Virtual Research Administration Conference

Deborah Altenburg serves as Vice President for Research Policy and Advocacy at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU). She is responsible for issues related to federal research policy and funding advocacy. She leads the Office of Research Policy as well as research policy work with the Office of Congressional and Governmental Affairs to ensure integration and cohesiveness of APLU research advocacy.

Prior to this role, Deborah served as the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Federal Relations for The State University of New York (SUNY). In this position, she led federal research and policy advocacy efforts for the 64-campus SUNY System.

Deborah also previously served for 15 years as Director of Federal Relations for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). During her tenure at RPI, she served a term as President of the Science Coalition and a three-year term as a Board Member for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU).

Deborah began her career in Washington, D.C. working for her hometown Congressman, United States Representative Sherwood Boehlert. Congressman Boehlert served as Chairman of the House Science Committee. Deborah worked for Congressman Boehlert for over seven years, rising to the position of Legislative Director.

Deborah received her Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Anna M. Quider is the Founder and CEO of The Quider Group, a strategic higher education & research enterprise consulting firm. In 2022, she was named among the top 100 lobbyists in the United States and received the outstanding government relations award from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), while serving as the Assistant Vice President for Federal Relations at Northern Illinois University.

Her leadership includes being elected as president of The Science Coalition and appointed as the government relations advisor to the APLU Council on Research. Dr. Quider is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS) and the past-chair of the APS Forum on Physics and Society.

She began her career by leading innovation policy and programs for the U.S. Department of State's Office of Science and Technology Cooperation and by leading the education, science, and innovation portfolios for a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives.

She earned a Ph.D. in Astronomy from the University of Cambridge as a Marshall Scholar and NSF Graduate Research Fellow. She also holds a BS in Physics and Astronomy and a BA with dual majors in Religious Studies and the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Sarah Spreitzer represents ACE and its members on matters related to research policy and funding, international students, international partnerships, immigration, and federal policy and legislative issues. Before joining ACE, Spreitzer held senior positions in higher education advocacy at the University of Missouri System, Lewis-Burke Associates LLC, and the University of Washington’s Office of Federal Relations.

Spreitzer received a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Beloit College in Wisconsin and a master’s degree in medieval studies from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. She is a founding board member of the Creative Minds International Public Charter School, a growing charter school in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, DC.

Dara Little, Associate Vice President for Research and Sponsored Programs at Northern Illinois University (NIU), holds an MPA from NIU and is a Certified Research Administrator. Dara has over twenty-five years of experience as a research administrator in U.S. higher education settings.

A member of the NIU Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships senior leadership team, Dara leads sponsored programs, research compliance, and core facilities and facilitates institutional strategies to support research. Dara enjoys supporting the profession and has presented over twenty-five sessions and workshops ranging from eRA to Uniform Guidance. She has also served as SRAI Peer to Peer Reviewer and True Fit Trainer.

Dara is currently President of the SRAI Board of Directors and represents SRAI to the International Network of Research Management Societies (INORMS).