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.
Christopher Jackson
Treasurer & Workshops Director
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.
Chris Spitzer
Vice Chair
I’ve always wanted to get more involved in my community. ESAL is helping me figure out how!
Laurie Chong
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.
Nick Anthis
Secretary
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.
Erin Partlan
Member-at-large
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.
Lina Zhu
Member-at-Large
Through ESAL, I hope to become better at translating both science and policy and to delve deeper into the issues affecting my community.
Emily Schafer
Member-at-Large
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!
Leadership Committee
Toni Kervina
Content Director
Engaging content is key to driving empowerment through civic engagement. I am inspired by ESAL’s mission and hope to amplify its diversity of voices to shape positive change in STEM discourse with the goal of building a stronger, more accountable, and inclusive society.
Taylor Spicer
Managing Director
Every person has important assets that can shape their neighborhoods, cities, and states. I am humbled to support members of the ESAL network seeking ways to most effectively use their skills, knowledge, and research to engage local governments and communities.
Rachel Owen
Development Director
I love connecting scientists to opportunities where they can engage locally using whatever time and skills they can give. There are so many ways that science and policy intersect and I am thrilled to help ESAL highlight these connections.
Karthik Ilangovan
Technology & Research Director
ESAL's mission resonates with me, blending my passion for Analytics & Technology with local civic engagement. I am excited to join a community committed to meaningful, local impact, which will enable me to utilize my skills for community advancement by creating cross-disciplinary solutions at the nexus of science and policy.
Courtney Lawton
Communications & Marketing Director
I am deeply inspired by our mission to empower engineers and scientists to engage in local civic affairs. ESAL's dedication to fostering a more scientifically informed community and driving impactful change resonates with my passion for leveraging technical expertise to create meaningful improvements in society."
Al Licata
Program Manager
I deeply believe in the importance of civic engagement for shaping our communities, and I am excited by the opportunity to empower STEM professionals to apply their technical skills to have an impact on the important issues of our time.
Volunteers
William Harley
Workshops Team
I have seen many people with a passion for civic engagement but no idea where to start. ESAL's provides the inspiration and tools directly to those people.
Tony Van Witsen
Content & Events Teams
Science alone and facts alone never change anyone's mind. People always view scientific research and form their opinions about it based on their existing beliefs, attitudes and who they feel they are.
Sarah Van Dijk
Content Team
As scientists, we aim to develop solutions for problems affecting people in our communities and beyond, yet much of what we do is inaccessible to them. I am excited to work with ESAL to bridge the this gap between scientists and the public.
Richard Tran
Development Associate
I believe scientists and engineers have a civic duty to contribute back to society, ensuring that their contributions are tangible and accessible to all.
Renee Daly
Content Team
Since I started working at NASEM, I've observed how critical interactions between STEM professionals, policy practitioners, and local communities are in facilitating discussions around key issues and creating opportunities to improve policy-making through these discussions.
Nathan Smith
Events Team
ESAL's mission statement resonates with me because of a quote I once heard by Socrates: 'The unexamined life is not worth living.' I strive to live a virtuous life, helping others to achieve a more flourishing existence.
Nanxi Xu
Workshops Team
I'm interested in bridging academia and community. ESAL provides great resources for scientists to create real-world significance at the local level. I joined ESAL in hoping to empower scientists to collaborate with their local partners.
Misha Patel
Events Team
I’ve always been passionate about using science and engineering to drive meaningful change in local communities. The idea of bridging technical expertise with real-world impact excites me because it’s a way to make complex solutions accessible and improve lives where it matters most.
Matt Martin
Events Team
Through ESAL, I aim to support the next generation of science leaders as they engage with their local communities. Ensuring science has a seat at every table has never been more important.
Mark DiTusa
Workshops Team
I'm passionate about showing how the Ivory Tower is a myth, how scientists are both a part of their communities and how the community influences their science. I joined ESAL because they are aiming to make that connection more overt, and I'm excited to strengthen those links!
Malvika Singhal
Content Team
ESAL is pivotal in highlighting the community-aspect of science and how interconnected local government decisions are with the research being done in the field. By getting involved, I can contribute to the goal of demystifying policy to fellow scientists and learn a lot along the way.
