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Portland, Maine

CEPH member attends annual National Grants Management Association conference

A group of men and women pose for a photo at a conference
Lu’Ann Garza-Thibeau (far right) with her team members from Nevada, Florida, Chicago and Washington, D.C., as well as the president of the NGMA.

Lu’Ann Garza-Thibeau, B.S., manager of Finance and Administration for UNE’s Center for Excellence in Public Health (CEPH), attended the annual National Grants Management Association (NGMA) conference in Washington, D.C., from April 10-13.  

NGMA provided robust breakout sessions with speakers from various federal agencies and panel discussions with the American Bar Association, the Grant Law Committee involving various aspects of grant management. Topics included procurement and compliance issues, top audit findings, subrecipient monitoring, recent fraud cases, and updates from the Office of Management and Budget on the Uniform Guidance.
 
Although Garza-Thibeau attended alone, she was joined at the conference by her study group team members, who have been meeting virtually since September 2022. Team members hailed Nevada, Florida, Chicago, and D.C. 

“The conference provided me an opportunity to hear the challenges faced by other grant managers, brainstorm on solutions, and receive updates straight from federal officials,” Garza-Thibeau reflected.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest private university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.