ESAL chatted with Cindy Hua, board member of Downwinders at Risk and chair of the Particulate Matter Education Committee, about her work on empowering residents to engage with the civic process and her journey into local activism.

Learn more about Jacqui Treiger's work as campaign manager for climate and transportation at OEC to further initiatives that reduce climate pollution, increase community resilience, and build a transportation system that works for everyone.

Learn more about how researchers are using data science to highlight the housing insecurity issue across the country.

In a recent conversation with ESAL, Kavin Manickaraj, chief data scientist at Greenlink Analytics, reflected on how his concern for the well-being of the local community and effects of climate change informs his science and career path. Learn more about how Kavin wants to bridge the gap between science and political action.

Julie Palakovich Carr is the only biologist with an advanced degree in the Maryland General Assembly, where she has been a representative since 2019. Learn more about the high-impact role of an elected official and the advantages that a scientific background affords policy makers.

ESAL spoke with Christine Task, a senior research scientist at Knexus Research Corporation and contracted technical lead of the Collaborative Research Cycle (CRC) hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Privacy Engineering Program. Learn more about how Christine is mobilizing the privacy research community to solve pressing problems facing the federal government.

Michael Hendricks, an assistant professor in the Department of Politics and Government at Illinois State University, is an advocate for civic engagement who particularly emphasizes integrating STEM into the legislative process. Learn about how he approaches research, teaching, and mentorship to center civic engagement.

Amy Sharma, PhD is the executive director of Science for Georgia, an organization whose mission is to advocate for the responsible use of science in public policy, improve communication between scientists and the public, and increase public engagement with science. She chatted with ESAL about the value of factual scientific support to state legislators and interpersonal relationships between scientists and other community members.

Cynthia Prieto-Diaz, a biomedical engineer by training, actively contributes to scientific discourse by volunteering, engaging with city governments, and advocating for STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) involvement and consideration in local governance.Prieto-Diaz currently holds a position on the leadership team for 500 Women Scientists and serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Cal Poly Pomona-Latin Alumni Network.

ESAL is proud to share our first annual report celebrating the team, programming, content, and communications we have developed from June 2022 to July 2023.

Learn about how, founder and executive director of the Illinois Science Council, Monica Metzler uses her legal training and writing background from working with the Illinois House of Representatives and Democratic National Convention to make science concepts clear and accessible to the public.

The Thriving Earth Exchange project aims to amplify climate narratives in migrant communities. A science educator and artist, Amaris Alanis-Ribeiro, center director of the North Park Village Nature Center in northwest Chicago, noticed the changing demographics of Albany Park and realized the potential of partnering with their local community to share stories, inspire conversations, and celebrate unique cultures and identities across Chicago. Learn more about how Alanis-Ribeiro maintains a connection to her artistic interests, while forging a path in science outreach leadership.