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TRISHA SARDESAI

Email: adpved@r.postjobfree.com I Cell: 917-***-****

Summary

Results- driven Manager with 10+ years of hands-on experience in project management, grants administration and financial diligence including cash accounting and sponsored projects accounting with globally recognized employers. Proven ability to provide team leadership and drive performance. A skilled communicator; able to maintain cultural sensitivity, establish rapport with members of diverse groups, and promote team cohesiveness. Experienced supervisor with a management style that motivates staff productivity. Experience

Montclair State University, Montclair NJ Director (January 2020-Current)

• Provides leadership and managerial oversight for sponsored programs post award administration in addition to liaising with the pre-award office for proposal submission, budget creation and other pre-award requirements.

• Responsibilities include but are not limited to functions related to financial management of sponsored awards including contracts, grants, fellowships, cooperative agreements, and subcontracts, cash accounting, revenue recognition, AR reconciliation, certification of accounts and cash application.

• Responsible for all audit functions and response to external audits, NSF HERD survey completion, Indirect Cost rate agreement negotiation and oversee negotiation with cognizant Federal agency, drafting policies and procedures pertaining to all post award functions.

• Responsible for systems, procedure and workflow improvements and implementations across the institution.

• Responsible for ensuring smooth workflow with partner offices such as GIFT/Foundation, Pre-award, Procurements, HR, General Accounting, Budget planning etc internally as well as all correspondence with external sponsor pertaining to post award activity.

• Responsible for all external and internal stakeholders’ engagements including training and reporting

• Direct staff and provide leadership to achieve goals and vision of the organization. Responsible for hiring and retaining staff, career coaching, personal development for direct reports and accountable for the performance of employees and participating in forums such as NCURA, SRA etc.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center- NYC, NY Program Manager (March 2017- Present) Reporting to the Director of Research Fund Management, the Manager provides leadership and day-to-day management of Senior/Research Fund Managers who manage all post-award financial activities, including review and approval of fiscal expenditures and the application and analysis of budgetary controls for funding sponsors, as well as ensuing institutional compliance with federal, state, agency and other applicable governing regulations, policies and procedures concerning sponsored and non-sponsored research and all accounting and cash application/recovery processes. The position oversees day-to-day planning and execution of clinical research operations, fiscal, informational and human resources function along with the Director.

• The manager is responsible for fulfilling all audit requests and ensuring the grants and contracts accounting team reports information accurately which includes writing, revising policies and ensuring systems are up to date and following uniform guidance rules.

• The Manager is responsible for the review, establishment of all clinical trial contracts, ensuring quarterly revenue intake, protocols being executed per the contract and reviewing the portfolio holistically and all end of study reconciliation’s along with the clinical staff. Responsible for appropriate escalations to senior management as needed.

• Develops and fosters strong working relationships with multiple counterparts and key stakeholders including department leadership to assure the advancement of organizational goals and to ensure clinical research needs are understood and met. Resolve escalating issues within the organization.

• Creates and distributes operational status reports, participates in Corporation -wide committees/meetings to develop process improvement strategies, provides recommendations for resolving issues across the Corporation and within Departments, and ensure operational changes are implemented and being followed across the Corporation

• Responsible for annual budgets for the enterprise across all corporations and presenting the budgets and portfolio outlook to senior leadership and executive committee.

Accomplishments:

• Managed leadership transition for the team, keeping morale positive for the team through systemic changes

• Developed and executed a new budgeting methodology and system.

• Led successful audit for NSF and PCORI along with Director and AVP.

• Wrote policies and developed system controls to comply with Uniform guidance. Columbia University - NYC, NY Senior Project Manager (June 2016 – February 2017)

• Reporting to the Director, the Senior Project Manager (SPM) is responsible for assisting the Director with the financial 2

administration of a diverse portfolio of private and public grants and contracts of varied complexity, ensuring that they are administered in a fiscally responsible manner, complying with all applicable rules and regulations established by both the sponsor agency and the University.

• Responsible for small team of Project Managers. In addition to managing all post-award requirements of their own complex portfolio of research departments, the SPM will have oversight for a small team of Project Managers to whom they will provide guidance on matters of portfolio management, customer service, & professional development.

• Responsible for resolution on matter escalated to the SPM. Including guide the team through to resolution & facilitate escalation to the senior leadership & contact with the department customer or sponsor when necessary. The Senior PM will review deliverables prepared by their team members for compliance, financial exactness, & accuracy, & will monitor the productivity of team members ensuring that deadlines set within & outside of the operation are met.

• Responsible for feedback to & engage in regular coaching for their direct reports, and all other aspects of management culminating in the annual Performance Appraisal.

