Abby Gromlich
Project Funding & Development
“You don't have to be interesting. You have to be interested.”— Dr. John Gottman
Background
Abby was born and raised in Pottstown, Pennsylvania and lived in Miami during her teen years. After her second daughter was born with severe heart defects and her husband suffered a traumatic brain injury, she moved her family to Spokane in 2015 to be near the children’s hospital and family.
In 2020, she got a taste of grant writing when she wrote a $2,000 grant for computers for Valley Christian School during the Covid lockdown. Abby completed her Bachelor of Arts in English with a certificate in Professional & Technical Writing from Washington State University in 2021 and was hired by Varela within two months of graduating.
Abby thoroughly enjoys her role as Varela’s funding specialist. Abby is a naturally meticulous editor and organizer, which is critical when she’s managing funding acquisition and administration on 50+ contracts simultaneously. One of her early wins was a $987,000 CDBG grant for the Tonasket Perfect Passage project. She’s also especially proud of the federal appropriations she’s secured for our clients – a funding source that engineering firms rarely pursue.
Abby's motto is that strangers are just friends she hasn't made yet. Her diverse life experience and cheerful personality bring warmth to the office and to her relationships with clients.
Interests
Abby enjoys time at home with her husband, four children, parents, and various pets. It's a full house!
Most of her non-working hours are spent at home, at church, or at Valley Christian School, where her husband works as the Director of Operations and Finance and where her children are students.
After spending all day as a social butterfly, Abby likes to rest with a good book and a hot cup of tea.