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Anna Quider.

Anna Quider is a long-time friend of SPS, PhD astrophysicist, science policy professional, and CEO and founder of The Quider Group. Before starting her own consulting firm, she worked in policy-related positions for nonprofits, Congress, the federal government, and higher education.

The Quider Group’s goal is to increase access to opportunities for individuals and organizations often underserved by the federal government. It works primarily with nonprofit clients in science and technology or higher education, helping them better engage with the federal government. That might include strategic planning, playing matchmaker between the nonprofit and key policymakers and programs, or maximizing an organization's chances of success on federal grant applications. Clients also enlist Quider to give keynote talks and workshops on topics from science policy to communication.

One of Quider’s passion projects is promoting student success and empowerment through premier national and international scholarships, especially for diverse and underserved students and campuses. For years she has advocated for more federally funded research opportunities on campuses, and now that it’s happening, she’s considering how those opportunities can map to life-changing federal research fellowships for students and more prestige for the institutions.

As Quider builds her firm, she’s taking a social entrepreneur approach. “The challenge is to not become just another DC firm,” she says. Many places have a high budget for policy work, which means that valuable organizations operating on a shoestring budget can be left underserved by the federal government. It’s about “doing well by doing good,” she says.