Kendra Zamzow
Engagement Volunteer
In my job, I already work at the interface of science and policy. ESAL was a natural fit!
Joel Lesher
Content Team
I have spent my short career connecting the public to scientists and lawmakers in an effort to promote science-based civic engagement. With this in mind, ESAL was a natural fit, and one which falls under the domain of science policy – a personal hobby of mine. By working within local communities, we can observe positive change in real-time, and I am thrilled to be able to contribute.
Jessica Trinh
Content Coordinator
ESAL's mission resonates with me because I've held a longstanding belief that the work that scientists do should be shared with others to help better society. I also think a lot of change happens locally, and many people should make an effort to understand and be engaged with local politics.
Jake Pasner
Events Team
My life's work is in opening the lines of communication between our human communities and the data technologies that increasingly underpin them. I'm proud to support ESAL's work towards this critical mission
Henry Pitts
Workshops Team
Effective resource management requires data-driven science that informs policy, and that starts at the local level. ESAL provides policy-makers with the tools to operate within that science/policy/communication nexus, and I'm excited to play a part in that.
Hailey Reiss
Engagement Volunteer
Our science is stronger when we are able to connect to the public. ESAL's emphasis on acting locally allows us to uplift our communities and foster an environment where the next generation of scientists can thrive.
Gwendolyn Bogard
Workshops Team
Through volunteering with ESAL, I hope to give researchers the tools to communicate and build trust with policymakers and community members, as well as the confidence put those tools into practice.
Eduardo Medina-Romero
Communications Team
I want to contribute to providing easy access to resources and connections within the various communities in California, and ESAL follows those same ideals but on a national level with various communities and organizations.
Divyanoor Kaur
Content Team
I believe that it is important to address disparities between public knowledge and scientific research in order to facilitate the creation of a more conscious society. Informing individuals about matters that concern their health and well being is just as crucial as the advancement of science itself.
Dana Goerzen
Content Team
I have found that poor scientific communication can foster negative effects by both directly resulting in imprecisely crafted policies, but equally importantly by catalyzing negative public opinions. ESAL’s mission speaks to me because promoting the civic engagement of scientists who have a deep understanding of the technologies affecting our lives is crucial to the development of effective policy.
Dalton Stewart
Workshops Team
My Ph.D. research explores the interaction between technology and policy. By volunteering with ESAL, I hope to improve my own ability and the ability of others to use their technical knowledge and skills to engage with the political process.
Cynthia Prieto-Diaz
Engagement Volunteer
As a biomedical engineer with a background in public health – I leaned into my training after WFH (working from home). Without actively knowing it until meeting leadership from ESAL at AAAS (March 2023) – I learned I was living out the mission of the organization through my DIY punk rock attitude and STEM perspective of bringing evidence-based solutions to my immediate community.
Cristian Luna
Communications & Marketing Team
ESALS mission resonates with me because I like that it helps bring people from different backgrounds together.
Cherry Cheuk Lam Cheung
Communications & Marketing Team
As a PhD student in Immunology, I’m hoping not only to translate science from bench to bedside but also make an impact on my local community. ESAL is a perfect platform for me to interact with the public and policymakers.
Ben Wolfson
Chief Editor
Evidence based policy is essential at every level of government. ESAL is a great organization and resource for helping scientists bring their knowledge and skills to their local communities.
Andrew Porterfield
Content Team
I've found that there's a huge gap between what scientists and engineers do daily and how they think policy and politics are involved with what they do daily. STEM professionals need to get more involved, starting on a local level, and I want to show that doing that is not as hard as it can look. As a writer, reporter and marketing communications person, I want to put my skills to use to persuade them to narrow, if not fill, this gap.
Ana Aguilar
Communications & Marketing Team
Like ESAL, I am passionate about leveraging my skills to make a meaningful impact within my local community. Their dedication to empowering STEM professionals, along with their strong commitment to JEDI, aligns closely with my values and beliefs. I am proud to contribute to and support their mission.
Alex Lantrip
Graphic Design Volunteer
Our world is in a delicate place right now, and if we have any chance of turning things around, we need the scientific community to have an open line of communication with the powers that be. I am excited to use my graphic design skills to help the STEM community get civically engaged.
