Meet the Team

Orla Baxter
Director Sponsored Programs, Research

Phone: +1 (508) 8315000 x5449

Orla Baxter joined WPI as Pre-award Services Specialist in February 2016, was appointed Associate Director for Pre-Award in February 2017, and Director in January 2019.  In addition to her role as Director of OSP, Orla continues to provide support for complex proposals with multiple partners and cost share requirements.  Prior to coming to WPI, Orla worked at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Orla has a BSc in Biotechnology and an MSc in Computing and Information Systems.

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Pre-Award Services

Kristen Bronger
Assistant Director, Pre-Award Services, Research

Phone: +1 (508) 8316629

Kristen Bronger joined the Office of Sponsored Programs in June 2022. Before joining the Pre-Award team, Kristen worked in the Robotics Engineering Department for three years. Prior to WPI, Kristen was a contracted engagement specialist for NOAA Fisheries. She has a BSc in marine and coastal policy and management from URI, and a Master of Environmental Management from Macquarie University (Australia).

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Michelle Mulkern
Associate Director, Pre Award Services, Research

Phone: +1 (508) 8315000 x6158

Michelle Mulkern joined the Office of Sponsored Programs in February 2017. Prior to coming to WPI, Michelle worked at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. She received her bachelor's degree from WPI in 2015, and her MPA from Clark University in 2021. She is active in the United Way of Central Massachusetts Women's Initiative and with The Women of WPI Alumna group.

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Senior Grants and Contracts Administrator, Research

Courtney White joined the Office of Sponsored Programs in February 2022. Before joining the Pre-Award team, Courtney worked in the Bursar Office for four years. Courtney holds a BS in Business Administration from Nichols College.

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Post-Award Services

Chelsea Holland
Associate Director, Contracts & Agreements, Research

Phone: +1 (508) 8316652

Chelsea D'Urso joined OSP as the Research Compliance and Subaward Specialist in February 2016. Chelsea is responsible for the negotiation and management of subawards, and she helps administer our research compliance activities. Before coming to WPI, Chelsea worked in MIT's Technology Licensing Office, managing compliance obligations for federally-funded intellectual property. She is a graduate of Boston University.

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Kristin Keane
ERA Support Specialist, Research

Phone: +1 (508) 8315000 x6374

Kristin Keane joined the Office of Sponsored Programs in November 2013. Prior to coming to WPI, Kristin worked for many years in Operations Management for various industries. As the ERA Support Specialist, Kristin is responsible for the overall management of information systems within OSP. She supports WPI’s research enterprise by managing the implementation, development, testing, training, and support of OSP’s electronic systems for proposal tracking and award management. As a member of the Post-Award team, Kristin also manages a portfolio of awards.

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Klelia Loloci-Silvestri
Senior Grants and Contracts Administrator, Research

Phone: +1 (508) 8316732

Klelia joined WPI in April 2018. Klelia's current role is Grants and Contracts Administrator. In her Post-Award role, Klelia assists faculty and staff with processing new awards, internal budgets, managing incremental funding and requesting extensions.  Klelia holds a master's degree in Business Administration from Anna Maria College, and a master's degree in Counseling Psychology from Anna Maria College.  

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Katelyn Turnbull
Assistant Director, Contracts and Subcontracts Administration, Research

Phone: +1 (508) 8315797

Katelyn is responsible for administrative management of sponsored research awards at WPI with a role in the Post-Award department.  She assists PIs and other research personnel with tasks including but not limited to processing new awards, managing incremental funding, requesting extensions, adjusting internal budgets, and assisting with performance reports.  Additionally, she functions as the liaison between OSP and Marketing for questions regarding sponsored research for press releases and other promotional publications.  Before coming to WPI, Katelyn, a Clark University ...

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Faculty Support - Grant Specialist

Nicole Caligiuri
Senior Grants and Contracts Manager, Research

Nicole joined WPI in 2017, as a department administrative assistant for Computer Science, and joined Sponsored Programs in 2020. She supports specific faculty with complicated grant loads.  Before coming to WPI, Nicole taught middle school. She has a BA in History from UMass Dartmouth, with a concentration in European History and Islamic Studies. 

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