ESAL's board of directors oversees the governance, strategy, sustainability, and reputation of the organization. Members bring diverse perspectives and backgrounds to their work. Members meet as a full board quarterly. Each member also serves on at least one committee, which typically meet monthly.

ESAL is seeking new board members to join in January 2026. If you would like to nominate or self-nominate a board candidate, please reach out to us at info@esal.us.

Arti Garg, Ph.D., is AVEVA's Chief Technologist. She has held several volunteer appointments in the city of Hayward, Calif., most recently Planning Commissioner. Arti's career spans several leadership roles in data science across tech and industry. Prior to her current position, she was a Senior Distinguished Technologist at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. In the past, Arti has held roles in the federal government. She was a legislative fellow in the House Foreign Affairs Committee and an analyst in the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), where she oversaw over $5 billion of R&D investments in the Department of Energy. Arti holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Harvard University and an MS in Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering, as well as bachelor’s degrees in Physics and English from Stanford University.

Local government and community engagement is critical to many science- and technology-related policy issues. But there are few avenues for engineers and scientists to learn how to effectively engage locally. I founded ESAL to help address this gap.

Chris Spitzer - Vice Chair

Chris Spitzer, Ph.D., is the quantum research program manager at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and operations lead for the Advanced Quantum Testbed. Previously he served as a program officer in UC Research Initiatives at the University of California (UC) Office of the President, where he led grant-making programs in the physical sciences and engineering. Chris has held several policy-related fellowships, including an American Institute of Physics Congressional Fellowship in the U.S. Senate and an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship in the State Department. He has also held an America Physical Society Mass Media Fellowship in science journalism. He co-founded Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally, a non-profit focused on civic engagement where he now serves as the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors. Chris holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Washington and bachelor’s degrees in physics and electrical engineering and computer sciences from UC Berkeley.

I’ve always wanted to get more involved in my community. ESAL is helping me figure out how!

Christopher Jackson - Treasurer & Workshops Director

Chris Jackson, Ph.D., serves as ESAL’s Workshops Director and Treasurer on the Board of Directors. He has held roles in energy and science policy in Congress and the Department of State. Chris believes that STEM professionals have a key role to play in supporting policy implementation and development in their own communities. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley.

I’m passionate about translating my research beyond the laboratory and making real-world impacts. ESAL is a great opportunity to do that at the local level, where technical skills can play a key role in getting things done.

Emily Schafer - Member-at-Large

Emily Schafer, Ph.D., is a biomedical engineer and postdoctoral researcher at École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) based in Geneva, Switzerland. Originally from Grand Rapids, MI, Emily received her Bachelor's degree in Biomedical Engineering & Neuroscience in 2018 from Vanderbilt University and earned her Master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University in 2022 and 2024, respectively. Her research focuses on the implementation of new organic materials into flexible electronics for biosensing and neural interfacing. Outside of the lab, Emily has long held passions for education, science communication, and science policy. She is a strong advocate for building scientific literacy amongst non-scientists and her favorite experiences doing this have included hosting a science podcast, giving science talks at local senior homes, and even teaching the “magic” of science at a local Comic-Con. She credits the influence of organizations like the Science Policy Outreach Taskforce (SPOT) at Northwestern University and the National Science Policy Network (NSPN) in helping her build these passions and hopes to have a career as a scientist that makes science more impactful and accessible.

I love connecting scientists with their local communities to increase scientific literacy and develop strong, evidence-based policies. I joined ESAL to inspire others to do the same!

Erin Partlan - Member-at-large

Erin Partlan, Ph.D., is an environmental scientist and engineer focused on the quality of municipal water. Currently, she is a scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, DC. Previously, she has held roles at various organizations in the water sector, including non-profit and start-up roles. She joined ESAL as a volunteer in 2021 and currently serves the Board as a member at-large. Erin supports the mission of ESAL because she believes that the analytical skills gained from STEM training are invaluable to many civic processes. Outside of work, Erin is a citizen advisor for the county on trails, sidewalks, and bikeways. She finds her scientific background useful to understand new topics ranging from traffic engineering to urban development. Through ESAL, she hopes to encourage other STEM professionals to offer their skills back to their communities.

