Staff

Executive Team

Amy Bielski MBA

President and CEO

Ms. Amy Bielski, President and CEO, brings 15 years of professional experience managing complex Federal projects involving technology, communications, policy, and health. With a background in graphics and web design, Ms. Bielski worked with several firms before founding Ripple Effect. Several of the website projects she led have won awards, including the Vice Presidential Hammer Award and the Aesculapius Award for Health. She received her M.B.A. from Loyola University and was featured in the 2009 book, No One Path, for her perspectives on leadership. She also was recognized with 4 NIH Director’s Awards and received a Rising Star Award in 2002 from Women in Technology. Currently, Ms. Bielski serves as the project lead for prominent government projects and leverages her expertise in SharePoint and other Web 2.0 technologies to transform the way the Federal government communicates.

Janis Brose

Chief Operating Officer

Janis Brose is the Chief Operating Officer at Ripple Effect Communications, Inc. She brings over 40 years of experience to providing technical assistance, program and logistics support, database management, and publications and graphics support to government clients. Her capabilities include project management, subcontract management, program evaluation, fiscal management, training, and staff supervision. Ms. Brose has managed numerous large, multifaceted support and technical services contracts, and has planned and managed more than 2,000 local, national, and international conferences for the Federal government. Ms. Brose’s background includes involvement in all aspects of budget development, cost control, and fiscal reporting, including detailed progress reports and staff projections. Throughout her career, Ms. Brose has provided leadership, training, motivation, and professional development for program logistics and technical publications staff, including project managers, researchers, conference coordinators, scientific and technical editors and writers, curriculum designers, database managers, desktop publishing specialists, graphic artists, Web site designers, and exhibit developers.

Jennifer Pohlhaus PhD

Vice President

Dr. Jennifer Pohlhaus, Vice President, brings 13 years of professional experience in higher education, biomedical research, science and health policy, gender issues, and workforce studies. She transitioned from biochemistry into policy and government consulting through the prestigious American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science & Technology Policy Fellowship. Dr. Pohlhaus has coordinated major initiatives for the NIH Director, including Women in Biomedical Careers and the Enhancing Peer Review Initiative. She is regularly consulted to produce technically authoritative materials for use by policy makers and the public, and she personally delivered a briefing to staff of the U.S. House of Representatives. Dr. Pohlhaus was recognized as a “Woman in Science” at NIH 2007-2008, and her success in managing high-visibility trans-agency projects is evidenced by receipt of 2 NIH Director’s Awards and 2 Extreme Dedication Awards.

Selected Professional Staff

Terri Grasso

Senior Technology Specialist

Ms. Teresa Grasso brings nearly 40 years of professional experience with increasing levels of responsibility from administrative support to automation of business processes to project manager with a diverse group of companies serving both private industry and the Federal government. In private industry, Ms. Grasso honed her strong administrative, problem-solving, and communication skills to achieve desired results on special project assignments—coordinating budget seminars, assisting with nominations to the military academies, and participating in two successful Congressional campaigns for re-election. Later, Ms. Grasso assumed the position of Technical Publications Manager and was later promoted to Proposal Coordinator for a Fortune 500 scientific, engineering and technology applications company directing as well as providing hands-on support for the publication of systems documentation, corporate marketing presentations, trade show materials, and domestic and internal proposals. Federal government clients included NASA/GSFC, NOAA, NIH, and EPA. Recently, Ms. Grasso has been providing technical and support services to clients at NIH and GAO as well as providing Corporate support as a network administrator, desktop support technician, contracts administrator, and proposal manager. She leverages her NIH domain knowledge and experience with the NIH enterprise extramural grant information system and repository (IMPAC II), the grant award process, and broad technical skillset to cover a variety of administrative, editorial, and technical services for the NIH Office of the Director. Ms. Grasso received a 2011 NIH Office of the Director Honor Award in recognition of the outstanding team efforts devoted to the 2010 revision of the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

Dawn Holt PhD

Project Coordinator

Cited as a “Science Spectrum Trailblazer” by The Career Communications Group’s BEYA STEM Conference in 2010, Dr. Dawn Holt has built a reputation on that definition. Combining a high-energy, take-charge intellect with strong business acumen, Dr. Holt approaches every task with a flair for innovation, problem solving, and bottom line execution. Dr. Holt received a bachelor’s degree in Bio-Psychology from the University of Maryland’s Honors College in 1999. Following graduation, she taught middle school biology, chemistry, and physics for one year, receiving a citation as “new teacher of the year.” In 2000, Dr. Holt was awarded a fellowship to pursue a Master’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology. Her academic career took another leap in 2002 when she was selected among one of 20 applicants nationwide to be awarded a NASA/Harriet G. Jenkins Pre-doctoral Fellowship in STEM disciplines. In 2003, her Master’s thesis work demonstrated that animal models could be used effectively to differentially express hyperactivity and attention-deficit disorders. In 2003, Dr. Holt was selected as a doctoral candidate at the University of Maryland School of Medicine where, in 2010, she was awarded a Ph.D. in Medical Pathology with extensive training in Cancer Pathology and Tumor Immunology. Today, Dr. Holt uses her research skills and business acumen as project coordinator on developing grants information and coding, analyzing, and preparing reports for the National Institutes of Health.

Erica Husser PhD

Senior Research and Evaluation Analyst

Dr. Erica K. Husser contributes ten years of professional experience in higher education and seven years of experience in broadcast communications. Dr. Husser received her Ph.D. in Human Development with a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from Virginia Tech. With a focus on the study of Program Development and Evaluation, Qualitative Data Analysis, Adult Development and Aging, Human Sexuality, and Intergenerational Programming, Dr. Husser brings a unique perspective to bear on her work. Grounded in the social science, she understands the complexities of individual and group behavior and, through her work, seeks to identify elements within each project that support improvements in programs that will translate into improved individual and group development, regardless of the domain. Dr. Husser has developed mixed method interview guides, conducted in-depth face-to-face interviews, created unique analytical methods, conceptualized theoretical models, published in peer-reviewed journals, co-authored a book chapter, and given presentations at national scientific meetings, various regional or state scientific meetings, and government committee meetings. In addition, Dr. Husser has taught upper-level undergraduate courses in Human Sexuality and Community Services for Older Adults, has supervised undergraduate teaching assistants, and, combining her media background with her academic focus, she authored and produced electronic educational and promotional materials, including a nine-minute award-winning video that details an internationally renowned intergenerational program at Virginia Tech.

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