Select Projects:

• Responsible for negotiating language in all foreign currency contracts to address currency loss issues. Columbia University - NYC, NY Project Manager (March 2014 – June 2016)

• Responsible for ensuring the accuracy and timeliness of financial data, assisting in the preparation of financial reports and billings to sponsors, tracking receipt of funding and receivables (aging and uncollectable), collecting accounts receivable for accounts, and participating in account close-out; provides institutional oversight by monitoring the allowable and appropriate recording of expenses to sponsored projects and the general ledger in order to ensure compliance with generally acceptable accounting principles (GAAP) and sponsor reporting requirements.

• Responsible for customer service, a core mission of the department, by identifying internal and external customers and providing them with the appropriate support regarding sponsored project financial administration and general ledger accounting.

• Assists management in identifying opportunities to streamline and improve processes, providing input for automating processes, and actively implementing changes, as needed.

• Overall, complete oversight and financial management of the entire portfolio of four Schools.

• Responsible for training of new hires and accountability of staff performance and metrics. Select Projects:

• Responsible for operating, managing, reviewing, controlling and reconciling the cash recovery process related to two Federal agencies DHHS as well as NSF on a weekly basis totaling to approximately $10M per week.

• Executing cash drawdowns for each letter of credit, reflective of the spending (as limited by grant funding) on each Federal award under each letter of credit, including cash projections for interim periods for which actual expenditure information is not available.

• Investigate variances between financial data provided by Federal agencies and data in the University's financial data store (FDS), generating all necessary adjustments to the accounting system or resolving these differences with Federal agency personnel.

• Expertise in facilitating smooth execution for A133 audits, and federal audits. New York University - NYC, NY Financial Analyst (May 2013 - January 2014)

• Review grants and contracts award agreements.

• Submit, review federal reports for awards.

• Accounting for budgets and awards.

• Setup new projects, extension of projects with or without additional funds using FAME project costing tool.

• Upload budget modifications, compliance of budgets.

• Prepare and Analyze Cost Analysis for invoicing.

• Maintain and update grants financial records and systems.

• Review Projects for expenditure of funds and review budgets to ensure compliance.

• Liaise between different departments to get necessary financial and project information. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation - Seattle, WA Grants Administrator (Jan 2011- Nov 2011) Program Coordinator (2007-2011)

• As a part of the Grants Management team the responsibility includes ensuring that the investments made through grants are in compliance with IRS rules.

• Part of the job responsibility is also to make sure that the grant budget are proportionate to the work, in alignment with strategy and structured to achieve maximum impact.

• Analyze financial reports, organization budgets, grant budgets. (Experience reviewing projects up to $50M) Provide written feedback of the analysis to senior leadership.

• Provide solutions to ensure streamlined and efficient process implementation. 3

• Ensure the appropriate approval authority reviews and approves the investment decisions.

• Develop department policy and procedures; advise for division- and foundation-wide processes.

• Support and advice grantees, program officers, department leadership regarding grant and contract business, administrative and operational issues.

• Prepare internal financial and other data reports for submission and monitoring of department annual budget.

• Represent the foundation on a National Grants manager’s network to enable information exchange and industry wide best practices.

• Develop financial models to assess the performance of grantees, financing activities, and to provide decision support for risk management.

• Responsible for hiring, training and on boarding new staff and for performance accountability and metrics. Select Projects:

• Develop training document for new hires on how to draft a legal grant agreement.

• Development of language to terminate a grant relationship.

• Training new staff and developing standard practices and processes to increase efficiency.

• Work with World Bank and USAID on federally funded project grant proposals, GIFTS, execution of project and closing out of awards.

• Extensive knowledge of working on grants with US Educational institutions, federally funded US Education projects, allowable costs, Indirect Cost policies and Cost Accounting principles.

• Extensive work with Bi-laterals and multi-laterals such as WHO, World Bank, USAID on federally funded as well as partnership projects worldwide.

Academic Qualifications

Columbia University - New York, NY

• Certification in Sponsored Program Administration (2014) University of Washington - Seattle, WA (Not completed)

• Associate Masters in Global Supply Chain logistics and Project Management (2010) University of Pune – MH, India

• BS Electrical Engineering (2001)

Additional Skills

• Speak four different East Indian languages.

• Fluency in French.

• Spearheaded community outreach programs in India for Women’s rights, Child Education and HIV awareness.

• Worked on setting up groups of volunteers to work with high risk women in India and their children. Providing health counseling, education for children of high risk mothers etc.

• Volunteer with LGBTQ community center.

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