Dr. BreeAnn Brandhagen is a Senior Managing Director in McAllister & Quinn’s Research Universities Practice. In this role, BreeAnn provides strategic guidance and grant consulting support to R1 and R2 research universities, working closely with university leadership, faculty, and research development professionals to strengthen institutional research capacity and competitiveness. Her work focuses on delivering high‑quality, innovative services in strategic intelligence, capacity building, and proposal development to support the growth and diversification of universities’ external funding portfolios.
Since joining McAllister & Quinn in 2022, BreeAnn has helped clients secure more than $360 million in funding from federal agencies and other sponsors. She brings extensive experience supporting research universities across a wide range of institutional contexts, including land‑grant institutions and EPSCoR/IdeA jurisdictions. BreeAnn has played a key role in the development of successful center‑level and team‑based proposals, including NSF Biology Integration Institutes (BII), NIH COBRE awards, and Department of Defense MURI proposals, and is recognized for her ability to guide interdisciplinary teams through complex, strategic funding pursuits.
Prior to joining McAllister & Quinn, BreeAnn held research development and program management roles at Colorado State University and South Dakota State University. As Senior Research Development Associate in Colorado State University’s Office of the Vice President for Research, she led the implementation, management, and assessment of major strategic initiatives and internal funding programs. In addition to providing hands‑on leadership for complex proposal development efforts that resulted in significant extramural funding, BreeAnn designed and delivered training and professional development programs for early‑career faculty and research project and program managers across the institution.
BreeAnn earned a Ph.D. from the University of South Dakota and a B.A. from Northwestern College. Additionally, she has completed graduate certificates in Project Management and Business Management from Colorado State University. She is also an active member of the National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP).
Affiliations
- National Organization of Research Development Professionals (NORDP)