Leadership
Cathy Barrera
Assistant Vice President, Sponsored Research
c-barrera@northwestern.edu
Cathy Barrera leads the Sponsored Research office, providing strategic guidance and oversight for all pre-award sponsored research functions. Cathy has been a member of the Northwestern community for about 17 years and previously served as the senior director of research administration at the McCormick School of Engineering. In this role, she led strategic management and day-to-day operations of pre- and post-award, supporting over 200 faculty members and students, nine academic departments, and research centers with more than $70 million in annual sponsored research expenditures. Earlier in her career, Cathy served as assistant director of research administration at McCormick and as a research administrator at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. She holds a master's degree in learning and organizational change from Northwestern and a bachelor's degree in finance from the University of Illinois.
Andrea Zakrzewski
Senior Director, Proposals & Award Acceptance
a-zakrzewski@northwestern.edu | 312-503-2169
Andrea Zakrzewski leads a team of Sponsored Research Officers, designs and implements research administration, preaward, contracting, and postaward non-financial operations, including participating in research enhancement to further Northwestern’s strategic research initiatives. Andrea’s professional experience spans over 20 combined years in federal and private grants and contracts management and university research administration. Her grants and contracting experience includes positions with Loyola University and Rush University. Andrea is an active member in research administration and development associations, including NCURA and the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP).
Carrie Holbo
Assistant Director, Proposals & Award Acceptance
carrie.holbo@northwestern.edu | 312-503-7857
Carrie Holbo is the Assistant Director for Proposals and Award Acceptance, coordinating proposal review and other pre- and post-award activities. Prior to joining Sponsored Research in 2018, she worked for nearly 20 years in the government and non-profit sector, including serving as a federal grants management specialist with the National Endowment for the Arts.
Jason Hawkins
Assistant Director, Award Acceptance
jason.hawkins@northwestern.edu | 312-503-3091
Jason Hawkins is the Assistant Director for Award Acceptance. He joined Sponsored Research in 2015.
Maura Cleffi
Assistant Director, Award Management
m-cleffi@northwestern.edu | 847-491-5241
Maura Cleffi is the Assistant Director of Award Management. She joined Sponsored Research in February 2025.
View the Proposals & Award Acceptance Team
Clay Arnett, JD
Senior Director, Contracts & Negotiations
clay.arnett@northwestern.edu | 312-503-1461
Clay Arnett is the Senior Director for Research Contracts and Negotiations and oversees the Contracts and Negotiations Team. Clay has a degree in Organizational Leadership from Purdue University and a Juris Doctor from Roger Williams University.
Adrienne Lundquist, JD
Associate Director, Contracts & Negotiations
adrienne.lundquist@northwestern.edu | 312-503-3287
Adrienne Lundquist is the Associate Director, Research Contracts & Negotiations for Northwestern Sponsored Research. Adrienne leads the team of Contracts Officers in their review and negotiation of funded agreements. She has a law degree from University of Michigan and joined Sponsored Research in 2018.
Benjamin Feilich, MBA, JD
Assistant Director, Contracts & Negotiations
benjamin.feilich@northwestern.edu
Ben Feilich is an Assistant Director on the Contracts & Negotiations team with 8 years of experience in research contract review and negotiation, having also worked at Loyola University Chicago and Rush University Medical Center. Specializing in health sciences research contracts, Ben uses that experience to facilitate research across Northwestern’s campuses. Ben earned a BA in English from Florida State University (2012), JD from Suffolk University Law School (2015), and MBA from Loyola University Chicago (2021). He joined Sponsored Research in December 2024.
View the Contracts & Negotiations Team
Tyra Darville-Layne, MSC, CRA
Director, Subcontracts Management
td-layne@northwestern.edu | 312-503-5987
Tyra Darville-Layne has 24+ years combined experience in research administration at Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Tyra is an active member of the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) where she has worked collaboratively on subcontracts working groups on agreement templates, subrecipient risk assessment and monitoring tools, and the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse. Tyra is the newest Co-Chair of the FDP Subrecipient Monitoring Tools working group. Tyra is also a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) where she has presented on various topics related to subcontracting, tools, and compliance. Tyra holds a Master of Science in Communication from Northwestern’s School of Communication and is a Certified Research Administrator.
Lora Zygman
Assistant Director, Subcontracts Management
lora.zygman@northwestern.edu | 312-503-6024
Lora is the Assistant Director, Subcontracts Managements. Lora joined Sponsored Research in 2022 with over 15 years of experience in the non-profit world. Before coming to Northwestern she worked in grants management for nine years in higher education. She holds a Master of Arts degree, as well as certifications in Strategic Leadership. Lora has been on the ANUW Board, as well as a member of the DEI Council at Northwestern.
Sara Krentz
Director, Business Systems and Operations
s-krentz@northwestern.edu | 312-503-2807
Sara Krentz leads the Business Systems & Operations team. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Northwestern. Sara joined Sponsored Research in 2006.
View the Business Systems & Operations Team
Melissa Mizwa
Associate Director, Communications, Administration & Training
mmizwa@northwestern.edu | 312-503-7861
Melissa Mizwa leads the Communications, Administration, and Training Team. Melissa has 20 years combined experience in communications, project management, and employee experience across higher education and for-profit sectors. She holds undergraduate and master’s degrees from Georgetown University. Melissa joined Sponsored Research in 2014 and has been with Northwestern University since 2010.