Ginger Belay, 2024

B.S., Southern Methodist University

Ginger Belay was born and raised in Dallas, Texas.  After graduating from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, she moved to Atlanta to work for The Nature Conservancy and then for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  It was at the CDC where she realized that she wanted a career in research administration.  She reviewed proposals for grant money from the agency side and loved learning about the work being done around the country and world to help people.  But, having a love for nature and outdoor activities, Atlanta became too crowded and hectic for her. 

In 2006 she moved to Blacksburg and began working for The Conservation Management Institute (CMI) within the Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources.  After about eight years with CMI, she transitioned to the Office of Sponsored Program (OSP) as a pre-award associate.  It was in that role that she started building relationships with faculty from different departments, including AOE.  She strived to provide the best customer service she could to help ease the administrative burden for faculty during the proposal process.  

In 2018, she decided to make the hard decision to leave OSP and join the Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Department.  It was the best decision she ever made.  She enjoys being able to dedicate more focused time to the proposal process for the AOE faculty and works to do everything she can to make the processes easier so that the faculty can maintain their focus on the great work they are doing in the world!