Staff Directory

Location

Administration

• Dr. Tyler Reinagel, Interim Vice President for Research
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-3365
    treinag1@kennesaw.edu

    • Biographical Sketch

      Dr. Reinagel joined Kennesaw State University in July 2021 as associate vice president for economic development. Dr. Reinagel leads KSU’s economic development and community outreach initiatives, building and strengthening relationships with the university’s governmental, corporate, and non-profit partners throughout the Metro Atlanta/Northwest Georgia regions and throughout Georgia.

      Prior to joining KSU, Dr. Reinagel served as director of planning and research with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs. In this role, he worked closely with local governments, regional commissions, and community organizations across Georgia comprehensive plan review, GIS and mapping functions, fiscal reporting, and intergovernmental relations. This work included providing testimony to legislative committees, developing administrative rules for statutory programs, and coordinating with partner state offices for inter-agency programmatic requirements. In addition, he oversaw the agency’s legislative fiscal note development, update to the Uniform Chart of Accounts for Local Government in Georgia, and training programs regarding the state’s local hotel-motel excise tax. He worked closely and conducted training/professional development programming with professional organizations including the Georgia Municipal Association, Association County Commissioners of Georgia, Georgia Association of Regional Commissions, Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus, Georgia Government Finance Officers Association, and Georgia Hotel and Lodging Association, among many others.

      Before serving at DCA, Dr. Reinagel served as an economist and public policy specialist with the Office of Inspector General for the USPS based in the Washington, D.C. area; assistant professor of political science and public affairs at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C.; and senior doctoral fellow at the Fanning Institute, a public service and outreach unit at the University of Georgia.

      Dr. Reinagel earned his B.A. from Fordham University in New York, and his M.P.A. and Ph.D. in Public Administration and Policy from the University of Georgia. His research has focused on state/local budget and finance, intergovernmental relations, and local government management.
• Dr. Scott Nowak, Associate Vice President for Research
  • 

    Professor, Dept. of Molecular and Cellular Biology

    Phone: (470) 578-7777
    snowak@kennesaw.edu

    Biographical Summary

     
• Heather Hedgepeth, Executive Assistant
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-6046
    hhedgepe@kennesaw.edu

Research Operations and Communications  

• Aimee Roper, Director, Business Operations

  • Phone: (470) 578-6918
    aroper10@kennesw.edu
• David Roberts, Communications Manager
  • 
    Phone: (470) 578-3447
    drobe189@kennesaw.edu
• Alyssa Ozment, Social Media Coordinator
  • aozment@kennesaw.edu
• Michelle Chatelain, Business Operations Specialist
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-4884

    mchatela@kennesaw.edu

     

   

• Debbie Ridley, Administrative Assistant
  • 
    Phone: 470-578-4979
    dridle11@kennesaw.edu

Undergraduate Research

• Dr. Amy Buddie, Director
  • 

    Professor, Psychology
    2019 NCUR Co-Chair

    Phone: (470) 578-6255
    abuddie@kennesaw.edu

     

     
• Dr. Tsai-Tien Tseng, Associate Director
  • 

    Associate Professor, Biology

    Phone: (470) 578-5020
    ttseng@kennesaw.edu
• Jennifer Harb, Administrative Assistant
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-6976
    jharb@kennesaw.edu

     
• Michelle Chatelain, Business Operations Specialist 
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-4884

    mchatela@kennesaw.edu

     
• Christin Richardson, Program Manager
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-4799

    crich115@kennesaw.edu

Research Compliance

• Dr. Kristine Nowak, Director
  • 

    Director of Research Compliance

    Phone: (470) 578-4941
    knowak@kennesaw.edu

     
• Dr. Sandra Arntz, Assistant Director
  • 

    Assistant Director, Research Compliance for Human Subjects

    Phone: (470) 578-2106
    sarntz@kennesaw.edu
• Toni Jamison, IRB Coordinator 
  • 

    IRB Coordinator

    Phone: (470) 578-7721
    ajamis14@kennesaw.edu  

Research Development and Strategic Initiatives

• Dr. Heather Abbott-Lyon, Director
  • 

    Associate Professor, Chemistry

    Phone: (470) 578-6140
    habbott@kennesaw.edu

     

     
• Veronica Kulon, Grants Writer

  • vkulon@kennesaw.edu

Sponsored Programs Administration 

• Kerwin Lawrence, Assistant Director, Pre-Award

  • Phone: (470) 578-6036

    klawre52@kennesaw.edu
• Deddeh Howard, Grants and Contracts Manager, Pre-Award
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-5029

    dhowar84@kennesaw.edu

    Pre-Award Staff by Unit
• Nikki Grandberry, Senior Grants and Contracts Manager, Pre- and Post-Award

  • Phone: (470) 578-4431
    ngrandbe@kennesaw.edu

    Pre- and Post-Award Staff by Unit
• Mike Frailey, Grants and Contracts Manager, Post-Award
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-5059
    mfrailey@kennesaw.edu

    Post-Award Staff by Unit
• David Collins, Senior Grants and Contracts Manager, Post-Award

  • Phone: (470) 578-3882
    dcolli98@kennesaw.edu

    Post-Award Staff by Unit
• Sharon Strandberg, Grants and Contracts Manager, Pre-Award

