CEPH member attends annual National Grants Management Association conference

A group of men and women pose for a photo at a conference
Lu鈥橝nn 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鈥橝nn Garza-Thibeau, B.S., manager of Finance and Administration for UNE鈥檚 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. 

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