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Authored by:
Tonya Edvalson
Membership Chair, SRAI
University of Utah
Email: tonya.edvalson@hsc.utah.edu

There are members out there making some commotion and taking care of business and we want to let you know about them. One of these members Linda Dement in the Western Section. Linda is a Senior Grants and Contracts Analyst at Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason in Seattle, Washington. She has an eight-year career in research administration, providing cradle-to-grave support to researchers at her institution.

Proving her dedication to the field, she earned her Certificate in Research Administration (CRA) in 2015. Since then, she has become more involved in SRAI activities. Attending her first Section Meeting in Portland 2016, she was already a welcome and familiar face at dinner groups and volunteer opportunities. She was active in getting the word about the meeting in our Twitter games. Since then, she has participated in the planning committees for the subsequent Western and Northeast Section meetings in Hawaii and Boston, particularly in the Silent Auction event. Last year’s Silent Auction in Hawaii was a record-setting event where we were able to offer at least four travel awards! She has become active in the Pacific Northwest Chapter, participating in the planning of their meetings as well. Because of her enthusiasm and spirit of volunteerism, we wrangled her in as a speaker at our Newcomers Event in San Antonio where she did a fabulous job.

When Linda isn’t making miracles happen at work and quietly helping us out with our meetings and keeping the Section moving along, she is a wife and busy mom of twins. These girls keep her busy with Girl Scouts, dance and theater. When there is down time, you will find her fishing or taking road trips to learn about new places or new cuisine. Their family had a great time in Hawaii while attending the Western/Northeast Section Meeting and they know how to have fun! The girls had a great time dancing and enjoying the different areas of the Polynesian Cultural Center, particularly New Zealand. Her husband was a very good sport when she “volunteered” him to be part of one of the shows.

In the very short time that Linda has been attending meetings in SRAI, she has grasped onto the networking and service opportunities open to everyone in the organization. These are the things that can help us all grow in our profession. These connections teach us so much and open doors that we could never have expected and enrich our experiences within the organization. We sincerely appreciate Linda for her service to the Western Section and SRAI.