STEM professionals of all career stages, whether well-established or just starting out, have a tremendous opportunity to engage with their communities. From public health to affordable housing, environmental conservation to arts and culture, scientists bring a unique insight valuable to local policy issues both within and outside of the scientific arena. However, the pathway to effective advocacy is not always clear, as STEM professionals are often not provided the guidance needed to leverage their expertise for community progress. Advocating for policy issues beyond one’s scientific discipline can seem daunting, as scientists must translate their expertise for new audiences and toward new outcomes. Furthermore, scientists and engineers are rarely trained in how to meaningfully engage with other community stakeholders. 

In this session, attendees will hear from professionals who have affected change in their communities as scientists, advocates, and a combination of the two. Through partnership and community engagement, these individuals have simultaneously made science central to local policymaking and improved the well-being of their community. This workshop will provide scientists of all stages a valuable pathway as they embark on their own advocacy journey. Following a robust panel discussion, attendees will have the opportunity to identify partners and begin local engagement plans for their own community, utilizing resources from Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) to identify concrete goals and strategies to get involved in the local policy discussions about which they are most passionate.