An Introduction to Kevin Peters
Vice President of Research
Like many of GrantStation's staff members, particularly the long-timers, I have a story about my arrival here involving our founder, Cynthia Adams. Back when GrantStation still had a physical office in the heart of Alaska, I had just graduated from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. I was not quite ready to leave the state, and was looking for work in a town of just 30,000 people, a bit of a daunting task. Fortunately, a close friend from the English department told me her employer was hiring.
I met Cindy at the local coffeehouse and told her why I'd be a good fit. She offered me the position on the spot. When I asked if she needed a copy of my resume, which I had dutifully printed out before the interview, she thought about it a moment and said, "Sure, I guess that would be a good idea." She then informed me that she had forgotten her wallet and asked if I could pay for her beverage. I joined the team shortly thereafter.
The ensuing years would solidify how well the company and I were suited to each other. If there has been a mission to my life, it has been words, and helping people to understand them.
In my younger days, I used to teach night classes in technical writing at the university after the GrantStation day was done. At one point, I took a two-year hiatus from the company to go teach English overseas. After I returned to GrantStation, I had the privilege of teaching some of our new team members about the GrantStation ways. And I've had the joy of interacting with our Members, answering their questions about how to use GrantStation most effectively. Words and explanations: they follow me, and are a part of who I am.
As the Vice President of Research, I have the honor of overseeing a wonderful team of researchers, each with their own unique experiences with words. Our work in the research department is all about scouring the wealth of funder information out there—all those words floating around somewhere in cyberspace—and trying to provide it to our members in a user-friendly package. It's that human touch that distinguishes us from our competitors. We don't just hand over a pile of information and say, "Here you go; try to make some sense of it." We have read it ourselves and work to make sure it will make sense to you.
I've learned so much in my time at GrantStation, particularly from my predecessor, Julie Kaufman, and I want to share that information with our Members. I'm here to try to help you with your research needs, as is the rest of our intrepid research crew. Please consider joining us for one of our monthly webinars giving a tour of the GrantStation website, where you can see how we work and get some insights straight from some of our researchers, including myself. Grantseeking can be complicated and daunting, but we're here to help.