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Announcing the Inaugural Class of GRI Impact Fellows

Meet the founding cohort of practitioners joining the Global Research Institute to help move Â鶹Æƽâ°æ research from ideas to impact.

The Global Research Institute (GRI) at Â鶹Æƽâ°æ is pleased to announce the founding cohort of the GRI Impact Fellows program. Accomplished professionals drawn from government, philanthropy, national laboratories, multilateral institutions, and private industry will spend the coming year supporting W&M faculty and students who are working to scale their research beyond campus.

GRI's mission is to accelerate research at W&M from ideas to impact. GRI incubates new research from student-faculty teams, funds and accelerates promising work and brings together faculty, students, and practitioners across disciplines to tackle problems that matter to local communities, the country, and the wider world. The Impact Fellows program will support W&M researchers by bringing in experts who know the funding environment and can help navigate “the last mile” of research translation for broader audiences. 

“I have seen how research conducted at W&M has changed institutions and communities for the better, and time and again someone outside the university was a critical part of that change,” said David Trichler, associate director of the Global Research Institute. “A core part of our mission at W&M is to convene great minds to meet the most pressing needs of our time. These Fellows will help research teams scale their work, such as a new funding opportunity, a chance to testify on key legislation before Congress, or an introduction to the right implementing partner.”

Fellows serve one-year terms, renewable annually for up to five years, and are matched with current projects in GRI’s research portfolio. The cohort's calendar is anchored by three convenings. Fellows will meet in-person in Williamsburg on September 24 to 26 for discussions with W&M research labs and leaders, deep-dive sessions, and cohort-building. Virtual research roundtables follow in November and February, advancing work within each matched project alongside faculty PIs. The year closes with a workshop and executive session in Washington, D.C., in April.

Collectively, this founding cohort spans work in defense and diplomacy, energy and climate, global health, development finance, and marine science. Together they have experience working in dozens of countries and at nearly every intersection—funding, communications, policy implementation, community partnerships—where research meets the world beyond Williamsburg. 

"Â鶹Æƽâ°æ has long produced people and ideas that change the world,”said Brad Potter, Senior Analyst at the Center for Global Security Research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and incoming Fellow. “I wanted to help cultivate and learn from the latest additions to that storied history as a GRI Impact Fellow.”

For Joe Foster, Strategy & Planning Leader in the Office of the CEO at Cisco and a W&M alumna, joining the Impact Fellows program is returning home. "I'm excited to be a GRI Fellow because it feels like reconnecting with the curiosity that first drew me in as a student, now paired with the chance to help others carry that big thinking forward."

This multi-talented group has also committed to engaging with students as part of their fellowship—providing career guidance, mentorship, and support translating their research experience for potential employers. 

Theresa Whelan, Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of War for Intelligence and Security, has worked with W&M students for years. "My interaction with them always energized me, so I was very excited by the opportunity to be a part of the new Impact Fellows program as it will allow me to work with the students and their faculty advisors on a more sustained and substantive basis as they tackle important topics through their studies."

Meet the Founding Class of GRI Impact Fellows

• John Begala, Officer, The Pew Charitable Trusts
• Fran Bradford, Senior Vice President, McGuireWoods Consulting, former Secretary of Education for the State of Virginia
• Jeanne Chauffour, Francophone Regional Infectious Disease Surveillance Advisor, PATH
• Joe Foster, Strategy & Planning Leader, Office of the CEO, Cisco
• Beverley Hatcher-Mbu, Director of Policy, Development Gateway: An IREX Venture
• Braxton Hicks, Senior User Experience Researcher, Google
• Ryan Hodum, Senior Regional Director, U.S. Energy Foundation
• Ammar Malik, Senior Program Officer for Development Policy & Finance, Gates Foundation
• Amanda Norris, Senior Loan Officer, Export-Import Bank of the United States
• John Osborn, Senior Advisor, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader and Venture Partner, BioVentures MedTech Funds
• A. Bradley Potter, Senior Analyst, Center for Global Security Research, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• Jacob Sims, Â鶹Æƽâ°æing Fellow, Harvard University Asia Center, and Senior Advisor, Inca Digital
• Erin Spencer, Communications Manager for Restoration, NOAA
• Tim Sprinkle, Chief Strategy Officer, Layup
• Emily Tavoulareas, Executive Director, the Home Screen, former Senior Advisor to the U.S. Chief Technology Officer at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy 
• Greg Tomlin, Colonel, U.S. Army, Assistant Commandant, U.S. Army Field Artillery School, former assistant professor of history at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point
• Theresa Whelan, Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary of War for Intelligence and Security

GRI accepts new Impact Fellows each year. To hear when the next application window opens, or follow GRI on and. Questions about the program can go to David Trichler at dmtrichler@wm.edu.