Sociologist Melanie Stansbury talks about the importance of connecting scientists with policy decision makers and shares her reasons for running for the New Mexico state legislature.

Ryan Coogan wrote to ESAL about participating in a nuclear engineering student delegation in Texas, where students met with politicians and nuclear industry stakeholders to discuss safety and security, environmental impacts, and politics.

Holly Williams believes outreach experiences are the perfect way to cut your teeth on community engagement. She has volunteered at the California Academy of Sciences as a science educator for nearly two years now. In this month's Story, she describes how she leveraged her STEM background in small ways and still made a big impact.

Environmental geochemist and ESAL Alaska Chapter Lead Kendra Zamzow shares her experience effecting change in state policy. She participated in a technical working group for Alaska's Department of Environmental Conservation to provide evidence-based recommendations for updated regulatory protections against contaminants in fishing waters.

In this month's "Stories from the Field", we talked to Thomas Beatty, an assistant research professor in astronomy at Pennsylvania State University who is skilled at charting distant worlds. He applies some of the same STEM principles to the more down-to-earth subject of gerrymandering, which has been the subject of recent court rulings and ongoing political debate.

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.

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.

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.

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.