult 22+ Program. Patrick earned his bachelor's degree in communication, supervision, and leadership studies from Ohio University.
All of the staff in the Grants Office use Compression Planning® with Storyboarding to help faculty and staff develop proposal ideas in a directed, time-efficient manner. For more on Compression Planning® with Storyboarding,® please visit: McNellis Company.