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Sandra Noonan

Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Vice President

Sandra Noonan is assistant general counsel and assistant vice president of Carnegie Mellon University and general counsel to the Software Engineering Institute (SEI).

Noonan focuses on contractual issues arising out of Carnegie Mellon University's contract with the U.S. Department of Defense for the operation of the SEI. She advises the SEI's leadership on all legal matters, including contracting, intellectual property rights, and human resources. She interprets federal and state laws and advises the SEI and its personnel on the applicability of these laws in areas such as conflict of interest, export control, and human-subject research. Noonan's responsibilities also include reviewing, negotiating, and drafting multiple types of legal documents as well as overseeing and enforcing the compliance functions of the SEI.

Prior to joining the SEI, Noonan was deputy general counsel of Tollgrade Communications, a publicly traded telecommunications company. She began her law practice with the Pittsburgh law firm of Klett Lieber Rooney & Schorling (now Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney).

A native of Pittsburgh, Noonan graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, was executive editor of the Law Review, and was a member of the Order of the Coif.