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.

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. Garg’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, Garg 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 more than $5 billion of R&D investments in the Department of Energy. Garg holds a Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University and a M.S. in aeronautical & astronautical engineering, as well as B.S. 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 UC Office of the President, where he led grant-making programs in the physical sciences and engineering. Spitzer has held several policy-related Fellowships, including an AIP Congressional Fellowship in the U.S. Senate and an AAAS S&T Policy Fellowship in the State Department. He has also held an APS Mass Media Fellowship in science journalism. He co-founded ESAL where he now serves as the vice chair of the board of directors. Spitzer holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Washington and B.S. degrees in physics and EECS 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. Jackson 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.

Darin Gray - Member-at-large

As the Director of the USC Viterbi K-12 STEM Center, Dr. Gray oversees Center logistics and operations, supervises STEM outreach to K-12 students, manages partnerships with STEM organizations within and outside of the University, and oversees data driven program analyses. He teaches an introduction to engineering course and a cybersecurity seminar at USC. Dr. Gray is also the Director of the USC MESA University program which works with USC academic departments and administrative units to provide support to STEM undergraduate students by providing the tools, resources, and support they need to successfully earn STEM degrees. He is also the Director of the CS@SC Coding Camps. In addition, Dr. Gray is a SciStater Citizen Science Ambassador who provides volunteers with the knowledge, skills, and experiences essential for cultivating and supporting citizen science initiatives within their communities. He also serves on the National Academy of Engineering’s Pathways into Engineering Steering Committee as well as the Teach Engineering Advisory Board. Dr. Gray co-founded and served as Vice Chair for the LA STEM Collective, the LA STEM Ecosystem. He served as the 2023-2024 NCWIT DoDSTEM Ambassador. Dr. Darin Gray has earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering from USC Viterbi School of Engineering, a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics from USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, a Master’s degree in teaching with an emphasis in mathematics from USC Rossier School of Education, a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity from Cal State San Marcos and a Doctorate in Education Technology from Boise State University. He also holds California teaching credentials in math and science.

ESAL connects people with STEM backgrounds and the communities where they live, work, and socially engage. Joining the ESAL Board provides me with the opportunity to collaborate with other STEM professionals in creating new avenues for community engagement in STEM while enabling me to share my perspective and experience in STEM outreach.

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. EPA in Washington, D.C. Previously, she has held roles at various organizations in the water sector, including roles at nonprofits and startups. She joined ESAL as a volunteer in 2021 and currently serves as a board member at large. Partlan 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, Partlan 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.

Julia Biggins - Member-at-large

Dr. Julia Biggins is an infectious disease scientist with more than 15 years of experience in government and industry developing medical countermeasure development against biodefense agents. In 2007, Julia received a PhD in molecular virology focused on HIV transmission at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Following graduate school, Dr. Biggins earned a National Academies of Science fellowship at USAMRIID that would allow her to work in high containment laboratories for more than 5 years developing vaccine platforms against select agents such as Ebola and Marburg viruses. During the COVID-19 pandemic Dr. Biggins was an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellowship with the Department of Defense in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs (ASD- HA). As a Fellow, Julia utilized her vaccine development background to support the creation the National Influenza Vaccine Modernization Strategy and was heavily engaged with DoD’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic by spearheading the DoD COVID-19 variants working group and facilitating clear communication with the Interagency. Currently, Julia is a Lead Biotechnologist with the MITRE Corporation where she has used her technical expertise and government experience to support projects with various DoD, HHS, and intelligence community sponsors. Julia lives with her husband, 4 kids, and their Irish Wolfhound in Manassas, Virginia. Julia supports her community through her roles as a Cub Scout Den Leader, volunteer baker for Cake 4 Kids, and as Chair of the Board of Directors for Norther Virginia Food Rescue. In her small amount of free time Julia enjoys baking for her family and friends.

Our local communities deserve policy decisions that are evidence based and data driven. I am excited to work with ESAL to connect government leaders with scientists to effect this kind of change.

Laurie Chong - Member-at-Large

Laurie Chong is the director of external relations for Berkeley Lab’s molecular foundry, a nanoscale science user Facility. Before joining the foundry, Chong 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.

Meredith Drosback - Member-at-large

Meredith Drosback, Ph.D. is an independent consultant and nonprofit leader with a background in science policy, science communication, and organizational development. She previously served as Deputy Director for Science at SciLine, a program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where she helped scale the organization from a startup to a nationally recognized program supporting evidence-based journalism. Earlier in her career, she held senior roles at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, including Acting Lead for Science, and served as a Congressional Fellow with the U.S. Senate’s Science and Space Subcommittee. Meredith holds a Ph.D. in Astrophysics and is committed to helping scientists apply their expertise for meaningful civic impact.

I’ve seen how powerful it can be when technical expertise is paired with civic responsibility. ESAL creates clear, welcoming pathways for scientists and engineers to get involved locally, and I’m excited to help turn skills into service where it matters most.

Nilesh Kalyanaraman - Member-at-large

Nilesh Kalyanaraman, MD, FACP is primary care physician and healthcare executive with expertise in improving health outcomes by developing innovative collaborations across health care, public health, and communities. He most recently served as the Deputy Secretary of Public Health and State Health Officer at the Maryland Department of Health with a focus on improving maternal health outcomes and developing the state health improvement plan. Prior to this he served as the Health Officer for Anne Arundel County in Maryland where he led the Department’s Covid response, established a county wide gun violence intervention team, and developed a community led health outreach team and strategy to address health disparities. For over a decade prior, he has held leadership positions at Federally Qualified Health Centers leading care transformation to integrate social determinants of health into clinical care, implementing innovative reimbursement models, and increasing access to underserved populations. He received a Doctor of Medicine from SUNY Downstate Health Science University in Brooklyn, NY and completed his Internal Medicine Residency at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. He was a AAAS Science and Technology Policy fellow at the National Institutes of Health and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. He lives in Baltimore with his family and enjoys trail running.

I joined ESAL to support scientists to engage in their communities and bring their expertise to the public space.

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.