ISF Welcomes Two New Staff Members

Additionally, ISF extends our thanks to Karan Hustedt-Warren, former ISF Senior Operations Administrator, for her enthusiasm, professional expertise and dedication over the last two years as she helped ISF establish its operations and programming. Karan took an opportunity in the Office of Research in July as their first Research Security Program Manager. We would like to extend our congratulations to Karan and wish her the best in her new position.

Tara Greene, ISF’s new Senior Operations Administrator, previously has worked at several private sector companies with extensive experience in communications, project management, brand and marketing strategy, and business management. At ISF, Tara will be managing multiple ISF programs including travel grants, undergraduate research and the graduate fellowship competition. She also takes the lead in large event planning and financial management.  She will bring her creative expertise to marketing, website, branding, and communications. 

Regarding her new position, Tara noted: “I’m looking forward to working on behalf of the greater purpose here at ISF. In part, this will be implementing a messaging and brand voice plan, improved website experience, and a long-term communications plan. My goal is for this to be of benefit to the broader goals and outreach efforts to internal and external stakeholders, and be used to build on the identity of ISF and it’s research initiatives locally, nationally, and beyond.”

Valentina Negri, formerly at ETH in Zurich, Switzerland, has joined the team as a Research Scientist. In this role, Valentina will help to coordinate and advance research on campus sustainability and support current efforts in supply chain assessment, circular economy, and industrial decarbonization projects. Valentina has a Chemical Engineering background earning her MSc and PhD from ETH. Her expertise lies at the intersection of mathematical modeling, optimization and environmental analysis.

Upon the start of her role, Valentina expressed: “I am very excited to collaborate with both on-campus and off-campus stakeholders to advance ISF’s research and engagement missions. I look forward to the numerous networking opportunities that come with this role! The chance to work on diverse and impactful sustainability initiatives at ISF and, in general, at Purdue is truly inspiring.”

Over this next year, we are excited to see all the work we can accomplish with our new team members.