  • Phone: (470) 578-5249
    sstrandb@kennesaw.edu
• Nakeya Thorpe, Grants and Contracts Coordinator
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-5490
    nthorpe2@kennesaw.edu

     
• Kieaundra Robinson, Grants and Contracts Coordinator

  • Phone: (470) 578-4831

    krobi267@kennesaw.edu
• Angela Stover, Grants and Contracts Coordinator
  • astover5@kennesaw.edu
• Robert Bridges, Director, Grants Accounting

  • Phone: (470) 578-3622
    rbridge7@kennesaw.edu
• Theresa Clark, KSURSF Grant Accountant

  • Phone: (470) 578-7478
    tclar151@kennesaw.edu
• Donna Holmes, KSURSF/KSU Grant Accounting Assistant

  • Phone: (470) 578-3637
    dholme73@kennesaw.edu
• Dylan Solazo, Accounting Assistant

  • Phone: (470) 578-2770

    dsolazo@kennesaw.edu

Intellectual Property Development

• Dr. Christopher Cornelison, Director
  • 

    Assistant Professor, Microbiology

    Phone: (470) 578-5115
    ccornel5@kennesaw.edu

    BioInnovation Lab

Economic Development and Community Engagement

• Dr. Tyler Reinagel, Associate Vice President for Economic Development
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-3365
    treinag1@kennesaw.edu

     
• Kimberly Henghold, Director, Community Engagement
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-3068
    khenghol@kennesaw.edu

     
• Clay Long, Program Coordinator
  • 

    clong112@kennesaw.edu 

Research Centers and Institutes

Center for Research Computing

• Dr. Ramazan Aygün, Director
  • 

    Associate Professor, Computer Science

    Phone: (470) 578-6005
    raygun@kennesaw.edu

     

   

• Tom Boyle, Director, Data Compliance and Computing Operations
  • 

    Phone: (470) 578-6180
    tboyle@kennesaw.edu 

     

KSU Field Station

• Michael Blackwell, Operations Manager
  • 

    wblackw2@kennesaw.edu

     
• Luke Miller, Coordinator

  •  rmille86@kennesaw.edu

A.L. Burruss Institute for Public Service and Research

• Christy Storey, Director, Operations

  • Phone: (470) 578-6464
    cstorey@kennesaw.edu
• Paul Vaughn, Assistant Director, Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

  • Phone: (470) 578-6464
    pvaughn2@kennesaw.edu
• Dr. Matthew Lyons, Interim Assistant Director, Research and Evaluation

  • Post-doctoral Researcher, Wellstar College of Health and Human Services

    mlyons30@kennesaw.edu
• Ashley Crawford, Research Associate

  • Phone: (470) 578-6464
    acrawf11@kennesaw.edu
• Akilah Hairston, Research Associate
   

  • Phone: (470) 578-6464
    ahairst1@kennesaw.edu
• Monica Stopar, Administrative Assistant

  • Phone: (470) 578-6464
    mstopar1@kennesaw.edu

Center for Innovation in STEM Education Research (CiSTEMer)

• Dr. Brian Lawler, Interim Director
  • 

    Associate Professor, Mathematics

    Phone: (470) 578-4235
    blawler4@kennesaw.edu

     

Center for the Advancement of Military and Emergency Services Research (AMES Research)

• Dr. Brian Moore, Director
  • 

    Assistant Professor, Psychology

    Phone: (470) 578-7281
    bmoore50@kennesaw.edu

     
• Dr. Israel Sánchez-Cardona, Associate Director, Community Engagement and Outreach
  • 

    Assistant Professor, Psychology

    Phone: (470) 578-7338
    isanche7@kennesaw.edu

   

• Elisabeth Dilling, Research Associate

  • edillin1@kennesaw.edu
• Elsa Sanchez Garcia, Business Operations Specialist
  • Phone: (470) 578-3465
    esach49@kennesaw.edu
• Dr. Bianca Channer, Clinical Manager
  • Phone: (470) 578-7530
    bchanner@kennesaw.edu
• Katherine Moore, Clinical Case Manager
  • Phone: (470) 578-3033
    kmoor219@kennesaw.edu
• Dr. Tyler Collette, Director of Data Core
  • Phone: (470) 578-6225
    tcollet1@kennesaw.edu
• Dr. Chris Hess, Social Demographer
  • Phone: (470) 578-6739
    chess11@kennesaw.edu
• Dr. Kristin Horan, Director of Community Engagement and Outreach
  • Phone: (470) 578-6225
    khoran1@kennesaw.edu
• Eldie Torres Vasquez, Program Coordinator
  • Phone: (470) 578-4369
    etorre27@kennesaw.edu

Research Center for Sustainable Communities (RCSC)

• Dr. Pegah Zamani, Founding Director

  • Associate Professor, Department of Architecture, College of Architecture and Construction Management

    pzamani@kennesaw.edu
• Dr. Amin Esmaeili, Associate Director

  • Director of Geo-IAC, Assistant Professor of Systems Engineering, Department of ISE, Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering and Engineering Technology

    esmaei3@kennesaw.edu