In this month's "Postcard", Griff O’Neill, a physicist by training currently working as an engineer in the semiconductor industry in California, describes how he sat down for coffee with two city council members from his community.

Aruna Miller believes that there’s a strong need for the problem-solving approach that scientists and engineers can bring to office. After more than 20 years working as a transportation engineer for Montgomery County and other local governments, she ran for, and was elected to, the Maryland legislature in 2010. Now she’s running for Congress in her home state of Maryland because she believes we need more people with a STEM background making policy.

Jennifer Boehme is a marine scientist and advisor at the International Joint Commission in Windsor, Ontario, which is a commission of the U.S. and Canada that has oversight of border waters. She attended a city council meeting to understand local priorities for sustainable development, green infrastructure, and mass transit.

A version of this post appeared on March 7, 2018, on AAAS MemberCentral, which features members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The post is reprinted here with permission. Arti Garg is the founder and chair of Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL). She is also a data scientist living in the California Bay Area, where she serves on a municipal task force.

As an innovator and "maker" at the nexus of the built environment, energy, and transportation sectors; John Sarter frequently needs to integrate first-of-their-kind electrical systems with other building technologies. To accomplish this, he uses new materials and construction techniques that exceed, and help to advance, existing codes and local regulations. Even in a forward-looking city like San Francisco, though, the development of a building like Sol Lux Alpha – the first multi-unit residential nanogrid project in the United States – wasn't easy.

Amy Nagengast always thought that her engineering background and analytical mind, combined with her passion for infrastructure and buildings, might be a good fit for a local utility board at some point. She currently serves on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC).

Christopher K. Tokita interned for New Jersey state Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, Ph.D. While it may seem overwhelming to dedicate time to working in state government while also working toward a Ph.D., he found it to be very doable and rewarding. For him, it was an achievable way to explore public policy while continuing his scientific training and research.

Tim Oolman has spent his career in industrial research & development, where his mission is to transform innovation into sustainable solutions in food and nutrition. As he looks toward the end of his traditional career, he is motivated to engage with his new community to address the broader challenges in our society and communities.

Leah Pagnozzi started "Take a Politician to Work Day" out of a desire to give a voice to her fellow scientists and engineers. The program’s main goal is to reach out and build connections with city and state representatives. They accomplish this by bringing representatives to campus for lab tours led by graduate students and post doctoral researchers. They hope to encourage the development of an organic connection between scientists and policy-makers.

Ginny Delaney applied, interviewed, and was appointed to a city task force. She was initially nervous to meet community leaders until she realized that they were just like her... people who wanted to serve the city and to make it a better place to live!

In our new Postcards series, learn from the experiences of engineers and scientists who have taken that first step and found ways to connect with and improve their community.

Derek Stanford is a statistician and data scientist, aka an unusual candidate for the state legislature. But by the time he filed to run in 2010, he had spent a decade volunteering with advocacy groups and political campaigns and learning in depth about policy areas where he wanted to make a difference. He believes that government would benefit if more STEM professionals chose to get involved.