Janelle Sommerville

Janelle Sommerville
Manager, Finance and Administration
[ jsommerville@ei.columbia.edu ]

Janelle Sommerville is the Manager of Finance and Administration for the AgCenter. In this role, Janelle provides financial management for AgCenter’s annual budget. Janelle also provides human resources and administrative management for AgCenter’s staff members through recruitment, hiring, performance evaluations, equipment and service provider procurement, and orientation to University policies. Janelle  works closely with Columbia’s legal counsel to develop contracts and agreements. She fills a liaison role with various partners to ensure smooth operation and financial management of several international research projects, including the Millennium Villages Project and the Africa Soil Information Service. Janelle works with the AgCenter team to plan, budget, and write various components of grant proposals and concept notes to various donor agencies. She also works with the team to sustain donor relationships through timely submission of semi-annual and annual narrative and financial reports. Janelle supports AgCenter’s director on strategic planning for AgCenter’s current and future operations. Prior to joining AgCenter, Janelle earned a Master of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs. She also worked as an Program Coordinator for the Earth Institute’s Finance and Administration department where she assisted on the content development and roll out of the EI Finance and Administration Portal.