A researcher by training and an implementation advocate in practice, I'm very interested in the translation of scientific knowledge to everyday life. In favor of increasing sustainability and equity through data driven decision making.

Laurie Chong - Member-at-Large

Laurie Chong, Ph.D., is the Director of External Relations for Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry, a Nanoscale Science User Facility. Before joining the Foundry, Laurie worked in Washington D.C. for Congressman Mike Honda as a AAAS Congressional Science and Technology Policy Fellow. Her portfolio included supporting the Congressman’s role on the committee responsible for funding the Department of Energy, as well as all issues pertaining to energy, environment, clean technologies, water, oceans, natural resources, climate change, and the postal system. She became an ESAL volunteer shortly after its inception, becoming the inaugural Communications Director and lead of the Social Media team. She previously served as the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors and now remains as a member-at-large.

I joined ESAL because all politics is local, and I wanted to learn how to engage in activities closer to home and to help other scientists do the same.

Lina Zhu - Member-at-Large

Lina Zhu, M.S., is a scientist who has spent the past decade working in the climate and energy technology fields with a focus on carbon dioxide removal. A northern California native, she is currently based out of the Bay Area in San Francisco and Oakland, CA. She studied chemical engineering at receiving a B.S. from University of California at Berkeley and a M.S. degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before transitioning into research and development roles in the venture capitalist startup ecosystem. Beginning in college, Lina discovered a passion for community service and organizing service-oriented, hands-on projects. She is also passionate about the longstanding challenges in her community and broader region, including a lack of housing and transportation options. On the microlevel, she is fortunate to be part of a politically-conscious neighborhood that cultivates active participation on the city level. She is a longtime ESAL volunteer on the Content Team and serves as a member-at-large on ESAL’s Board of Directors.

Through ESAL, I hope to become better at translating both science and policy and to delve deeper into the issues affecting my community.

Nick Anthis - Secretary

Nick Anthis, D.Phil., is a research administrator with a background in biomedical research and science policy. He currently serves as the Senior Program Officer for Special Initiatives at the University of California Office of the President (UCOP), where he manages research grant funding for the state of California, including climate action research focused on the state’s communities most vulnerable to climate change and research to prevent cancer in firefighters. In previous roles at UCOP, Nick served as a program officer for the California Breast Cancer Research Program and UC Research Initiatives. He previously managed industry/academic partnerships for Atomwise, a biotech startup using artificial intelligence to discover new drugs. Nick’s background in science policy includes serving as a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and serving on the Biden Science Policy Committee and the USDA Agency Review Team for the Biden-Harris Transition Team in 2020. Nick is a co-founder of ESAL, and has previously served as ESAL’s Vice-Chair and Treasurer, and he currently serves as Secretary. His scientific background is in biochemistry and biophysics, with a B.S. in biochemistry from Texas A&M University and a D.Phil. in biochemistry from the University of Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar and studied protein structure and dynamics related to cell adhesion, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), studying protein dynamics and NMR. Nick lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, where he enjoys music, the outdoors, and spending time with his family.

After leaving Washington, DC, I wanted to get involved in my local community, but I didn’t know where to start. Getting involved with ESAL has opened my eyes to the many ways one can get engaged locally and start making a difference at home.

History & Accomplishments

In 2017, ESAL's co-founders organized themselves into a Steering Committee, which served as the highest governing body for the organization.

Members worked together to successfully incorporate the group in California as a 501(c)3 in 2019.

Members also developed the original content, communications, local engagement survey, and network-building that allowed ESAL to bring a unique voice championing local civic engagement amount STEM audiences. The Steering Committee later oversaw the development of a virtual and in-person workshops and conferences program, as well as a virtual events program.

The Steering Committee also secured three foundational public and private foundation grants to support programming and to create the opportunity to hire ESAL's first staff member, a part-time managing director, in 2023.

In July 2024, after 9 months of planning meetings, ESAL board launched the Strategic Plan, 2024-2027. Within two months, the Steering Committee transitioned into a traditional nonprofit Board of Directors, to clarify their internal governance role. The Board also adopted committees to fulfill different functions that fit ESAL's needs, including formalizing the Officers into an executive committee.

In 2025, the Board decided to externally recruit board members for the first time. The decision was made to welcome members with a new breadth of nonprofit management and local civic engagement skills and expertise.