Grace brings an interdisciplinary background in environmental and energy policy, strategic communications, and program design to her work advancing collaboration and program delivery across federal, state, and industry partners. She is passionate about helping policymakers and technical experts better understand the people and industries they aim to serve, bridging the goals of the public and private sectors to foster collaboration and deliver pragmatic, innovative policy solutions.

Before joining NIBS, Grace supported a range of federal programs at Abt Global and ICF, where she led cross-sector strategies that strengthened program delivery and visibility for agencies including USDA, the Department of Education, and the Department of Labor. She also led stakeholder engagement and coalition-building for national public-private programs and initiatives such as EPA’s ENERGY STAR program and DOE’s Better Buildings, Better Plants program, expanding program reach and adoption among industry and community partners. Early in her career, Grace supported water resilience and water policy initiatives with the Sonoran Institute and as a Mayoral Intern for the City of Tucson, developing outreach strategies to connect research, policy, and community action.

Grace holds a Master of Arts in Environmental Resource Policy from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, with dual minors in psychology and marketing, from the University of Arizona.