March 23, 2026 – WASHINGTON, D.C. – Mary Jean (MJ) White, CGMS, president of MJ White Consulting, won the 2026 Impact Award, Private Sector from the National Grants Management Association (NGMA). She was nominated for her pivotal role in advancing grants management through national training leadership, policy development, fraud prevention, capacity building and mentorship across public, nonprofit and private sectors.
White has more than 30 years of experience in regulatory compliance and federal financial assistance. She concentrates efforts on grants policy, policy and procedure development, business system review, personnel management, procurement, indirect cost rate development, compliance monitoring, and training. She aims to help clients achieve and maintain optimum project performance and statutory and administrative rule compliance.
Throughout her career, White has provided grants policy, management consulting and training services to many federal agencies including the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Justice (DOJ), Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Health and Human Services (HHS), Energy (DOE), Treasury, Homeland Security/FEMA and others, including state and local government agencies, colleges, universities, for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
White earned a Bachelor of Urban and Regional Planning degree from Florida Atlantic University, is a Certified Grants Management Specialist (CGMS) through NGMA and holds the Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC) certification through ISACA, formerly known as the Information Systems, Audit and Control Association.
“MJ White is a nationally recognized subject matter expert with an impressive resume that shows her commitment to advancing the grants management profession, as well as continuing education and workforce development,” said Lashon Brown, NGMA President. “She is a respected leader who embodies all the qualities the NGMA Impact Award seeks to recognize.”
The NGMA Impact Award, Private Sector, recognizes exceptional contributions in advancing the field of grants management by an individual from the private sector. White and the winners in the other NGMA Award categories (Impact Award, Public Sector and Newton Award for Distinguished Service) were recognized at the 2026 Annual Grants Training (AGT) held on March 22-25, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
The National Grants Management Association (NGMA) provides education, tools and resources for grants professionals to support and maintain high levels of grants management competency and to establish standards of excellence for the profession. For more information, visit https://www.ngma.org/.