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Our Team

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Lisa Arafune 
Director of Outreach

 

Lisa has nearly 20 years of experience representing higher education and tech-based research interests in D.C., including advocating on behalf of major Federal science agency funding.  She is also the Director of a  scientific computing association, an educational non-profit 501(c)(3) with 93 academic institution members.  Lisa has expertise in automotive R&D and manufacturing.

Mark Burnham
Director of Policy
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Mark has over 20 years of experience in Congress, universities, research associations, Federal agencies, and economic development.  He led the team at Michigan State University in winning the competition to build the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB).  The $730 million major research facility has been funded, built, and will open for business in 2021.  Mark also secured more than $95 million in support from the State of Michigan for the FRIB project, which is conservatively projected to have more than a $4 billion financial impact on the State of Michigan over the next 20 years.

L. David Cherington
Executive Director
David has over 20 years of experience on and off Capitol Hill, with experience both in the House and Senate, including being professional staff on the Senate Armed Services Committee, as well as university and commercial technology support for research and development.  David is known for building diverse support for national security programs.
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