Service on boards, commissions, task forces, and working groups provides scientists and engineers with high-impact pathways to making a difference in their community.
A version of this post appeared on March 7, 2018, on AAAS MemberCentral, which features members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The post is reprinted here with permission. Arti Garg is the founder and chair of Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL). She is also a data scientist living in the California Bay Area, where she serves on a municipal task force.
Amy Nagengast always thought that her engineering background and analytical mind, combined with her passion for infrastructure and buildings, might be a good fit for a local utility board at some point. She currently serves on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Citizens’ Advisory Committee (CAC).
Ginny Delaney applied, interviewed, and was appointed to a city task force. She was initially nervous to meet community leaders until she realized that they were just like her... people who wanted to serve the city and to make it a better place to live!
Is it possible to balance a technical career with a life of public service? Al Mendall is proof you can, and that science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) training can provide unique tools for policy-makers. A software engineer with over 20 years of industry experience, Mendall has also held an elected seat on Hayward, California’s City Council since 2012. I spoke to him about the path from industry to policy and about taking an engineer’s approach to effective politics.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) featured an interview with ESAL Founder & Chair, Arti Garg, in the Mar-Apr issue of Fellowship Focus, the newsletter of the Science & Technology Policy Fellowships (STPF). The interview is reprinted here with permission.
