As part of the Wisconsin Science Festival CaSP has helped coordinate a three-part mini-symposium to give members of the research community—including students, postdocs, staff and faculty—insights into how to make a difference right now as well as how to turn an interest in science policy into a career. Below is the schedule of events and some background information about each of the speakers. Come and check it out!
Register here: https://warf.wufoo.com/forms/science-policy-for-scientists-minisymposium/
2 p.m. Introductory remarks by Jo Handelsman, WID Director
2:15-3:20 p.m. Impact science policy now: Panel discussion featuring national leaders in science policy
3:30-4:30 p.m. Careers in science policy
4:45-5:30 p.m. Breakout workshops:
Crafting a high impact policy memo
Advocacy and persuasion: Tools for scientists to engage policy makers
Angela Dickens
Angela Dickens is a policy analyst at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau or Air Management. Her work focuses on developing policy decisions and recommendations with regards to air quality based on scientific data. Dr. Dickens was also a former AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the United States EPA (Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Transportation and Climate Division) and was also an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Mount Holyoke College.
Dipesh Navsaria
Dipesh Navasaria is an associate professor of pediatrics at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health. Aside from being a pediatrician and educator of future pediatricians, he also serves as the chair of the MD-MPH program at UW and is the founding medical director of Reach Out and Read Wisconsin as well as the founder and director of the Pediatric Early Literacy Projects at UW. As an expert and an advocate for early childhood brain development and literacy, Prof. Navasaria has written a number of opinion editorials and has appeared on radio and television shows discussing these issues and is a respected voice both locally and nationally.
Mary Woolley
Since 1990, Mary Wooley has served as the president and CEO of Research!America, which is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization with the mission of making medical research a national priority. Ms. Woolley is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, a AAAS fellow, served on numerous boards and committees and has been featured as an Unsung Heroine by PBS. Through her leadership, Research!America has become an organization that is well respected by public officials and community leaders, researchers, as well as the media.
Lea Shanley
Lea Shanley serves as the co-Executive Director of and a Senior Research Scientist at the South Big Data Innovation Hub (UNC Chapel Hill), which is one of four NSF-sponsored data hubs. Prior to her position, Dr. Shanley was a Presidential Innovation Fellow at NASA (Office of the Chief Technologist), founder and director of the Commons Lab of the Wilson Center, a fellow at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, as well as a AAAS Congressional Science Fellow. Dr. Shapley is also an alumna of the UW-Madison and is an expert in applying technology and geographic information in aiding issues pertaining to emergency management, land use planning, and agriculture.
Laura Holgate
Laura Holgate is a Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs (Harvard Kennedy School for Science and International Affairs). Ambassador Holgate has a distinguished career in public service as the former US Representative to the Vienna Office of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism and Threat Reduction on the National Security Council, the Vice President for Russia/New Independent States Programs at the Nuclear Threat Initiative, and the Special Coordinator for Cooperative Threat Reduction at the Department for Defense. Through her extensive career, Ambassador Holgate has worked on many global security issues such as reducing threats of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons as well as in verifying the Iran Nuclear Deal.
Cora Marrett
Cora Marrett served as Deputy Director to the National Science Foundation (2011-2014), where she also served as Acting Director and Senior Advisor. Dr. Marret is an alumna of the UW-Madison and has also served as UW’s Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs as well as a Professor of Sociology at UW-Madison after having served as the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. During her time at NSF, Dr. Marrett was instrumental in advancing NSF’s mission of improving STEM education at all levels.
Elizabeth Stulberg
Elizabeth Stulberg is a Science Policy Manager at The Alliance of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Science Societies, which is a represents the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Sciences Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America at the Congressional level. Through her career, Dr. Stulberg served as a Science Policy Analyst for The White House as well as the USDA (Office of the Chief Scientist), a AAAS/ASM Science and Technology Policy Congressional Fellow, and as a Agricultural Science Fellow at the USDA. In her current, Dr. Stulberg works as a connection between researchers/scientists and the government by providing policy makers with scientific information vital to policy decisions and in communicating to academic community the effects of new policies.
Crystal Potts
Crystal Potts is the Director of State Relations for UW-Madison, who’s mission is to maintain working relations between the university and the state and to represent the campus at the state. Prior to becoming director, Ms. Potts worked as the chief of staff for state Sen. Howard Marklein and is well versed with the legislative process at the Wisconsin State Assembly. Ms. Potts is also an alumna of UW-Madison is passionate about our government and institution.