Office of Sponsored Research and Foundation Relations Meet Our Team

Michael Stein supports academic and institutional principal investigators seeking external private foundation funding and federal and state humanities awards at Amherst. This work includes prospect research, proposal development, reporting, assistance navigating the internal approval process, and grant stewardship.

Prior to joining the Grants Office team in April 2022, Michael served as a Philanthropy Officer at the Baystate Health Foundation. Before joining Baystate, he served as Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where he was responsible for faculty and institutional private foundation funding across six Colleges of the University. Michael holds a B.A. from Wheaton College in Philosophy and Political Science, an M.A. from the New School for Social Research in Politics, and a Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts Amherst in Political Science.

Jamin Weeks works to secure external funding for Amherst, with an emphasis on institutional priorities in STEM (science, technology and mathematics). He supports faculty grantseeking with a focus on the sciences, mathematics, and the social sciences. Jamin helps faculty in those and related disciplines identify likely funding sources and grant programs, and assists with proposal development, reporting, and the internal approval process.

Prior to joining the Grants Office team in the beginning of 2022, Jamin performed a similar role at the University of Massachusetts Boston where he managed the proposal process for the College of Science and Mathematics and their School for the Environment. Jamin also worked in central-office post-award research administration at Tufts University and Florida State University.

Jamin earned his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School and is a Certified Research Administrator. A native of Florida, Jamin is a graduate of Florida State University and holds a Bachelors of Science degree in both Accounting and Management.

Danielle Thompson works closely with the Directors of the OSRFR and the Senior Research Administrator to support the efforts of grantseekers and recipients at the College. She researches and shares funding opportunities, supports proposal development, creates resources and infrastructure for grantseekers (including institutional procedure, policy and boilerplate assets), tracks and promotes the accomplishments of grant recipients, and assists with non-financial post-award management for certain institutional projects. If you have questions about any stage of the process, or if you have news of a recent accomplishment, please be in touch.

Danielle joins the OSRFR with extensive experience in proposal development, foundation relations and nonprofit management. Danielle previously served as the Associate Development Director at Artists for Humanity, a Boston-based nonprofit, where she successfully helped grow a dynamic slate of programming and secured funding from private foundations, city, state and federal sources. She also served as a Development Associate for the Treehouse Foundation and a Coordinator for Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations at the Rhode Island School of Design. Most recently, Danielle was the Program Director at Snow Farm: The New England Craft Program where she helped grow engagement, usher in greater diversity and inclusivity, and enhance the organization's administrative capabilities. Danielle holds a B.S. in Studio Art from Skidmore College and an M.A. in Fine Arts/printmaking from the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, Venezia. Danielle joined Amherst College in 2022.