Anne Pifer

Anne has spent 19 years helping research universities and academic health centers achieve, enhance and sustain institutional compliance. She specializes in reviewing and optimizing administrative operations, assessing and complying with federal regulations, and supporting internal and external audits and investigations.

About Anne

For nearly two decades, Anne has helped leading research institutions and academic health centers minimize and manage risk, resolve compliance issues, and transform sponsored research administration support models. She has worked with over 80 institutions, helping more than 35 of her clients’ leadership teams, legal counsel and compliance offices navigate internal investigations of potential noncompliance, respond to external audits or investigations from the federal government, and calculate fair settlements based on strategic financial analysis and regulatory interpretation. She has led 15 engagements related to proactive compliance risk assessments or evaluations of compliance frameworks to support both institutional compliance programs and research compliance programs. Additionally, through assessments of sponsored research programs, she empowers institutions to proactively optimize their systems, operations, reporting and resources to maintain compliance sustainably and in perpetuity.

Throughout her career, Anne has assisted her clients in meeting complex and shifting regulatory demands from a network of federal agencies, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of Education (ED), all respective divisions of the Office of Inspector General (OIG), and other entities governing the business of research. She provides defense support by analyzing federal sponsored research programs, reviewing charging practices, interviewing university personnel and advising on key defense strategies. She has presented university defense findings to government agencies in numerous investigations, and her work has resulted in the mitigation of financial settlements. She has also served as an expert witness during litigation regarding alleged faculty misuse of federal funds.

Prior to her role as a senior director, Anne served Huron as a director for three years and a manager for six years. Over the years, she has frequently served as an expert on panels and forums, including annal conferences for the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) and the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA).

Anne holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology and computer applications from the University of Notre Dame. She also serves as a member of NCURA and the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE).