Leadership

Aurali Dade is interim vice president for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact at George Mason University, where she provides overall leadership for the university’s research enterprise and innovation ecosystem. She also serves as interim president of the George Mason Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization that supports the commercialization and advancement of George Mason’s research portfolio.

As the university’s chief research officer, she oversees a diverse range of research, innovation, and economic development initiatives that advance the university’s role as a leading R1 institution. She serves as the executive lead for President Washington’s Grand Challenge Initiative, a university-wide framework launched in 2025 to align education, faculty expertise, and research infrastructure toward solving humanity’s greatest challenge: securing a peaceful, healthy, and prosperous future for all.

Additionally, Dade is vice president of Enterprise Risk Management and chief risk officer. In this role, Dade leads efforts focused on understanding and mitigating institutional risk through strategic and intentional engagement and action with senior leadership and risk owners.

Dade returned to George Mason after spending the last 3.5 years at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in an Intergovernmental Personnel Act appointment. In that role, she was responsible for engaging nationally and internationally on initiatives focused on technology, innovation, and national competitiveness. She managed a portfolio of approximately $90 million in grants and contracts, co-developed new funding opportunities, and represented the National Science Foundation in various engagements. 

Prior to her time at NSF, Dade spent approximately a decade at George Mason, taking on roles of progressive responsibility, including serving as the interim vice president for Research, Innovation, and Economic Impact. She served in several inaugural roles at the university prior to this appointment, including as the associate vice president for Research Development, Integrity and Assurance and executive director of the Institute for a Sustainable Earth. 

Before joining George Mason, Dade served in leadership roles focused on compliance, risk, and environmental health and safety at two other R1 universities. She co-edited and authored a book focused on research compliance, has received grants focused on institutional capacity and research integrity, and also taught at both the undergraduate and graduate level on these topics

Paula Sorrell is the Associate Vice President of Innovation and Economic Development at George Mason University. She oversees an extended team of 200 across Virginia that includes the Office of Technology Transfer, and has expanded Mason’s service offerings to 8 federal programs across 5 agencies, as well as state and regional programs that provide counseling and training to more than 38,000 small business and entrepreneurs, investor events, four business incubators in Northern Virginia, and the maker spaces and entrepreneurial programming at George Mason. Through this work, the team has won international, national, and state award recognition for this work. She was nominated as one of the top people to meet in the DC Metro area, a top 25 innovator, and a finalist for DC region Women in Technology. 

She joined George Mason after a position as Director of the Economic Growth Institute at the University of Michigan, created the classes and taught ‘Technology Commercialization’ and ‘Reimagining Companies through Innovation’ in the University of Michigan College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship. At U of M, she developed and oversaw international and national award-winning programs to build lab-to-market activities in partnership with 15 public research universities, resulting in 213 new products launched and a $133 ROI. She also was the Principal Investigator for research in economic development, including mapping the entrepreneurial ecosystem, best practices in the development of commercial ethnic districts, and national best practices in technology commercialization. 

She served for four years as Vice President of Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Venture Capital for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation during the great recession and through the Detroit bankruptcy, overseeing $1B under management and $110 Million in new investments to build Michigan’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, including university research and tech transfer programs, technology service providers, tech incubators across the state, seed funding programs, portfolio investments and fund of funds. She developed a series of programs to increase lab-to-market activities, resulting in an expansion of tech start-ups and funding mechanisms that resulted in a 32:1 return on investment for public dollars. She created programs to draw more than $600M of capital and talent to Michigan’s tech economy and turned around a 65,000 square foot biotech incubator into a profitable entity. 

Sorrell serves on several government, quasi-government, and private company tech boards. tPast board service includes the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority and the American Lightweight Materials Manufacturing Institute, several local economic and innovation-focused advisory boards, and the leadership committee of the State Science and Technology Institute. She is a National Science Foundation reviewer. 

Prior to public service, Sorrell served as the chief marketing officer for seven tech-based start-ups, six have successfully exited. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business from Central Michigan University and is a certified board member through Harvard Business School’s executive education.

Chris DiTeresi serves as the Associate Vice President for Research Integrity and Assurance at George Mason University, where he leads the university’s comprehensive research compliance portfolio and advances Mason’s commitment to conducting ethical, responsible, and high‑quality research. In this role, he oversees the Office of Research Integrity and Assurance (ORIA) and its six major compliance programs—including human subjects research, animal care and use, biosafety, export controls, conflict of interest, and responsible conduct of research—ensuring that Mason’s rapidly expanding research enterprise meets the highest standards of federal, state, and institutional oversight. DiTeresi provides strategic direction for ORIA’s operations, strengthens compliance infrastructure across the university, and partners closely with faculty, staff, and administrators to support a culture of integrity that enables innovation while safeguarding the rights and welfare of research participants. 

DiTeresi brings more than two decades of experience in research compliance, program leadership, and institutional policy development. Before joining George Mason, he held senior roles in research administration where he led complex compliance programs, modernized review processes, and built collaborative frameworks that improved service to researchers while maintaining rigorous regulatory standards. His career reflects a deep commitment to balancing compliance with facilitation—ensuring that researchers have the guidance, tools, and support needed to pursue impactful scholarship responsibly and efficiently. Known for his thoughtful leadership and ability to navigate evolving regulatory landscapes, DiTeresi plays a central role in strengthening Mason’s position as a leading R1 institution and in supporting the university’s mission to advance knowledge that benefits communities locally, nationally, and globally.

Michael Laskofski is an Associate Vice President of Research Services at George Mason University. He has been instrumental in advancing research administration and operations within higher education. At George Mason University, they led the implementation of the Federal Demonstration Partnership Payroll Certification Pilot, a transformative initiative that improved salary and effort certification processes nationally, leading to greater efficiencies and reduced administrative burdens for faculty researchers. He also developed and implemented professional development and retention strategies, establishing a Research Administration Certificate Program that has seen approximately 200 individuals complete the coursework. Furthermore, Laskofski fostered professional growth by supporting team members in obtaining the Certified Research Administrator designation, with over 20 individuals earning this credential. 

Prior to his current role, Laskofski provided crucial support as the Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs, where he established an Advisory Group and served as an administrative representative to the Federal Demonstration Partnership. His earlier experience includes roles in post-award management at George Mason and financial management consulting for Federal clients at IBM Business Consulting Services. Laskofski also contributed to grant accounting and faculty support functions at Harvard University.

Rebekah Hersch currently serves as the Associate Vice President for Research Innovation Initiatives in the Office of Research Innovation and Economic Impact (ORIEI) at George Mason University. In that capacity, Hersch provides leadership for the Research and Innovation Initiatives (RII) team which includes Mason’s three University Research Institutes (Institute for Biohealth Innovation, Institute for a Sustainable Earth, and Institute for Digital Innovation) and Research Development Services. She works closely with ORIEI Cores and other administrative units across the university to develop and implement the university’s strategic plan to foster and grow Mason’s research ecosystem. Hersch previously served as Chair of the ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions and a member of the ORAU Board of Directors. Prior to joining George Mason University, in 2018, Dr. Hersch directed a program of research on substance abuse prevention and behavioral health interventions addressing a myriad of public health issues including alcohol and illicit drug use, prescription drug misuse, HIV and sexual health, medication adherence, stress management, cardiovascular health, physical activity, nutrition, and healthy aging. Hersch received her BA in Psychology from the University of Virginia, her MA in Clinical Psychology from Clark University, and her Ph.D. in Applied Social Psychology from The George Washington University.