December 10, 2021
AGU welcomes first cohort of Local Science Partners
Posted by Caitlin Bergstrom
Congratulations and welcome to the fifty-five AGU members who will be the inaugural cohort of Local Science Partners, a new program empowering scientists to build sustainable partnerships with their policymakers.
As ambassadors, the first class of member partners brings scientific expertise, passion, and a diverse range of interests to their work integrating the sciences with decision-making. The cohort ranges from early-career scientists to distinguished professors’ emeriti; from biologists to geologists to oceanographers; and from those working in academia to nonprofits to the private sector.
The cohort is united in a shared commitment to using tools of science and policy to advance equity in the places where they live, study, and work. Critical issues of climate change and environmental protection feature prominently among their myriad interests, as does supporting STEM research and education as well as promoting science literacy. With the skills and training from the Local Science Partners program, our ambassadors will leverage their know-how to influence legislation in order to benefit humanity and the environment.
The Local Science Partners program pairs AGU members with their legislators and provide them with the resources and training to build a sustainable relationship. Local Science Partner ambassadors will receive workshops on science policy and communication skills, participate in legislative and policy updates, and contribute to open-forum discussions. In the spring of 2022, our ambassadors will attend a congressional visits day in Washington D.C. Together, the Local Science Partners will help advance AGU’s policy agenda and diversify the sciences’ Congressional champions.
AGU is delighted to welcome the following members as the inaugural cohort of Local Science Partners:
Ben Alterman Southwest Research Institute
Kristina Bartowitz University of Idaho
Dr. Bennett Bearden Geological Survey of Alabama
Rebecca Bearden Geological Survey of Alabama
Julia Brodsky Blue Marble Space Institute of Science
Emily Cardarelli NASA-JPL
Anamika Chatterjee Washington University in St. Louis
Ian Cohen Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
Ginny Cousens University of Rhode Island
Kyle Disselkoen Stanford University
Quincy Faber University of Florida
Kristi Rasmusson Fink Texas Educational Seismic Project
Douglas Foster University of Texas at Austin
Ben Gold Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Paul Gruber The Aerospace Corporation
Lauren Haygood Oklahoma State University
Lisa Hlinka Queens College, CUNY
Zoe Kanavas University of California, Davis
Brendan Kelly Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey
Jisoo Kim Arizona State University
James Kubicki Chair University of Texas at El Paso
Thea Louis University of Michigan School
Mila Lubeck Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Hannah Mast University of Virginia
Kayla Mathes Virginia Commonwealth University
Carrie McIntosh University of California, San Diego
Sierra Melton Pennsylvania State University
Jerry Miller Science for Decisions LLC
Kim Moreland University of Texas at San Antonio
Li Murphy BioBus, Inc
Yanelli Nunez Columbia University
Katelyn O’Dell George Washington University
Hannah Palmer University of California, Merced
Indrani Pal Columbia University
Michael Phillips Illinois Valley Community College
Kristina Pistone Bay Area Environmental Research Institute
Henry Pitts Gap Year Student
McKenna Price-Patak University of Alabama in Huntsville
Nabila Riaz Dartmouth College
Aradhana Roberts Center for Science Teaching and Learning, NAU
Alyssa Rosemartin USA National Phenology Network
Dork Sahagian Lehigh University
Meghan Salmon-Tumas Northland College
Christine A. Shields National Center for Atmospheric Research
Kamini Singha Colorado School of Mines
Arshdeep Singh University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Joel Singley Colorado School of Mines
Reggie Spaulding Sunburst Sensors
Anne Tamalavage University of Montreal
Amy Townsend-Small University of Cincinnati
Maria Tzortziou City College of New York
David Valentine University of California, Santa Barbara
Joseph Wartman Natural Hazard and Disaster Reconnaissance Facility
Michael Wiltberger National Center for Atmospheric Research
Congratulations again to our phenomenal new cohort of Local Science Partners! We look forward to the crucial work you will do as on-the-ground drivers of change.